Polka Dot Rock's Books of 2007 [Archive]

Polka Dot Rock

8th January 2007, 16:24

From January 8th to April 22nd (Continuing Blog can be found here (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=76280#post76280))

Alongside this blog, I have also taken up both the Doorstep Challenge (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2831) and the Classic Challenge (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3063) - novels that are part of these are indicated by the corresponding colour (occasionally, a Classic is also a Doorstep, so this noted by an asterix)

Read
Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi (9/10)
Vanity Fair - W.M Thackeray* (8/10)
Wicked - Gregory Maguire (7/10)
The Night Watch - Sarah Waters (8/10)
The Girls - Lori Lansens (9/10)
Restless - William Boyd (3/10)
One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson (10/10)
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (6/10)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon (8/10)
Poppy Shakespeare - Clare Allen (5/10)
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood (8/10)
Disobedience - Naomi Alderman (9/10)
The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney (9/10)

Currently Reading
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

By the Bed
The Book of the City of Ladies - Christine de Pizan (trans. Rosalind Brown Grant)
How Novels Work - John Mullan

TBR
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen
Villette - Charlotte Bronte*
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop - Lewis Buzbee
Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes (trans. Edith Grossmann)*
No Name - Wilkie Collins*
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens*
The Woman Who Walked Into Doors - Roddy Doyle
Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier
Julius - Daphne du Maurier
The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot*
The Crimson Petal and The White - Michel Faber
The Big Fat Bitch Book - Kate Figes
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
Goodbye to Berlin - Christopher Isherwood
Finn Family Moomintroll - Tove Jansson
Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones
The People's Act of Love - James Meek
Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky (trans. Sanda Smith)
Franny & Zooey - J.D Salinger
Anna Karenina - L.N. Tolstoy*

On Order
Watchmen - Alan Moore

Want
Nightwood - Djuna Barnes
Will & Me: How Shakespeare Took Over My Life - Dominic Dromgoole
This Is Not a Love Song - Karen Duve
Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris
Howards End - E.M Forster
The Odd Women - George Gissing
Carter Beats the Devil - Glen David Gold
The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing
Affluenza: How to be Successful and Stay Sane - Oliver James
The Cement Garden - Ian McEwan
Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann
Last Orders - Graham Swift
The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Re-Read
Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter
Wise Children - Angela Carter
Unless - Carol Shields
On Beauty - Zadie Smith
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

Polka Dot Rock

16th January 2007, 17:01

Update: I've posted a review of Vanity Fair in the Review Room :)

SusanMargaret

16th January 2007, 23:36

Purple Poppy

16th January 2007, 23:49

Cold Comfort Farm is brilliant. Full of wit and very funny. Also tongue in cheek!

Gyre

17th January 2007, 07:48

I have a copy of 'Anna Karenina', I think I will add to my TBR pile...:mrgreen:

Polka Dot Rock

25th January 2007, 13:11

Update: I've added to the TBR pile and Want wish list :mrgreen:

JudyB

25th January 2007, 15:49

Oh, I notice you have Madame Bovary on your list. This is the only book of Flaubert's that I have read. Let me know what you think of the book when you have finished. I enjoyed it. The chemist/druggist in the story is a rather humorous and clever fellow.

Yes it's one of those unforgettable stories - the dangers of ennui (be happy with what you have!). I loved it and found it quite a daring book of its time - certainly didn't pull any punches and there are some brilliant scenes in it. Similar novels I've read are The Awakening by Kate Chopin and Therese Raquin by Emile Zola (I think this is my favourite Zola - he doesn't pull any punches either).

Notice that Villette is on the list - I've started and abandoned this but am determined to go back to it when I can give it the attention it deserves - it's supposed to be one of the best of the Bronte novels.

Polka Dot Rock

25th January 2007, 15:55

Ah, I forgot I'd read The Awakening! I'm pretty sure I did an exam question on it too. It was pretty good, from what I recall.

Polka Dot Rock

29th January 2007, 12:37

Update: Finished Wicked, so will try and post a review soon. I've also updated my Want list after reading two fantastic articles last week by Oliver James and Kate Figes, and after getting a couple of recommendations from a friend (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Carter Beats the Devil).

Polka Dot Rock

29th January 2007, 13:13

Just thought of another list...

Books that I'd like find (as I can't figure out where the bloody hell they've disappeared to!) :irked:
Lolita - Vladimir Nabakov
Franny & Zooey - JD Salinger

Lolita's one of my favourite books and I really want to read Franny & Zooey, but I can't for the life of me think where they might be in the house, garage, caravan etc. Grrr.

Polka Dot Rock

30th January 2007, 09:54

Update: I've now posted a Review of Wicked (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=61049#post61049).

Freewheeling Andy

30th January 2007, 14:24

Polka Dot Rock

30th January 2007, 14:28

Ooh good! It was part of a final year course that I didn't do, and I'd never heard of it until my friend mentioned how much she'd enjoyed it on the course. Carter Beats The Devil was on it too, as well as one of my favourite novels, Middlesex.

I know what I'm spending my gift vouchers on!

Freewheeling Andy

30th January 2007, 14:32

It's a big novel, and incredibly rich. The subjects covered, of immigration and separation, of loss and so on, are taken on with very light touch.

