Tara's comments (member since Jun 14, 2009)

Tara's comments from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group.

Tom wrote: "OUR MUTUAL FRIEND is a strong dose of Dickens, at his most disturbing and sometimes almost surreal. If your experience with Dickens is limited to GREAT EXPECTATIONS and/or HARD TIMES, I'd suggest ..."

Thanks Tom! I tried Oliver Twist but couldn't get into it--I'd just gone off a Jane Austen kick so maybe that was a bit jarring, too. My husband loves Bleak House so perhaps that'll be my next one.

Heather wrote: "I just finished a Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (loved it) and then I read Breakfast of Champions (also loved it). Is it just me or do their writing styles seem almost identical? ..."

These books both got 5 stars from me. Breakfast of Champions is one of my all-time mostest favorite books. Neither book has a straightforward narrator. They're both conversational, like you're reading their thoughts. You might like "The Pharmacist's Mate" by Amy Fusselman (sp?). It's written like the narrator's thoughts right from her head--random, but somehow not random at all, they end up tying all together in the end.

Deanne wrote: "Our mutual friend by Charles Dickens, not what I was expecting at all."

In a good or bad way? (Just curious, after Great Expectations & Hard times I never know what Dickens novel to read next...)

Sarah wrote: "just finished Never Let Me Go. I was surprised how the book affected me. Reading it was like catching myself in a daydream. I think I enjoyed it as much as I did because I didn't come at it with..."

This was my first Ishiguro novel and I've been hooked ever since. I know what you mean about the dreamlike feeling. It begins with what seems like an...ordinary school with ordinary kids. Only later does the surprise set in. Then to realize that the narrator has no idea what it all means? I read the book a couple years ago, your post makes me want to re-read it again. Thanks!