Kylie Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 Something Rotten is the 4th book, Frankie. I'm reading the 5th one at the moment and I've gotta say...it's brilliant! You really should get onto reading them soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted December 18, 2010 Author Share Posted December 18, 2010 Oh heck, is Something Rotten the second Thursday Next novel? If so, I'm too scared to read your review, I've only read the first one. Oh boy, I really feel like I should just re-read Jane Eyre again, and then re-read The Eyre Affair and go straight into all the other Thursday Nexts. How is it possible that you should read one of these TN novels just now that Kylie made my buy all the TN books we found in OZ and while I'd love to read them but have still to read 5 short reads this year?! You're killing me, poppyshake Sorry Frankie I read the Eyre Affair last year or the year before that and I did find it a bit of a struggle but now I must say I love them .. it's definitely better if you can read them fairly close together .. you just get into the mind set, you've got lots of fun ahead of you but take your time, start (Thursday) next year. Something Rotten is the 4th book, Frankie. I'm reading the 5th one at the moment and I've gotta say...it's brilliant! You really should get onto reading them soon! Ooh, I'm really looking forward to it now Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted December 18, 2010 Author Share Posted December 18, 2010 Something Special - Iris Murdoch Waterstones Synopsis: Yvonne believes there's more to life than marriage to Sam, the young man who's courting her. But when she tries to have fun, she gets caught up in a fracas in a bar. Sam's idea of "something special" meanwhile is to take her to St Stephen's Green later that night to show her a ghostly tree! Review: I borrowed this from the library because I was enjoying reading The Sea, The Sea so much and because it's so short I read it in about half an hour. To say that Yvonne is less than enthusiastic about marrying Sam would be an understatement, she wants to have some fun and excitement. Sam thinks he will take Yvonne for a romantic moonlit walk by the river Liffey and then to see a fallen tree but Yvonne wants none of it, her idea of a good night out is to go to Kimballs and explore the slightly seedy downstairs bar and she's determined to have her way. Yvonne's mum and uncle just want to see her married to a decent man. A funny little story, set in Dublin, beautifully illustrated throughout with Michael McCurdy's lovely woodcut engravings. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted December 18, 2010 Author Share Posted December 18, 2010 (edited) The Summer Book - Tove Jansson Waterstones Synopsis: An elderly artist and her six-year-old grand-daughter are away on a summer together on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland. As the two learn to adjust to each other's fears, whims and yearnings, a fierce yet understated love emerges - one that encompasses not only the summer inhabitants but the very island itself. Written in a clear, unsentimental style, full of brusque humour, and wisdom, "The Summer Book" is a profoundly life-affirming story. Tove Jansson captured much of her own life and spirit in the book, which was her favourite of her adult novels. This new edition, with a Foreword by Esther Freud, sees the return of a European literary gem - fresh, authentic and deeply humane. Review: Not a particularly good time to read this book .. I do prefer to read books in season but one glance at the foreword and I was hooked. I've not really got into Tove's writing before .. never having liked the Moomins but this is something completely different and for adults. It's a collection of short interlinked stories about six year old Sophie and her grandmother who spend their summers, along with Sophie's father, on a remote island. Sophie is a smart little cookie and she definitely gets all her feistiness from her grandmother, they have a lovely relationship. Sophie's father is more of a shadowy figure, he's mentioned a lot but only in passing and is often off somewhere else doing necessary or exciting things. Sophie's grandmother is old, she's unsteady, she forgets things sometimes and has dizzy spells, this doesn't stop her from gadding about on her own or with Sophie exploring all the flora and fauna of the island, the skulls and bones and bogs and old roots. She's wise and unsentimental, very much talking to Sophie on equal terms and answering her interminable questions honestly and wisely. She understands that, despite Sophie's determination not to let it show, Sophie is still afraid of deep water, but she doesn't say anything about it, she just observes. She teaches Sophie about life and love and keeping imagination alive. There are no flowery descriptions, no frills, everything is written down quite sparsely but there's also something incredibly magical about it. Grandmother carves outlandish creatures out of the dead wood in the magic forest and she and Sophie build a tiny replica Ventian city in the marsh pool. Grandmother says thing's like 'wake me up if you do anything that's fun' and 'did I ever tell you about the dead pig I found?' and 'with the best will in the world I