~Weave's World Of Books 2010~

[lexiepiper]

Great review

[Weave]

Great review

 

Thanks Lexie

[Weave]

I finished 'Beyond Black' by Hilary Mantel

 

Started: 09.02.10 ~ Finished: 14.02.10

 

Click here for review

[BookGeek20]

Great Review about The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite, i read this book last year and really enjoyed reading it I agree i felt so much for both of the characters, i might just have to re read it at some point!

[Weave]

Great Review about The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite, i read this book last year and really enjoyed reading it I agree i felt so much for both of the characters, i might just have to re read it at some point!

 

Thanks BookGeek, Lilly and Hanne had such a bad time, I felt so sorry for them, I can see myself reading it again too.

[Weave]

Bel~Ami by Guy De Maupassant ~ Started: 14.02.10 ~ Finished: 21.02.10

 

 

Synopsis ~

 

Young, attractive and very ambitious, George Duroy, known to his friends as Bel-Ami, is offered a job as a journalist on La Vie francaise and soon makes a great success of his new career. But he also comes face to face with the realities of the corrupt society in which he lives – the sleazy colleagues, the manipulative mistresses and wily financiers – and swiftly learns to become an arch-seducer, blackmailer and social climber in a world where love is only a means to an end. Written when Maupassant was at the height of his powers, Bel-Ami is a novel of great frankness and cynicism, but it is also infused with the sheer joy of life – depicting the scenes and characters of Paris in the belle epoque with wit, sensitivity and humanity.

 

Before I continue I should tell you all that I bought ‘Bel~Ami’ on the basis that Robert Pattinson will be playing the part of Georges Duroy in the film, which is currently being filmed, I wanted to find out more about it and I was not disappointed.

 

Bel ~Ami was written in 1885 and although some part of it is dated, the book does stand the test of time. Georges Duroy is seductive, handsome, determined and treats women like objects without any signs of regret, he knows what he wants and he gets it.

 

An interesting read, George did annoy me but in some ways I respected what he did, he used people the way they used him, not the greatest of legacy to leave behind but he wanted to succeed and he did.

 

Rating: 8/10

[Peacefield]

Nice Weave, I'm glad you liked this one! I'll be reading it too one of these days, mark my words .

[Weave]

Nice Weave, I'm glad you liked this one! I'll be reading it too one of these days, mark my words .

 

Good times!

[Nicola]

Thanks for the review Weave! I fancy reading this book

[Weave]

Thanks for the review Weave! I fancy reading this book

 

Thanks Nicola

[Charm]

Great review Weave Rob Pattinson eh? Funny ... for some reason my interest has spiked! The book does actually look pretty good too

[Weave]

Great review Weave Rob Pattinson eh? Funny ... for some reason my interest has spiked! The book does actually look pretty good too

 

I think you would enjoy it Charm

[Weave]

The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent ~ Started: 21.02.10 ~ Finished: 23.02.10

 

 

Synopsis ~

 

Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.

 

Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.

 

‘The Heretic’s Daughter’ is the story of Sarah Carrier, daughter of Martha Carrier, one of the many women accused of being a witch and eventually hanged in Salem, Massachusetts. Martha Carrier refuses to answer to any of the accusations made by ‘the afflicted girls’ because like so many others, Martha knows that the accusations are based on lies, the story is told through Sarah’s eyes as she sees her Mother being accused, arrested and being hanged for a crime that did not exist, then the eventual arrest of herself and her three brothers. Sarah and her brothers do what their Mother asks of them, something that kills their spirit and their outlook of the world they thought they knew. Sarah also finds out secrets about her family which helps her to understand her parents more.

 

I found ‘The Heretic’s Daughter’ to be a interesting and hard hitting story, the story is told by Sarah and reading what happened through the eyes of a young girl makes everything that occurred even more brutal.

 

I felt anger at the girls who accused so many innocent people and questioned why anyone would believe them, there was a number of people who did question the girls motives and as you read the story, you realise that people who were being accused had at some point argued with the families of the girls who accused them, it seemed to get easier for people to be hanged.

 

‘The Heretic’s Daughter’ is an interesting story which you can tell has been researched well, a definite read for anyone with an interest (like me) in the Salem Witch Trials.

 

Rating: 9/10

[Charm]

Excellent review of The Heretic's Daughter Weave

 

I finished it last night and like you found it to be pretty hard hitting and like you say, from a child's point of view, brutal. It did always amaze me how resilient young Sarah was, she adapted quickly to every new situation she was in, right up until the point she was imprisoned. Those prison conditions were just obscene, they way those people were kept was awful, especially since they were innocent!

 

Glad you enjoyed it hun

[Weave]

Excellent review of The Heretic's Daughter Weave

 

I finished it last night and like you found it to be pretty hard hitting and like you say, from a child's point of view, brutal. It did always amaze me how resilient young Sarah was, she adapted quickly to every new situation she was in, right up until the point she was imprisoned. Those prison conditions were just obscene, they way those people were kept was awful, especially since they were innocent!

