pontalba's 2015 Reading List

[pontalba]

I did finally finish The Valley of Horses.....by the hardest.

It just didn't hold my interest as the first one, Clan of the Cave Bear, did. 

 

This one alternated chapters between Ayla and her (as it turns out) mate.  How they both came to be where they were both physically and emotionally.  Her chapters were interesting, but his dragged on and on, and on, and onnnnnnn....../sigh/   His character just wasn't interesting enough, imo.

 

I believe I will eventually follow up with the next one, The Mammoth Hunters.  But not right now.  It's turning into more of a cave man soap opera. 

 

I've just finished Stuart Neville's latest book, Those We Left Behind.  3.5/5, verging on 4/5

 

Very dark story of children/criminals and the arduous path taken by those that attempt, mostly futilely, to help/save them.  Did I mention it's dark?  There were some very disturbing aspects brought out that were unexpected and rather unsavory.  But, in the end, it's a gripping story if one has a strong stomach.

 

Up next is the Karla Trilogy, consisting of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy...The Honourable Schoolboy, and Smiley's People by John LeCarre.

[Anna Begins]

I think The Mammoth Hunters was good, I didn't mind too much Valley of the Horses.  But if you want on and on... try The Plains of Passage   Still can't (or won't) go back to it  I do look back at them fondly though.  Aren't there 6 of them? 

[pontalba]

. Yes, the last one came out a few years ago. Over the years I might get to the rest.

[bobblybear]

I enjoyed The Valley of Horses.....in fact, I read it before The Clan of the Cave Bear because I didn't know it was part of a series. The Mammoth Hunters was ok too, but have to agree with Anna about The Plains of Passage.

[Athena]

I remember liking The Clan of the Cave Bear more than The Valley of Horses. However, that was when I was a teenager so who knows what I'll think of them when I re-read them (but this time the English versions). I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it as much as the first book.

[pontalba]

I'll go back to Auel's series, eventually.  Just not right now.

 

I've finished the Karla Trilogy by John Le Carre.  It consists of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honorable Schoolboy and Smiley's People.

5/5

For me the first and third were the best, featuring the character of Smiley the most.  The middle one was a far more cynical book and must have been at least 85% about one of the peripheral characters of the first book, Jerry Westerby. While an excellent book, I'm partial to Smiley's character.  I blame Alec Guinness.  

 

Le Carre's character development is impeccable.  This is no ordinary Cold War novel.  It carries over extremely well into the present and isn't a bit dated.  The story actually boils down nicely into a conflict between two men.  George Smiley and the Soviet spymaster only known as "Karla".  How it is resolved is an extremely circuitous route taken with sidebars through the three novels. I found it riveting.

 

Highly Recommended.

[Little Pixie]

Hi Kate ! 

 

How`s the TV viewing going ? 

[pontalba]

Hi Kate ! 

 

How`s the TV viewing going ? 

 

LOL  Hey there Sarah. Going great!  We've watched a great Brit production, River.  Absolutely fantastic.  Love all the characters.  River is a fascinating combination of sensitive and barmy.    Love him!  Have you seen it?

We also watched the last, (third) season of Endeavour......the kid playing Morse is really projecting John Thaw's Morse.  The ending of season was a real kicker!! 

[pontalba]

The Wall by Marlen Haushofer  5/5

 

One human character, one basic setting.  One inexplicable situation. 

Imagine, if you will, an invisible wall separating you from a bizarre, seemingly frozen world.  Not literally frozen, as in icicles, frozen in motion.  Imagine the toll it would take on your psyche.  Not to mention how does one survive in such a situation. 

 

The unnamed narrator, visiting her sister and brother-in-laws hunting lodge in an unnamed forest preserve is thrust into such a situation.  We do not learn the how and why of her predicament, she has no way of ever finding that out.  Her story is told in a diary that she begins, just so she can tell the story.  She has no hope that anyone will ever read it, only that the mice will eventually eat the paper. 

 

A wonderful example of self analysis, and coming to terms with one's life and survival.

 

So very highly recommended.

[Little Pixie]

LOL  Hey there Sarah. Going great!  We've watched a great Brit production, River.  Absolutely fantastic.  Love all the characters.  River is a fascinating combination of sensitive and barmy.    Love him!  Have you seen it?

 

 

I saw the first ep of River and really liked it, but then didn`t get round to watching the rest of it . I`ll catch up when it repeats. I did watch Unforgotten, which also had Nicola Walker in it - very good. 

[Little Pixie]

The Wall by Marlen Haushofer  5/5

 

 

There`s also a film of the book. I got halfway through it and decided it was too depressing to continue. 

[pontalba]

There`s also a film of the book. I got halfway through it and decided it was too depressing to continue. 

A www! Actually in a way I found it rather hopeful. She is a bit of a reluctant survivor.

 

I know, I want to see the film, just waiting for husband to decide whether he'll read it or not. If he wants to, I'd rather him read the book first.

[pontalba]

  A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan  4/5

 

Mr. Heming is a successful real estate agent running his own business, and for all intents and purposes leads an exemplary life.

Is Mr. Heming a psychopath, or a sociopath? I lean more toward sociopath, but what do I know? In a real sense he exhibits some qualities of both. Lets just call him "disturbed". Narrated by Mr. Hemming himself, the story is told in a calm and rather low key manner. The fact he is speaking of his stalking of families, or individuals and entering their homes and investigating their lives whilst they are away is made more so by said low key manner.

One wouldn't think there was anything amusing about this story, but the black humor is absolutely wonderful, I had to laugh at the most inappropriate times. I suspect if you are a fan of books like Gone Girl, you could easily find this book a gem.

