Alexi

Finished Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst which I didn't think much of, and I'm now starting May's RC book - The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber.

Book 25: Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst (Belgium) Full review to follow in my book log, but only getting a 2/5 from me this one. My third book from the challenge this year and two have only got a 2. A bit disappointing, but I do feel my horizons are being broadened I was in Waterstone's today (whoops) and noticed they have an 'around the world' display in the fiction section. I now have officially less than 200 books to go in this challenge!

Good to see you're enjoying The Crimson Petal and the White willoyd I intend to start it as soon as I've finished my current read (so at some point this weekend hopefully!) Like you I'm expecting a busy month so keen to start early! I also purchased The Great Railway Revolution in the kindle sale so will be looking out for your review.

Good to see you've had some good reads since I last caught up with your thread James I've added Mansfield Park and Girl Meets Boy to my wishlist - In Cold Blood is already there! I read Breakfast at Tiffany's and quite enjoyed that one, and investigated a few more Capote works.

#13 My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher Synopsis: Ten-year-old Jamie hasn't cried since it happened. He knows he should have - Jasmine cried, Mum cried, Dad still cries. Roger didn't, but then he is just a cat and didn't know Rose that well, really. Everyone kept saying it would get better with time, but that's just one of those lies that grown-ups tell in awkward situations. Five years on, it's worse than ever: Dad drinks, Mum's gone and Jamie's left with questions that he must answer for himself. (From Goodreads) Thoughts: This was fantastic. Very emotional, but thoroughly worth the tissues that were needed. It's a YA novel told through the eyes of 10-year-old Jamie, as a family is torn apart by a loss they've suffered five years before. But it never feels simplistic - despite the intended audience and the age of the narrator. We've got grief, alcoholism and racism to negotiate, as well as bullying. Plus Jamie can't understand why his Mum doesn't come and see him, and the reasons why he wears the same t-shirt without washing it for months on end! (Eurgh). I was torn between savouring this one or racing through to find out what happened. Great stuff. 4.5/5

I have A Game of Thrones on my TBR but I haven't managed to get around to it yet. Will bump it up a bit after your positive comments! I really enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife, but loathed the film adaptation!

#12 The Death of Ivan Ilyich - Leo Tolstoy Synopsis: Ivan Ilyich is a middle-aged man who has spent his life focused on his career as a bureaucrat and emotionally detached from his wife and children. After an accident he finds himself on the brink of an untimely death, which he sees as a terrible injustice. Face to face with his mortality, Ivan begins to question everything he has believed about the meaning of life. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a masterpiece of psychological realism and philosophical profundity that has inspired generations of readers. (From Amazon) Thoughts: I bought this single novella about six months ago on recommendation from Brian as a good way to ease into Tolstoy. I just picked up the novella itself on iBooks - I think most paperback or kindle editions have other stories included but mine didn't. It comes to about 80 paperback pages apparently. Tolstoy can certainly cram a lot into 80 pages! Upon finishing I felt like I had a proper story of Ilyich's life, as well as a lot of psychological and philosophical points to consider - and I felt he'd waffled a bit at the start! The book opens with Ilyich already dead, so even if the title didn't give it away we're perfectly aware that no miracle is going to happen here, so follow Ilyich's life and then the onset of his illness knowing which way this is going. As he contemplates his own death, it raises philosophical, moral and religious ideas with the title character and the reader. This little book stayed with me for a long time after I read it as a contemplated all that was in it - quite a feat in just 80 pages I think. The writing style was accessible and I wouldn't hesitate to try a longer novel from the author. That said, when I was reading it I did catch myself thinking - not really sure that this is so groundbreaking it should be included on the 1001 list, but perhaps it was considering the date it was published - 1886. An enjoyable read, but not as amazing as some of the reviews had me expecting. 3/5

I'll refrain from adding that one to my WC wish list then J - how disappointing

Oh dear! The synopsis sounds excellent, but your review makes me want to steer well clear! I hate it when books don't deliver on a promising synopsis

Oh dear!! Although it doesn't really surprise me about The Dinner. I battled on and it didn't change much I'm excited to get to all of those books but the Maltese Falcon comes very highly recommended so I shall try and get to it soon! I finished the Leo Tolstoy and shall review it tomorrow. It's definitely a book that made me think, but I didn't think it was amazing to read. However, it has made me more determined to try a longer novel by the author in the future - preferably Anna Karenina - so it obviously wasn't a negative experience. I'm now nearly halfway through My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece and it's definitely a tear-jerker, but it's fabulous. Loving it so far!

