Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016

[Athena]

Happy (belated) birthday ! You got a lot of books . I've read three books by Rainbow Rowell and liked them, but I haven't read Eleanor & Park yet. I hope you will like all of your new books .

[poppyshake]

What a lovely lot of books. 

Aren't they? I just like looking at them .. sometimes it's the best bit

Glad you enjoyed your birthday and congrats on the awesome haul - haven't heard of most of them!

Thanks Noll  You will hear more about them .. ermm .. eventually  

Happy belated Birthday ! 

 

I just downloaded that Menna van Pragg book ; it does look good.  

 

I`ve had At Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept in my ` buy at some point ` list, looking forward to your review. Er, no pressure. 

Thanks LP  

The Menna van Praag book does look awesome .. I hope it is .. much depends on it (my happiness for one thing )

I'm going to read At Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept this month .. though when the review will be written is anyone's guess Could be next year  

It's on my wish list too.

I hope to bring it with me Janet .. when we next have coffee  

Great haul of books P! I love 'Eleanor & Park', it's a lovely story, definitely one of my favourites.  I have 'The Versions Of Us' and 'The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth' on my wishlist (I've still to read 'The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow'),  I have 'The Bees' on my kindle (still to read it).  I look forward to your review of 'Through the Woods', that's on my wishlist. 

So many people recommend Eleanor & Park .. in the end I just had to give in  

Through the Woods looks seriously awesome .. I don't often read graphic novels but this one grabbed me. Alan flicked it and said that the intro alone will scare the living daylights out of me (mind you .. that could mean anything .. she might have put baked beans in her shepherd's pie for instance ) 

We have a lot of books in common Paula I always find that I'm looking up the books you're reading .. if I haven't already got them on my radar or on my shelves. I love the two Katherine Woodfine books .. am part way through The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth but it's every bit as good as The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow .. might even be better and that's high praise.

Happy (belated) birthday! You got a lot of books. I've read three books by Rainbow Rowell and liked them, but I haven't read Eleanor & Park yet. I hope you will like all of your new books.

Thanks Gaia  I was spoilt  This will be my first Rainbow Rowell  

[poppyshake]

Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford
 
Synopsis: Don't Tell Alfred is the wickedly funny sequel to Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. 'I believe it would have been normal for me to have paid a visit to the outgoing ambassadress. However the said ambassadress had set up such an uninhibited wail when she knew she was to leave, proclaiming her misery to all and sundry and refusing so furiously to look on the bright side, that it was felt she might not be very nice to me.' Fanny is married to absent-minded Oxford don Alfred and content with her role as a plain, tweedy housewife. But overnight her life changes when Alfred is appointed English Ambassador to Paris. In the blink of an eye, Fanny's mixing with royalty, Rothschilds and Dior-clad wives, throwing cocktail parties and having every indiscreet remark printed in tomorrow's papers. But with the love lives of her new friends to organize, an aristocratic squatter who won't budge and the antics of her maverick sons to thwart, Fanny's far too busy to worry about the diplomatic crisis looming on the horizon.
 
Review: I've started this book several times before but it just didn't catch hold and was put aside each time .. so frustrating as The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate are among my favourite books EVER! I included it in my 5 books in 7 days challenge last month as I thought it would give me the kick up the behind that was needed to get stuck into it. My feeling was that, after perhaps a sticky start, it would settle down into familiar Mitford territory. Alas, for me, it didn't This is probably because I've placed those other two books on too high a pedestal .. and also it's the word 'sequel' .. it promises that the well loved characters will be back and by and large, aside from Fanny and Alfred, they weren't There were brief cameos from Uncle Matthew and Davey but apart from that and a few mentions of the others they didn't feature. Plus the story takes place in Paris .. so the reader is not even in the right landscape.
 
There's lots of political talk (yawn ) and lots of French as you would expect .. too much for my rusty abilities anyway. The story got a bit bogged down .. the wit was largely absent and it just didn't seem to flow.
I didn't hate it of course, it's Mitford!! I'd never dare do such a thing and there were sentences which brought untold joy (well .. I've just told you so  ) but it didn't live up .. that's all I can say. I was sadly disappointed. One thing I noticed was that the first two books were written in 1945 and 1949 but this one was written in 1960. This could have had something to do with it .. certainly Nancy was trying to keep abreast of trends etc (I did a double take when I saw she had written about 'mods' ... I thought there must be some mistake ) and, to me, her stories are best suited to the 1940's. She seemed out of her comfort zone a bit (and I definitely was.) 

