Alexi's Reading 2013

[Janet]

I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Chocolat, Alex.  I'm probably one of those who recommended it.  It's been many years since I read it and I don't recall a great deal about it now, apart from the fact I hated the film version of it because of the stupid changes! 

 

Have you read anything else by Joanne Harris?  If not, has this put you off?  I've read a few others - I enjoyed Five Quarters of the Orange (although again I can't remember much about it now!) and I absolutely loved Gentlemen and Players, which is not set in France unlike most of her others!

 

I hope you enjoy the Tolstoy.   I must admit the thought of reading him scares me a bit. 

 

ETA:  I forgot to say that it's funny how things like the situation you detailed above stay with one.  I don't recall seeing/hearing about travellers/gypsies when I was growing up, but I lived near a town with a huge Indian population and was always astounded at the racism I heard - I just wasn't brought up to judge someone by their ethnicity.  

Edited March 15, 2013 by Janet

[Alexi]

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.

[Athena]

I hope you enjoy the Tolstoy.   I must admit the thought of reading him scares me a bit. 

Same! I own The Death of Ivan Ilyich (and other stories) so I look forward to read your review (I also own two of his other works).

 

I've only read Runemarks by Joanne Harris, which I love. Sorry to hear you didn't really like Chocolat, I'm not sure if it'd be a book for me or not, it depends how the whole religion aspect is handled.

[Janet]

I shall look forward to reading your thoughts on the Tolstoy. 

[Alexi]

Same! I own The Death of Ivan Ilyich (and other stories) so I look forward to read your review (I also own two of his other works).I've only read Runemarks by Joanne Harris, which I love. Sorry to hear you didn't really like Chocolat, I'm not sure if it'd be a book for me or not, it depends how the whole religion aspect is handled.

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!

Edited March 15, 2013 by Alexi

[frankie]

I've just gone and had a look at the reviews on Amazon, and while they are mixed, there are PLENTY of 5 star reviews! So it might do something for you yet Frankie!

 

I think I said this in some other thread, but when I started to read the novel (this is Dinner we're talking about) it seemed to be so much about the restaurant and I wasn't getting into it at all. I think I read about 20 pages or so. I know that's not much, but I know you said it was so much about all other stuff except for the stuff that they were supposed to get down to to discuss, that I felt like it was probably going to be about the restaurant and other unimportant things for the next 200 pages or so, and I didn't feel like going on

 

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John Le Carré

 

 

I have mixed feelings about this. I know you rated it rather high and enjoyed it, but I still think it might be too espionage-y for me ... Why am I so prejudiced. Oh well, I'll try Le Carré some day!

 

I'm really happy you enjoyed it, though!

 

Ah. Well. I may have popped into HMV today and got lost in the book section whilst I was waiting for my BF to finish in the games section. Dangerous...

 

Does he not know you better than to leave you alone near a bookstore for more than a minute...?

 

 

I got:

 

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster

I'm Not Really Here - Paul Lake

Cat and Mouse - James Patterson

The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett

 

Great haul! Wolf Hall will be next month's RC book and I've heard great things about Auster. I'll be interested in hearing what you think of Maltese Falcon

[Alexi]

I think I said this in some other thread, but when I started to read the novel (this is Dinner we're talking about) it seemed to be so much about the restaurant and I wasn't getting into it at all. I think I read about 20 pages or so. I know that's not much, but I know you said it was so much about all other stuff except for the stuff that they were supposed to get down to to discuss, that I felt like it was probably going to be about the restaurant and other unimportant things for the next 200 pages or so, and I didn't feel like going on.

 

 

 

Great haul! Wolf Hall will be next month's RC book and I've heard great things about Auster. I'll be interested in hearing what you think of Maltese Falcon

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!

[Alexi]

#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

[Athena]

This sounds good, since I have the book on my shelf I'll definately give it a try! I'm glad you found the writing style accessible, I was a bit worried about this.

[Alexi]

#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

Edited April 3, 2013 by Alexi

[Alexi]

I'm not doing brilliantly at keeping this updated!!

 

Books I have read and need to review:

 

The Yard by Alex Grecian

Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst

 

I'm also close to finishing The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber at long last!

 

Books I have acquired since last updating:

 

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Reef by Romesh Gunesekera

Hillsborough: The Truth by Phil Scraton

The Long Bridge out of the Gulags by Urszula Muskus

Finding Emma by Steena Holmes

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

The Great Railway Revolution by Christian Wolmar

 

I've had extreme limited reading time this month but it seems I've found some time to browse and buy! Fail.