cannot start believing in the Devil at my age' .. Sophie says 'you know, sometimes when everything's fine, I think it's just a bloody bore' and 'I hate you. With warm personal wishes. Sophie' and (to the cat) 'how many murdered today?' I don't always like forewords in books and don't usually read them because quite often they give away too much of the plot but this one was a pleasure to read. Esther Freud, who is a huge fan of the book, goes out to the real island (that Tove spent her summers at) with Tove Jansson's niece Sophie (said to be the inspiration for the fictional Sophie) to spend a couple of days in the house that Tove built with her brother Lars back in 1947. A lot of what she finds there is instantly recognisable from the book, the woodpile, the steep stone steps, the faded blue paint etc. She decides to walk around the island and is shocked when she finds it only takes her four and a half minutes and feels a bit claustrophobic. However, after a few days of pottering about, swimming, foraging and generally enjoying the pace of island life she finds she feels more relaxed and the island seems larger somehow, she's sorry when her short visit comes to an end. A very special read and one to treasure. I understand there is also a 'Winter Book' which I would like to read but I don't think it's a continuation of the stories about Sophie and Grandmother. 9/10 Edited December 18, 2010 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 I've got the dreaded flu lurgy at the moment (not sure if it is of the porcine variety .. rather hoping not) so I have a brain full of cotton wool, I'll have to do some retrospective reviews on my 2011 blog. Happy New Year everyone and good luck with your reading in 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I hope you're feeling better soon Poppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 (edited) Thanks Kylie I'm feeling much better now .. a big thanks to the mods who have allowed the past logs to be kept open Now I will try and catch up on some reviews.Giving up The Ghost - Hilary MantelWaterstones Synopsis: From one of Britain's finest authors, a wry, shocking and beautifully-written memoir of childhood, ghosts (real and metaphorical), illness and family. 'Giving up the Ghost' is award-winning novelist Hilary Mantel's uniquely unusual five-part autobiography. Opening in 1995 with 'A Second Home', Mantel describes the death of her stepfather which leaves her deeply troubled by the unresolved events of her childhood. In 'Now Geoffrey Don't Torment Her' Mantel takes the reader into the muffled consciousness of her early childhood, culminating in the birth of a younger brother and the strange candlelight ceremony of her mother's 'churching'. In 'Smile', an account of teenage perplexity, Mantel describes a household where the keeping of secrets has become a way of life. Finally, at the memoir's conclusion, Mantel explains how through a series of medical misunderstandings and neglect she came to be childless and how the ghosts of the unborn like chances missed or pages unturned, have come to haunt her life as a writer.Review: I found this whilst looking for Susan Hill's Howards End is on the Landing and was intrigued straight away, I like reading writers memoirs. Hilary was a very individual child. When she was very small she lived with her parents and grandparents and as such got used at a very early age to adult company and conversation. She had a vivid imagination, and was fairly shocked on her first outing at school to discover a class full of what seemed to Hilary to be dim witted children reading impossibly dull books like Dick and Dora. She's outraged especially when she finds out that going to school is compulsory, it's a further disappointment to add to the one that she is only just coming to terms with ... the fact that she isn't going to suddenly turn into a boy.Hilary gains two brothers and her mum and dad eventually move into a home of their own but this brings with it it's own insecurities, Hilary is beset by worries that her mother will leave her in the night and she lays awake listening for the sounds. Jack suddenly arrives on the scene, Hilary is quite pleased because although she's only six, she has set her heart on marrying somebody and she feels Jack might do. One day Jack doesn't go home after he's had his tea ... Hilarys dad moves to one of the smaller bedrooms and there are whisperings and strange looks on the street. Not long after, Hilarys dad moves out, never to be seen again by her.Though she didn't enjoy her early years at school, Hilary eventually began to settle and flourish and became 'top girl'. She graduates and proceeds to study law at the London School of Economics and then transfers to Sheffield University to be with the man she loves and is soon to marry. Her life and career seem to be in the ascendancy but unfortunately the ill health that had always dogged her in childhood (as a child she was nicknamed 'Miss Neverwell' by a doctor) continues and she is forced to seek medical help. At first she is prescribed anti-depressants which is understandable as she is depressed, for one thing her health is bad for another she has no money but the side effects of these tablets are soon making her life a misery. She is sent to see a psychiatrist