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June 25
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Brian
gave  to:
The Behaviour of Moths (Hardcover)
by
Poppy Adams
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Brian said:
"A fascinating debut novel from an author with enormous promise, The Behaviour Of Moths is the neo-gothic story of a dysfunctional family told from the viewpoint of the obsessional, deluded and probably autistic elder daughter, Virginia. Set in a huge...more
A fascinating debut novel from an author with enormous promise, The Behaviour Of Moths is the neo-gothic story of a dysfunctional family told from the viewpoint of the obsessional, deluded and probably autistic elder daughter, Virginia. Set in a huge, crumbling mansion in Dorset, the narrative focuses on the return of Virginia's younger sister, Vivien and its effect on Virginia's hermetically-sealed senility.
Virginia's youth was spent working alongside her lepidopterist father, Clive and the text seethes with the minutiae of their research, the alien details of the insect world with its cast of parasites and cannibals providing a ghastly commentary on the behaviour of Virginia and her family.
What I particularly liked about the narrative was the difference between Virginia's version of the tangled events that lead to two deaths and the version that the reader is gradually allowed to unravel. Not all of the questions are answered and we are left with a degree of uncertainty but that is part of the pleasure of the book. Like Clive, we observe the behaviour of the specimens and we draw our own conclusions.
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June 15
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Brian
gave to:
The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (Canto)
by
C.S. Lewis
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Brian said:
"C S Lewis' introduction to Medieval and Renaissance literature focuses on the medieval world view. He outlines medieval cosmology, beliefs about humanity and attitudes to the classical past and to scholarship in general, summarising the principal cla...more
C S Lewis' introduction to Medieval and Renaissance literature focuses on the medieval world view. He outlines medieval cosmology, beliefs about humanity and attitudes to the classical past and to scholarship in general, summarising the principal classical and late classical/early medieval authors through whose work the seminal ideas of the period were transmitted.
Lewis was a natural teacher and his explanations are refreshingly free from the obscurism that is so prevalent in much literary criticism. It's not an easy book to read since it expects a level of cultural awareness that by no means universal nowadays. I found I needed the aid of Wikipedia and the Concise Oxford Dictionary on more than one occasion.
Nevertheless, I found this a very rewarding read and I was a little surprised to realise how much of my mindset is completely medieval.(less)
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May 13
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Brian
gave  to:
The Seance (Hardcover)
by
John Harwood
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my rating:
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read in May, 2009
Brian said:
"This gothic mystery story set in Victorian times has echoes of M R James. In elegant prose, Harwood conjures up the brooding presence of Wraxford Hall, a great decaying manor house in the Suffolk countryside, two of whose owners have disappeared wit...more
This gothic mystery story set in Victorian times has echoes of M R James. In elegant prose, Harwood conjures up the brooding presence of Wraxford Hall, a great decaying manor house in the Suffolk countryside, two of whose owners have disappeared without trace. This dark presence looms ominously over the four linked narratives that together make up the complex and sophisticated story of The Seance.
My only criticism is that the plot is just a little too convoluted at times so that one has to keep pausing and looking back to work out just exactly what is going on. But that is part of the author's technique. The desire to have all your questions answered drives you on relentlessly so that are compelled to keep reading until the very last page. Together with this coiled spring of a plot the strong characterisation, evocative description and tight narrative control make this a very accomplished piece of work.(less)
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May 07
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Brian
gave  to:
The Ninth Circle (Hardcover)
by
Alex Bell
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my rating:
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read in May, 2009
Brian said:
"This novel covers similar ground to Dan Brown's books: an age old battle between good and evil framed within a Christian cosmology, cryptic messages that need to be deciphered, angels and demons walking the streets. But it's a bit more left-field.
...more
This novel covers similar ground to Dan Brown's books: an age old battle between good and evil framed within a Christian cosmology, cryptic messages that need to be deciphered, angels and demons walking the streets. But it's a bit more left-field.
It starts off quite well - a man wakes up in an apartment in Budapest, his face glued to the floor by his own dried blood, a huge bundle of money on the kitchen table - but the plot never really goes anywhere. Yes, there are a series of revelations that unpeel like the layers of an onion but ultimately the book doesn't really deliver. It's an interesting debut, certainly, but the writing strikes me as a bit unsophisticated in places and the ending is emotionally unsatisfactory(less)
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May 01
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Brian
gave to:
The Clothes on Their Backs (Paperback)
by
Linda Grant
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my rating:
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read in April, 2009
Brian said:
"Set in the nineteen seventies, The Clothes On Their Backs is a novel about identity. Vivien, the narrator is the daughter of Hungarian Jewish refugees who have spent their time since coming to London trying to achieve anonymous respectability. Both t...more
Set in the nineteen seventies, The Clothes On Their Backs is a novel about identity. Vivien, the narrator is the daughter of Hungarian Jewish refugees who have spent their time since coming to London trying to achieve anonymous respectability. Both their anonymity and their respectability are threatened however, by the towering figure of Uncle Sandor, the black sheep of the family, a slum landlord whose character has been based upon the notorious Peter Rachman.
While there are some things about the book that I didn't like, particularly the political posturing of the narrator, I found the colourful and morally ambivalent portrait of Sandor, utterly captivating. The way he speaks, the things he says, the world which he inhabits - all this is superbly evoked.
