A fabulously imaginative trip through the senses that's as beautiful and full of wonder and delight as the titular circus.
I won't go into plot as, lik...moreA fabulously imaginative trip through the senses that's as beautiful and full of wonder and delight as the titular circus.
I won't go into plot as, like all the best things, it's infinitely preferable to discover it for yourself, but be warned to have allotted yourself plenty of reading time when you first pick this up as you'll be unwilling to let it go for even a second as it binds you in its spell.(less)
I picked this one to read on the basis of the title alone and found myself reading a book on marriage. Not the 'follow these tips to a successful marr...moreI picked this one to read on the basis of the title alone and found myself reading a book on marriage. Not the 'follow these tips to a successful marriage' kind, more the 'these are all the things he/she does that irritate the living crap out of me' kind.
Intermittently amusing, anyone who's ever lived with anyone will find something familiar inside and it was refreshing to read something about the topic that wasn't promoting the idealised version where everything is sunshine and roses, with communication and intimacy highly-prized attributes. That said, as I've already had tons of these conversations with friends over the years I also wasn't hearing anything particularly new and, apart from the stresses and worries that came along with having a chronically ill child, I don't think that this marriage is as fascinating as the authors do.
It does seem fitting though that I read most of this sitting in a freezing cold van while waiting for my beloved of the past fourteen years to finish indulging his passion for photography and take me home already.(less)
In a year which let us see the depths to which British journalism had sunk thanks to the complete lack of ethics and the criminality of the Murdoch em...moreIn a year which let us see the depths to which British journalism had sunk thanks to the complete lack of ethics and the criminality of the Murdoch empire, it seemed at times as though the only newspaper that would come out of the whole debacle not covered in taint was The Guardian and this, The Bedside Guardian 2011 goes some way towards demonstrating just why this was.
Covering a wide range of topics from throughout the year including but not limited to Wikileaks, the toppling of the Gaddafi regime, global protests, the UK riots and of, course, the hacking scandal that would eventually lead to the closure of the News Of The World, this is never less than interesting, well researched and well-written and I now feel adequately prepped for any quiz of the year type things that may come my way.(less)
A 2.5 really and a nice, undemanding pre-Christmas read as Evie Walker discovers she is the heir to The Storeroom, a repository for mythological items...moreA 2.5 really and a nice, undemanding pre-Christmas read as Evie Walker discovers she is the heir to The Storeroom, a repository for mythological items, and is caught in an attempt by some nefarious mythological characters to use Discord's Apple (that started the war at Troy) to cause carnage in the world.
Good fun but I'd have liked a lot more depth, as it was I wasn't really caught up enough to really worry or care unduly about what happened.(less)
When vet Abra Barrow's husband returns from a trip to Romania, he's a changed man. Having schtupped someone on his trip, he's brought back a little mo...moreWhen vet Abra Barrow's husband returns from a trip to Romania, he's a changed man. Having schtupped someone on his trip, he's brought back a little more than just the usual memories and STD's in the form of the lycanthropy virus and, in an effort to save her marriage, Abra agrees to move with him out of the city to the slightly wilder Northside, where her husband isn't the only person with more than just human instincts...
I really enjoyed the way this was written, slightly tongue in cheek at times and yet with emotional realism also brought into play, as Abra realises there's something wrong with her marriage. Her growth as a character as she moves away from being a pathetic little dormouse idolising her raging asshole of a husband into someone far more uninhibited as she discovers herself through Red, the seductive stranger she's irresistably attracted to, elevated this from some of the more schlocky paranormal romance titles that I've read.
Enjoyable, sexy fun that I didn't really put down until I'd finished it, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to any female fans of the full moon. (less)
From the authors of Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit comes this funny and fury-filled look at the modern landscape, post-crash, filled with entries...moreFrom the authors of Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit comes this funny and fury-filled look at the modern landscape, post-crash, filled with entries on the sort of thing that has me ranting at bewildered looking colleagues as they back away slowly.