[Alexi]

#16 The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

 

Synopsis: Although it's billed as "the first great 19th-century novel of the 21st century," The Crimson Petal and the White is anything but Victorian. It's the story of a well-read London prostitute named Sugar, who spends her free hours composing a violent, pornographic screed against men. Michel Faber's dazzling second novel dares to go where George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss and the works of Charles Dickens could not. We learn about the positions and orifices that Sugar and her clients favour, about her lingering skin condition, and about the suspect ingredients of her prophylactic douches. Still, Sugar believes she can make a better life for herself.

When she is taken up by a wealthy man, the perfumer William Rackham, her wings are clipped and she must balance financial security against the obvious servitude of her position. The physical risks and hardships of Sugar's life (and the even harder "honest" life she would have led as a factory worker) contrast--yet not entirely--with the medical mistreatment of her benefactor's wife, Agnes, and beautifully underscore Faber's emphasis on class and sexual politics. (from Amazon)

 

Thoughts: I'll save most of them for May's Reading Circle, which is why I picked up this book. I do love reading about Victorian England, and this was the second book set in that time period I've recently read.

 

Others have complained about the style but I didn't find that an issue at all. I dived straight into this book and the first half flew by for me, event though I've had very limited reading time this month because of work things. Then it seemed to slow a little. It took more of an effort for me to pick up and read it. I was more interested in Sugar's life on the poorer streets of London than I was interested in the Rackham household, which may have been the reason.

 

The last 20% though I raced through to find out what would happen in the end!

 

The character of Sugar was excellent, combining her lower class status with a love of reading and knowledge. Then, as her fortunes went up the added layer of her not seeing after her old crowd as she once did and hating herself for it, added to her childhood experiences with Mrs Castaway. It was wonderfully done.

 

I did think it could have been shortened without losing any of its style or story, but it didn't feel like a chore to tackle the length of it as a whole.

 

3.5/5

[Athena]

I'm reading this book at the moment, it's nice to read your thoughts on it. I'm also really enjoying it, looking forward to discuss it with you and others (I think I'm at about 25%?).

[Alexi]

Hope you're enjoying it Athena! I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone else thought

 

#17 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

 

Synopsis: 'Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life . . .'

 

 

Passionate, free-thinking and unconventional, Miss Brodie is a teacher who exerts a powerful influence over her group of 'special girls' at Marcia Blaine School. They are the Brodie set, the crème de la crème, each famous for something - Monica for mathematics, Eunice for swimming, Rose for sex - who are initiated into a world of adult games and extracurricular activities they will never forget. But the price they pay is their undivided loyalty . . .

 

 

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a brilliantly comic novel featuring one of the most unforgettable characters in all literature.

 

Thoughts: This is very short novel (130 pages in my edition) but packs in a fantastic character and plenty of plot.

 

The six girls of Miss Brodie's "set" are 10 in 1931, although the novel jumps around in time periods and we actually first meet the girls when they're 16, as well as getting occasional glimpses of their lives as adults.

 

Miss Brodie is dramatic, inspirational, influential and larger than life. I don't think she is particularly sly or cruel, but she does try and influence the girls' lives to incredibly alarming degrees, considering she starts off as their primary school teacher.

 

We find out very early on which of the girls "betrayed" her to the school authorities, but exactly why and how takes a little longer. It's well-woven together and never feels confusing despite the constant jumping time periods.

 

A really good read this one.

 

4/5

Edited May 6, 2013 by Alexi

[chesilbeach]

Have you seen the film adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Alexi?  It's an old 1960s film with Maggie Smith as Miss Brodie, and I absolutely love it - it's one of those films I saw as a teenager and it struck a chord with me, and I've loved it ever since, getting more out of it as I grew older.  I have read the book, but one of the rare occasions where I prefer the film to the book for some reason, and can't quite put my finger on why, as I did enjoy the book, but the film has a place in my heart.

[Alexi]

Oh that's interesting! I haven't seen it but will definitely look out for it! Did you see the film before reading the book?

 

Sorry for the late reply, I haven't checked this thread in ages, and once more am behind on reviews!

 

#18 Snowing in Bali by Kathryn Bonella

 

Synopsis: Among the island's drug dealers 'It's snowing in Bali' is code that the south-east Asian paradise is full of cocaine. For the men who run the country's drug empires, it's time to get rich and party hard.

 

Snowing in Bali is the story of the drug trafficking and dealing scene that's made Bali one of the world's most important destinations in the global distribution of narcotics. Kathryn Bonella, bestselling author of Hotel K, has been given extraordinary access into the lives of some of the biggest players in Bali's drug world. She charts their rise to incredible wealth and power, and their drug-fuelled lifestyles: filled with orgies, outrageous extravagance and surfing.

