shirleyz Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) Synopsis (from Amazon) 'I can imagine you at forty,' she said, a hint of malice in her voice. 'I can picture it right now.' He smiled without opening his eyes. 'Go on then.' 15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY. From the author of the massive bestseller STARTER FOR TEN. Review Ok here goes. I know lots of people love this book, I'm read so many fantastic reviews, and maybe I'm missing something but I was less than impressed. I wasn't expecting One Day to be so chick-litty, I have nothing against chick-lit as such but I rarely read it and when I do it's because I want an easy, lazy read, and that means I have to know it's chick-lit first. I found it somewhat predictable, to the point that I was getting frustrated at the length of time it took for the inevitable to happen and of course it did happen, eventually. I suppose it was romantic in a way, the idea of fate, but it's nothing new. I didn't like the characters either. I thought that Dexter was a bit of an idiot honestly, and so self-centred. He took advantage of Emma and I didn't think he was good enough for her. Emma I found kind of smug, not exactly self-assured but at the same time rather self-satisfied, despite her criticisms of herself. Emma did at least grow on me though however I wasn't sad so much as shocked when she had died. I did find the end quite good, and realistic. I thought the emotion of loss was done much better than that of love. I could imagine myself reacting in similar ways to Dexter. The ending really saved this story, and actually I would have liked more of it. 2.5/5 thanks for that Lucy - at last I feel that I'm not the only person in the world who "saw through" the ending to this book... I really cannot understand what all the fuss is about! Edited March 7, 2011 by shirleyz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 Our Tragic Universe- Scarlett Thomas Synopsis (from Amazon) If Kelsey Newman's theory about the end of the time is true, we are all going to live forever. But for Meg - locked in a dead-end relationship and with a deadline looming for a book that she can't write - this thought fills her with dread. Stuck in a labyrinth of her own devising, Meg knows that there must be a way out. And a wild beast living on the Devonshire moors, a ship in a bottle, the science of time and a knitting pattern for the shape of the universe all have a crucial part to play in Meg's release. Review I don't know why I am always surprised at how strange Scarlett Thomas noves are, you would think that after reading two, and thinking the synopsis of a third makes it sound like it too will be strange would lead me to expect it, but apparently not. In some ways Our Tragic Universe is more normal than The End of Mr Y, in some other ways it's more strange. As with Pop Co. there is a little more sense of reality in Our Tragic Universe, the majority of what happens is pretty normal stuff that you could expect from general fiction, relationships, work, you know pretty everyday stuff- and that's not really something I expect much from Scarlett Thomas. There are some strange happenings but they are explained away, more or less. Really what was strange about this book was that it didn't really have a plot, sure stuff happened but nothing was really resolved, I suppose you could say it was like real life in that sense. Thinking on it though I think maybe Scarlett Thomas was trying to make a point, I felt the same about P'op Co. and I am beggining to think it may be a similar theme throughout her novels, it makes me want to re-read The End of Mr Y to see if there might be some message that I missed first time. In Our Tragic Universe the over riding message seems to be about the process of writing, there were a number of times when I felt that Meg may actually be Scarlett, the way she made points about what she wanted her writing to be- but how she struggled with that. There was a lot of content about storyless stories, which is what Our Tragic Universe seemed to be itself, but it also talked about how can a story be storyless, and in some ways Our Tragic Universe did have plot points, just not a real overriding plot. I'm still not entirely sure what I thought of it, I thinki I liked it, but maybe I just liked how it got me trying to puzzle it out, rather than liking the book itself. Has anyone else out there read this? I've never seen another review and I'd like to see other takes on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 thanks for that Lucy - at last I feel that I'm not the only person in the world who "saw through" the ending to this book... I really cannot understand what all the fuss is about! lol I'm glad I'm not the only one. I really do not see why so many people love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Magyk- Angie Sage This book is the first in the Septimus Heap series Synopsis (from Amazon) A baby girl is rescued from a snowy path in the woods. A baby boy is stillborn. A young Queen is taken ill. An ExtraOrdinary Wizard mysteriously resigns from his post. And all on the same night. A string of events, seemingly unconnected, begins to converge ten years later, when the Heap family receive a knock at the door. The evil Necromancer DomDaniel is plotting his comeback and a Major Obstacle resides in the Heap family. Life as they know is about to change, and the most fantastically fast-paced adventure of confused identities, magyk and mayhem, begin. Review I was given this book by a fellow Harry Potter fan who described it as the new series he was addicted too. It's