Anyway, I should have loved it but only Liked it .. with a small l. I love the cover though and it goes so well with the other two that it will never be got rid of (whilst I'm alive and kicking ) .. these things matter as you know.

[poppyshake]

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
 
Synopsis: Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a compelling, moving story exploring injustice and mob hysteria by the Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. 'On the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning to wait for the boat the bishop was coming on.' Santiago Nasar is brutally murdered in a small town by two brothers. All the townspeople knew it was going to happen - including the victim. But nobody did anything to prevent the killing. Twenty seven years later, a man arrives in town to try and piece together the truth from the contradictory testimonies of the townsfolk. To at last understand what happened to Santiago, and why.

 

Review: This missed the spot a bit as well   Again, the two other Garcia Marquez books that I've read .. I loved (One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera) so I had high expectations. This is a short story so his more expansive, fantastical, style is curtailed somewhat although he does keep the same style of matter of fact (even when it's ludicrous) narration. It's a bit of an anti-climax .. when the worse thing that can happen has already happened before the reader gets there .. plus the reader knows who the perpetrators are but the back stories are really quite interesting .. and I did get drawn in as it went along. I liked how nearly everyone had a different version of the same event .. how they perceived things differently but how it all came to the same result. There's frustration too in the fact that nothing can be altered or saved .. no matter what the findings.

The magical realism that he's famous for was absent .. and I missed it but .. though I was expecting more of the same so was disappointed .. it's still a good read and a good place to start with Garcia Marquez. Liked it!

[poppyshake]

The BFG by Roald Dahl
 
Synopsis: When Sophie is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night by a giant with a stride as long as a tennis court she is sure she's going to be eaten for breakfast. But luckily for Sophie, the BFG is far more jumbly than his disgusting neighbours, whose favourite pastime is guzzling up whoppsy-whiffling human beans. Sophie is determined to stop all this, and so she and the BFG cook up an ingenious plan to rid of the world of the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater and all their rotsome friends forever.

Review: Such an enjoyable read, it made my toes curl up with pleasure I knew it from the animated film but it's a while since I've seen it and anyway, this book conjured up different images (similar but different) which were more Quentin Blakeish. I love the notion of this friendly giant, living amongst meat eaters (or to be polite and call them by their names .. Fleshlumpeater, Manhugger, Childchewer, Meatdripper, Gizzardgulper, Maidmasher, Bloodbottler and Butcher Boy! ) .. picked on by them but sticking to his guns of not eating human beans and of catching nice dreams to send to good little boys and girls. I only wish there had been a BFG operating down my road when I was small   .. perhaps I could have had dreams about climbing ice cream mountains!
 
I got it into my head that he was a vegetarian .. because of those foul snozzcumbers .. but then remembered that he downed a plate of bacon and eggs at the palace so not vegetarian after all .. just averse to munching on children! Words are a bit of a 'twitch-tickling' problem to him .. consequently he makes a lot of them up. It's like a whole new language except for it's not really worth your while to learn it as obviously not many people speak it .. I was busy making a list when that thought struck me (FYO: I've written down .. jabbeling, humplecrimp, flushbunking, trogglehumping, plexicated, biffsquiggled, pizzened and trogfilth!) 
 
There's a movie out later this year which, going by the trailer, should be amazing! I'm hoping very much to persuade Claire and Janet to come with me .. I can cling onto them then when it gets to the frightening bits  
One of my favourite Dahl's Liked it! .. but definitely verging on a Loved it!. (I've rated them the same but there's no comparison between this and Don't Tell Alfred .. as far as entertainment and enjoyability are concerned. Which just goes to show that, even though I got rid of the numbers, my ratings are completely biffsquiggled!  )

[poppyshake]

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
 
Synopsis: Set in mid-1970s India, A Fine Balance is a subtle and compelling narrative about four unlikely characters who come together in circumstances no one could have foreseen soon after the government declares a 'State of Internal Emergency'. It is a breathtaking achievement: panoramic yet humane, intensely political yet rich with local delight; and, above all, compulsively readable.