and her tablets are changed several times, she is moved on to some 'major tranquillisers' and told to stop writing (something she had started to do since being freed from her textbooks for a while), but the tablets make her feel almost murderous and the pains continue to stab through her. The side effects of the tablets grow ever more disturbing, in fact, the anti pyschotic drugs have the effect of making you act in a fairly pyschotic way - with terrible visions and frenzies. Hilary was too ill to continue with her studies or to get a proper job and so she got a fairly ordinary untaxing one, moved to another country and began to write a book.And it's whilst she's abroad, aged 27, that Hilary is eventually diagnosed as having endometriosis and a hysterectomy is performed. The rage that she feels over her many misdiagnosis's and the fact that she will now, even before she has even really thought about it seriously, never be able to have children of her own is painful to read, I have some experience of this myself and it's the first time I've ever read anything that so powerfully and accurately expressed the desolation felt. One of the first things her doctor says to her following the operation is 'Oh well, there's one good thing anyway. Now you won't have to worry about birth prevention.' as she says there are times when you are justified in punching someone in the face .. she didn't .. though goodness knows how. She still suffered from terrible pain though and the treatment for this was hormones, which made her weight balloon alarmingly, her hair fall out and her eyesight blur. It's perhaps in the aftermath of all of this that Hilary Mantel the novelist is born, in a way her novels become the children she will never have.I didn't learn much about novel writing, but that didn't matter, I thought it was one of the most powerful memoirs I've ever read. She is such a keen and sharp observer and her experiences just live on the page .. outstanding.9/10 Edited November 6, 2013 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 (edited) The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch Waterstones Review: When Charles Arrowby retires from his glittering career in the London theatre, he buys a remote house on the rocks by the sea. He hopes to escape from his tumultuous love affairs but unexpectedly bumps into his childhood sweetheart and sets his heart on destroying her marriage. His equilibrium is further disturbed when his friends all decide to come and keep him company and Charles finds his seaside idyll severely threatened by his obsessions. Review: I really enjoyed this book, it's beautifully atmospheric and lyrical. I think it's probably going to set me off on an Iris Murdoch obsession .. in fact it already has ... whilst reading it I also managed to fit in Iris's only short story Something Special and am currently reading her husband John Bayley's beautiful Iris memoirs, I've also recently bought The Black Prince so she's becoming a bit of a project. The central character of The Sea, The Sea is Charles Arrowby, an ageing theatrical celebrity, and it has to be said he's completely unlikeable, although my opinion of him shifted quite a bit during the story I never found myself liking him at any point. At the start of the story you find yourself fairly in tune with him .. you can understand why anyone would want to take themselves off to a remote location by the sea to commune with nature and get away from it all .. Charles's wish is to find himself somewhere where he has nothing else to do but 'learn to be good' and this seems admirable, perhaps he is tired of the adulation and fame and yearns for the simple life. He has plans to write a diary/journal/autobiography .. perhaps novel .. he can never quite pin it down and changes his mind constantly. Perhaps it's just as well that I started the novel by being fairly well disposed towards him because he soon tests that to the limit. The house that Charles buys is called 'Shruff End', it perches on a small promontory and is exposed, isolated, damp and possibly haunted. The locals are fairly hostile, they seem less than impressed with their new celebrity neighbour and the sea (very much a central character in the book) and it's environs also turn out to be unpredictable and unaccommodating. Charles is spooked by all sorts of imaginary faces at windows and bumps in the night and things come to a bit of a head when whilst sitting with his notebook staring out to sea he momentarily see's a monster rising from the waves. Are these things just hallucinations or are they portents of things to come? He find himself and his cottage besieged by many of the people he has sought to leave behind, old love rivals, relations, friends and enemies turn up at his door, these people seem to both love and loathe him at the same time and it's through them that we start to see Charles's true character emerge and instead of 'learning to be good' he carries on being bad. This is a man who is far more used to manipulating and exploiting people than we were at first led to believe. His staggering conceit and lack of regard for the feelings of others really comes to a head when he bumps into Hartley, an old flame who he was once engaged to marry. Hartley was the one true love of his life