taken me a while to get round to actually reading it, partly because despite some of my favourite books being fantasy I'm not a big reader of fantasy as a whole, and partly because I didn't want to compare Magyk to Harry Potter, because I knew it would be pretty hard to meet up. Luckily to compare the two would be quite difficult, apart from tragic beginnings, and similar aged main characters the two have very little in common. Plot wise there were some pretty good ideas going on but, partly because of the way Magyk was written I did find it very predictable, the main twist is given away because of some bad decision making- which may be on part of the publishers rather than Sage herself. I must admit a fair bit of the plot didn' seem particully original either, partly because I think Sage had used myths to do with magic- which is probably a good thing, and partly because it was predictable. There were some really good ideas though, I particully liked the dragon ring and it's surrounding storyline. I will read the rest in ther series, because I dislike leaving a series unfinished but I wouldn't activelly seek them out. 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I loved 'Magyk', and have read the entire series to date. This first one is a tad predictable at times, but although Angie Sage continues to dip into legends and myths in her later Septimus books, you should find more original ideas and plotlines. I recently took my series over to my 75 year old Mum and she has just flown though them, so much so she is really annoyed that the next one isn't due out until October! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 I'm glad to hear there are more original ideas in the next one Chrissy, my boyfriend has it so I will probably be borrowing it from him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 First Among Sequels- Jasper Fforde Synopsis (from Amazon) Thursday Next is back. And this time it's personal . . . Officially, Literary Detective Thursday Next is off the case. Once a key figure in the BookWorld police force, she is concentrating on her duties as a wife and mother. Or so her husband thinks . . . Unofficially, Thursday is working as hard as ever - and in this world of dangerously short attention spans, there's no rest for the literate. Can Thursday stop Pride and Prejudice being turned into a vote-em-off reality book? Who killed Sherlock Holmes? And will Thursday get her teenage son out of bed in time for him to save the world? Review I must admit to start off with I wasn't especially impressed with First Among Sequels when compared to other books in the Thursday Next series, it seemed pretty slow to get going and it felt like more of an artificial sequel than the others had. It felt a bit like it had been written for the sake of writing another rather than because the series lent itself to a further book after Something Rotten. Having said that we did know that books would be written about Thursday at the end of Something Rotten and the idea of a fictional Thursday is a little too intriguing to pass by. The different Thursdays were very well done too, it created so much comedy, especially when the two fictional Thursdays were so different from each other. There were some very clever parts of this book too I especially liked when I thought the 'real' Thursday had won only to find out that the voice we presumed to be Thursday was Thursday 1-4, but then actually found that Thursday had planned for that all along! In fact I really liked all the playing round with the different Thursday's identities. By the end it did actually feel more like a series book than the others, because it definitely lends itself to there being a further book. I now understand why Jasper Fforde said that One of Our Thursdays is Missing is the first sequel that is really a sequel, and I can't wait to get started on it, In retrospect First Among Sequels could actually be my favourite Thursday book. 4.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) One of Our Thursdays is Missing- Jasper Fforde Synopsis (from Amazon) It is a time of unrest in the BookWorld. Only the diplomatic skills of ace literary detective Thursday Next can avert a devastating genre war. But a week before the peace talks, Thursday vanishes. Has she simply returned home to the RealWorld or is this something more sinister? All is not yet lost. Living at the quiet end of speculative fiction is the written Thursday Next, eager to prove herself worthy of her illustrious namesake. The fictional Thursday is soon hot on the trail of her factual alter-ego, and quickly stumbles upon a plot so fiendish that it threatens the very BookWorld itself. Review For the purposes of this review Thursday refers to the real life Thursday Next, Thursday refers to the written Thursday Next. I found One of our Thursdays is Missing quite different from the other books in the Thursday Next series, not least because you could tell it was written Thursday who was speaking. Although the tone was similar the way in which Thursday approached things was markedly different to that of Thursday. Partly because of this I found the One of Our Thursdays is Missing was a little slow to start, however I did also find this about First Among Sequels so it may just be the pattern the series is taking, certainly in both there was more that needed to be explained, Having said that having Thursday speaking made a big difference which somewhat slowed down the plot I did like the new Thursday. She was much more pondering and less action focussed than Thursday and it felt like she was discovering things along