chesilbeach Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 Well at 400 pages, it's the shortest fiction book I've got to read out of the ones I have left, and I know Human Traces is 800 pages, so that could well be a two week book, so you may well have chance to catch up! Unfortunately for you, it's not boring at all, and I'm already getting into it, but I've been distracted by baking today, so I've only read 40 pages so far, so I suspect it'll be a good few days reading at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Bake more bake more!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Sorry, vodkafan, but I've just finished The Hungry Tide so I'm down to 14 books now ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Sorry, vodkafan, but I've just finished The Hungry Tide so I'm down to 14 books now ... ...but at least it's time for Human Traces now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 (edited) The Hare With The Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal is the story of how an inherited collection of netsuke (small ornamental carved pieces traditionally used to attached an object such as a purse to the belt of a kimono) originally came into the ownership of his family, but gradually becomes the history of his family from the last 19th century to date. I received this as a Christmas present from my other half who was drawn in by the cover but knew nothing about it. Not long after that we saw the author interviewed and it actually put me off reading the book for a long time, as I felt it would be too highbrow and arty for me, but I have so few books left on the TBR shelf, that it came time to read it now. I couldn't have been more wrong in my prejudging of this book. Far from highbrow, the author tells the history of his family with warmth and affection, and at the same time gives a social commentary on what a wealthy Jewish family experienced through the some very dark times in our history. And yet again, despite not usually reading books set in or around war, I found myself reading about the family living through both WW1 and WW2, and yet again, learning about another aspect of the war I knew nothing about, particularly that of the occupation of Vienna. But it's a very personal book, and I loved the time spent with and finding out about the uncle from whom he inherited the netsuke, who had eventually settled in Japan. I enjoyed reading this book immensely, and far from being the art history book I had been expecting, the history of a family through the 20th century from a social sphere so far removed from my own, was fascinating to read. Edited July 9, 2012 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 ...but at least it's time for Human Traces now.... Sorry, but no. I did say next fiction I read would be that, but I need to mix in the non-fictions in between, so you've got one more book to wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Humph........ What are you doing on here then, get reading!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 I can't - I've given myself a headache now First one in months Off to bed instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I can't - I've given myself a headache now First one in months Off to bed instead That'll be the non-fiction... Hope you feel better soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 That'll be the non-fiction... Hope you feel better soon Thanks Although a good nights sleep hasn't helped so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 What a great review of The Hare With the Amber Eyes Claire ... there was a lot of hubbub about it when it came out and I bought it .. I think the title intrigued me as well but since then it's just sat there and .. up until now .. I've had no desire to pick it up. You've changed that now Also, I've just seen that you bought The Monster Calls ... I stood in Waterstones and flicked this one day and I just couldn't bring myself to put it back on the shelf ... beautifully presented .. again I haven't read it but by all accounts it's brilliant. Also I LOVED Marianna so I hope you do too .. I must re-read it because I can hardly remember it (which I'd be knocking points off for if I was Willoyd .. but then I can't blame a book for my terrible memory ) ... It's a typical Persephone book actually ... quite understated but somehow brilliant because the writing is everything. I can't wait for your review (even if you don't like it) because it will be nice to reacquaint myself with it.) Great challenge to read your way through the Persephone catalogue. I've made a very small dent in it but would like to widen it to a crater Hope your headache has cleared Claire ... headaches should be banished to room 101 .. everything that interferes with reading should .. except reading and sleeping and one or two other things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Headache's gone! I agree with you Kay, they should definitely be banished to Room 101. I'm so pleased you're going to try The Hare With The Amber Eyes now, it really is worth reading. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. A Monster Calls will come at the end of my current TBR challenge, but I'm really looking forward to it. I loved his Chaos Walking trilogy, so can't wait to find out what this is like. Mariana, however, will be next year. I want to finish my TBR and Jane Austen reading this year, and then have a break from challenges, but will be planning and preparing for the Persephone books starting at Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I agree with Poppyshake , i'm definitely going to move this up my pile. Thanks for the review Claire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 You're welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 I feel like I've had The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh on my TBR for donkeys years, but looking at it now, I think it's actually probably only about six years. I bought it because I had read The Glass Palace and absolutely loved it, but it's one of those books that I'd enjoyed so much, I'd put off reading anything else by the author in case it wasn't as good. Silly, eh? I've also got Sea of Poppies to read soon as well, so this TBR challenge is making me read them now, and helping me get over it. So, The Hungry Tide follows Piyali, an American woman cetologist (someone who studies whales, dolphins and porpoises), and Kanai, an Indian businessman who meet on the train on route to a remote area of India called the Sundarbans which is a collection of many tiny islands in the Bay of Bengal. The American is on her way to study two rare species of river dolphins who are native to this area, and the businessman is going to visit his widowed aunt, and to collect the book his late uncle has left to him. The tide of the title moves miles inland every day, partially submerging islands and mangrove forests. There are also man-eating tigers, crocodiles, snakes and sharks to be wary of, making Piya's expedition even more dangerous. Alongside the story of the present day, we also learn of the social and political history, mythology and more modern social issues, such as trafficking of women. I really enjoyed this book. Using the different characters, as well as the voice of the dead uncle through his writing, Ghosh manages to convey so many elements of mythology, history and society, as well as the ecological arguments about an area of India that I knew nothing of, to produce a beautiful and haunting story. He also manages to evoke a real sense of the environment in question, and of what it is like to live in a pretty inhospitable place. There's such a variety of different subjects being explained and explored in this novel, yet somehow, he seems to be able to weave them altogether and they just fit. You need to know about the mythology to understand some