This is the kind of novel that stirs up layers of silt in the memory, leaving the reader unsettled and unsure about what he or she really believes in. I cannot get it out of my mind. (less)
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April 27
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Brian
gave  to:
Point Blank (Alex Rider, #2)
by
Anthony Horowitz
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my rating:
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read in April, 2009
Brian said:
"I was interested to see how Anthony Horowitz followed up the success of Stormbreaker and the answer seems to be that he did so with effortless ease. It's the same mix of gadgets and villains, macho attitudes and machines, blended together with non-st...more
I was interested to see how Anthony Horowitz followed up the success of Stormbreaker and the answer seems to be that he did so with effortless ease. It's the same mix of gadgets and villains, macho attitudes and machines, blended together with non-stop action to make the kind of thriller that pre-teen and teenage boys will love. Once again, it's not my cup of tea but it's extremely well done and if you liked Stormbringer, you will absolutely love this.(less)
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April 22
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Brian
gave to:
Stormbreaker (Alex Rider, #1)
by
Anthony Horowitz
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my rating:
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read in April, 2009
Brian said:
"Anthony Horowitz is one of the most successful writers in the country and the Alex Rider series, of which Stormbreaker is the first, shows exactly why. Fast-moving and action-packed, it's the story of a teenage boy who is recruited into MI5 and who f...more
Anthony Horowitz is one of the most successful writers in the country and the Alex Rider series, of which Stormbreaker is the first, shows exactly why. Fast-moving and action-packed, it's the story of a teenage boy who is recruited into MI5 and who foils a plot by a crazed hi-tech villain to unleash a smallpox virus on Britain.
It's not really my sort of thing, altogether too macho for me, as well as a little sexist and xenophobic. But I can see its merits and there's no doubt about its appeal to teenage boys. Anthony Horowitz should be commended for this, if for nothing else. So much of children's publishing is aimed directly or indirectly at girls that the world needs Stormbreaker to redress the balance.
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April 08
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Brian
gave  to:
When Will There Be Good News?: A Novel (Hardcover)
by
Kate Atkinson
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my rating:
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read in April, 2009
Brian said:
"When Will There Be Good News? won the Richard & Judy Best Read at the British Book Awards. It's been very favourably reviewed in The Guardian, the Sunday Times and the Telegraph, and by innumerable Goodreads members. I find this bewildering.
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When Will There Be Good News? won the Richard & Judy Best Read at the British Book Awards. It's been very favourably reviewed in The Guardian, the Sunday Times and the Telegraph, and by innumerable Goodreads members. I find this bewildering.
I very much enjoyed Behind The Scenes At The Museum, which won the Whitbread First Novel award but that was literary fiction whereas this is crime. I must admit, I don't generally read crime, though I have enjoyed John Banville's forays into the genre. So I thought there was a chance I might be seduced by Kate Atkinson's literary reinvention. But I was wrong.
Perhaps I just don't understand the genre but in my opinion this novel is over-plotted and relies too heavily on coincidence. In addition, there are too many characters, many of whom are just names, and too many of them share a fondness for quoting poetry. I just didn't care enough about any of them to make this book a rewarding read.
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March 18
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Brian
gave to:
The Lieutenant (Paperback)
by
Kate Grenville
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my rating:
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read in March, 2009
Brian said:
"Kate Grenville's latest book tells the story of Daniel Rooke, an astronomer with the First Fleet sent from England to bring convicts to Botany Bay and his interaction with the aboriginal people, and in particular with a young girl called Tagaran. It'...more
Kate Grenville's latest book tells the story of Daniel Rooke, an astronomer with the First Fleet sent from England to bring convicts to Botany Bay and his interaction with the aboriginal people, and in particular with a young girl called Tagaran. It's based on the historical account of William Dawes, lieutenant and astronomer with that first expedition who had a similar friendship with a young aboriginal girl.
The character of Daniel Rooke is powerfully conceived and his story is immensely human and deeply compelling. Much of the narrative focuses on his inner thoughts and on the nature of language and communication as he and Tagaran teach each other their resepctive tongues.
Like his historical conuterpart, Daniel Rooke is ordered to take part in an expedition to capture of kill some of the aboriginees as punishment for the killing of a white man and it is his reaction to these orders that forms the climax of the book.
My main reservation about this novel is that the ending is weak and feels rushed. Everything up to the climax seems to have been created with tremendous attention to detail. But the climax itself and what follows is almost glossed over so that I was left feeling a little disappointed.(less)
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March 13
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Brian
gave to:
The Knife of Never Letting Go (Hardcover)
by
Patrick Ness
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my rating:
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read in March, 2009
Brian said:
"Technically, The Knife Of Never Letting Go is a work of science fiction in that it's set at an indefinite time in the future, on a planet colonised by settlers from Earth, and aliens feature (very marginally) among the cast of characters. But that's ...more
Technically, The Knife Of Never Letting Go is a work of science fiction in that it's set at an indefinite time in the future, on a planet colonised by settlers from Earth, and aliens feature (very marginally) among the cast of characters. But that's as far as the generic elements go. The basic premise of the book is an exploration of male violence and male identity. It's a compelling read, every chapter ending in a cliff-hanger, so that the reader is as driven as the central character, Todd Hewitt, a boy on the cusp of manhood who is beginning to discover that everything he's ever been told about the history of the settlement in which he was brought up is a pack of malicious lies. For me, though, it's just that bit too violent, just that bit too bleak.(less)
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Young Adult Fiction for Adults
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Hi Brian and thanks so much for adding me as a friend! I have several YA authors as friends and love their work. I'll have to check out yours.
Hey I'm Jemma.
Hello Im Maddy And I Read Jaocbs Ladder A Few Weeks Ago. I Thought The Storyline Was Good And Interesting But Being Me I Got Confused Near The Middle Of The Book. There Were So Many Questions That I Wanted The Answers To Which Made Me Read On.
