Salem Falls is by an author who's known for doing "issues" books. I've read My Sister's Keeper, which is about children who are born to help a sibling with a genetic illness, and it was decent, and gripping, if not particularly brilliant and reasonably trashy (which I'm using in the sense of a very overly emotional and cliche ridden work).
Salem Falls is similarly over-dramatic, especially the court scenes in the last half of the book. But it is a gripping story (I almost missed my train station), and I wasn't expecting the twist on the last page (although I'm sure many other discerning readers have spotted it - it's not exactly masterfully hidden, but I was reading greedily). The issue of Salem Falls is rape, and it's done fairly well - fictional representations of rape trials always fascinate me. It's a fun, absorbing read, for the beach or the train, but by no means is it particularly wonderful fiction. 3 out of 5.
24 February, 2006
15 February, 2006
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
I've been wanting to read this ever since it won the Booker, and my mother sent me a secondhand copy after Christmas. It's a strange book - after a brief time introducing the main character, and his Indian childhood, we find him adrift in a lifeboat after the ship he was travelling on sank. Also in the lifeboat are an injured zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a tiger named Richard Parker.
The book is written in vivid, colourful prose - Pi begins to train Richard Parker, with the aid of a whistle and the fish he catches, so that they can share the lifeboat in relative harmony. They live together on the lifeboat for 227 days.
I was rather irritated by the gushing reviews that claimed Life of Pi would make you believe in God, and I found Pi's dislike of agnostics equally annoying. It is a beautiful novel, despite this, and despite its strangeness that occasionally kept me from being fully engaged with the story. It'd be an interesting book to discuss with others, I think. Four out of five.
The book is written in vivid, colourful prose - Pi begins to train Richard Parker, with the aid of a whistle and the fish he catches, so that they can share the lifeboat in relative harmony. They live together on the lifeboat for 227 days.
I was rather irritated by the gushing reviews that claimed Life of Pi would make you believe in God, and I found Pi's dislike of agnostics equally annoying. It is a beautiful novel, despite this, and despite its strangeness that occasionally kept me from being fully engaged with the story. It'd be an interesting book to discuss with others, I think. Four out of five.
How to Say "I Do" (Mandy and June Newman)
This book is subtitled "make your civil marriage ceremony your own", and it's an extremely useful resource. It goes into a great variety of traditions and symbolic acts to be performed during the ceremony, and contains many different vows (with lots of examples from actual ceremonies). It also includes lots of poems, readings and music selections. An excellent guide - five out of five.
Queen of Dreams (Chitra Divakaruni)
I've read most of Divakaruni's poetic, slightly surreal novels - Queen of Dreams reminds me of an earlier work, Mistress of Spices - both have a dreamlike atmosphere, where reality is somewhat blurred. Both novels give their characters difficult choices.
Rakhi, a struggling artist who runs a cafe, is frustrated by her relationship with her mother, a dream reader, and her strained separation from her husband. When her mother dies, Rakhi discovers her journals, and begins the process of trying to understand her mother, who never spoke of her past.
It's a lovely novel, and I particularly enjoyed the dream sequences, and the way they made their way into Rakhi's life. Four out of five.
Rakhi, a struggling artist who runs a cafe, is frustrated by her relationship with her mother, a dream reader, and her strained separation from her husband. When her mother dies, Rakhi discovers her journals, and begins the process of trying to understand her mother, who never spoke of her past.
It's a lovely novel, and I particularly enjoyed the dream sequences, and the way they made their way into Rakhi's life. Four out of five.
02 February, 2006
Layla's Story (Vanessa Gorman)
This memoir is about the breakdown of a relationship, and the loss of a child - not an uplifting read, but an interesting one, especially seeing the dissection of a relationship breakdown, and of grief.
Vanessa's daughter Layla dies a few hours after birth. She has a troubled relationship with her partner, Layla's father. Layla doesn't die until at least half way through this book, so we have an intimate knowledge of their relationship (very intimate, if you know what I mean). The book examines, almost equally, the deep wanting of a child, the breakdown of a relationship when both partners want different things, and the grief of losing a child.
Gorman makes the point that losing a child right after birth is somehow considered a lesser death - she recounts people saying things like, "Well, at least you didn't get to know her," - and one of her aims in writing the book is to counter that rather wide-spread belief.
