poppyshake Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Julie I agree totally. The family are still making money out of him which sadly has seemed their main motivation for a long time .. indeed it seemed to be everybody's motivation where Michael was concerned. He was obviously difficult, if not impossible, to reach by the end but how did they let it get to such a pass and how complicit were they? The only family members he seemed to trust were his mum and Janet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 "house cut deep into the bank " - what type of house is this? I got the impression it was possibly a boat? Book added to wish list. I'm pretty sure it was just an ordinary house .. if you can call a house cut deep into the bank of a steep slope ordinary It made me feel giddy actually just thinking about it. 'At night my mother tucked me into a hammock slung cross-wise against the slope. In the gentle sway of the night, I dreamed of a place where I wouldn't be fighting gravity with my own body weight' Hope you enjoy it Deborah .. it's quite challenging but interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 I haven't finished all of my reviews yet but I still might not have by the end of this year so time to do a sum up I think Favourites: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - Edward Albee The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern A Boy at the Hogarth Press - Richard Kennedy Matilda - Roald Dahl Right Royal B*stard - Sarah Miles The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie Where'd You Go Bernadette - Maria Semple Suite Francaise - Irène Némirovsky Les Miserables - Victor Hugo Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz Almost Favourites: Deceived with Kindness - Angelica Garnett Death and the Penguin - Andrey Kurkov My Animals and other Family - Clare Balding The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien Moranthology - Caitlin Moran The Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey Van Gogh: The Life - Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith The Misremembered Man - Christina McKenna Dot - Araminta Hall Greenery Street - Denis Mackail The Talented Mr Ripley - Patricia Highsmith The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper The Kraken Wakes - John Wyndham Animal Farm - George Orwell Newes from the Dead - Mary Hooper The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton Round the Christmas Fire - Festive short stories Lighthousekeeping - Jeanette Winterson Going to See in a Sieve - Danny Baker Raspberry Awards: Is it Just Me - Miranda Hart Franny & Zooey - J.D. Salinger Death Comes to Pemberley - P.D. James The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner (by rights .. going on my enjoyment of it .. I should put Virginia's The Years here .. but I can't bring myself to blow a raspberry at her ) I didn't do too badly really ... most of my reads were good or better .. that is according to me of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm glad most of your reads were really enjoyable ! I hadn't heard of 'raspberry awards' before, that's nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm glad most of your reads were really enjoyable ! I hadn't heard of 'raspberry awards' before, that's nice! Well it's not really .. it's rather rude but it's how I felt about them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 A Fraction of the Whole by Steve ToltzAmazon's Synopsis: From his prison cell, Jasper Dean tells the unlikely story of his scheming father Martin, his crazy uncle Terry and how the three of them upset - mostly unintentionally - an entire continent. Incorporating death, parenting (good and bad kinds,) one labyrinth, first love, a handbook for criminals, a scheme to make everyone rich and an explosive suggestion box, Steve Toltz's A Fraction of the Whole is a hilarious, heartbreaking story of families and how to survive them.Review: This is an absolutely sensational book but one that is almost impossible to describe, I've never read anything quite like it. Its inventiveness just continues to amaze all the way through and though the story is darkly harrowing it's also razor sharp and hilarious. I don't often take much notice of what's written on the jacket but one quote from the Chicago Sun Times summed it up for me by saying .. 'Toltz's invention is as breathtaking as the speed of his narration in a book that seems to have had all the boring parts snipped .. there is wit on every page' and there really is. It's a joy. You could say that the plotline details a series of rather unfortunate events .. and as is usual with these types of stories .. it's all in the telling. The narration is split between Jasper and his father Martin .. but mostly stays with Jasper. It's quite extraordinary to be inside their heads actually .. they're not exactly conventional thinkers (or doers) and both are pretty embittered and cynical about life.It's a huge book ... over 700 pages long and though there are no boring bits (as mentioned above) it is quite an undertaking to get through it but it's hugely enjoyable. This is the sort of book to remind you ... with almost evey turn of the page .. why you love reading .. it's because you are guaranteed to come across gems like every this once in a while I will try and find a few sentences to give you a feel of the style .. which you will probably either love or hate (though I seriously can't imagine anyone hating it.)'Normally, there is your life, and you turn on the television and there is news, and no matter how grave it is, or how deep in the toilet the world has fallen, or how relevant the information might be to your own existence, your life remains a separate entity from that news. You still have to wash your underpants during a war don't you? And don't you still have to fight with your loved ones and then apologise when you don't mean it even when there's a hole in the sky burning everything to a crisp. Of course you do. As a rule, there's no hole big enough to interrupt this interminable business of living, but there are exceptions, grim instances in the lives of a few select unlucky b*st*rds when the news in the papers and the news in their bedrooms intersect. I tell you, it's a daunting and appalling moment when you have to read the newspapers to find out about your own struggle.''To love someone who doesn't return your affections might be exciting in books, but in life it's unbearably boring. I'll tell you what's exciting: sweaty passionate nights. But sitting on the veranda outside the home of a sleeping woman who isn't dreaming about you is slow moving and just plain sad.''Regrets came up and asked me if I'd like to own them. Declined them for the most part but took a few just so I wouldn't leave this relationship empty handed.''When we finished the kiss she said laughing, I can taste your loneliness - it tastes like vinegar. That annoyed me. Everyone knows loneliness tastes like cold potato soup.' It's a unique read and very rewarding. I can't wait to see what else he comes up with. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Oooh, this sounds like my kind of book!! I've just bought it on Kindle. Great review, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Yup, it's a cracker of a book . Great review too poppyshake . It is a tome though, I'm only read 2% of it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Oooh, this sounds like my kind of book!! I've just bought it on Kindle. Great review, too! Excellent .. you won't regret it bobbs .. least I hope not Yup, it's a cracker of a book . Great review too poppyshake . It is a tome though, I'm only read 2% of it so far. Thanks Marie Yes it's a beast and it needs a fair bit of concentration but it's so rewarding when you are able to give it some time. Though I do believe I read a lot of pages twice so possibly it ended up being a lot longer than 700 pages ... he just writes some killer paragraphs .. you can't help constantly re-reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 That sounds pretty interesting, I'm gonna stick it on my wishlist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Hope you enjoy it Noll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Kay You sold me on the book, too . Just like Bobbly, I bought it for my Kindle after reading your review . It sounds really good ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Great review! The book sounds interesting . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Kay You sold me on the book, too . Just like Bobbly, I bought it for my Kindle after reading your review . It sounds really good ! I always get a little bit worried when anyone buys a book I've recommended .. but I'm fairly confident on this one Hope you enjoy it Julie Great review! The book sounds interesting . Thanks Gaia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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