Review: I wasn't altogether that pleased when the book jar threw this at me. Mainly because it's a bit of a tome (600 pages) .. and they seem to be the books I'm ignoring the most .. the long ones. Why I don't know as obviously, if the story is good, then the longer the better but when a book has been on your shelves for ages .. its size does go against it   

Anyway, hoorah for the book jar! This story was so absorbing and compelling that I found it hard to put down. Some books of 200 pages have seemed far longer. It reminded me a lot of the writing of John Steinbeck .. similarly epic and sweeping .. detailed but not flowery .. and similarly hard hitting. What I found absolutely astounding was that this story is set in the 1970's and 1980's .. I had thought I was reading about a time long gone by. The conditions in India were just so brutal .. and so primitive. I knew something about the earlier problems stemming from Partition but I knew nothing about The Emergency at all I'm ashamed to say  Very sobering to read about how the people suffered .. how they are probably still suffering actually. The inhumanity of it all

There is humour .. and an almost relentless optimism in the face of immense hardship but it is extremely harrowing .. your heart gets torn to pieces. The story has remained with me .. in a way that a lot of stories don't. The people seemed real .. I felt I knew them (probably because the writer doesn't just scratch the surface of these characters .. we know every little nuance.

There's nothing I can really say that would do justice to it. It is an astonishing piece of writing, truly. You couldn't say it was enjoyable ... it's a painful read and one to make you reflect and count your blessings but all the same .. it's a pleasure to read something so well crafted and so honest. Loved it!

[Janet]

 I'm hoping very much to persuade Claire and Janet to come with me .. I can cling onto them then when it gets to the frightening bits

No persuasion necessary - I'm in!    The trailer looks brilliant! 

 

I'm so pleased you loved A Fine Balance.  It's a great book. 

[Athena]

I really liked The BFG too. Great reviews, Kay . I hope you enjoy the film .

[chesilbeach]

No persuasion necessary - I'm in!    The trailer looks brilliant! 

 

Count me in too!!!

 

I'm so pleased you loved A Fine Balance.  It's a great book. 

Ditto

[poppyshake]

No persuasion necessary - I'm in!    The trailer looks brilliant!   

Count me in too!!!

Yay! :cows:   xx

I'm so pleased you loved A Fine Balance.  It's a great book. 

Ditto

Thanks  Why on earth was it stuck on my shelves for all those years   For all I know CBtD might be a masterpiece

[poppyshake]

I really liked The BFG too. Great reviews, Kay . I hope you enjoy the film .

Thanks Gaia  I'm pretty sure it will be epic

[Kylie]

Great review of A Fine Balance! I guess it's another one for the wishlist.

[poppyshake]

Great review of A Fine Balance! I guess it's another one for the wishlist.

Thanks Kylie  I'm doing you a favour as I know you like nothing more than to add books to your lists xx

[poppyshake]

By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart

Synopsis: Elizabeth Smart's passionate fictional account of her intense love-affair with the poet George Barker, described by Angela Carter as 'Like Madame Bovary blasted by lightening . . .A masterpiece'. One day, while browsing in a London bookshop, Elizabeth Smart chanced upon a slim volume of poetry by George Barker - and fell passionately in love with him through the printed word. Eventually they communicated directly and, as a result of Barker's impecunious circumstances, Elizabeth Smart flew both him and his wife from Japan, where he was teaching, to join her in the United States. Thus began one of the most extraordinary, intense and ultimately tragic love affairs of our time. They never married but Elizabeth bore George Barker four children and their relationship provided the impassioned inspiration for one of the most moving and immediate chronicles of a love affair ever written - By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept. Originally published in 1945, this remarkable book is now widely identified as a classic work of poetic prose which, more than six decades later, has retained all of its searing poignancy, beauty and power of impact.

Review: I don't usually read forewords .. they give too much away. That is, I don't read them before reading the book .. I go to them afterwards. I hadn't got far into this book though before I decided that some light shed on the subject might help me .. not only that but I also looked up Elizabeth Smart to see what I could glean about her background .. or what her story was before writing this book. The problem being that five mins in .. I was a little out of my depth   

 

It's classed as fiction but is clearly autobiographical .. I say clearly but all is not clear. What is patent though .. is that the narrator is in love and that it's agony.
It's a difficult piece .. written as it is in poetic prose. I found it hard to grasp the meanings .. or to understand what she would be at but it was deeply fascinating. If this is love then you would wish to be spared from it ... because it's quite clearly destructive, soul sucking, selfish, love .. which is very closely related to hate. The anger that flowed from her pen must have surely burnt the pages!!
It's very raw, very emotive, very challenging .. it's quite exhausting actually. You feel put through the wringer .. and you only ever grasp half her meaning but you want to grasp more. She does flit from agony to ecstasy and back almost continually although there is an eventual slide into complete despondency. 