Polka Dot Rock

31st January 2007, 11:06

Eh up, the TBR and Want lists are swelling. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing!

I've added The Cement Garden - Ian McEwan and Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann to the Want list. I've fancied reading both for a while: from what I've read about The Cement Garden, it reminds me of How Live Now by Meg Rosoff (which I loved). Apart from the incest part, mind you! (Although they were cousins in How I Live Now...). I watched a TV movie about Jacqueline Susann and I've been intrigued by Valley of the Dolls ever since. I'm thinking of buying it and saving it for a time when I need something desperately trashy! Plus, the cover's fabulous darling: Link anyone for a pill? (http://www.virago.co.uk/virago/display.asp?ISB=1860498876)

Thus far, I'm really enjoying The Night Watch: I'm savouring it and reading it very carefully as I think I might benefit from it later on in the novel.

Polka Dot Rock

7th February 2007, 18:03

I've found Lolita and Franny and Zooey! Hooray! I spent all day sorting out which books can be sold and given away, and there they were. As well Salinger's short-stories collection For Esme - With Love and Squalor, which I forgot I had so that was pleasing. :D

Still really enjoying The Night Watch: the twists in the plot are brilliant, and the ambulance scenes are amazingly depicted. It's so easy to forget how brave the women volunteers were during WWII.

Happily, I'm also loving John Mullan's book. It's so easy to read and accessible. It's a great 'back to basics' that also teaches you alot. And after years of people trying to explain to me what the Perfect Present tense actually is, I finally understood it last night! :lol:

Louiseog

7th February 2007, 18:07

Have finally clicked with Night Watch, Kay is becoming much more interesting isn't she?

Polka Dot Rock

7th February 2007, 18:13

Yes, definitely. I think the 'backwards' narrative is really interesting in her case: do you think she seems to be suffering from Post-Traumatic Shock in the first part?

At what point did you click with it, btw? :)

Louiseog

7th February 2007, 20:51

In 1944!

Polka Dot Rock

14th February 2007, 16:52

I finished The Night Watch last night. Really enjoyed it, definitely one to re-read in the future :) I thought the 'backwards' narrative worked extremely well, actually enriching the story rather than simply being a 'gimmick'. I thought the characters were hugely convincing, and quite endearing. Although, I didn't really warm to Duncan that much: I think he reminded me too much of Billy in Lilies (Fridays BBC1), so I was probably a bit exasperated of following two similar characters at the same time.

Am probably going to start on The Girls tonight, although I did pick up William Boyd's Restless on my lunch break , since it was half price and I had my gift vouchers. I also bought The Crimson Petal & The White (finally).
After being free of Book Need/Greed for a few months, I feel ravenous again! After reading an interview, I really want Stef Penney's The Tenderness of Wolves as it's out in paperback, which surprised me!

Lilywhite

14th February 2007, 20:48

I got The Tenderness of Wolves today as a Valentine's pressie, I've been looking at it for ages but never actually got round to buying it. The story looks so good.

Louiseog

15th February 2007, 10:16

Polka Dot Rock

15th February 2007, 11:13

In this particular case, I do think she wrote the women better than the men. Saying that, I thought Reggie was a really interesting character, as he really could have been a stereotype, but the conclusion gives him more depth and I think you could understand what Viv saw him in.

It was great to read about people that don't get regularly discussed in fiction (such as WWII's civilians and non-combatants) or have largely been ignored in history (until recently), such as gay women. Helen and Julia were really distinctive, individual characters but I liked that Sarah Waters also didn't ignore the mid-20th century 'butchies', like Kay and Mickey, and handled it sensitively and without explanation.

Perhaps the problem with Duncan wasn't so much that the women were written better, but they were more vividly written and had a more interesting narratives...?

Polka Dot Rock

19th February 2007, 18:16

I've been a naughty little scamp this afternoon and ordered from Amazon :mrgreen: So The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Big Fat Bitch Book and The Tenderness of Wolves should be winging their way to me... Soon.

Polka Dot Rock

21st February 2007, 17:34

Er, I went for a walk in my lunchhour and somehow ended up in a large bookshop chain. And bought ANOTHER book. Oops.

But I do want to read it (was looking at it last week), and it's half-price AND I had a £1 voucher left from my gift vouchers. £2.99 = Bargain.

It's Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (trans. Sanda Smith) (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=3836759). There's been a lot of press coverage about it, and it was pretty much unanimously voted as book of the year by the French press and media:

In 1941, Irene Nemirovsky sat down to write a book that would convey the magnitude of what she was living through, not in terms of battles and politicians, but by evoking the domestic lives and personal trials of the ordinary citizens of France. She did not live to see her ambition fulfilled, or to know that sixty-five years later, Suite Francaise would be published for the first time, and hailed as a masterpiece.

Her daughter managed to keep the transcript safe throughout WWII!

Purple Poppy

21st February 2007, 17:43

Sounds good Amy! Think we'll let you off with buying it!

JudyB

21st February 2007, 19:08

Er, I went for a walk in my lunchhour and somehow ended up in a large bookshop chain. And bought ANOTHER book. Oops.

