Kidsmum

1. Did you like the book? What was it that you enjoyed? If you didn't like the book, what were your reasons for disliking it? I had mixed feelings about the book. At the beginning i liked it, i liked Nick & sympathised with him because he felt a bit of an outsider at the Feddens & was unsure of himself in his new relationship with Theo. But as the book went on i got fed up with reading about his sexploits, sexual fantasies & him eyeing up every bloke he clapped eyes on. I also despised the Feddens & their adoration of Margaret Thatcher & i really started to think i don't like this book but as the story went on i realised that you weren't supposed to like the people in the story, they were meant to be shallow, superficial & out for themselves & once i accepted that i really started to appreciate the writing. 2. Did you have any expectations about the book before you started reading it, and if so, were they correct? I suppose i expected the book to be well written as it had won the Man Booker in 2004 but apart from that i didn't really know anything about the story or it's author. 3. Who was your favourite character...? I didn't like anybody in the story, as i said i liked Nick at the beginning until i got to know him. 4. ...and your least favourite? That would be the Feddens ..... i would have guillotined the lot of them. I hated everything about them with their .... "Okay Yahs" & their true blue conservatism. I felt that they allowed Nick to live with them not because they liked him or really thought of him as a friend of the family but because it was convienient for them to use him as a handler for Catherine. I felt that they had no real loyalty to anyone , their friends who they invited to visit them while on holiday in France they only did so because they were big financial backers of the party & Gerald of course was cheating on his wife & was involved in some kind of fraud so no loyalty there either just self interest & greed. 5. Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest? In the beginning when Nick first hooked up with Leo i thought Nick's insecurities about himself & his first sexual experience were well written & certainly came across as believable. Also when he found out about Leo's death & his reaction to it he actually seemed to see how empty & superficial his lifestyle was even if it was only a fleeting realisation & Wani's decline into ill health i found quite moving even though i didn't really like Wani i couldn't but feel sympathy for his fate. 6. Was this the first book you've read in this genre / by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? I can't think of any other books i've read in this genre other than a few Sarah Waters books that have had Lesbian characters in & it is my first Alan Hollinghurst novel. I do have The Stranger's Child on my shelves so i will get round to reading it no doubt at some point. 7. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? The part that really made me cringe was when Nick picks up Ricky in the public toilets. I don't like using public toilets myself & i only do so because otherwise i would be pretty restricted in how far from home i could go if i didn't so the thought of hooking up with someone in a toilet for sex just turns my stomach. Also the fact that the gay scene at that time just seemed to be sex with anyone, anywhere without any thought of having a relationship again it was all about people just being out for what they could get which for me seemed to be a bit of a theme throughout the book. 8. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes, as i say i had mixed feelings while i was reading it but now that i've finished it i still find myself thinking about the story so i think that it's a book that will stay with me. 9. Would you recommend the book and if so to whom? I don't think it's a book i would recommend because of the amount of sex in it. 10. Was Nick made a scapegoat or did he deserve his treatment by the Feddens at the end of the book? I think Nick was made a scapegoat of because by blaming everything on him they didn't have to look at themselves & their failings to closely but i didn't feel sorry for him as he was a parasite & so got what he deserved in the end.

Good to hear you rate Henning Mankell Pontalba as i have a few of his books to read. My sister gave me The Return of the Dancing Master & then i've picked up a couple of others in the charity shops. I wouldn't say i'm a big crime/thriller reader but i do enjoy Agatha Christie's books as i like the time period they're set in. Most of the other ones i have read & enjoyed have been recommended on this forum. Before I Go To Sleep SJ Watson & The Darkest Corner Elizabeth Haynes were real page turners & really gripping reads. The Stieg Larsson Trilogy & Jo Nesbo's The RedBreast i enjoyed because they had interesting characters as well as a good storyline. Still Missing Beth Gutcheon & Red Leaves Thomas H Cook which were both outstanding reads & focused more on the psychological effects when a crime is committed rank among my favourite reads. Well there you go i've read more crime books than i thought

I can't resist a spoiler Julie..... i guess i'm just too curious or nosy maybe

How lovely to be reading To Kill A Mocking Bird for the first time, i'm so jealous of Charles, great book & great movie adaptation Out of your list the only ones i've read are The Sheltering Sky which unfortunately i didn't think much of & The Shining which i read when i was in my early teens & it totally creeped me out, so great read

That was nice of the library to show it's appreciation for your donation. I have a couple of books that i got for Christmas that i didn't really enjoy enough to keep but i don't want to just to give them to the charity shop because they're in mint condition. I hadn't thought of donating them to the library but that's what i'll do so thank you for helping me solve my book dilemma Frankie Your new book sounds really interesting but then i read Julie's spoiler

