vodkafan
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Posts posted by vodkafan
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Or a theme song to the tune of '100 bottles of beer on the wall'. (I should mention that I haven't actually watched this show yet...)
You haven't missed anything good...
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Seeing as a few people had died, shouldn't the second series of "The 100" be named "The 86" or something similar?
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I mean the film. I haven't read the books. Is it more of a teen film?
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Only 188 pages to go of GOT. Have also started another George Gissing (Will Warburton) and another book, Mrs P's Journey.
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I have started reading the rest of Game Of Thrones Book 1 from where I left off. Only 271 pages left to go. After the clever writing and lovely words of George Gissing and Michel Faber however, the writing seems dull as dishwater.
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The Town Traveller 4/5
George Gissing
Hot on the heels of New Grub Street, this book was a delight and very much a light comedy. All the four Gissings I have read up to now have dealt to some extent with poverty. I could have been forgiven for thinking that was what Gissing was all about. But no! This one surprised me completely. The characters are all working class men and women (in London-all his books seem to be set in the capital) who are doing OK. Sometimes a Victorian turn of phrase confuses me for a little while and I have to work it out from clues in the story. Such a phrase is the title "Town Traveller" , which I now (tentatively) understand to be the Victorian equivalent of a travelling sales rep, who takes orders and sometimes delivers the goods also, to shops. Mr Gammon is the man of the title. he is a friendly, jovial man of about 40, never married, who lives in the lodging house of Mrs Bubbs. After being drawn into an argument with another lodger, the feisty Polly Sparkes, and being a long time friend of Polly's aunt, Mrs Clover, Mr Gammon's natural sharp mind and curiosity uncovers a mystery in that family that he resolves to unravel. He picks up another clue from an unexpected source, Mr Greenacre. This gentleman is at first sight a disorganised chap not to be taken seriously: as the plot unfolds he becomes seriously mysterious himself: he pops up in unexpected places and seems to straddle more than one social class. He is also involved in, or at least interested in, the mystery surrounding the Clover family.
I could not put this novel down. Not so heavy on dialogue as New Grub Street , this was a quick read. The author misspells words deliberately to represent both working class and upper class London accents , which is fun and there is some gentle romance thrown in, which never hurts a plot. Gammon is a likeable character.
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I agree, there was definitely a feeling that he personally knew the location well, and I think you're right about the class aspects and people's place in society. Again, glad you enjoyed it so much, it was an excellent book … one of my few 5 star books.
I could talk about this book for ages. Strangely enough I don't feel like I want to read anything else by him just yet
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Yes, I did! I read the book first, though. I quite liked the TV show, I thought for the most part they did a nice job. But I didn't like that the TV show ended before the book ended. There were a few more scenes in the book, that weren't in the TV show, and I wish they had included them.
Yes on the DVD there a lot of deleted scenes. I don't know why they did not include them.
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Great reviews
. I'm glad you enjoyed The Crimson Petal and the White! I really liked the book too.Did you see the TV show too, Athena?
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I was impressed by it Claire . Geographically, just like George Gissing, he names actual streets in a way that makes me think he must have walked over them himself to see how long journeys took not just looked at them on a map. The aspects of people's status and society, which was all important, I think he handled well. Because it is so outrageous that Sugar jumped from prostitute to the position she did (and was out of her depth) she didn't fool everybody, which was as it would have been. William Rackham was perfectly pompous and respectable but also weak. The differences in the descriptions of St Giles and Chepstow Villas and Priory Close worked well for me.
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Ex Machina. That's about it I think.
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New Grub Street 4/5
George Gissing
This is a book about the lives of a loose group of writers and their wives set in London around the 1880s. I thought at first that I wasn't going to enjoy this book as much as other Gissings I had read, as the first character we are introduced to (Jasper Millvain) seems to be quite arrogant and conceited. However as the book went on I got caught up in the struggles of the other writers in his circle. Reardon cuts a pathetic figure as Millvain's friend who can't follow up on some small initial success, which has attracted him a beautiful wife who now expects to be kept, if not in comfort, at least in a respectable home. On the fringes and also struggling to survive are Alfred Yule, an old writer who has seen his reputation fall as a result of mauling by a malicious critic, and Whelpdale and Biffen, men of the working class who write for the love of it. Jasper tries to learn by and avoid the pitfalls that all these other men have fell into.
Will he succeed?
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(This is a copy of the book review on my reading blog. I saw there was a thread here so hope nobody minds if I put it here too)
The Crimson Petal And The White 5/5
Michel Faber
How to review this fantastic book? I can't describe the plot as I don't want to spoil it for anybody. So I hope these few words can do it justice.
It is set in late Victorian London, the events all happening in a short span of time between 1874 and 1876. The blurb at the back of the book will tell you that Sugar is a 19 year old prostitute in St Giles, a rough part of London, so that isn't giving anything away. Sugar is unusual; she spends her money on books and has taught herself to speak well, which enables her to attract educated men as customers. She has a reputation for doing anything a customer wants; however, unknown to them she secretly burns with hate for men and at night alone writes a book full of sadistic revenge and death against these same men.
One of the things I like about the book is that Sugar does not stay the same. At the beginning she is a predator, very much in control of her world, yet as things start to happen she is forced to change and becomes a different person. It would be a very different book, and not half as good, if she was still the hate filled lowlife at the end she is at the beginning.
The catalyst for the change is William Rackham, heir to a wealthy perfume manufacturing business. The author gives us a well rounded character study here. William feels rather sorry for himself; his trophy wife has turned out to be sick and increasingly embarrassing; his father is not sympathetic to his wish to be a writer, he has a girl child he doesn't want to know and he is weak and easily led. Sugar controls him and things start to change for the better for Rackham, although this means that the balance of power shifts and Sugar is soon the one who is in thrall.