 

From the highs of multi-million dollar deals to the desperate lows of death row in an Indonesian high security jail, Snowing in Bali is a unique, uncensored insight into a hidden world.(From Amazon)

 

Thoughts: I haven't read much non-fiction recently, and after this arrived in the post recently from Brian it jumped out at me from the bookshelf.

 

I wasn't disappointed - I raced through it. It's an odd book that can bring out your sympathies for drug dealers but this one did, through a combination of the authors account and direct quotes from those involved. By the end, I was desperate for Rafael, the main character, to evade capture and justice!

 

The author has obviously worked hard to gain the trust of the major players and this was vital, they have given her an incredible level of detail and without this book would have had far less impact. The style was also excellent - it felt like the characters were telling the story themselves through the pen of the author.

 

I will definitely hunt out Bonella's other two books about the Bali drug trade - and the descriptions of the jail at the end of this book made me eager to get to Hotel K sooner rather than later!

 

4/5

[Devi]

I've had that book on my wishlist for awhile now! It seems to be a big hit around here so far, which is good to know!

[chesilbeach]

Oh that's interesting! I haven't seen it but will definitely look out for it! Did you see the film before reading the book?

 

Yes, I did see the film first, in fact I'd seen it many, many times before I read the book. I think that's why I have such affection for it, and prefer it to the book.

[Alexi]

Hope you enjoy it if/when you get your hands on it Devi!

 

I would suspect that would have had an effect on it Chesil I often refuse to see a film of a book until I've read the book first, which drives my movie buff friends up the wall...

[Janet]

 I often refuse to see a film of a book until I've read the book first, which drives my movie buff friends up the wall...

I'm the same!  The book is invariably better than the film!  (With a few exceptions).

[vodkafan]

Liked your reviews of The Crimson Petal and The White  and The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.....going on my wishlist thanks

[Alexi]

Thanks VF Hope you enjoy them when you get to them - with your love of reading about Victorian era I suspected The Crimson Petal and the White would tickle your fancy at some point

[Alexi]

A couple more reviews so I am now fully updated!

 

#19 Dear John by Nicolas Sparks

 

Synopsis: Is duty enough reason to live a lie?

 

When John meets Savannah, he realises he is ready to make some changes. Always the angry rebel at school, he has enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life. Now he's ready to turn over a new leaf for the woman who has captured his heart.

 

What neither realises is that the events of 9/11 will change everything. John is prompted to re-enlist and fulfil what he feels is his duty to his country. But the lovers are young and their separation is long. Can they survive the distance?(from Amazon)

 

Thoughts: This is far more chick lit than I would normally attempt, but I received it as a gift and am seeing the giver next week so I brought it up the pile!

 

I enjoyed it more than I thought I would - it has some substance to it, and the angle of John's father having suspected autism made for an interesting plot thread.

 

I found the character of John easy to root for, and his relationship with his father was well plotted and written. The characters both had their flaws but were people you could identify with to a certain degree.

 

As for Savannah - ugh. What a dreadful brat! She's a clever college student so feels superior to everyone else. She chooses to go to church and not have casual relationships - which is all fine and commendable - but the level of sneering judgement on those who don't choose the same is awful. These aren't bad people - they just have the occasional beer and spend Sundays hungover - which at 21 isn't the heinous crime she seems to think.

 

She did get better as she got older (thank god), and although the ending seems a tad far fetched I enjoyed the story.

 

3/5

 

#20 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

 

Synopsis: Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'La Sombra del Viento' by Julian Carax.

 

But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead.(From Amazon)

 

Thoughts: Wow. Easily my favourite read this year.

 

I downloaded this to kindle based on the recommendations of many on here - but without knowing really what the book was about except it was set in Barcelona!

 

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books was an easy early hook for the reader (how I would love to spend an hour or year or two there!) but it just gets better and better. The gorgeous prose is backed up with a thrilling plot centred around a book and author, but plenty of death, intrigue and danger thrown in too.

 

The backdrop of Spain under Franco, still reeling from the Civil War, was perfect to add drama and the real frightening element of a Crime Squad with plenty of power and no morals. Scary stuff.

 

I didn't see the twist coming, and raced through desperate to find out what happened to the characters I really cared about.

 

Just fantastic, and I'm now off to get my hands on everything Zafon has ever written!!

 

5/5

Edited May 25, 2013 by Alexi

[Athena]

I think my parents have read The Shadow of The Wind and/or (an)other book(s) by this author and were very positive about the books, I may have to read this sometime!

[frankie]

I think my parents have read The Shadow of The Wind and/or (an)other book(s) by this author and were very positive about the books, I may have to read this sometime!

 

I don't mean to sound pushy or arrogant, but you have to read the book! It's amazing Highly recommended