I think with repeated readings I will understand it better .. it's a very short piece so no problem at all to pick up .. except it can tangle your brain like no other. Luckily I like a tangled brain ..   The foreword here is by Yann Martel (of Life of Pi fame) and it was very helpful. There's also a quote on the back from Michael Ondaatje that says 'At some point every good reader comes across By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept (I must stop humming the Rivers of Babylon song every time I see that title ) And he or she recognises an emotion essential and permanent to us.' I believe it was this quote that made me take the book to the till. I wanted to be classed among the 'good readers' I'm not at all sorry I did because extraordinary books don't often come my way .. and this is the sort of book to shake you by the coat tails. What I would say though .. if anyone is interested in reading it .. is to perhaps borrow it (anyone is welcome to borrow my copy for instance) just to be sure it's your thing as I'm guessing it won't be everyone's.

 

Here are a couple of the easier sentences  

'I am shot with wounds which have eyes that see a world all sorrow, always to be, panoramic and unhealable, and mouths that hang unspeakable in the sky of blood.'

'All people seem criminally irrelevant. I ignore everyone and everything, and, if crossed or interrupted in my decay, hate. Nature is only the irking weather and flowers crude reminders of stale states of being.'

 

It's something extraordinary as I said .. and something well worth tying yourself in knots over. Liked it! 
 

Edited March 27, 2016 by poppyshake

[poppyshake]

Bright Star: The Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats

Synopsis: John Keats died in penury and relative obscurity in 1821, aged only 25. He is now seen as one of the greatest English poets and a genius of the Romantic age. This collection, which contains all his most memorable works and a selection of his letters, is a feast for the senses, displaying Keats' gift for gorgeous imagery and sensuous language, his passionate devotion to beauty, as well as some of the most moving love poetry ever written.

Review: I was determined to read more (I should say 'some' ) poetry this year. I'd picked up this book before but only managed to dip my toes in. It was time to fully submerge. Again the foreword, by film director, Jane Campion, was extremely helpful. It gave me some background information and it also made me feel like I wasn't alone in not fully understanding poetry. Jane doesn't understand it much either .. and she was still able to enjoy reading it .. and what's more make a film on the subject. I took the view that even if it was all as clear as mud I would just plough on and strangely .. I did get more attuned to it. I began to read it better .. I took notice of where the commas were etc Now, a lot of Keats' poetry is based on Greek mythology and sadly that's another subject that I'm almost clueless about (I know the greatest hits .. like Icarus and King Midas .. but even there my knowledge is limited) so it didn't help that I knew nothing of the stories he was poetically describing. Consequently the epic (and by epic they mean long ) poems Endymion and Hyperion were a bit of a trial. But .. I plunged on. And though it took me a long time .. it wasn't without reward. Every now and then a particularly poem or verse or line would just take my breath away and I found myself enjoying it (not quite harp playing/angels singing but pretty close   )

 

I also got hold of a copy of Jane's film about Keats and his love, Fanny Brawne. I borrowed it from the library as didn't want to buy it in case I didn't like it. I didn't like it .. I LOVED it! So did Al .. we've now got to get hold of our own copy as repeated watching is a must. Mind you, it does put you through the emotional mill (Ben Whishaw plays Keats .. Ben Whishaw IS Keats!!) Anyhow .. the characters read quite a bit of poetry (from this book) out loud so that helped too.

Of the 513 pages, 486 are devoted to poetry (and a couple of plays) .. so the 'selected letters' are really select I couldn't wait to get to them as I thought that's where I'd really get a flavour of him (to be honest I thought 'and then I'll be able to take it easy' ) .. and where he'd be most relaxed but the letters were every bit as complex. It's enough to make you feel sorry for poets .. their brains must be on fire 24/7. It was only in his letters to Fanny that I found him completely accessible .. and there were only a few of them (I intend to read more though.)