But I do want to read it (was looking at it last week), and it's half-price AND I had a £1 voucher left from my gift vouchers. £2.99 = Bargain.

It's Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (trans. Sanda Smith) (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=3836759). There's been a lot of press coverage about it, and it was pretty much unanimously voted as book of the year by the French press and media:

Her daughter managed to keep the transcript safe throughout WWII!

I was very interested to read this. Last week I was working in the library and someone brought this back - the cover caught my eye and I made a note of the title for future reference. I thought it looked really good - it'll be interesting to read your thoughts on it. I hadn't heard of it before I saw it in the library.

Polka Dot Rock

23rd February 2007, 12:49

Thanks for your comments, PP and Judy :) It's quite high up on my TBR list, so should be (hopefully) reading it soon.

I've updated my list (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=56689&postcount=1) again: just shoved things around and added 'Wants' (yes, more...).

I think my MA offer has subconsciously spurred me on to read a LOT quicker: after September, I won't be able to choose which books to read as I'll have my reading list. Which is exciting, but also a bit scary!

I'm really enjoying The Girls - it's brilliantly written and there are quite a few surprising narrative twists: not something I really expected! Thus far, it's very moving without being sentimental and also inspirational: I don't think I'll ever see photos of conjoined twins and feel sorry for them, like I have done before.

Got a bit behind with How Novels Work, but I imagine I'll be back on to it this weekend.

My Amazon order arrived yesterday (delivered by Parcelnet - thank god!), so I inadvertantly started The Big Fat Bitch Book: I didn't realise it's actually a double sided book! On one side it's The Big Fat Bitch Book for Grown Up Girls, which is where the extracts I've been reading are from, but there's also The Big Fat Bitch Book for Girls which is like a straight-talking advice guide for teenage girls. If it's useful, I might post a thread in the Young People forum room as it could be interesting for some mums :)

Polka Dot Rock

25th February 2007, 13:57

Well I've finished The Girls this morning and it was brilliant. One of my favourite types of novel: incredibly readable yet really thought-provoking. Also quite melancholic in tone and moving without resorting to emotional manipulation.
The voices of 'The Girls' were beautifully done, and although I don't have a 'favourite' of the two, Ruby did really make me laugh sometimes!
I also read it really quickly: I love it when I'm itching to read more of a book (doesn't happen often enough). Hopefully, I can keep my speed up from now on.

I managed to sort my TBR shelf out yesterday, which could look intimidating, but is actually weirdly comforting.

Probably going to start on William Boyd's Restless, either today or tomorrow night. Can't think of an avatar or signature for that tho'. Hmm...

Gyre

26th February 2007, 15:45

I am glad you enjoyed it Amy, I loved it too, it was very heartfelt, how did you feel at the end? x

Polka Dot Rock

26th February 2007, 16:30

I am glad you enjoyed it Amy, I loved it too, it was very heartfelt, how did you feel at the end? x

A bit... lost. I was going to say 'empty' but that would sound like I was disappointed by it, which I wasn't at all. I just felt a bit, "Oh. Oi! Come back! I don't want you to finish yet!"

I'm glad Lansens didn't feel that she needed to have an ending where Rose died and Ruby managed to write a bit about it. That would have been crass and untruthful to the rest of the story! I thought the ending was lovely: really poignant, especially with Rose saying 'enough' to the book and Ruby actually upset about not writing.

Btw, Paula - I'd like to know your opinion about something in the book: The part where Uncle Stash is seen having, er, a 'good time' (:lol: ) with Mrs Merkel, the neighbour. I wasn't sure what to make of it! Especially with the intense relationship between Lovey and Stash. I just found it so odd.

It is a wonderful book!

Polka Dot Rock

28th February 2007, 16:43

And I've done it again: Went out in my lunch hour and ended up in W-*cough*-stones, where they have '3 for 2' on Penguin Classics. Well, I can't resist a lovely new Penguin Classic so I now have:

Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

...nestled onto my TBR shelf. D'oh!

Oh, I'm just thinking of it as celebrating World Book Day. Which isn't an after-thought. Honest :angel_not:

Gyre

28th February 2007, 17:16

I felt the same way too, it was a lovely but sad ending, I was saying, 'no, don't go' but it had to end that way, I kind of hoped that Rose would see her daughter but I knew that would never happen, just like The Girls did, you know?, it was wonderfully written, you could feel their sadness at the end too, they were sorry to say goodbye too.

The whole thing with Mrs Merkel really surprised, because of exactly what you said, his relationship with Lovey, but I could be wrong here but I think the whole thing with Mrs Merkel was them both reaching out for something, its hard to explain, but Mrs Merkel lost her wee boy on the same day as The Girls were born, maybe there was connection between Mrs Merkel and Stash because of this, on some level.

I found the whole story of Mrs Merkel very sad indeed, I felt so bad for her.
I felt bad for the girls too but I didn't feel sympathy for them, I don't mean that in a harsh way, they were both strong, they had learned to live with something that would have some people beat, I like their spirit the most Amy, I thought they were a pair of characters.