with the reader rather than leaving them puzzling. I suppose that could be a bad thing but at points she left little tantalising details which suggested that she knew more, I liked that because it made her seem more like a written person, like she was trying to make a narrative, and it kept me interested to find out what she knew. There were a lot of things I did love about this book. I loved how where before there had been references to novels now there were references to writing, I especially liked when the characters got lost because of lack of references to who was speaking! I loved Thursday, she was like a softer version of Thursday and it was nice to have a little change, even if it meant the book was more pondering. I loved learning a bit more about the book world, about the politics, about how in joined up and how different areas interacted with each other, supported by the rather intriguing map at the beginning and the quotes from Bradshaw's Guide to the Bookworld. There was less about the real world too, I always preferred the Bookworld side of the storyline so I liked that. Plus where the real world was included in the story I found it really interesting to see it from a fiction point of view. Again the end seems to lead on to another Thursday Next novel which makes it seem more series like than it once was. In ways I don't like that, it somehow makes Thursday Next seem more commercial, but I won't complain about there being more to come! As a side note the acknowledgements are well worth the read (I was on the bus when I finished, it's not usually a section I read). There is a section about what happened while Fforde was writing One of Our Thursdays is Missing which is rather entertaining and makes me like him even more (and no, not just because he's a fellow mac user!) 4.5/5 Edited March 31, 2011 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 A Wild Sheep Chase- Haruki Murakami Synopsis (from Amazon) His life was like his recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that, when uncovered, they improve sex a thousand-fold, a runaway friend, a right-wing politician, an ovine-obsessed professor and a manic-depressive in a sheep outfit, implicate them in a hunt for a sheep, that may or may not be running the world, and the upshot is another singular masterpiece from Japan's finest novelist. Review I was really looking forward too reading another Murakami but it really took me a long time to get into this one. It felt very normal and that's not what I've come to expect from Murakami, I was looking forward to some surrealism. For a long time it felt like a pretty standard mystery, maybe to sheep business felt a bit strange but it didn't really feel like a sheep hunt most of the way through- I would have expected to find sheep. It did get more towards what I would call Murakami's style, and I came to like this end, it felt a bit like a crazy, fast dream, but I felt like that was how the majority of the book should feel when really it was a majority. I think it says a lot that it took me over a week to get through a 300 page book. That's slow reading for me. So not the best Murakami I've ever read, but the end saves it. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 I Am Number Four- Pittacus Lore This was by book recommended by a loved one for the Take a Chance Challenge. My wonderful boyfriend lent it to me. Synopsis (from Amazon) John Smith is not your average teenager. He regularly moves from small town to small town. He changes his name and identity. He does not put down roots. He cannot tell anyone who or what he really is. If he stops moving those who hunt him will find and kill him. But you can’t run forever. So when he stops in Paradise, Ohio, John decides to try and settle down. To fit in. And for the first time he makes some real friends. People he cares about – and who care about him. Never in John’s short life has there been space for friendship, or even love. But it’s just a matter of time before John’s secret is revealed. He was once one of nine. Three of them have been killed. John is Number Four. He knows that he is next . . . Review Right from the start this book was predictable, I could have predicted what happened at the end right from the onset, although I couldn't have predicted how we got there I could predict almost everything before I got to it. It was just so formulaic. It felt as if it was put together by a team trying to decide what teenagers would most like. After all (sorry to break it to you guys) Pittacus Lore is not just one person, but a collaboration between James Frey and Jobie Hughes (hmm where have we seen James Frey lying before?). Okay maybe I am being a bit harsh, it was enjoyable enough, and an easy read, I pretty much read it in two days. The predictability reduced the excitement quite a bit, but I liked the characters enough to find the end moving, and I will probably read the next one, although I won't rush out to buy it when it comes out. All in all there are better, more exciting fantasy stories but if you are after an easy read with a bit of bite you can't go wrong with this one 3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Sarah's Key- Tatiana de Rosnay Synopsis (from Amazon) Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old Jewish girl, is arrested by the French police in the middle of the night, along with her mother and father. Desperate to protect her younger brother, she locks him in a cupboard and promises to come back for him as soon as she can. Paris, May 2002: Julia Jarmond, an American journalist, is asked to write about the 60th anniversary