 

As it says above in the synopsis .. Keats died a poor man. He believed himself a failure This always gets to me .. so many people who we now regard as geniuses .. were penniless and ignored in their own time. So unfair and undeserved. I could only ever name a handful of poets but Keats has always been one of them. Ah well .. such is the fickle nature of public opinion.

I hope this is just the start and that I'll continue to (lovingly) wrestle with poetry this year. Liked it!   

[Athena]

Now, a lot of Keats' poetry is based on Greek mythology and sadly that's another subject that I'm almost clueless about (I know the greatest hits .. like Icarus and King Midas .. but even there my knowledge is limited) so it didn't help that I knew nothing of the stories he was poetically describing. Consequently the epic (and by epic they mean long ) poems Endymion and Hyperion were a bit of a trial. But .. I plunged on.

I didn't know Endymion and Hyperion were two of his poems. Now it makes sense that the books Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons, mention John Keats (he also wrote Endymion and The Rise of Endymion but I haven't read those yet).

 

I'm glad you're enjoying your reading . Great reviews!

[poppyshake]

I didn't know Endymion and Hyperion were two of his poems. Now it makes sense that the books Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons, mention John Keats (he also wrote Endymion and The Rise of Endymion but I haven't read those yet).

 

I'm glad you're enjoying your reading . Great reviews!

That's interesting It's funny ... I've read lots of references to it since .. I probably had before but it must have sailed in one ear and out of the other   Well, we can't retain every bit of info .. our heads would burst!

Thanks Gaia, hope you're enjoying your reading too  

[poppyshake]

The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent 

Synopsis: Guylain Vignolles lives on the edge of existence. Working at a book pulping factory in a job he hates, he has but one pleasure in life ...Sitting on the 6.27 train each day, Guylain recites aloud from pages he has saved from the jaws of his monstrous pulping machine. But it is when he discovers the diary of a lonely young woman, Julie - a woman who feels as lost in the world as he does - that his journey will truly begin ...The Reader on the 6.27 is a tale bursting with larger-than-life characters, each of whom touches Guylain's life for the better. For fans of Amelie and Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore, this captivating novel is a warm, funny fable about literature's power to uplift even the most downtrodden of lives.

Review: Such a title (and cover) raises expectations and also fear. I desperately wanted to love it but feared I might not. I was expecting all sorts of things but the story took me on a completely different journey to the one expected. This turned out to be a good thing as, though I didn't quite love it, I liked it enormously. Quirky characters and inventive story .. I loved the thought of Guylain reading aloud from the books he saved from the pulping machine In theory that is .. in reality I probably would have got off of the train at the next stop In novels I love characters who don't conform .. in life I prefer if they behave all nice and normal thank you very much .. especially on public transport. The pulping machine was fantastically described .. just as if it was the evilest of story monsters (which of course, it was!)

One of the many books about books (which are almost ALWAYS worth reading) but one with a different angle. It's French so it has that Gallic charm to it too .. one minute it can have you laughing but the next you'll be feeling gloomy. I like to have all my strings tugged so that suited me. Liked it loads!

[poppyshake]

Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler

Synopsis: When a bomb devastates the office of London's most unusual police unit and claims the life of its oldest detective, Arthur Bryant, his surviving partner John May searches for clues to the bomber's identity. His search takes him back to the day the detectives first met as young men in 1940. In Blitz-ravaged London, a beautiful dancer rehearsing for a sexy, sinister production of 'Orpheus In The Underworld' is found without her feet. Bryant & May's investigation plunges them into a bizarre gothic mystery, where a faceless man stalks terrified actors and death strikes in darkness. Tracking their quarry through the blackout, searching for a murderer who'll stop at nothing to be free of a nightmare, the duo unwittingly follow the same path Orpheus took when leading Euridyce from the shadows of Hell. Back in the present day, John May starts to wonder if their oldest adversary might be the killer who took his partner's life. He must work alone to solve a puzzle that began over half a century earlier. In a war-shaken city of myths, rumours and fear, Bryant & May discover that a house is not always a home, nothing is as it appears, the most cunning criminals hide in plain sight, and the devil has all the best tunes. Dark drama and black comedy combine as Bryant & May take centre stage in their first great case.