I loved the part when Ruby is talking about the 'thalidomide man' and Ruby says, 'I bet he loves getting called that' and I thought, 'me too', how bloody rude. x

JudyB

28th February 2007, 19:12

Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
:angel_not:

Hope you enjoy Madame Bovary it's quite a tale. I really enjoyed it - some of the scenes in it are very memorable.

Liz

28th February 2007, 23:39

Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

I love that book! :D
I have read A Christmas Carol a few times, but Tale of Two Cities is the one that makes me want to read more of his.

Polka Dot Rock

1st March 2007, 09:17

Hey Judy and Liz! :006: Hope you're both fine and dandy. Thanks for commenting :D It's nice to know people are checking my blog!

Hope you enjoy Madame Bovary it's quite a tale. I really enjoyed it - some of the scenes in it are very memorable.

I'm really looking forward to reading it - the Independent are producing a hardback version as part of their Banned Books promotion, but I couldn't resist the lovely Penguin version (http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780140449129,00.html). It's such a gorgeous painting on the cover and it has preface by Michele Roberts. Plus the font is nice and spaced out. (Perhaps worryingly, these things matter to me!).

I love that book! :D
I have read A Christmas Carol a few times, but Tale of Two Cities is the one that makes me want to read more of his.

I love Dickens too. It occurred to me that I haven't actually read that many of his novels: I have David Coppefield sitting and waiting to be read, but I felt I'd get around to Two Cities a lot quicker.

All together now: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

JudyB

1st March 2007, 19:40

I couldn't resist the lovely Penguin version (http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780140449129,00.html). It's such a gorgeous painting on the cover and it has preface by Michele Roberts. Plus the font is nice and spaced out. (Perhaps worryingly, these things matter to me!).

I love Dickens too.

All together now: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

The appearance of a book matters to me as well. My mum bought me Shirley and Villette and both are in an unappealing format (they're both on LibraryThing under TBR) which I think is having something to do with why I haven't read them yet. My personal favourites for classics are Oxford World Classics and Penguin Classics - some of the pictures they use are very relevant.

I'm a big fan of Dickens - have to wait until I have time to read his works as they're usually so lengthy - my personal favourites are Dombey and Son and Bleak House.

Polka Dot Rock

3rd March 2007, 17:43

Well, I finished Restless this morning and I was HUGELY disappointed by it. I started off feeling unsure about it, but as I read on and started skimming more and more, I just realised it was a very poor book.

I'm not keen on thrillers anyway but I thought this would be different, what with the daughter finding out about her mother's history as a spy, but I was just bored by it. It was just pages manouevres and there wasn't enough character or narrative depth for me. There was nothing whatsoever about Eva's motivations to become a spy, which I was looking forward to reading. But it just boiled down to, "Oh bum, my brother's dead and he was spy. I shall take his place. Bye dad!". Surely spies have more emotional and psychological processes than just getting on with it!!

The plot was really predictable as well; I guessed very early on what was going to happen. Which kinda takes the thrill out of a supposed thriller *sigh* There was only one moment at the end that made me think "Oh". But it was a small, quiet, distinctly bored type of "Oh".

A lot of critics said that they preferred Eva's story narrative to her daughter's, but after a while, I was actually relieved to get to Ruth's chapters! I was bored with the colourless spy plot that a bit of domestic hum-drum seemed more exciting!

Moreover, I found the writing extrememly unconvincing: One particular niggle was Ruth's son who was meant to three yet somehow had the vocabularly of a nine-year-old! Everytime he opened his mouth, I had to take a deep breath and count to ten, lol.
More significantly, I just didn't believe that Eva would write her own account in the way that she did: it was waaay too much like a supposed thriller than a autobiographical account of her life as a spy! The sex scenes especially rankled: why would anyone put them in, when they had been writing in a detached, third-person way about themselves?!

I was just throughly bored and frustrated by it, and I can't understand why it's had such glowing reviews. Either I'm missing something, or William Boyd is a popular man on the literary social scene.

And I'm p***ed off I spent £4 on it!!

Polka Dot Rock

3rd March 2007, 17:46

*Phew* Rant over! :)

After being so utterly underwhelmed by the aforementioned book, I've decided to have a brief diversion from my TBR pile, and embark on One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. My mum is a big fan, and I bought her this for Christmas. She started reading it on Thursday and she was so engrossed by it, she finished it this morning! So I could do with a bloody good read after being bored senseless by that book, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Louiseog

3rd March 2007, 19:41

Have you read Case histories because that includes some of the characters.
I liked this book I enjoyed the way it connects eventually.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum is my absolute favourite by her.

JudyB

3rd March 2007, 19:50

I enjoyed Behind the Scenes at the Museum - it's one of those books that have really stood out for me. There's a novel that is very similiar called Stand We At Last by Zoe Fairbairns which is a particular favourite of mine.

Polka Dot Rock

12th March 2007, 13:29

I finished Kate Arkinson's One Good Turn yesterday and I LOVED it: it was wonderful! The writing was fantastic and the characters extremely well developed. Although the 'mystery/crime' element was well done and executed fabulously, I quite often forgot about it as I was so engrossed in the characters - a good thing! I really cared about all the characters, and - surprisingly for a multi-narrative novel - I didn't favour one over the others: they were all brilliant. It must be quite difficult to write third-person narratives that are basically internal monologues, so hats off to Kate Atkinson :) I can understand why this cropped up so much in the critics' favourite books of 2006. Wonderful, wonderful, I highly recommend it!