and he has never really came to terms with losing her. They were very young when first together and seemingly devoted to each other when Hartley was suddenly whisked away by her family never to be seen again by Charles ... until now. It turns out that Hartley lives just a short way from 'Shruff End', she's an ordinary, rather unattractive and elderly housewife now but that doesn't matter to Charles. He see's her very much as she once was and is convinced that she needs rescuing from her rather brutish husband, Ben. This sets him on a course of actions which can only be described as bizarre, obsessive and self deluded. He thinks his intentions are honourable and finds constant excuses for his selfish behaviour. It is at times extremely uncomfortable to read about Charles's treatment of poor Hartley even though you do find yourself thinking frequently 'get a grip woman for goodness sake' but it's also fairly farcical too (you're constantly cringing and hoping that something happens to thwart his plans and scheme.) It's only in the aftermath of these disastrous encounters with Hartley that Charles really begins to assess his own true character. Perhaps one of the most interesting secondary characters is James, Charles's cousin and rival. Charles has never liked or understood him, there's a fair amount of jealousy and suspicion going right back to childhood. Though his character is perhaps only lightly touched upon I found myself drawn to him and wanting to know more and much of the mystery and magic which weaves it's way through the tale is wrapped up in his story. I also really liked the descriptions of the bizarre meals that Charles enjoyed concocting, it added an amusing and quirky touch .. I've since found out that they mostly came from the suggestions of Iris's husband John. The book is perhaps overlong, I felt at times I had got to the end when I hadn't quite and occasionally the story wandered too far and I found my interest lagging but on the whole I found it mesmerising, strange and quite unlike anything I'd read before. It's a story that's open to many interpretations and probably nearly every reader will take something different from it. 10/10 Edited November 22, 2012 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Giving Up the Ghost sounds great; I've added it to my wish list, thanks! I meant to read The Sea, the Sea earlier this month, but I got side-tracked with other books. I think I'll definitely enjoy this one going by your review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) What an amazing review of The Sea, the Sea! You definitely made me want to grab the book from the shelves and start reading it immediately Do you already own a copy of The Bell by the same author? The reason why I ask is that I have a copy of it and I've been meaning to give it away (not because I didn't like the story, but because I've already read it twice and don't think I will read it again anytime soon). The thing is, it's a paperback and I've covered it with ... **** this language that is English... what do you call it when you cover a book in a tape-type a thing all over to keep the covers from getting smudged and cracked and what notted? It's see-through. Also, I've underlined some lines through pages 7-48 and 173-180. And I have also a couple of translated words in the margins. And well maybe the spines are a bit cracked but it's okay because of the covers. Okay it's basically probably no good for anyone who is the least bit fussy about their books but I'd say that it's definitely in an okay condition if you don't mind the underlinings. Let me know if you want it, and don't be afraid to say that you don't want such shitty books Edited January 17, 2011 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 Giving Up the Ghost sounds great; I've added it to my wish list, thanks! I meant to read The Sea, the Sea earlier this month, but I got side-tracked with other books. I think I'll definitely enjoy this one going by your review. Thanks Kylie I really would recommend Hilary's book, I thought it was extraordinary. I'm a bit more reticent about recommending 'The Sea, the Sea' (even though I enjoyed it more) because I know a lot of people find it dreary but I know you have it in your sights anyway and I'll keep my fingers crossed that you like it as much as I did. What an amazing review of The Sea, the Sea! You definitely made me want to grab the book from the shelves and start reading it immediately Do you already own a copy of The Bell by the same author? The reason why I ask is that I have a copy of it and I've been meaning to give it away (not because I didn't like the story, but because I've already read it twice and don't think I will read it again anytime soon). The thing is, it's a paperback and I've covered it with ... **** this language that is English... what do you call it when you cover a book in a tape-type a thing all over to keep the covers from getting smudged and cracked and what notted? It's see-through. Also, I've underlined some lines through pages 7-48 and 173-180. And I have also a couple of translated words in the margins. And well maybe the spines are a bit cracked but it's okay because of the covers. Okay it's basically probably no good for anyone who is the least bit fussy about their books