Review: Phew .. long synopsis! I've been meaning to start on this series for a while, ever since reading Christopher's memoir Paperboy .. so much was written about his struggle to start writing and to fix on a plot or subject etc .. so many blank pages and incredulous storylines which eventually culminated in him beginning on these stories.

I like detective novels .. especially those that have a bit of an angle. I'm not too bothered about the plot actually or the crime .. the less said about murder the better in my view. I'm happiest if the blood is all dried up by the time the reader arrives. Agatha is probably my limit .. or just beyond it   What I like are detectives ... and I like them to be as eccentric and unconventional as possible and if it's a partnership .. so much the better. I like seeing the way they can spark off each other (haha .. Bryant & May .. no pun intended) and annoy and irritate in equal measure.

 

These two are brilliant. I love Arthur Bryant in particular .. with his one foot in the supernatural and his fondness for boiled sweets .. plus his unpredictable train of thought and slightly non PC way of looking at things. It was a bit disconcerting to find that he was dead at the beginning of the book  .. this was a bad beginning Though I had a notion how things would turn out. His partner John May, anxious to find Arthur's killer, thinks there may be a connection to the first case they ever worked on and so we flash back to the days of the Blitz .. and we jump backwards and forwards from thereon in.

Perhaps the plot .. especially the revisited 1940's plotline .. plods on a little too long. I did lose interest occasionally and especially when Arthur's appearances were scanty but, on the whole it was extremely enjoyable and excellently read by Tim Goodman. I'm definitely reading/listening to more Liked it!

[poppyshake]

Andalus by Jason Webster

Synopsis: As Islam and the West prepare to clash once again, Jason Webster embarks on a quest to discover Spain's hidden Moorish legacy and lift the lid on a country once forged by both Muslims and Christians. He meets Zine, a young illegal immigrant from Morocco, a twenty-first century Moor, lured over with the promise of a job but exploited as a slave labourer on a fruit farm. Jason's life is threatened as he investigates the agricultural gulag, Zine rescues him, and the unlikely pair of writer and desperado take off on a roller coaster ride through Andalucia. While Jason unveils the neglected Arab ancestry of modern Spain - apparent in its food, language, people and culture - Zine sets out on his own parallel quest, a one-man peace mission to resolve Muslim-Christian tensions by proving irresistible to Spanish senoritas.

Review: I've read three of Jason's travel books and he always engages. It was a bit of a tonic actually to read this during a freezing cold February (apologies for not writing this review until a comfortably warm May!  ) With a bit of imagination I could envisage wandering around Moorish Spain (I've always wanted to visit the Alhambra actually .. and find myself in the gardens .. so it was a treat to read about it here, which is probably the nearest I'll get.)

At the start of the book .. as part of his investigations .. Jason visits a fruit farm which employs illegal immigrants. He's trying to go under cover but is soon discovered and has to hot foot it out of there quick sharp. One of the immigrant workers, Zine, a Moroccan, helps him escape (actually on a motorbike with pursuing gunmen .. just like The Great Escape! ) and this turns out to be extremely fortuitous as Zine is a highlight in this story and adds much to it. Jason is obliged to help him after a) .. putting him out of a job (although the labourers on the fruit farm had been duped and were merely unpaid slaves) and b) risking his life. However Zine is not the easiest of companions/dependents .. he's unpredictable, moody and wayward. He accompanies Jason a lot on his travels though and his insight is invaluable as Jason continues with his quest to explore Spain's Moorish past (and discover its influences and relevancies to today's Spain.) Liked it! 

[poppyshake]

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan

Synopsis: North lives on a circus boat with her beloved bear, keeping a secret that could capsize her life.
Callanish lives alone in her house in the middle of the ocean, tending the graves of those who die at sea. As penance for a terrible mistake, she has become a gracekeeper.
A chance meeting between the two draws them magnetically to one another - and to the promise of a new life.
But the waters are treacherous, and the tide is against them.

Review: I read this with Alan and, like all books read with Alan, it suffered a bit from being put down too often due to time shortages etc. We did both love the world created by Kirsty .. a sort of topsy turvy world with the majority of people living on the water in ships and boats (some sort of dystopian future world to which we're all headed .. most probably!.) The writing is gorgeously imaginative. I was reminded of The Night Circus which can only ever be a good thing but this one was not quite as enthralling .. although very nearly. It had all the right ingredients.
The chapters are split between two characters, North (a dampling .. living on a circus travelling boat with her bear) and Callanish (who lives on land) or mainly .. occasionally other minor characters have their say. All is not what it seems with these two .. secrets abound. In a split narrative there's usually always a character you prefer to be with and, for the most part here, it was North (for me) .. I found her and the circus crew more interesting .. especially the bear .. I had big plans for him in my imagination .. but there was a feeling from the start that the two characters would eventually meet and that it would have consequences. So it was exciting sensing that getting ever nearer.