Recommended for those with a bit of a warped sense of humor

 

Edited November 29, 2015 by pontalba

[Nollaig]

Both The Wall and A Pleasure and a Calling sound like fantastic reads, great reviews! Both definitely going on mah wishlist Or possibly straight onto my tablet depending on the cost on Amazon

[Athena]

Great to see you again Kate . I'm glad you're doing well, and that you're reading some nice books and watching some nice TV shows .

[Little Pixie]

A www! Actually in a way I found it rather hopeful. She is a bit of a reluctant survivor.

 

I know, I want to see the film, just waiting for husband to decide whether he'll read it or not. If he wants to, I'd rather him read the book first.

 

I think if I`d been in a happy, bouncy state of mind, I`d`ve continued with the film . I needed something fluffy and cheering at the time, I suspect. 

 

Oh ! I meant to plug Scott and Bailey to you - it`s like a grim version of Cagney and Lacey, but in a good way. 

[pontalba]

Both The Wall and A Pleasure and a Calling sound like fantastic reads, great reviews! Both definitely going on mah wishlist Or possibly straight onto my tablet depending on the cost on Amazon

 

Thanks!   Def worth it! 

 

 

 

Great to see you again Kate . I'm glad you're doing well, and that you're reading some nice books and watching some nice TV shows .

 

Thanks, Gaia.

 

I think if I`d been in a happy, bouncy state of mind, I`d`ve continued with the film . I needed something fluffy and cheering at the time, I suspect. 

 

Oh ! I meant to plug Scott and Bailey to you - it`s like a grim version of Cagney and Lacey, but in a good way. 

 

Absolutely, mood makes all the difference! 

I'll look into Scott and Bailey......I used to like C&L.

 

We're watching George Gently series right now.  Not too much more to go.....I really like it!

[Little Pixie]

We're watching George Gently series right now.  Not too much more to go.....I really like it!

 

That`s filmed near I went to university - have you had the college ep yet ? 

[pontalba]

That`s filmed near I went to university - have you had the college ep yet ? 

 

We've almost finished the 6th season, which I believe is all that is available on Netflix, so far.  I do recall one at a University though.    A couple in fact I believe.

[Anna Begins]

Do you ever miss TV? I mean, like the news, Jeopardy (lol) etc.

[pontalba]

Do you ever miss TV? I mean, like the news, Jeopardy (lol) etc.

Oh, God no! . We can get our news online, and with Amazon Prime we've gotten a couple of news apps for world and national news.

Watchup, CBS, BBC.....stuff like that. No Commercials.....well, CBS does, but we mute them. Honestly, the commercials are mind numbing. Unwatchable.

 

I can easily believe old-fashioned network tv is on the way out.

[pontalba]

The Lover by Marguerite Duras 5/5 (a reread) first read in 2007

 

"One day, I was already old, in the entrance of a public place a man came up to me. He introduced himself and said, "I've known you for years. Everyone says you were beautiful when you were young, but I want to tell you I think you're more beautiful now than then. Rather than your face as a young woman, I prefer your face as it is now. Ravaged.""

Such is the bold opening of The Lover. Duras' prose is spare, but at the same time lush and sensual, with an odd abruptness that brings us from the opening as an old woman straight back to the 15 year old girl travelling the Mekong River to reach the state boarding school. We feel the heat and stifling humidity of the River as she leaves the bus on the already moving ferry and by chance [?] meets her Chinese Lover, a man almost twice her age.........is he the Lover of the title, or is the Lover the girl herself? How does such a relationship exist at all, much less flourish? And how long can it last?

The girl's, I must refer to her as 'the girl' as the main characters are not named in the book, adversarial/nurturing relationship with her mother and brothers wends its way through the lover's story both complimenting and complicating it in tantalizing and complex ways.

The timeline of the book is chaotic at best. No linear story this. We bounce from the present of 1984(ish) Paris back to 1929 Indochina and forward to 1943, war time Paris, and back to 1929.....and so forth, balancing again in the "present".
It is almost as though Duras simply expelled the innards of the book in one felled, chaotic swoop, although it is far to skillfully chorographed to be thus. I suspect the purpose of the book was to get it out of Duras' mind. Like many of her books, it is at least partially autobiographical.
Be prepared with pencil and thinking cap. Although this a very slender book, the contents are not.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Edit 12/6/15:

A wonderful re-read, solidifying my love of her prose, and what I can only call the tangential stream of consciousness Duras employs.

Edited December 6, 2015 by pontalba

[frankie]

A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan

I'm definitely adding this to my wishlist I've been wondering where you've been hiding, but it seems like you've been busy watching TV?

 

Edit: Great stuff, there are copies of the novel at the library!

Edited December 8, 2015 by frankie

[pontalba]

I'm definitely adding this to my wishlist I've been wondering where you've been hiding, but it seems like you've been busy watching TV?

 

Edit: Great stuff, there are copies of the novel at the library!

 

LOL  Yeah, Netflix is eating into my reading time, for sure. Oh well, we've really been seeing some truly excellent shows. 

 

Glad to hear your library has a copy of APAAC, it's certainly a strange little number.  I love the protag's mindset.  Really rather frightening in a understated manner.

[pontalba]

From Africanus: The Roman Empire, the Nika Riots and the Approaching Darkness by Matthew Jordan Storm 2/5

 

I love history.  I particularly love Ancient History as a whole.  /sigh/  I knew that this first novel of a trilogy was a sort of fact-based fictional account of a descendent of Scipio Africanus being involved in the Nika riots in Constantinople circa 532 A.D. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots ).  I wasn't prepared for the, I have to call it, romanticized version of the characters.  A very disappointing, and shallow account. As much as I love series I will not be reading the following two sequels.

 

I'm stretching it a bit giving 2 stars, although I didn't hate it, and I did finish it.  Hope sprang eternal......