I started Madame Bovary last night, reading a couple of chapters before bed. Too early to say so far, but I have high hopes.

JudyB

12th March 2007, 20:21

I started Madame Bovary last night, reading a couple of chapters before bed. Too early to say so far, but I have high hopes.

Stick with it - it improves as it goes along and is one of those novels which has memorable scenes in it. It's one of my favourites - sure I'm starting to say this about a lot of books!

I love French literature - have you read any Zola?

Polka Dot Rock

15th March 2007, 10:26

I love French literature - have you read any Zola?

I haven't no, but I want to. I'm trying to expand my 'classics' reading beyond the British Isles. What Zola would you recommend? Are there any other French writers you particularly like?

Speaking of French writers: see my post below...

Polka Dot Rock

15th March 2007, 10:35

Yesterday, I was checking the Guardian Book Blog (as I always do) and I found this interesting blog: What I'm reading: The Book of the City of Ladies (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/03/what_im_reading_the_book_of_th.html).

It sounded really interesting and right down my street named Personal Interest, and as I was a bit down-in-the-dumps yesterday, I decided to treat myself to it :D So I now have The Treasure of the City of Ladies: or the Book of the Three Virtues by Christine de Pizan (http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780140449501,00.html) winging it's way to me very soon.

Sounds fascinating!

(19/03/07) EDIT: Only one problem - the book I ordered was the 'wrong' one! The Treasure of the City of Ladies is actually the sequel to The Book of the City of Ladies :roll: I thought it was a new translation but nooooo... So I've ordered the 'correct' one now! D'oh!

JudyB

15th March 2007, 20:35

What Zola would you recommend? Are there any other French writers you particularly like?

Probably the best known Zola novel is Germinal which incidently was the first of his that I read. My mum encouraged me to read it when I was 16. I then studied it for my degree and that got me reading others. He's actually written a cycle of 20 novels (all the result of first hand experience and research) called the Rougon-Macquart cycle which is based around two families and follows members of those families over time. I've read about five of these (including Germinal). My favourite - because it is actually quite dark and shocking - is not from the cycle and is Therese Raquin.

Reading Madame Bovary encouraged me to try other Flaubert novels but Sentimental Education was nowhere near as compelling as Madame Bovary. If you enjoy MB you may also enjoy The Awakening by Kate Chopin - another novel based around the concept of ennui.

Polka Dot Rock

16th March 2007, 10:30

If you enjoy MB you may also enjoy The Awakening by Kate Chopin - another novel based around the concept of ennui.

I read and studied that for my second year: think I read it in about a day. It's quite melodramatically funny but still made me sad at the end!

Polka Dot Rock

21st March 2007, 10:47

Update on list (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=56689&postcount=1) :readingtwo:

Well, I finished Madame Bovary last night... Not sure what to think about it at the moment. I definitely think it'll be one to re-read in the future.

It didn't particularly 'grab' me but I still kept on reading. I think it may be that I'm quite ambivalent about the 19th century European and American 'realists/modernists'. I studied quite a bit on my American literature course, and a few bits I loved (like Frank Norris' McTeague) but the rest I was quite "meh" about (like Henry James).

I think I could do with reading some critical work on Madame Bovary then re-read it again. I had a similar thing with Wuthering Heights and that's now one of my favourite novels!

Next up... Can't decide between Villette or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay... What's a girl to do?

JudyB

21st March 2007, 18:43

Update on list (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=56689&postcount=1) :readingtwo:

I think I could do with reading some critical work on Madame Bovary then re-read it again. I had a similar thing with Wuthering Heights and that's now one of my favourite novels!

Next up... Can't decide between Villette or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay... What's a girl to do?

I think studying Madame Bovary helped me to appreciate it plus I had to write an assignment about it - there were times when writing an essay about a novel made me really appreciate it. I found the ending of Madame Bovary quite shocking and my assignment drew my attention to the drama of some of the scenes.

I started Villette a couple of months ago, I was really into it and then - through lack of quality reading time - lost my way with it. I would like to finish it at some point.

Polka Dot Rock

21st March 2007, 19:00

I think studying Madame Bovary helped me to appreciate it plus I had to write an assignment about it - there were times when writing an essay about a novel made me really appreciate it.

Yes, I think that's definitely the way for many of the classic books. I'm going to have a nosey for critical stuff...

I found the ending of Madame Bovary quite shocking

So did I! It was very graphic: I thought it'd be more a case of "Oh we can't wake up. She's a funny colour. Oh god, she's dead!" rather than how explicit and stomach churning it really was!

Polka Dot Rock

22nd March 2007, 10:39

I have decided upon The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon :)

Started reading it last night and it's immediately grabbed me. So much so, that I've even brought it to work with me, on the off-chance I might be able to sneak a few pages!

Louiseog

22nd March 2007, 20:10

Title sounds great tell me more!

Polka Dot Rock

23rd March 2007, 09:04

Title sounds great tell me more!