Cousin Phillis Elisabeth Gaskell Amazon Synopsis Paul Manning, who narrates this powerful story of love and loss, has only recently left home to become clerk to the engineer of a new railway line, Mr Holdsworth. Knowing that some of his distant relatives, the Holmans, live nearby, Manning goes to visit them and becomes intimate with the family. In time, Manning introduces Holdsworth to them and the engineer and Phillis Holman fall in love, although neither declares their feelings to the other. Holdsworth is then sent by the railway company to work on a line in Canada, but he confides to Manning that it is his intention to return to England and ask for Phillis' hand in marriage. Called by some 'the most perfect story in English,' this idyllic, pastoral tale captures the emotions of young love with the perception of a consumate observer of the human condition. This was one of my Christmas books from my wishlist, i've read & enjoyed a few of Mrs Gaskells other novels & from the synopsis this sounds like another winner indeed a reviewer on Amazon described it as her best novel ever........well they must have been reading a different book to mine as i found it to be a very dull read. Nothing very much happens in the story & the characters are all very polite & well behaved with nothing about them that would make you remember them. Cousin Phillis is a pathetic character but of course everyone loves her because she's so demure when for want of her lover she falls ill with a brain fever seemingly the whole village mopes about fearing that she wont recover & even the village idiot does his bit by diverting passing traffic so she wont be disturbed on her sickbed Personally i hoped she would rise from her torpor & run riot with an axe in the village this would have lifted the story considerably & elevated it from a 2* read to a 3*. On the plus side it does have some very nice illustrations & an interesting introduction on Elizabeth Gaskells life 2/6

Not participated in but i usually end up buying the books when they turn up in the charity shops Interesting list for this year but i can't say that there's any that really leap out & say READ ME i do have the Armistad Maupin one on my TBR pile though.

I've not read the book but the movie is very good

Result !!!! Great review Ruth I remember seeing Capital in Waterstones but for some reason i jumped to the conclusion that it was a non fiction book about London Anyway it's now on my wishlist.

Lol That is such a great title I read some more of The Goldfinch last night so only about 600 pages to go now

It's a real page turner isn't it I finished Cousin Phillis at the dentists yesterday afternoon, the book was a bit of a disappointment so i decided i need a nice juicy book for my next read so i've made a start on The Goldfinch Donna Tartt .

Yes i had mixed feelings about it at different points in the story as well Room was a book i really enjoyed I've only about 40 pages left to go in Cousin Phillis, i can't decide what to go for next though, a nice long novel to sink my teeth into or a another short read to get my TBR pile down

I finished it Book Nutt & really enjoyed it, i put a review on my Reading Log

I found that after reading Longbourn Jo Baker, it was so good & then i had to read a Dorothy Koomson for my book group & i couldn't even manage 50 pages, the difference in quality of writing was so great

Nice Pile Chaliepud I haven't read any of them so look forward to your reviews

No i don't have a kindle but if i was ever going to consider getting one, that would be what would tempt me...... perhaps if i ever get my TBR mountain of treebooks down to more manageable proportions There'll be no stopping you now Alexi, you'll have a kindle chock full of Victorian literature

You would have thought so wouldn't you But no, i've got LOTH & The Burning Land, i picked them up in the charity shop but i haven' t got the first ones yet. I can't resist a Bernard Cornwell book when i see it Exciting isn't it I'm going to have to reread the book before i see it as well

Hi BookThane, you might like to join in the Reading Circle it's a good way of trying books that you might not neccessarily try & you get to chat about what you thought of them as well

Glad you enjoyed The Secret History Pontalba ...... Donna Tartt is someone who i'd love to talk to, she'd make an interesting dinner party guest methinks

That sounds like a book my daughter would like is it YA fiction Paula?

Quite a pile of books you got there Athena, the only one i've heard of is the Phillip Pulman but i hope you enjoy them all

Thanks Weave, i bought it for my daughter who wanted to read it but i shall get round to reading it at some point i'm sure

You should read The Six Bad Boys, Kay, talk about predjudice, the message in the book is that if your a single mum or parents who argue in front of your children they will undoubtably come to a bad end. But if your a single mum you wont care when your only child is hauled off to a childrens home because your a selfish person for wanting to go out to work & not being at home so your child has to stop at school for their lunch & working class children only read comics. Even my youngest daughter who was 8 at the time i read it to her & is an Enid Blyton fan laughed at some of the old fashioned (stuck up) ideas in the story Lol....you can say that again Dying to know what you think of it Yuck!!!! Double yuck!!!! What a bargain, great book .....hope you enjoy it I loved Dandelion & Burdock & i love the taste of Root Beer as well, i think it's that slightly medicinal taste that i find appealing I finished The Line Of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst over the weekend & Uncle Silas H.E Bates for the counties challenge. I wanted a short book just to finish off the month so i've started one of the books i got for Christmas Cousin Phillis Elizabeth Gaskell.

Barchester Towers is being serialised in three parts on Radio 4 starting on Sunday at 3 o'clock. I listened to The Warden, the first book in the series & it was very good, Tim Piggot Smith is the voice of Mr Harding & Andrew Sachs Bishop Grantley well worth a listen if you get the time

I read Uncle Silas over the weekend after Claire very kindly sent me her copy. A book of very short stories, they were all only about 10 pages long so a very quick read, as said before all about Uncle Silas a lovable reprobate now in his dotage. As with all short stories some of them were better than others. My favourites were The Lily for it's lovely descriptions of a summers day in a cottage garden, The Shooting Party, this for me was the funniest of the tales & The Return which was quite a sad ending to the book.