vodkafan Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) The Town Traveller 4/5 George Gissing Hot on the heels of New Grub Street, this book was a delight and very much a light comedy. All the four Gissings I have read up to now have dealt to some extent with poverty. I could have been forgiven for thinking that was what Gissing was all about. But no! This one surprised me completely. The characters are all working class men and women (in London-all his books seem to be set in the capital) who are doing OK. Sometimes a Victorian turn of phrase confuses me for a little while and I have to work it out from clues in the story. Such a phrase is the title "Town Traveller" , which I now (tentatively) understand to be the Victorian equivalent of a travelling sales rep, who takes orders and sometimes delivers the goods also, to shops. Mr Gammon is the man of the title. he is a friendly, jovial man of about 40, never married, who lives in the lodging house of Mrs Bubbs. After being drawn into an argument with another lodger, the feisty Polly Sparkes, and being a long time friend of Polly's aunt, Mrs Clover, Mr Gammon's natural sharp mind and curiosity uncovers a mystery in that family that he resolves to unravel. He picks up another clue from an unexpected source, Mr Greenacre. This gentleman is at first sight a disorganised chap not to be taken seriously: as the plot unfolds he becomes seriously mysterious himself: he pops up in unexpected places and seems to straddle more than one social class. He is also involved in, or at least interested in, the mystery surrounding the Clover family. I could not put this novel down. Not so heavy on dialogue as New Grub Street , this was a quick read. The author misspells words deliberately to represent both working class and upper class London accents , which is fun and there is some gentle romance thrown in, which never hurts a plot. Gammon is a likeable character. Edited February 10, 2015 by vodkafan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 I have started reading the rest of Game Of Thrones Book 1 from where I left off. Only 271 pages left to go. After the clever writing and lovely words of George Gissing and Michel Faber however, the writing seems dull as dishwater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 Only 188 pages to go of GOT. Have also started another George Gissing (Will Warburton) and another book, Mrs P's Journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Three books! I hope you enjoy all three . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Only 144 pages to go.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Game Of Thrones 2/5 George RR Martin Although I found a couple of the characters interesting, I am sorry to say that I found this doorstop dull overall. It's biggest crime to me was that the writing was very unexciting, stolid and pedestrian, compared to authors I have been enjoying lately. The dialogue was very laborious and cliched and tiny things irritated me (for instance changing the title of a knight from "Sir" to "Ser". Also, yes I get it Jon Snow is a 'person of dubious parentage' and Tyrion is a dwarf. Do we really have to be reminded every time they appear, usually by way of someone's insult? It got tiresome quickly. Some things at the beginning were interesting, like the seasons lasting for years (was it perhaps another planet?) the ancient evil beyond the wall, and the mysterious Others . But I was waiting in vain for these to come back into the story again but they didn't. Started to get a bit interested again when two dead men got back up and walked. All in all , for a fantasy book there was not enough fantasy in it for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexi Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Sorry you didn't enjoy it VF. I think the reason I did was because it didn't have that much fantasy in it - it's not a genre I read much of. You're picking out of the word ser was interesting. I didn't get annoyed by that as I pronounced it the same in my head but I was annoyed by something else of similar ilk. Can't remember what it was now though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it that much, VF . I agree that for a fantasy book, there aren't as much fantasy elements in there compared with some other fantasy books (this disappointed me too at first). There is a lot of conversation and politics in there, but there aren't as many fantasy elements in there. So if it's really fantasy and fantasy elements that you're looking for, a different book might be better. What kind of fantasy elements do you like to read about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I enjoyed the first book in that series, but it didn't compel me to read any more in the same way the first season of the show didn't compel me to watch any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Well done for even attempting Game of Thrones and even more well done for finishing it! I know lots of people have good things to say about it, but I can't summon up any enthusiasm to read it, whereas at least you can explain why you didn't like it, and it'll stop people pestering you about it in future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it that much, VF . I agree that for a fantasy book, there aren't as much fantasy elements in there compared with some other fantasy books (this disappointed me too at first). There is a lot of conversation and politics in there, but