Your wish is my command Louise! :)

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
One night in 1939, Josef Kavalier shuffles into his cousin Sam Clay's cramped New York bedroom, his arduous and nerve-wracking escape from Prague finally achieved - with the help of his mentor, the master illusionist Kornblum. But little does he realise that this uneasy first meeting is the start of an extraordinary friendship and even more fruitful business partnership. For Sam, Joe's formidable artistic skills are a chance to liberate them both from lives as inventory clerks at the Empire Novelties Incorporated Company. Together, they create a comic strip called The Escapist, its superhero a Nazi-busting saviour who liberates the oppressed around the world with his Golden Key. The Escapist makes them their fortune and their name, but, as the situation worsens in Europe, Joe can only think of one thing. How can he effect a real-life escape, and free his family from the tyranny of Hitler? Michael Chabon's exceptional new novel is a thrilling tight-rope walk between high comedy and bitter tragedy, and confirms his position as one of the most inventive and daring of contemporary American writers. In Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay, he has created two unforgettable characters bound together by love, family and cartoons. Their story, which ranges from the heady heights of the American Dream to the desperation and grief of the Second World War, and which journeys from New York and Czechoslovakia to the Arctic Circle, will live on in the mind of every reader long after the final page is turned.

Freewheeling Andy

23rd March 2007, 09:51

As I said somewhere else, I love this book. It's both fun and substantial.

Polka Dot Rock

23rd March 2007, 10:14

It's both fun and substantial.

Y'know: I like that description so much, I might use it as my signature!

Polka Dot Rock

27th March 2007, 14:32

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is the March book for my 'Doorstep Challenge' (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2831&page=2). I've been commenting on it there mostly, so I thought I'd splice my thoughts so far for my blog:

I'm just about halfway through now and I'm really enjoying it. Definitely one of those doorsteps that doesn't feel like a lot to wade through. I polished off a hundred pages on Sunday alone!

The characterisation of Joe and Sam is wonderful, and that's one aspect that's guaranteed to get my interest in a novel. Joe's escape at the beginning was jaw-droppingly amazing (and tense! My nerves were shot).

But I've also decided that this novel is evil: it makes me stay up late to read it! I'm so tired! Just when I think I'm going to finish a chapter and go to sleep, I look for the end of the next and think 'Oh. It's not that long. I'll read another chapter'. Then I repeat the previous behaviour at least five times :roll:

It's a brilliant book to properly start the Doorstep Challenge (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2831) - you just fly through it, yet absorb everything. It reminds me of Middlesex (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Middlesex-Jeffrey-Eugenides/dp/0747561621/ref=sr_1_1/202-5585201-1151049?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175004330&sr=1-1) although they are quite different from one another (although both won the Pulitzer prize!).

Like The Night Watch, it's a different prespective of WWII which I really enjoy reading about: this time, it looks at how Jewish-Americans reacted to what was going on in Europe... although that's only a small (but significant) part of a novel that's thematically rich. Plus it's also about comics (ahem, graphic novels), so that's doubly interesting for me!

Louiseog

27th March 2007, 15:13

Right on wish list, sounds brilliant (not that I need any more ideas about reading!):irked:

Polka Dot Rock

27th March 2007, 15:26

:blush: Sorry Louise!! I can have this affect on people (See: Purple Poppy).

Polka Dot Rock

27th March 2007, 15:42

Forgot to mention this:

I ordered The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan (http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780140446890,00.html) (after buying the sequel by mistake :roll:). It arrived yesterday and I dipped into it last night. Very readable and really interesting!

Christine de Pizan (c.1364-1430) was France's first professional woman of letters. Her pioneering Book of the City of Ladies begins when, feeling frustrated and miserable after reading a male writer's tirade against women, Christine has a dreamlike vision where three virtues - Reason, Rectitude and Justice - appear to correct this view. They instruct her to build an allegorical city in which womankind can be defended against slander, its walls and towers constructed from examples of female achievement both from her own day and the past: ranging from warriors, inventors and scholars to prophetesses, artists and saints. Christine de Pizan's spirited defence of her sex was unique for its direct confrontation of the misogyny of her day, and offers a telling insight into the position of women in medieval culture. The Book of the City of Ladies provides positive images of women, ranging from warriors and inventors, scholars to prophetesses, and artists to saints. The book also offers a fascinating insight into the debates and controversies about the position of women in medieval culture.

There's already a great quote that I want for my signature, so I need to sort that out.

Ooh, and Book Depository (http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/) sent me the new Classics version which I wasn't expecting, so it matches the other one now :) These things make me happy.

I've also updated my reading list (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=56689&postcount=1). Again.

Louiseog

27th March 2007, 17:24

I'm now reading the Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant, this is what Amazon said, and I am gripped

The Birth of Venus is all the more fascinating a historical novel for the author's inability to make up her mind what it is about. Is it a novel about the limited choices available to a woman with talent in Renaissance Florence--marriage or the convent? Or is it a novel about the choices you make to survive in a totalitarian society? As Savonarola takes Florence closer and closer to being an ascetic theocracy, Alessandra, her gay brother and his lover whom she has married for mutual protection find themselves in more and more peril. It could also be a detective story--Allesandra is in love with a painter whose religious mania and fascination with the body makes him a plausible suspect for a series of killings and dismemberments. Some historical novels wear their research too heavily--Dunant's is light, fluent and pacy, but her fascination with the possibilities revealed by research leaves her failing to make choices.