but I'd say that it's definitely in an okay condition if you don't mind the underlinings. Let me know if you want it, and don't be afraid to say that you don't want such shitty books Thanks Frankie, and thanks for the offer of 'The Bell' .. I'd be delighted to have it I don't mind reading scruffy books, I borrow lots from the library and from friends .. some of them have had a dip in the bath and one I read a while back unintentionally came in three parts. I've been looking through your lists (which are like books in themselves) to see if I have anything I can offer in return and I have a copy of 'Mr Rosenblum's List' which I'm more than happy to send if you'd like it (and haven't already got it.) Anyway, I'll pm you my address, pm me yours .. if you'd like me to send the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) Thanks Frankie, and thanks for the offer of 'The Bell' .. I'd be delighted to have it I don't mind reading scruffy books, I borrow lots from the library and from friends .. some of them have had a dip in the bath and one I read a while back unintentionally came in three parts. I've been looking through your lists (which are like books in themselves) to see if I have anything I can offer in return and I have a copy of 'Mr Rosenblum's List' which I'm more than happy to send if you'd like it (and haven't already got it.) Anyway, I'll pm you my address, pm me yours .. if you'd like me to send the book. Goody goody! I've just PMd you back about the book. And what a sneaky little thing to do, to go through my wishlist to see if you have anything to offer me back! It was extremely nice of you, eventhough I would've been more than happy to just send you the book with no strings attached About The Sea, the Sea. I just remembered where I first heard of the novel and got the recommendation: I was talking with a fellow English student about books (she probably has the same amount of books in her livingroom as you, Kylie, it's a wonderful place) and she was currently reading The Sea, the Sea. She took the same English Literature course as I did back in the day, The Bell being on the course reading material list and I think that's how she came across with Murdoch. (One of the students in our seminar class did a paper on Murdoch's The Sandcastle, by the way.) She was loving The Sea, the Sea and was really raving about it and told me to read it pronto. The title stuck in my mind and I wrote it down because I trust her taste in literature So there, now I/we have another trustworthy recommendation. Don't sweat poppyshake, you're off the hook if I don't like it Edited January 19, 2011 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 19, 2011 Author Share Posted January 19, 2011 Goody goody! I've just PMd you back about the book. And what a sneaky little thing to do, to go through my wishlist to see if you have anything to offer me back! It was extremely nice of you, eventhough I would've been more than happy to just send you the book with no strings attached About The Sea, the Sea. I just remembered where I first heard of the novel and got the recommendation: I was talking with a fellow English student about books (she probably has the same amount of books in her livingroom as you, Kylie, it's a wonderful place) and she was currently reading The Sea, the Sea. She took the same English Literature course as I did back in the day, The Bell being on the course reading material list and I think that's how she came across with Murdoch. (One of the students in our seminar class did a paper on Murdoch's The Sandcastle, by the way.) She was loving The Sea, the Sea and was really raving about it and told me to read it pronto. The title stuck in my mind and I wrote it down because I trust her taste in literature So there, now I/we have another trustworthy recommendation. Don't sweat poppyshake, you're off the hook if I don't like it Oh good, we'll blame it on her if you don't like it but I shall definitely try and bask in some of the reflected glory if you do Exchanging books is such a great thing to do, most of my friends just don't read the same books as me, my sister does so we are always swapping and recommending but most of my friends prefer more lighter 'chic-litty' books .. in fact they'd prefer to read a magazine ... my books horrify them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Oh good, we'll blame it on her if you don't like it but I shall definitely try and bask in some of the reflected glory if you do Yes, the blame is hers but the glory is yours Exchanging books is such a great thing to do, most of my friends just don't read the same books as me, my sister does so we are always swapping and recommending but most of my friends prefer more lighter 'chic-litty' books .. in fact they'd prefer to read a magazine ... my books horrify them. It is indeed, and while I don't mind taking my books to a free book exchange trolley at the library, it's much more fun to hand them out to people you actually know, and people you know are going to appreciate the books. I'm sorry to hear your friends don't share the same taste in books as you do, but at least you've got a great sis with whom to share your passion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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