of the Vel' d'Hiv'--the infamous day in 1942 when French police rounded up thousands of Jewish men, women and children, in order to send them to concentration camps. Sarah's Key is the poignant story of two families, forever linked and haunted by one of the darkest days in France's past. In this emotionally intense, page-turning novel, Tatiana de Rosnay reveals the guilt brought on by long-buried secrets and the damage that the truth can inflict when they finally come unravelled. Review It is very true that little is told about the German occupation of France during the second world war, until I read Sarah's Key I had never heard of the Vel' d'Hiv and knew next to nothing about the German occupation of France (in fact it is sad to say that most of what I knew came from watching 'Allo 'Allo, which I am sure is very historically accurate!). I have read a lot of novels set around the world wars but I haven't come accross one set in France in the second world war before. I'm not sure if this is because they are rare or just that I happen not to have come accross them. Sarah's Key has certainly piqued my interest to read more about France during this time, it's been a long time since I've read a work of historical fiction that has done that, and I would love some recommendations if any of you guys can think of another book like Sarah's Key. I feel I am going off on a tangent a little. Sarah's Key was beutiful, heart wenching, at times it was so sad I did not want to keep reading, but I did, I had to, and I'm glad I did. I loved Sarah. I loved her strenght and determination. Seeing how she changed was so sad, no child should have to grow up that fast, but I think it was done well, I felt it shouldn't have happened but in a way it gave a sense of hope. I didn't like Julia's side of the story so much but it was good to see how people looked back at that period of time and it broke up the sadness a little which made the book easier to read. Some parts of Julia's story I found unnecersary such as the whole pregnancy and the problems that caused, it felt almost like adding a chunck of chick-lit into a serious book. Other bits I found unbelievable, I could see her going to America to chase down Sarah, especially as she had family there anyway, but her going to Italy to find Sarah's son seemed a little far fetched. The ending kind of spoiled the book for me too, it made it kind of cliched, with Julia naming her child after Sarah (which was not only cliched but also kind of predictable). I was at least glad that she didn't end up with Sarah's son but the suggestion was there. 4.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Flyte- Angie Sage Synopsis (from Amazon) The evil necromancer DomDaniel has been disposed of, but something Darke is stirring. A Shadow pursues ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand around, following her every move, growing stronger every day. Septimus senses something sinister is afoot, but before he can act, Jenna is snatched – taken by the most unlikely kidnapper. Septimus must rescue his sister but does not, at first, realise what he will be facing. “”Flyte” is the second of Angie Sage’s engaging and energetic novels about Septimus Heap…We can’t get enough. More, please!” – “The Times” Review My memory is a little rusty on this one. I finished it over the weekend and I usually write my review the same or next day but haven’t been able to do that this time. As with the last Septimus Heap book I wasn’t bowled over with the writing style, although the standard stayed the same all the way through where it had got better by the end of Magyk. I did find myself a little more compelled to read this one too and it got going quicker, although it still took too long. 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism- Natasha Walter Synopsis (from Amazon) Empowerment, liberation, choice. Once the watchwords of feminism, these terms have now been co-opted by a society that sells women an airbrushed, highly sexualised and increasingly narrow vision of femininity. While the opportunities available to women may have expanded, the ambitions of many young girls are in reality limited by a culture that sees women's sexual allure as their only passport to success. At the same time we are encouraged to believe that the inequality we observe all around us is born of innate biological differences rather than social factors. Drawing on a wealth of research and personal interviews, Natasha Walter, author of the groundbreaking THE NEW FEMINISM and one of Britain's most incisive cultural commentators, gives us a straight-talking, passionate and important book that makes us look afresh at women and girls, at sexism and femininity, today. Review I wouldn't call myself a femanist, that's not to say I don't want rights for women (I mean which woman wouldn't?), or that I wouldn't fight if my own rights were threatened, but I probably wouldn't got out of my way to fight for women's rights in general, this book did get me thinking though. I would never say that women get equal rights to men, I don't think you can when you live in a country where a woman can't be heir to the throne unless she has no brothers. In fact I'm surprised that that fact wasn't mentioned in Living Dolls as it did talk about women getting equal rights in work, if one of the most well known positions cannot easily be held by a woman then what hope is there for the rest of us. In a way the book is a little depressing because it points out how far we still have to go, and even suggests that we have gone back on what we had previously achieved. I found it very