Polka Dot Rock

27th March 2007, 19:57

Ooh I remember looking at that in summer! I'll keep an eye on your progress with it. May be (ANOTHER) one for the TBR pile...

Polka Dot Rock

29th March 2007, 11:41

I'm still whizzing through The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and am now up to page 470: I squeezed in a hundred pages in an hour last night! Firstly, I reached a very tense part of the book (regarding Thomas', Joe's brother, passage to New York. I was too stunned and numb by it all to even consider crying!). Then - I have to say - I found the next part ('Radioman') quite boring, so I employed my champion 'skimming' abilities! It was just a bit cliched, I felt ('Radioman' is the part where Joe has been deployed to Syberia- I think? - after enlisting in the US Army. I'm not a fan of War Lit, so I found this part quite tedious. Despite this, I thought the letter scene at the end was heartbreaking :().

However, I'm still really enjoying this novel :) Can't wait to get back to it!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In other news, Poppy Shakespeare by Clare Allen arrived at my house yesterday, whilst I was at work. Well, I have no idea how that happened! :angel_not: So I'll just view it as a happy accident that will remain a mystery... *cough*

Polka Dot Rock

1st April 2007, 18:52

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Paperback: 656 pages
Publisher: Fourth Estate; New Ed edition (31 Jul 2001)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1841154938
ISBN-13: 978-1841154930

The 'blurb':
One night in 1939, Josef Kavalier shuffles into his cousin Sam Clay's cramped New York bedroom, his arduous and nerve-wracking escape from Prague finally achieved - with the help of his mentor, the master illusionist Kornblum. But little does he realise that this uneasy first meeting is the start of an extraordinary friendship and even more fruitful business partnership. For Sam, Joe's formidable artistic skills are a chance to liberate them both from lives as inventory clerks at the Empire Novelties Incorporated Company. Together, they create a comic strip called The Escapist, its superhero a Nazi-busting saviour who liberates the oppressed around the world with his Golden Key. The Escapist makes them their fortune and their name, but, as the situation worsens in Europe, Joe can only think of one thing. How can he effect a real-life escape, and free his family from the tyranny of Hitler? Michael Chabon's exceptional new novel is a thrilling tight-rope walk between high comedy and bitter tragedy, and confirms his position as one of the most inventive and daring of contemporary American writers. In Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay, he has created two unforgettable characters bound together by love, family and cartoons. Their story, which ranges from the heady heights of the American Dream to the desperation and grief of the Second World War, and which journeys from New York and Czechoslovakia to the Arctic Circle, will live on in the mind of every reader long after the final page is turned.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay was the March book for my 'Doorstep Challenge' (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=2831). It was a brilliant book to properly start it off - you just fly through it, yet absorb everything. Definitely one of those doorsteps that doesn't feel like a lot to wade through. I polished off a hundred pages on one day alone!

The characterisation of Joe and Sam is wonderfully rendered from the start, and that's one aspect that's guaranteed to get my interest in a novel. Joe's escape at the beginning was jaw-droppingly amazing (and tense! My nerves were shot by the time he reached New York).

Like Sarah Waters' recent novel The Night Watch, Kavalier & Clay offers a different perspective of WWII: specifically, it looks at how Jewish-Americans reacted to what was going on in Europe... although this is really only a small (but significant) part of a novel that's thematically rich.

The other contextual backdrop was the burgeoning comic book industry: highly involving and clearly a labour of love on Chabon's part, that never appeared superfluous to the actual narrative of Joe and Sam.
The description of comic strips and their stories were lovingly detailed, so much so that I could visualise the panels myself. When Chabon 'blurred' the two styles, e.g. when the hotel Joe is performing is bombed by his white-supremacist nemesis, I could actually feel the morphing of the graphic story into the actual reality of what was going on. Brilliant!

The 'fantastical' elements of the story that bookended the novel, such as Joe's escape from Prague and his eventual return, actually heightened the sense of humanity and 'down-to-earthiness' of the characters and situations.

I was impressed by the ending, as Chabon clearly decided to take his time so that what happened wasn't rushed, and drew a sense of the inevitable about it.

There was one part of the novel that disappointed me slightly, the section entitled 'Radioman' where Joe has been deployed to Syberia - I think? - after enlisting in the US Army. I'm not a fan of War Lit, so I found this part quite tedious and, to be honest, pretty clichéd. So I had to employ my champion 'skimming' abilities! However, there was a redeeming quality even in this part, at the end, when Joe finally reads Sammy’s letters and discovers what has happened whilst he has been gone, and then attempts his own letter before abandoning it. I thought it was heartbreaking!

Altogether, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a really considered, powerful book that beautifully uses a few characters and the space of a few years to really capture and explore New York during WWII. I thought the characterisation of Joe and Sam was beautiful, especially Sammy, and Joe's realisation at his cousin's 'sacrifice' towards the end of the novel made me cry!

I really enjoyed it, and will probably return to it again, as I feel I could get even more out of it with re-reading.