I've just read the first two pages - I'm going to need tissues aren't I?!

I finished The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy today and am about to start My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher. I was challenged 10 days ago to make it to the end of the month without spending any money on books (gulp) so downloaded A Little Bit of Everything for Dummies as its free and it has aided the withdrawal a bit!

I'm the same Julie. I once read two at a time and ended up just reading my favourite and then having to read he second when done with the first! Love the Victorian era though - quite jealous James!

I've only read Oliver Twist (but intent to read A Christmas Carol later this year!) but I enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to pick up another of his works. The language is - flowery - I think my exact comment was Dickens overuses the comma and semi colon and underuses the full stop! But I found it a good yarn and definitely accessible. I've acted in the musical and seen the film of said musical but I found I got the most out of it when it deviated from that familiar story (the character and plot additions are excellent IMO!).

I shall do my best to present you both with a coherent set of thoughts when I'm done! As for the religion aspect, both priests we meet are extremely intolerant, and in the fictional town of Lansquenet, religion is used as a cover to bully and drive out those who don't belong - as determined by the local villagers in the book, particularly those who live in boats on the river. I'm not religious but my Mum was (she's not so much now for various reasons) and I attended a church primary school. It was very odd for me to read about such intolerant religious figures given my own experience with them (and the Church of England as a whole) is one of tolerance. (although the religion in Lamsquenet is obviously Catholicism!) However, it's certainly interesting when taken against a backdrop of the recent debates about gay marriage and women bishops I suppose. Sorry for a somewhat sketchy response - religion is a thorny issue both in the world at large and in my own head, and I'm trying not to give away spoilers!

I read Jigs and Reels a long time ago and really enjoyed it, which is another reason why I'm really not sure why I disliked it! My Mum also loved Chocolat, and we often get on well with the same books I recently bought her a book for Mother's Day as part of her present and she laughed at said she'd been looking to buy the same one the previous week! Like you I find the idea of Tolstoy a bit scary which is why I'm beginning with this one - it's a novella, so a gentle introduction! It's funny how a child is so shaped by his/her parents, especially below the age of about 13 when they get exposed to other ideas and ways of life a bit more.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris Synopsis: When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud denounces her as a serious moral danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. As passions flare and the conflict escalates, the whole community takes sides. Can the solemnity of the Church compare with the sinful pleasure of a chocolate truffle? (from book jacket) Thoughts: I found this book really difficult to review. I picked it up from the library because it came very highly recommended from a wide range of people, some of whom I have extremely similar reading tastes too. I remember there being a bit of a stir about it a few years ago - probably when the film was made. And I just didn't get it. At all. Additionally, I'm not really sure why. The prose was gorgeous, a wonderful flowing writing style. But the plot didn't grab me. Essentially, we have a lesson on tolerance of others. Priest and town crowd don't like interlopers, especially those that - shock, horror - don't attend church. Or live on boats, or a little bit different. For me, it rambled along these lines without really giving me anything to sink my teeth into, or breaking any new ground. The most interesting layer was the small histories of the main characters - particularly Vianne and the priest - yet these were alluded to and swept by in a couple of pages. I don't think it's something that belongs in bygone years though. I was at primary school in the early 1990s with a girl in our class and a younger brother. My best friend at the time dragged me into a classroom at lunchtime to reveal that she lived with her Mum and Dad in a caravan. The venom in my best friend's voice as she declared - she's a GYPSY - remains me with me now. I wasn't sure why that was such a terrible thing at all - I'd just read Danny the Champion of the World and thought caravans sounded quite cool! We would have been about 10 at the time so I can only assume that attitude came from her parents, because we would have had very little exposure to gypsies in our part of the world. Anyway, this one just wasn't for me I'm afraid. 2/5 I'm now moving on to The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - I bought it about six months ago on recommendation from Brian

Congrats Frankie You've completed quite a few of the more "classic" novels on the list too

I'm struggling a bit with Chocolat It's grabbing me in places, then I have to put it down because I have to get up and do something, and I'm finding it really hard to pick up the thread when I pick it up again.

This sounds great Brian - I've added it to my wishlist

Personally, I think we're all doing very well to stimulate the economy through the selfless act of book buying I have started Chocolat by Joanne Harris today, because it needs to go back to the library, and because I'm still in the "needing something light" phase following Dangerous Liaisons.