emotive, especially when reading about how young girls are trained to be the stereotypical homemaker woman, and to expect to be that before they are even old enough to think that isn't right. I enjoyed reading the parts about science and statistics that showed how the popular view is not necersarily the right one, or even the one with the most evidence behind it. I did find that Walter stayed on this point a little too long and it began to feel a little over top, and very one sided. There were a few other bits I was unsure of as well. Walter seemed to me to suggest in some points that women who didn't choose to exercise their freedoms (e.g. by choosing to stay at home, or choosing to settle down with one man) were somehow worth less as femenists, she did put a few times that she wasn't saying that but it still felt to me a little like she was, just that she didn't want to offend anybody. I also disliked the cover, it made me feel embarressed to read out and about (and that's when I do most of my reading) although I can certainly say that it is attention grabbing. Overall though it really made me think, and I do think that every woman should read it, whether you count yourself as a feminist or not 4.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Living Dolls sounds interesting Lucy, not sure I agree that girls are trained to be the stereotypical home maker though most girls these days will have mothers who go out to work & so they're more likely to follow their example. I actually think that being a stay at home Mum or housewife whatever you want to call it is a job that is very much undervalued by our society. Great review though & I'm definitely going to look out for it:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 It's talking about how toys aimed at girls are aimed that way (one example she gives is a toy iron marketed as 'Mummy and Me') Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 I Am Number Four- Pittacus Lore This was by book recommended by a loved one for the Take a Chance Challenge. My wonderful boyfriend lent it to me. Synopsis (from Amazon) John Smith is not your average teenager. He regularly moves from small town to small town. He changes his name and identity. He does not put down roots. He cannot tell anyone who or what he really is. If he stops moving those who hunt him will find and kill him. But you can’t run forever. So when he stops in Paradise, Ohio, John decides to try and settle down. To fit in. And for the first time he makes some real friends. People he cares about – and who care about him. Never in John’s short life has there been space for friendship, or even love. But it’s just a matter of time before John’s secret is revealed. He was once one of nine. Three of them have been killed. John is Number Four. He knows that he is next . . . Review Right from the start this book was predictable, I could have predicted what happened at the end right from the onset, although I couldn't have predicted how we got there I could predict almost everything before I got to it. It was just so formulaic. It felt as if it was put together by a team trying to decide what teenagers would most like. After all (sorry to break it to you guys) Pittacus Lore is not just one person, but a collaboration between James Frey and Jobie Hughes (hmm where have we seen James Frey lying before?). Okay maybe I am being a bit harsh, it was enjoyable enough, and an easy read, I pretty much read it in two days. The predictability reduced the excitement quite a bit, but I liked the characters enough to find the end moving, and I will probably read the next one, although I won't rush out to buy it when it comes out. All in all there are better, more exciting fantasy stories but if you are after an easy read with a bit of bite you can't go wrong with this one 3/4 Great review Lucy, I felt the same way about the book and thank you! I couldn't remember the other person's name who makes up the funny little bundle called 'Pittacus Lore', I remembered James Frey A Wild Sheep Chase- Haruki Murakami Synopsis (from Amazon) His life was like his recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that, when uncovered, they improve sex a thousand-fold, a runaway friend, a right-wing politician, an ovine-obsessed professor and a manic-depressive in a sheep outfit, implicate them in a hunt for a sheep, that may or may not be running the world, and the upshot is another singular masterpiece from Japan's finest novelist. Review I was really looking forward too reading another Murakami but it really took me a long time to get into this one. It felt very normal and that's not what I've come to expect from Murakami, I was looking forward to some surrealism. For a long time it felt like a pretty standard mystery, maybe to sheep business felt a bit strange but it didn't really feel like a sheep hunt most of the way through- I would have expected to find sheep. It did get more towards what I would call Murakami's style, and I came to like this end, it felt a bit like a crazy, fast dream, but I felt like that was how the majority of the book should feel when really it was a majority. I think it says a lot that it took me over a week to get through a 300 page book. That's slow reading for me. So not the best Murakami I've ever read, but the end saves it. 4/5 Great review Lucy, I enjoyed it too, tell me did you like the Sheepman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 It's talking about how toys aimed at girls are aimed that way (one example she gives is a toy iron marketed as 'Mummy and Me') [/quote Oh I see what you mean. It made me