It's a book I found uncomfortable in places, partly because of its very raw and wide-open nature, but it is wonderfully written, and a fascinating insight into someone else's life. Four out of five.
Vanessa's daughter Layla dies a few hours after birth. She has a troubled relationship with her partner, Layla's father. Layla doesn't die until at least half way through this book, so we have an intimate knowledge of their relationship (very intimate, if you know what I mean). The book examines, almost equally, the deep wanting of a child, the breakdown of a relationship when both partners want different things, and the grief of losing a child.
Gorman makes the point that losing a child right after birth is somehow considered a lesser death - she recounts people saying things like, "Well, at least you didn't get to know her," - and one of her aims in writing the book is to counter that rather wide-spread belief.
It's a book I found uncomfortable in places, partly because of its very raw and wide-open nature, but it is wonderfully written, and a fascinating insight into someone else's life. Four out of five.
Incurable (John Marsden)
This is the second book in John Marsden's Ellie Chronicles, which follow the main character from his Tomorrow, When the War Began series. I loved that series - I was reading it as a teenager when they were being published, and my friends and I would get into frenzy waiting for the next one to come out. So I was excited when I heard Marsden was going to be continuing Ellie's story - although now, I kind of wished that he hadn't.
While I Live, the first book in the series, was not bad - it lacked the excellent writing and plotting that existed in at least the first three quarters of the War series, but it was still fun and exciting, and I liked seeing what he was doing with the characters, now that the war was over. Incurable, though - I think he's completely lost Ellie's voice. She goes off into tangents while narrating a battle, and I thought this book was really badly plotted. Essentially, two things happen, but it's so loose, with so many asides, that this takes up the entire book. There's no progression, with either the characters or the story, really.
Arrgh - I was really unhappy with it. I'm not even sure I'll read the next one... actually, I know I will, but I'm not going to continue buying them. The stories are just frustrating rather than enjoyable. Two out of five.
While I Live, the first book in the series, was not bad - it lacked the excellent writing and plotting that existed in at least the first three quarters of the War series, but it was still fun and exciting, and I liked seeing what he was doing with the characters, now that the war was over. Incurable, though - I think he's completely lost Ellie's voice. She goes off into tangents while narrating a battle, and I thought this book was really badly plotted. Essentially, two things happen, but it's so loose, with so many asides, that this takes up the entire book. There's no progression, with either the characters or the story, really.
Arrgh - I was really unhappy with it. I'm not even sure I'll read the next one... actually, I know I will, but I'm not going to continue buying them. The stories are just frustrating rather than enjoyable. Two out of five.
The Turning (Tim Winton)
My uncle sent this book to me with a post-it stuck to the cover that said, "If you want to write short stories, you must read these."
They are fantastic short stories, some of which share characters, at different stages in their lives. They all centre around a small town in Western Australia. They're amazing, wonderful little pieces, with characters that portray depression and ugliness and beauty in a way that makes it seem as if you're sitting in a cafe, watching them across the street. And yes, it's a big inspiration to read, especially if you're wondering about how to plot a short story in terms of length, and how to make a character live within the confines of a short story. Winton makes his characters live within two lines - what skill. This is definitely a five out of five book.
They are fantastic short stories, some of which share characters, at different stages in their lives. They all centre around a small town in Western Australia. They're amazing, wonderful little pieces, with characters that portray depression and ugliness and beauty in a way that makes it seem as if you're sitting in a cafe, watching them across the street. And yes, it's a big inspiration to read, especially if you're wondering about how to plot a short story in terms of length, and how to make a character live within the confines of a short story. Winton makes his characters live within two lines - what skill. This is definitely a five out of five book.
What Your Clothes Say About You (Trinny & Susannah)
This was the worst book I've read by this pair, who present the TV show What Not to Wear, which has become a bit gimmicky for my liking. While their previous books concentrated on body types, and what styles suit what, this book is arranged by "lifestyle", and even includes vapid little "lifestyle tips" - for example, executives are told to do yoga, and leave work as early as they can. Blah. Pretty pictures, but a waste of time. Two out of five.
The Code of the Woosters (PG Wodehouse)
I love PG Wodehouse's delightfully constructed and utterly hilarious books. The Code of the Woosters is one of the best Bertie and Jeeves books, I think - the story putters along beautifully, Bertie's dilemmas get gradually worse and worse, until everything is wrapped up happily in the end. A very cheering book - five out of five. It's perfect.
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