there aren't as many fantasy elements in there. So if it's really fantasy and fantasy elements that you're looking for, a different book might be better. What kind of fantasy elements do you like to read about? Sad to say, I have a "pick and mix" attitude to fantasy Athena. I dislike all the standard fantasy races of elves, dwarves and goblins but I like fairies, witches and sorcerers, and creatures that are summoned from other dimensions or are created and animated by magic. Dragons I can take or leave. As it is a fantasy there should be some romance and humour. AGOT had an undercurrent of trying to be as grim and nasty as possible, which didn't appeal to me. I admit I have been totally spoilt by the fantasy trilogy Lyonesse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 Alexi, Janet, Claire, Nollaig, thanks for all your comments! I am sorry I don't get so much time to look at all your blogs as much as I used to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Sad to say, I have a "pick and mix" attitude to fantasy Athena. I dislike all the standard fantasy races of elves, dwarves and goblins but I like fairies, witches and sorcerers, and creatures that are summoned from other dimensions or are created and animated by magic. Dragons I can take or leave. As it is a fantasy there should be some romance and humour. AGOT had an undercurrent of trying to be as grim and nasty as possible, which didn't appeal to me. I admit I have been totally spoilt by the fantasy trilogy Lyonesse. That's pretty interesting. That is very true, the ASoIaF series is grim and dark. I also prefer 'lighter' books most of the time but I like reading something darker every once in a while. I have The Complete Lyonesse on my TBR, based upon your recommendation, so I'll be sure to tell you what I think once I get around to reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 Please please please read Lyonesse you won't regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 Will Warburton 3/5 George Gissing This is a gentle story of good hearted Mr Warburton, a comfortably-off gentleman who loses his money due to the actions of another and who is forced to enter "trade" under a pseudonym in order to keep his sister and beloved mother from poverty. The deception is made necessary because of the drop in social class, (all important in Victorian times) , the knowledge of which he believes would make his delicate mother ill. However, you become what you do. The strain of living his secret life starts to tell on him and he suffers further complications when he realises he is mixing with young women of his previous social class under false pretences. Of course, they eventually find out in a catastrophic way and right up until the last chapter I had no idea if it was going to turn out for good or bad in the end. The thing I like about George Gissing is the way he makes plain (and in an entertaining way) the dillemas of the highly stratified and inflexible class system of the time, which is irrelevant today but was so important back then. I have learnt more of real Victorian life from these novels than from twice the number of non-fiction reference books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Please please please read Lyonesse you won't regret it. I will read it, some time! I wouldn't have bought it if I hadn't wanted to read it . Speaking of which, I bought two Jack Vance books in the library sale yesterday (Dutch translations, two science-fiction books). It'll take me a bit of time to catalogue the books but I'll post a list in my thread in one of the next few days when I've made a list and a photo etc. I'll definitely let you know what I think of Lyonesse when I've read it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 I will read it, some time! I wouldn't have bought it if I hadn't wanted to read it . Speaking of which, I bought two Jack Vance books in the library sale yesterday (Dutch translations, two science-fiction books). It'll take me a bit of time to catalogue the books but I'll post a list in my thread in one of the next few days when I've made a list and a photo etc. I'll definitely let you know what I think of Lyonesse when I've read it ! I am burning with curiosity know to know which Jack Vance books you might have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSchultz19 Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Game Of Thrones 2/5 George RR Martin Although I found a couple of the characters interesting, I am sorry to say that I found this doorstop dull overall. It's biggest crime to me was that the writing was very unexciting, stolid and pedestrian, compared to authors I have been enjoying lately. The dialogue was very laborious and cliched and tiny things irritated me (for instance changing the title of a knight from "Sir" to "Ser". Also, yes I get it Jon Snow is a 'person of dubious parentage' and Tyrion is a dwarf. Do we really have to be reminded every time they appear, usually by way of someone's insult? It got tiresome quickly. Some things at the beginning were interesting, like the seasons lasting for years (was it perhaps another planet?) the ancient evil beyond the wall, and the mysterious Others . But I was waiting in vain for these to come back into the story again but they didn't. Started to get a bit interested again when two dead men got back up and walked. All in all , for a fantasy book there was not enough fantasy in it for me. Sorry you didn't like it. What