There is a narrator who addresses us directly, invites us into rooms and tells us who to follow and watch. This works very well.
One thing the writer always makes us conscious of is people's bodies and bodily processes. Doctor's examinations, going to the toilet in chamberpots, the ablutions of the prostitutes. The unwanted erections of William's overly religious brother, people's lumps and bruises and pubic hair. Sugar herself is not perfect; she is ugly, tall, thin, and has a skin condition which gives her permanently dry cracked lips and scabby hands. (No doubt Hollywood would cast Scarlet Johanson and completely miss the point).
Sugar is at the beginning jealous of the beauty of Mrs Rackham.
Ah well I think I have said enough. I think this will be my best book of 2015; I doubt if anything else will match it.
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The Crimson Petal And The White 5/5
Michel Faber
How to review this fantastic book? I can't describe the plot as I don't want to spoil it for anybody. So I hope these few words can do it justice.
It is set in late Victorian London, the events all happening in a short span of time between 1874 and 1876. The blurb at the back of the book will tell you that Sugar is a 19 year old prostitute in St Giles, a rough part of London, so that isn't giving anything away. Sugar is unusual; she spends her money on books and has taught herself to speak well, which enables her to attract educated men as customers. She has a reputation for doing anything a customer wants; however, unknown to them she secretly burns with hate for men and at night alone writes a book full of sadistic revenge and death against these same men.
One of the things I like about the book is that Sugar does not stay the same. At the beginning she is a predator, very much in control of her world, yet as things start to happen she is forced to change and becomes a different person. It would be a very different book, and not half as good, if she was still the hate filled lowlife at the end she is at the beginning.
The catalyst for the change is William Rackham, heir to a wealthy perfume manufacturing business. The author gives us a well rounded character study here. William feels rather sorry for himself; his trophy wife has turned out to be sick and increasingly embarrassing; his father is not sympathetic to his wish to be a writer, he has a girl child he doesn't want to know and he is weak and easily led. Sugar controls him and things start to change for the better for Rackham, although this means that the balance of power shifts and Sugar is soon the one who is in thrall.
There is a narrator who addresses us directly, invites us into rooms and tells us who to follow and watch. This works very well.
One thing the writer always makes us conscious of is people's bodies and bodily processes. Doctor's examinations, going to the toilet in chamberpots, the ablutions of the prostitutes. The unwanted erections of William's overly religious brother, people's lumps and bruises and pubic hair. Sugar herself is not perfect; she is ugly, tall, thin, and has a skin condition which gives her permanently dry cracked lips and scabby hands. (No doubt Hollywood would cast Scarlet Johanson and completely miss the point).
Sugar is at the beginning jealous of the beauty of Mrs Rackham.
Ah well I think I have said enough. I think this will be my best book of 2015; I doubt if anything else will match it.
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I gave up on Labyrinth , I'm afraid
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Sounds like you enjoyed it! I've read it a couple of times, and it is a very good read. Sugar is quite memorable, isn't she?
She sure is. I like that her character changes so much. She is not in control later on the way she is in the beginning. There is so much going on on lots of different levels about human relationships in this book.
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A couple of weeks ago I discovered the existence of The Crimson Petal And The White...I have just finished the book an hour ago. Thoughts are still reeling from it. I will try to review it soon.
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If the actual Aubrey/Maturin books are even half as good as your reviews Steve I am missing a fantastic series.
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Arggh! came home from work last night got settled down on the settee with a beer all ready to watch the last episode of The Crimson Petal And The White which has had me gripped for one hour before bed the previous 3 nights. But there is something wrong with the DVD. The last episode won't play. Curses!
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I don't know if y'all are familiar with the film, 12 Monkeys with Bruce Willis.....but there is a TV show based on the film. Just discovered it on Amazon Prime. Saw a little of the first episode and it looks like it's true to the film, so far.
Interesting! Must look that one up....I am watching series 1 of The Paradise and also The Crimson Petal And The White
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Black Sheep (an old favourite) and After The Dark, which one my 16 and 17 year old wanted to watch especially; it was about a thought experiment posed in a philosophy class. The premise of the film was interesting but the plot veered into stupid unfortunately and the acting was a bit naff.
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Well, I've jumped on the bandwagon!
Behold, the Jar of Destiny:
As an added bonus, I've decided to put £1 in the tin every time I read a book from the jar. This way, as my TBR gets smaller, a little pot of book money will build up, so every now and again, I can have a splurge at the bookshop!
Incredible idea Claire! I have an empty pickle onion jar from Christmas. I too must have a Jar Of Destiny!
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I received another book in the mail today: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. This is the second and final book I ordered in 2014 (therefore it doesn't count as a 2015 acquisition
). Given how much I loved The Devil in the White City last year, I absolutely cannot wait to read this. Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.
A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the ‘New Germany’, she has one affair after another, including with the suprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance—and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler’s true character and ruthless ambition.Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Göring and the expectedly charming—yet wholly sinister—Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe, were awash in blood and terror.This sounds like a must read O Mistress Of Books!
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Hi Karsa I am loving this new Anarchic review style. Confound you sir why did you think of this first?
The Pagan Lord (The Warrior Chronicles Book #7) by Bernard Cornwell
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- Cnut Longsword. Fantastic antagonist. Cornwell must've had to be very careful when typing the name, though
Yes. I would have been so tempted to write Wingnut everytime.
- Cnut Longsword. Fantastic antagonist. Cornwell must've had to be very careful when typing the name, though
Vodkafan's 2015 reading list
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