lunababymoonchild

Laszlo Krasznahorkai, A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East Another one that's difficult to review. It's a short book, some 130 pages long, and describes a Buddhist Monastery and its surrounding area. And that's pretty much it. There is no story to speak of, nothing much happens, and it might be a study in something symbolic for all I know - I'm not good at reading symbols in creative writing. The prose is lyrical in some parts, and despite the lack of story, I was absolutely captivated. I also learned a lot. Krasznahorkai is one of my favourite authors, so I'm probably biased. I would recommend this, since it's short. But it will stretch you.

Heartbeats, Björn Borg It’s difficult for me to write about this book. I’ve let it sit with me for a while to see what I can make of it, and I’m no closer to a resolution. For those who don't know, Björn Borg was a professional tennis player and is a childhood hero of mine. Björn Borg dictated this book to his (third) wife, Patricia, and it took three years. He doesn’t say if he dictated it in English. His whole life is here, from his childhood to the present day. And yet, I’m no closer to understanding the man he is. It’s all so dispassionate and lacking in feeling, as he appeared when he played. It’s also, in my opinion, surprisingly short for a biography of a man who travelled the world as an elite athlete. He has certainly lived a full life, but I got confused more than once. He stated several times that he was uncomfortable in crowds, yet he spends a lot of time remembering partying with his many friends. He also states that he can’t stand to be alone and always had a girlfriend (or two) so that he didn’t get lonely. He makes much of his discomfort at being the centre of attention and positively hated being subjected to press and fan attention when he was at Wimbledon – he was as famous for this as he was for his unbelievable tennis talent. He was the first man to win Wimbledon five times in a row, and he did it with the old-fashioned, nowadays, wooden racquet and only his coach. In today’s game, players have a whole team to help them, and bigger racquets. He lost to John McEnroe in the final, bidding to win for the sixth time in a row, and not long after that, at the age of 26, he retired from competitive tennis. A great deal happened to him after that, but it’s all related without any emotion. It’s very difficult to describe. One for the fans, I think.

The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides

A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, Laszlo Krasznahorkai. Brilliant!

Good suggestions @Hayley. I’m entering my current read : A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, by Laszlo Krasznahorkai for this category. The title fits, the cover fits and the story contains much in the way of description of the natural world. This was not my intention when I chose this to read. Krasznahorkai is a favourite author of mine and I like to read him once a year, I just happened to have this one, and it’s short.

And now, A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, Laszlo Krasznahorkai

I thought they’d rip your arms off to christen your son too. My mother took us to church when we were small, I was six, my brother three. My father refused to go. There was what we called Sunday School then where the children were taken out of the main church and taught Christian things in an adjoining hall. This was more than fifty years ago and I haven’t been back since (I refused to go when I was six, on the grounds that my daddy didn’t go so I didn’t have to. I hated it) so don’t know if that’s done today - with all the child abuse allegations I’d be surprised if that practice continued. I did go to Chapel for a friend’s wedding around twenty years later and a baby there was allowed to scream through the whole service (I would have taken the baby out. It appeared that I was the only one who was irritated by that). As an adult I would not be prepared to let my child out of my sight while at church, so there’s that too. I wonder if it would be prudent to wait until Adrian is a little older and better able to refrain from crying all the time to attend church on a regular basis. Or read him some stories/watch a tv programme on the subject to get him familiar with a church atmosphere, or visit when there isn’t a service. He obviously didn’t feel comfortable and that’s why he cried.

Last Christmas - Wham

Reading Heartbeats, Bjorn Borg

Empire of the Vampire, Jay Kristoff This is the first book in a trilogy and at 725 pages is absolutely epic. It is also a different take on vampires. The story begins with a man, introduced as a murderer, who is being held against his will in a castle and is certain to die. His jailer, who claims to be a historian, has been sent by a superior to document the captive's life story. The purported reason for this is to discover what happened to the Holy Grail. It quickly becomes apparent that both characters are vampires, but of different kinds and on opposing sides. The prisoner is aligned with good, while the vampire historian is on the side of evil. As the narrative unfolds—told in a non-linear fashion—we learn about various types of vampires and the fate of the Holy Grail, more or less. The writing is excellent, and the characters are believable, provided you are open to the existence of vampires. The plotting is excellent. There is some swearing and profanity, but it doesn’t get in the way of the characters or the story, and there is also criticism of the Christian-like religion that those, like the prisoner, follow. The book also has illustrations in it, specifically, drawings If you like epic and long stories, if you like vampires, if you don’t mind swearing (which is in keeping with the story), and can take a little criticism of the Christian-like religion, this is for you. I loved it! Highly recommended.

Just ordered Heartbeats, the autobiography of Bjorn Borg. A childhood hero of mine, I’m very much looking forward to reading it.

I’m sorry to hear that. I hope that you’ll consider the next category in the new year.

I read this year and loved it.

Moby Dick? As mentioned, I read James Herriot as a teen and he had me laughing out loud. Animal Farm? Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson?

Why not? I have a Tarka the Otter omnibus and a James Herriot omnibus that I have my eye on - and no, that’s not why I chose the category 🙂 I read James Herriot as a teenager. They will have to go some to beat The Wind in the Willows, though. I am also considering Watership Down.