you said about not enough fantasy might be the reason I actually enjoyed it. I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy genre and this series was the first that I had read in that genre for years. Maybe you have some suggestions that are even better? Also with the coming back to the parts you found interesting I think the problem is that Martin put way to many storylines out in the first book and didn't really finish any of them. He is still coming back to things from the first book in his newest books. Its almost like you have to wait three huge books before you get back to the thing you really wanted to know about. Kind of frustrating, but thats what kept me reading. Maybe for you it has the opposite effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I am burning with curiosity know to know which Jack Vance books you might have! They are De Wilde Vaart (Ports of Call) and De Lokkende Verte (Lurulu). It says inside the books the second is a sequel to the first. To be honest, I don't quite recall their detailed plots, but on Saturday they sounded interesting and I saw 'Jack Vance' so I thought I should get them while I can (the books seem hard to come by, often being out of print). Have you read them? I will be posting a photo and a list of all the books in a few days once I've catalogued everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 They are De Wilde Vaart (Ports of Call) and De Lokkende Verte (Lurulu). It says inside the books the second is a sequel to the first. To be honest, I don't quite recall their detailed plots, but on Saturday they sounded interesting and I saw 'Jack Vance' so I thought I should get them while I can (the books seem hard to come by, often being out of print). Have you read them? I will be posting a photo and a list of all the books in a few days once I've catalogued everything. Hi Athena , I have read Lurulu only recently and have never been able to find Ports of Call at all, but Lurulu works Ok as a stand alone novel anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Sorry you didn't like it. What you said about not enough fantasy might be the reason I actually enjoyed it. I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy genre and this series was the first that I had read in that genre for years. Maybe you have some suggestions that are even better? Also with the coming back to the parts you found interesting I think the problem is that Martin put way to many storylines out in the first book and didn't really finish any of them. He is still coming back to things from the first book in his newest books. Its almost like you have to wait three huge books before you get back to the thing you really wanted to know about. Kind of frustrating, but thats what kept me reading. Maybe for you it has the opposite effect. I suspect as you say it will have the opposite effect on me. Especially as you say I might have to read another two doorstops to find out about what's going on in the far North beyond The Wall. The only thing that interested me about the characters were what might happen to Arya now she is on the run, and Dany's dragons. The rest was just so much padding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hi Athena , I have read Lurulu only recently and have never been able to find Ports of Call at all, but Lurulu works Ok as a stand alone novel anyway. Niec to hear this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher or The Murder At Road Hill House 4/5 Kate Summerscale This was a true account of a grisly murder which gripped Victorian England in 1860. It was investigated by the most famous detective of the day, who was one of the original 8 plain clothes detectives made up in 1841. (before this all policemen were uniformed) Elements of the real crime were incorporated into Wikie Collins The Moonstone and other novels of the day. It was quite gripping, I enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Mrs P's Journey 4/5 Sarah Hartley This is a biography of a remarkable small lady called Phyllis Pearsall, who on her own in the 1930s decided to create an up to date map of London. She walked every one of the city's 23,000 streets , getting up at dawn every day for a year and not going home for 16 hours. The result was the A-Z London Map, and she created the Geographer's Map company, which is still going today. The true story is told in a very dramatic style . It was a real surprise page turner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 The Whirlpool 3/5 George Gissing This one took me a bit longer than is usual for me with a Gissing book, maybe because it had quite a convoluted plot. There are many characters major and minor, but almost every one of them does something in the story. I had my usual fun of pinpointing the London streets he mentions on the map. Although there is a resolution of sorts at the end, it is not a happy ending for everybody. More than anything else, the story is about two couples and their marriages. It gives a lot of insight into the view of how men and women were supposed to behave at that time (1892). Perhaps because his own two marriages were not happy, Gissing seems to take a pessimistic view of the institution; sometimes he has his main male character saying and thinking things that were maybe his own thoughts. Not the best Gissing book I have read, but still absorbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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