of the actions of the local people, but you also want to need what happened to characters who are essential to the story despite not actually being in it. It's important to know about the evolution of the habitation of the area to understand some of the politics that is present in the story. It's also fascinating to consider the ecological arguments of endangered species against the human cost of conservation. There are big topics at work within the story, but none of them feel too much. Everything is essential to give you the full picture and make you consider the arguments, but more crucially, there is no judgement on what is right or wrong, and it's left to the reader to decide. Ghosh only takes you on the journey, and leaves you with the decisions his own characters make, right or wrong depends on your own point of view. Now all that seems like glowing praise, but I have to admit, I didn't enjoy it as much as The Glass Palace. I loved parts of it, and I was fascinated by all the elements of the story itself, but I found the two main characters hard to engage with fully. I actually think that's quite intentional to a certain extent, as I think you're supposed to see how they each have their own ideals and ethics at the beginning of the story, and how this affects them and perhaps they change as the book progresses, so I found it difficult to fall in love with them from the start. This meant that for the first third, maybe half of the book, I didn't actually like them much, but there was enough going on in the plot and other characters who gradually come into the story, for me to keep reading. Overall, I would say it's definitely worth reading, and I'm glad I've finally got round to it, but I still think The Glass Palace was a more enjoyable read for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 I had a great booky day out yesterday, going to three of the four sessions at ShortStoryVille hosted by the Bristol Prize at the Arnolfini in Bristol. The first session I attended was a discussion about the impact of The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. The panel was hosted by Bidisha and included authors Cassandra Parkin and Kirsty Logan plus a lecturer from one of the local universities. After reading The Bloody Chamber for the reading circle earlier this year, it was really interesting to listen to the discussion, and how Carter's collection was both ground breaking and influential, including influencing the two authors on the panel, as well as touching on recent film adaptations of classic fairy tales such as Snow White and the Huntsmen and Mirror, Mirror. Logan read an extract from one of her short stories, and both talked about and showed how they have been influenced themselves by Carter. Next up was a session on digital short story publication chaired by American professor and short story writer Patricia McNair, with representatives from two independent publishers and the digital publisher for Random House. It was interesting to hear where they felt short stories could be made available through different routes, and the development of social media and interaction between authors, publishers and readers. It was also good to hear from Random House, as an example, are also looking to make more archived material available, as well as developing new authors, and the way that short stories may be marketed in future, using the comparison of singles and albums on iTunes as an example. The final panel of the day was a chance to hear from three new authors who have been published this year by Bloomsbury, under their Year of the Short Story initiative. I really enjoyed this session, as it was a fantastic opportunity to hear the three authors read from their books, each very different from each other, but all of them sounded great. I've added all three books to my wishlist! The authors were Lucy Wood, Dave Wilson and Roshi Fernando. All in all, it was a brilliant day, and I'm glad I could get to more sessions than I did last year! This is the second year of the event, and I'm hoping they'll be able to continue in future years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Sounds brilliant Claire I will look out for this next year too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 I've just finished the first chapter of Human Traces and I'm already gripped (and sobbing). Have now found out that I must have been mixing it up with another doorstop - this one is only 608 pages. Think Chaliepud might be right, and this could be a very special book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 What's it about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 It's started off in 1870s France, with Jacques who is a sixteen year old and has had to leave school to work for his father on the land, but has a fascination with biology and under the guidance of the local clergyman has started his own experiments on the electrical currents that run through animals. His brother has a mental illness (undiagnosed and untreatable at the time, but symptoms of schizophrenia), and is forced to live in the stable, but Jacques promises he will find a cure and bring back the brother he remembers from his childhood. Looking at the back cover, I'm going to be introduced to another young English boy and their two stories will unite and together they will become pioneering psychiatrists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Is it based on true people and events Claire ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 As far as I know, it's not based on real people, but Faulks spent five years researching madness, psychiatry and psychoanalysis, and I imagine that the timescales would match the development of these although not based on actual events. Apparently he says it's his favourite of all his novels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) Sunday update is that after five months into my challenge, other than the exclusions I'd specified when I started, I have bought 3 books, 1 of which is destined for a reading challenge next year, and the other two will be saved until I've finished reading my existing TBR. From the 61 books I had left to read at the time, I'm down to just 12, although looking likely that I'll finish another one later today. If that happens, I'll have only 7 paperbacks left to read, plus 4 Kindle books after that. I'm now fairly confident I'll be TBR free by the time my next holiday comes along. I finished Human Traces yesterday afternoon, and I'm now reading The Olive Route by Carol Drinkwater, but I only have one chapter left now. I still need to review The Snow Leopard and Human Traces, so will try and catch up with those later on after I've finished reading The Olive Route. Edited July 22, 2012 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Good going Claire. I remember Carol Drinkwater from that vet program. Can't wait to read your reviews, please make them very long ones that will slow you down a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Sunday update is that after five months into my challenge, other than the exclusions I'd specified when I started, I have bought 3 books, 2 of which is destined for a reading challenge next year, and the other two will be saved until I've finished reading my existing TBR. From the 61 books I had left to read at the time, I'm down to just 12, although looking likely that I'll finish another one later today. If that happens, I'll have only 7 paperbacks left to read, plus 4 Kindle books after that. I'm now fairly confident I'll be TBR free by the time my next holiday comes along. Wow - you have made amazing progress - I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with your restraint. (Bolding mine: Just one thing - doesn't this make four new books?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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