laugh though as my hubby does most of the ironing, he's much better at shirts than me or at least thats what I tell him:mrgreen: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 Great review Lucy, I felt the same way about the book and thank you! I couldn't remember the other person's name who makes up the funny little bundle called 'Pittacus Lore', I remembered James Frey Great review Lucy, I enjoyed it too, tell me did you like the Sheepman? Thanks. I did like the sheepman, he was strange but I like that, I can't say I was entirely sure what to think about him though Oh I see what you mean. It made me laugh though as my hubby does most of the ironing, he's much better at shirts than me or at least thats what I tell him:mrgreen: lol me and the boyfriend have a deal that when we get married he will do all the ironing and I will do all the hoovering because he hates the hoover and I am awful at ironing (and consequently hate doing it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Pigeon English- Stephen Kelman Synopsis (from Amazon) Newly arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister, eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku lives on the ninth floor of a block of flats on an inner-city housing estate. The second best runner in the whole of Year 7, Harri races through his new life in his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen - blissfully unaware of the very real threat all around him. With equal fascination for the local gang - the Dell Farm Crew - and the pigeon who visits his balcony, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of his new life in England: watching, listening, and learning the tricks of urban survival. But when a boy is knifed to death on the high street and a police appeal for witnesses draws only silence, Harri decides to start a murder investigation of his own. In doing so, he unwittingly endangers the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to try and keep them safe. A story of innocence and experience, hope and harsh reality, Pigeon English is a spellbinding portrayal of a boy balancing on the edge of manhood and of the forces around him that try to shape the way he falls. Review When I read the Waterstone's 11 extract for this I was really excited, the first section with the dead boy was moving but believable, Harri didn't really know the boy, and was equally sorrowful about the death and intrigued. I must admit though that in some sense the extract and the blurb for Pigeon Englishwere misleading. I expected it to be more about the dead boy, but really it was more about life on an inner-city housing estate and learning about a new culture. That's not really a bad thing, and actually I think I prefer it that way. In some ways there was a disturbing element to this story, that a boy of such innocence could be influenced in some of the ways Harri was, and could just walk into trouble when really he sees what he is doing as a game. I work in a nursery in an area similar to the one in which Harri lives, and it kind of hit close to home and it makes me hope that things will have changed by the time the kids I work with grow up, I don't want them to end up in some of the troubles that happen in the area. I found the voice of Harri was really authentic but after a while I did find him a little irritating, especially him constantly saying 'Asweh', after a while though I was able to ignore my annoyance as I got more into the actual story. In some ways the way he talked was important to the story, it showed how innocent and naive he really was, and I think that was important, I think I would have just thought he was an idiot if his voice hadn't been naive, but instead I was wishing for him to talk to someone older about things. The end was absolutely heartbreaking, and brought me close to tears, that's when I knew I had really come to like Harri. Was it worth my excitement? Not really but it's still and thought provoking read and well worth the time. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman Synopsis (from Amazon) Winner of the Newbery Medal When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him - after all, he is the last remaining member of the family. A stunningly original novel deftly constructed over eight chapters, featuring every second year of Bod's life, from babyhood to adolescence. Will Bod survive to be a man? Review I've only ever read one book by Neil Gaiman before, Coraline, and I enjoyed it enough to want to read more but somehow never got around to it, despite loving the film Stardust and wanting to read the book. I did start listening to The Graveyard Book on Neil Gaiman's website once, but I have low concentration for audiobooks and the sound wasn't too good (possibly because of the recording quality, possibly because my old laptop didn't have the greatest speakers). All in all the graveyard book has been on my wishlist for about five years. I do kind of wish I had read The Graveyard Book when I was younger, when I read Coraline I found parts were actually scary, and I may have found this the same if I read it when I was younger, some parts were creepy but not actually scary. The atmosphere was built really well, you get an amazing sense of what the graveyard was like, both for someone who was comfortable there, and for someone who was not. I must admit that I didn't like the action parts as much as the rest, Neil Gaiman builds atmosphere really well but the action seemed a little rushed and not especially exciting, in parts it was even a little predictable. I did enjoy it in all, and will probably look out for more Neil Gaiman in the future, but maybe I will try his adult novels next time. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Great review, Lucybird. I plan on reading this one soon as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman 4/5 Great review Lucy, glad you enjoyed it. I thought it was a lovely little read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty- Sebastian Barry Synopsis (from Amazon) Following the end of the First World War, Eneas McNulty joins the British-led Royal Irish Constabulary. With all those around him becoming soldiers of a different kind, however, it proves to be the defining decision of his life when, having witnessed the murder of a fellow RIC policeman, he is wrongly accused of identifying the executioners. With a sentence of death passed over him he is forced to flee Sligo, his friends, family and beloved girl, Viv. What follows is the story of this flight, his subsequent wanderings, and the haunting pull of home that always afflicts him. Tender, witty, troubling and tragic, The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty tells the secret history of a lost man. Review I really enjoyed The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry and the small mentions of Eneas McNulty within that story had me intregued. When I found out that there was a book about Eneas I was quite excited to read it. Unfortunately I found The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty didn't meet up to my expectations. It didn't have half the draw of The Secret Scripture and even the parts that I did find interesting were far too brief. There were enough interesting bits to keep me going right to the end of the book but by the end I was mainly just waiting to finish the story. There were many elements that could have been exciting or moving but they just didn't quite meet up. I did find some sections moving but they were over all too briefly. I found the writing a little inconsistent, at the beginning it was written as if Eneas himself was speaking- although it was written in the third person, it was a pretty stereotypical Irish voice, but after a while it became less Irish and it seemed less like it was Eneas speaking. I still found the bits about Roseanne (the protagonist of The Secret Scripture) intriguing, so I might have been somewhat interested in reading The Secret Scripture if I had read The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty first but I think based on my enjoyment of this book I wouldn't have actually read it. 2/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 (edited) The House at Riverton- Kate Morton Synopsis (from Amazon) Summer 1924: On the eve of a glittering Society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long-consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could. A thrilling mystery and a compelling love story, The House at Riverton will appeal to readers of Ian McEwan's Atonement, L.P. Hartley's The Go-Between, and lovers of the film Gosford Park. Review I remember seeing The House at Riverton around a lot when it was first released, I picked it up a few times to look at but always found something I was more sure about to actually buy. I was interested in the story but it sounded a bit more like something my Mum would buy than me (our taste does overlap somewhat, and it means I often look at books which might actually be more up her alley than mine). It wasn't until I read and enjoyed The Forgotten Garden (also by Kate Morton) that I actually added the House at Riverton to my wishlist, and it's taken me two years to actually read it (due to my habit of buying books I spot in the shop rather than books that are already on my wishlist). Part of me does wish I had read The House at Riverton when I first saw it, although maybe my approach would have been less positive then. I did enjoy it very much and it kept me guessing right up to the end, at one point I thought I had the end figured out but then it twisted away from me- I was all ready to write a review saying that it was enjoyable and mysterious but turned out to be a little predictable! I think it was quite clever how Morton made the reader think they had everything figured out only to snatch t from them at the very last minute. It's a little difficult to review without giving the game away but I think it was quite romantic, although not in the way of a traditional romantic novel. I liked seeing the different types of romances and how they contrasted with each other. I liked the way Grace's own romance seemed very simple but seemed somehow like the most deserved and ultimately the most successful. Hannah and Robbie's romance might have been more like 'movie love', against the odds and star-crossed, but it was interesting to see how dramatic love is not necessarily the best kind. As far as the characters went I really liked Grace, maybe simply because she was such and honest storyteller and was the character we got to know best, but I admired Hannah up to a point and I would have liked to know more about Emmeline. I wouldn't call The House at Riverton a literary great but I enjoyed it, and it was an easy but engaging read. 4.5/5 Great review, Lucybird. I plan on reading this one soon as well. I hope you enjoy it too Kylie Edited May 23, 2011 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Really great review, Lucybird. I, too, remember hearing a lot about it when it first came out, but for some reason never actually got around to reading it. I shall add it to my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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