 

Glad you enjoyed it hun

 

Great point Charm, Sarah was resilient, she had such determination, she was more like her Mother than she realised.

 

Thanks

[lexiepiper]

Great review Paula, I can't wait to read it

[Weave]

Great review Paula, I can't wait to read it

 

Thanks Lexie

[Nicola]

This sounds so good Paula! I've just nipped over to Amazon to buy it

[Weave]

This sounds so good Paula! I've just nipped over to Amazon to buy it

 

Good stuff Nicola its a really good read

[Peacefield]

Wonderful review, Weave! I can't wait to get this one .

[Weave]

Wonderful review, Weave! I can't wait to get this one .

 

Thanks peacefield, I know you will enjoy too hen

[Lilywhite]

And another fantastic review of this book.... well done

[Weave]

Topics About Which I Know Nothing About by Patrick Ness ~ Started: 23.02.10 ~ Finished: 25.02.10

 

 

Synopsis ~

 

Scintillating, surprising, inventive fiction from one of the most talented young writers in Britain - this is a superb collection of new short stories from the acclaimed author of The Crash of Hennington. Have you heard the urban myth about Jesus's double-jointed elbows yet? 100 per cent true. Or seen the latest reports on the 'groomgrabbing' trend - the benevolent kidnapping of badly-dressed children by their well-meaning (and more dapper) elders? Heard the one about the Amazon from the Isle of Man? Or perhaps you'd like a job in telesales, offering self-defence classes over the phone? Don't worry, as long as you meet the weekly quota, you won't be sent to the end of the hall! Wonderfully original, fresh and funny, Topics About Which I Know Nothing is stuffed to the gills with dizzyingly inventive writing and warming, puzzling emotions - a fictional guide to how the world might have turned out.

 

This is Patrick Ness of ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’ and ‘The Ask and Answer’ fame second book, a collection of stories, which are very individual.

 

An interesting collection of stories, an insight into how great a writer Patrick Ness is.

 

Rating: 7/10

[Weave]

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak ~ Started: 25.02.10 ~ Finished: 27.02.10

 

 

Synopsis ~

 

Keep it clean, fellas. Fair fight. Okay. Do it. Don't go down. If you go down, get up. The bell, the fists, the fight. It begins, and the first round is death. The second round is the coffin. The third is the funeral. The Wolfe brothers know how to fight - they've been fighting all their lives. Now there's more at stake than just winning.

 

‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’ tells the story of the Wolfe brothers, Ruben and Cameron, two very different brothers who both have a lot of fight in them, their fight to be understood, their fight to be accepted. Ruben is offered the opportunity to box for money, and Cameron is asked too, they need the money to help their proud parents, who won’t accept help, especially their Dad, so the brothers take the step to box and find out more about themselves, what they mean to each other and their family.

 

I enjoyed ‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’, Markus Zusak describes the Wolfe family brilliantly, you feel like you know them because there are aspects of them that will remind you of someone you know, which is nice to read in a book.

 

Cameron Wolfe is one of my favourite characters, ‘Getting the Girl’ (the sequel to ‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’, which I read first) is the reason why, which I will be reviewing next. There is something about Cameron, for his age, he is good and kind, understanding, he is very much a dark horse but you see his qualities and love him for them.

 

Ruben is also a great character, there is much more to him that meets his eye.

 

A fantastic book, read as soon as humanly possible.

 

Rating: 10/10

[Weave]

Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak ~ Started: 27.02.10 ~ Finished: 28.02.10

 

 

Synopsis ~

 

Cameron Wolfe is the quiet one in his family, not a soccer star like his brother Steve or a charming fighter with a new girl every week like his brother Rube. Cam would give anything to be near one of those girls, to love her and treat her right. He especially likes Rube's latest, Octavia, with her brilliant ideas and bright green eyes. But what woman like that would want a loser like him? Maybe Octavia would, Cam discovers. Maybe he'd even have something to say. And those maybes change everything: winning, loving, losing, the Wolfe brothers, and Cameron himself.

 

‘Getting the Girl’ is the sequel to ‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’ (but both can be read as stand alone books). I read ‘Getting the Girl’ last year and as always, I enjoyed it more the second time around.

 

It’s been a year since ‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’ and things have changed within the Wolfe family, Mr Wolfe is working again following a work related accident, the respected Mrs Wolfe is still cleaning houses and working at the hospital. Ruben has left school and is now an apprentice, Sarah, the boys’ sister is a lot happier in herself and Steve, their eldest brother is still living on his own, working and playing football and Cameron? Well Cameron has met a girl, a girl he wants to be with but unfortunately, Octavia is dating Ruben.

 

As mentioned before I love the character of Cameron and in ‘Getting the Girl’ he really shines, his angst is heartbreaking, his words are beautiful, his actions meaningful and a joy to read, he deals with so much in this book, you want him to succeed.

 

Another great read by Markus Zusak

 

Rating: 10/10