(Also, it reminded me of Middlesex (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Middlesex-Jeffrey-Eugenides/dp/0747561621/ref=sr_1_1/202-5585201-1151049?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175004330&sr=1-1) by Jeffrey Eugenides which is one of my favourite novels. I think it’s the way that document a particular part of America over a turbulent period/s of history and also look at the European immigrant experience of America. So if you’ve read one but not the other, then I’d heartily recommend both these novels. And both won the Pulitzer Prize!).

8/10

(Started 21/03/2007 - Finished 30/03/2007)

Polka Dot Rock

3rd April 2007, 08:01

Unusually for me, I've ended up reading two books simultaneously: as well as Poppy Shakespeare, I'm also delving into Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

I really enjoy reading Atwood but I never particularly fancied Oryx and Crake. But my mum picked it up from a charity shop a while ago, and I noticed that in this week's Guardian Review, John Mullan is looking at it for April's Book Club. So, I thought I might read along!

I started it last night and am really grabbed by it - managed to consume fifty pages, so that's a good sign.

Meanwhile, I'm not sure what to make of Poppy Shakespeare yet. I'm just about halfway through but I feel as if the plot hasn't really started properly yet. The narrative voice is very strong and well-written, but the (deliberately) mangled English has made me feel quite relieved that I've started another book in clearer prose! I am keeping an open mind about it, tho'!

Renniemist

3rd April 2007, 08:51

Hope you enjoy Oryx and Crake Aimz. It was one of my favourite reads last year.:D

Polka Dot Rock

3rd April 2007, 09:06

Ah, fantastic! Thanks Rennie :)

How are you getting on with Lolita, by the way?

Gyre

3rd April 2007, 09:47

I am reading 'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood after I finish 'The Robber Bride' by the same author (which I am really enjoying).:D

Polka Dot Rock

3rd April 2007, 09:49

I enjoyed The Robber Bride, I read it last year - where are you at in it?

Gyre

3rd April 2007, 10:03

In the middle, x

Renniemist

3rd April 2007, 10:52

Hi PDR I have finished Lolita at last. To me it was a difficult read because of the subject matter, but I did like it. There is so much to take in really. I think I will have to re-read it.:)

Polka Dot Rock

3rd April 2007, 11:02

Rennie - I've just posted on your blog, re: Lolita :)

Polka Dot Rock

9th April 2007, 12:07

(List Update (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=56689&postcount=1))

Well, I had a bumper book reading time this weekend, what with being off work for Easter bank holidays and the sunny weather. I finished both Poppy Shakespeare (Clare Allen) and Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood) on Saturday, then embarked on Disobedience by Naomi Alderman yesterday and I only have 69 pages left!

So I think my thoughts on the aforementioned are due:

Up first, Poppy Shakespeare. Unfortunately, this never took off for me which was a shame as I was really looking forward to reading it. However, I think in this case, it was more to do with me than the novel itself: It was described was a cross between One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a favourite of mine, and Catch 22, which is one of the few books I've ever given up on. It was more the latter, to my mind. I don't think either of these books are badly written, it's just that I don't 'get' the particular satirical humour they use. I think I prefer the humour to be darker. So I'm afraid we were never going to get along!

On the writing itself, there were two major problems for me: firstly, the actual plot seemed to take aaaaggess to begin. The novel was developed from a short story and at times, it felt like it was a short story that had been stretched too far.

This also could have informed the second point that annoyed me, which was the supporting characters. I felt like they were getting in the way of the narrative development as they didn't add anything to that or to N's and Poppy's characters. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest uses it's assorted characters in a much more effective way, either by becoming key characters or by demonstrating some aspect of the mental health institution. I felt that in Poppy Shakespeare, they were just 'gimmicky' and I didn't feel anything towards them at all.

I ended up skimming most of the book, so I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it in the end.
But if you love Catch 22, then I recommend you give this a try :)

Happily, Oryx and Crake was a different experience. I've read quite a bit of Margaret Atwood over the years now, and she's not disappointed me yet. I wasn't sure if I should try Oryx and Crake as I'd heard mixed opinions of it, and Atwood's previous venture into sci-fi/dystopia, The Handmaid's Tale, is one of my favourite novels so I didn't want to be disappointed. But I wasn't at all!

You could see how much research had been invested into the novel, but by using 'arty' Jimmy as the protagonist, it ensured that the science never overwhelmed the plot.

The melancholic tone throughout was wonderfully consistent and appropriate, especially as Jimmy didn't have a wonderful life to begin with. His life seemed quite wasted even before 'what happened'. He was quite an empty person, I found, but strangely likeable so that you cared (or at least wanted to know what happened to him).

Some of the names and brands were a bit silly, but the narrative was so strong that I soon got over that. However, I do think that might cause the novel to date quite quickly - which is always a problem with sci-fi set in the not-too-distant-future anyway.

Overall, I really enjoyed Oryx and Crake: it's beautifully written, which also helps with Atwood's trademark way of being able to create discomfort as the reader is confronted with a sinister and somewhat morally bankrupt 'pre-acoplocalptic' world and its scarily blank aftermath (which, in a weird way, seemed better!).