Because the story is so gorgeously inventive and the writing so evocative it was occasionally disappointing when it dipped a little (sometimes a problem when the bar's been set high.) This might have also been a result of fractured reading. When you can only devote half an hour to a book every now and then .. it becomes imperative for it to wow you in that time and it's almost impossible for any story to do that continually so it's perhaps not fair to judge it (but I'm going to anyway ) The book built to a crescendo but sadly it didn't quite deliver. That was both our views although Alan was more vehement about it .. but then he hardly ever likes an ending!

I'd still recommend it to anyone who likes reading fantasy (dreamy, mystical sort of fantasy that is .. not complex stuff with warring goblins etc.) It's very visual and descriptive. I was slightly annoyed with it for just falling short (imo) of brilliant .. it was so very nearly there. Liked it! .. a lot!

[bobblybear]

Great reviews! I've added The Reader on the 6.27 and Full Dark House to my wishlist.

[Athena]

Great reviews !

 

Thanks Gaia, hope you're enjoying your reading too  

I am .

[poppyshake]

Great reviews! I've added The Reader on the 6.27 and Full Dark House to my wishlist.

Thanks bobbs! My work here is done  xx

Great reviews !

 

I am .

Thanks Gaia .. glad your mojo is alive and well  

[frankie]

I've been too behind on reading other people's reading logs, including yours!  I love my work and my Boss is the best but hell, it does cut down on the time I get to spend doing other stuff I love!!

 

I've had a lot of fun reading through the latest posts in your reading log and as always, have a few comments... 

 

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper

 

Great review! I'm glad this was even better than the other one, as it feels like you've 'discovered' the great laugh potential with Jonathan Tropper I've yet to read this particular book of his myself, but I'm thinking it'll be a hoot! (Did I tell you about seeing the movie of the book of his I sent to you? Can't remember the name... The one about the funeral? The movie was rubbish  Too bad as the book was awesome and the cast in the movie was great! It just didn't deliver.)

 

It's a hardback .. I'm getting more and more into hardbacks, I don't know what's come over me .. well .. in this instance .. I wasn't going to take the chance that the paperback would be as gorgeous .. they're not always you know *outraged*

 

Holy crap Hardbacks!!!!! 

 

 

 

By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart

 

An amazing review!  Can I ask (if you said, I missed it ): how did you discover the book and what made you read it? Out of curiosity. So glad you enjoyed it! I'm not sure, but I think the reason why this book is on my wishlist is because it was somehow featured in the non-fiction book about 9 different literary couples, which I really liked. I've been curious about the book but have never felt like ordering a copy for myself, from a bookstore or a library. However... I'm so glad you added a few quotes! Because I was mesmerized... I'm now totally wanting to read the book!!

 

Bright Star: The Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats

 

Again, an amazing review!! Many months ago, I happened to accidentally catch the movie on TV, and I was blown away, and immediately added Keats's stuff on my wishlist. I even borrowed this particular book of his/about him from the library, but didn't get into it... It was in Finnish, maybe that was why. I think his stuff will be amazing in English... I'm so glad you had a chance to watch the movie, too, and that you really really liked the book (the poetry and the letters). I can't believe he died at age 25... That's really nothing... He was way too young.

 

The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent 

 

Gallic charm indeed! So pleased you really liked it even though you didn't absolutely love it! Such a darling book, such a darling character

 

Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler

 

I remember us talking about Christopher Fowler... Glad you finally got to reading the first book in the series! I've yet to read it... I think I started it some time ago but was a bit perplexed by the start... I think it was the 1940s stuff, right from the start, and it threw me off. I wanted there to be the modern day stuff to begin with. 

 

As I've not read FDH, I don't know how it's truly like, but I think you could actually like the second novel in the series better than this one as there's no going back and forth in time. It's a full-on detective story

Edited May 20, 2016 by frankie