Book 24: Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (France) 3/5 I have posted my (spoilery) thoughts in the RC thread but I trout I'd post a very general, non spoiler review here for completeness, and also in case it proves useful for anyone who wouldn't wander in there because they haven't yet read it Synopsis: Published in 1782, just years before the French Revolution, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a disturbing and ultimately damning portrayal of a decadent society. At its centre are two aristocrats, former lovers, who embark on a sophisticated game of seduction and manipulation to bring amusement to their jaded existences. While the Marquise de Merteuil challenges the Vicomte de Valmont to seduce an innocent convent girl, the Vicomte is also occupied with the conquest of a virtuous married woman. But as their intrigues become more duplicitous and they find their human pawns responding in ways they could not have predicted, the consequences prove to be more serious, and deadly, than Merteuil and Valmont could have guessed. (From Amazon) Thoughts: I started off with the Ernest Dowson translation (cheapest on kindle) and then downloaded the Penguin translation (Helen Constantine) because the first was completely unreadable. Dowson has clearly never heard of a full stop amid wondered if it was translated literally because it was so hard to decipher. Under Constantine, it's a very good little story with plenty of evil characters to get your teeth into loathing. I really enjoyed the fact the whole novel is written as letters so a little bit was revealed at a time, relevant to what each character would want the character they we writing to to know! It dragged in a few places but was generally enjoyable, and my rating is probably affected by reading half of it in an indecipherable language!

I finished today! : D Some background to my experience with it (for those who didn't read me going on and on about it in the book activity thread!) I started the translation by Ernest Dowson (cheapest available for kindle). Oh how naive. I got about halfway through and was ready to sack the whole thing off. Luckily, talking to Chesil and bobblybear convinced me to download the penguin classics version. I tried to begin at the beginning but it felt too repetitive so I abandoned that and commenced at the point I left off. I really enjoyed the second half of the book, but my rating and possibly some answers is tainted by the awful first half. Why use a full stop when 60 commas will do? Anyway.. 1. Did you enjoy reading this style of novel in the form of letters? Yes immensely. I love novels in the form of diaries but haven't read many as letters before. It's a neat twist on the narrator - we are treated to how much the person wants to tell the reader of the letter, not directly how much a narrator wishes to disclose to the audience. The several letters to different recipients talking about the same incidents were great for this reason. 2. Were you engaged immediately with the story, or did it take you a while to get into it? It took me a week and a fresh download! But I'm probably not representative. 3. There are a lot of characters referenced mostly by their title instead of their name, did you find it difficult to remember who all the characters were? Not especially but the style of not including a surname or place (President de ___ , Chateau de ____ ) was irritating more than confusing. 4. Did you have a favourite character? And a least favourite? Not especially - I didn't "like" any of the characters. The virtuous Presidente de Tourvel was far too wet initially, and everyone else was excellent to loathe! Except Cecile I suppose. 3. Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest? I must confess it was the ending because I hadn't read the synopsis, so the deaths were a total surprise! 5. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? The letters between Tourvel and Valmont, which went on and bleeding on and became a bit repetitive. 6. Do you think the Marquise and the Vicomte deserved the fates they were given at the end of the story? It's certainly very of its time isn't it? Dastardly villains will not get away with it and will get what they deserve! Certainly the Marquise's actions just to Prevan are deplorable. 7. We've already had some discussion on the differences a good translation can make, which edition and translation of the book did you read, and what did you think of the translation? As I said above, Ernest Dowson then the Penguin one. I can't really overstate this - Dowson was pretty much unreadable. Look up the definition of a full stop then use it. The book was dull and confusing and slow to understand in his version, it became an enjoyable read under Penguin's charge. I must add that before this I hadn't considered different translations - definitely one to be wary of when using a kindle and free editions. 8. Have you watched any film/television/theatre adaptations of this story? How successfully do you think they were? Cruel Intentions, which is obviously a modern take on the very basic premise. It's a cracking movie but a loose adaptation I would say. 9. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? I've rated it a 3/5. I enjoyed it but it wasn't spectacular, although that's probably influenced by my dear friend Dowson. 10. Would you recommend the book to others? The Penguin - absolutely. Dowson? I'd rather read The Catcher in the Rye again! No really I wouldn't.

I like the sound of both The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and The Third Miss Symons Thanks for your excellent reviews - I shall add them to the wishlist - given their age I suspect they will soon transfer onto the 'downloaded' list

I'm also getting on much better with Dangerous Liaisons since I started the penguin translation! However, although I tried to go back I found it too dull, with largely having read the same only a few days ago, so I began at the point where I left off with the dreadful Ernest Dowson translation.