With particular ire directed at the bastardly financial sector who got us into this fine mess and then, after heaping our plates with shit and demanding we pretend it was foie-gras, expected huge financial rewards for being shit at their jobs, this is very Brit-centric despite the cover nods to global misery and any non-Brit might find the references to expenses-funded duck ponds, Ed Balls, Peter Andre and Lidl a tad confusing.(less)
I've been slowly working my way through King's back catalogue and have had a staggeringly good run but have now bumped up against an oddity - one that...moreI've been slowly working my way through King's back catalogue and have had a staggeringly good run but have now bumped up against an oddity - one that I haven't loved. At first glance I should have adored this as it has all of the ingredients that usually make up my kind of book crack: a young boy on a quest to save his mother (and the world) with alternate worlds, magic and lots of nods to my favourite literary works all making appearances, amongst other things, however in practice it fell flat.
Usually when I'm reading a Stephen King book I feel everything along with the characters whether they're good, bad, indifferent or plain crazy. Apart from for a few brief moments this didn't happen this time around. I felt the story telling was a little too black hat/white hat, with characters feeling more like caricatures than people (especially when it came to Speedy, Wolf, Sunlight Gardener/Osmond and Morgan Sloat) and the story was a little disjointed with me enjoying the real world sections far more than anything set in the Territories. Additionally, whilst there was rather a lot going on, there strangely felt like there wasn't quite enough story to be strung out for so long. Normally I don't feel the length of a King book as I'm immersed in the character, whose internal journey is half the story, but as this element wasn't present certain sections really started to drag and made me pray for an ending.
Oh well, every road has a few bumps along the way and this wasn't awful by any stretch of the imagination, just not a enjoyable as I'd hoped.(less)
Lovely (though rather hard to review) - a beautiful and evocative telling of a time and a place, Cannery Row, and its community as experienced by Mack...moreLovely (though rather hard to review) - a beautiful and evocative telling of a time and a place, Cannery Row, and its community as experienced by Mack and the boys at the Palace Flophouse, who act as a sort of lightning rod for the town as its feelings and fortunes rise and fall with theirs.
Though marginalized and poor, the boys know how to live and there is a wealth of beauty and feeling in every misadventure, accident and circumstance, and as well as the boys the town is peopled with the sorts of vivid characters that always burn brightly in Steinbeck's books.(less)
Mothers, be careful how you raise your boys, especially if you're an overbearing religious wackjob who thinks the best lesson she can impart is that a...moreMothers, be careful how you raise your boys, especially if you're an overbearing religious wackjob who thinks the best lesson she can impart is that all women are wanton, wicked and deserve to be punished as this could lead to a host of mental illnesses and some terrifying life choices on the part of your child...
Ed Gein is infamous as the inspiration behind more than one of our cinematic bogeymen - Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs' Buffalo Bill being the most notable examples, but as ever the truth is far stranger, more horrific, shocking and plain insane than fiction could ever hope to be (film audiences would reject half the occurrences within for being too outlandish to be plausible, but unfortunately this is all real.)
Raised by the aforementioned mother and a weak-willed, alcoholic and abusive father, Gein was always considered an oddball, meek and polite but completely unequipped to socialise with others (early opportunities were halted by Mommy Dearest who, of course, thought that every friend Ed made at school was wicked and stopped him from seeing them). With his mother being a larger-than-life, almost God-like figure to him, his problems really started to bubble up once she died, leaving Ed alone in the world. Sealing up the rooms she lived in as a make-shift shrine, Gein lived in absolute squalor in the few rooms left to him, reading lurid true crime magazines (which will be blamed for the crimes by some *eyeroll*) and accounts of Nazi atrocities (some of which will inspire his grisly collection of memorabilia).
Described as a voyeuristic, schizophrenic, fetishist necrophile and transvestite Gein fixated on women who resemble his mother, although as women who could never be as good as Augusta was, murdering and dismembering them in the most awful manner (the accounts of how the last victim was found seriously gave me the heebie-jeebies) though he was also a keen grave-robber, digging up yet more women, and taking body parts home with him. Collections of human heads turned into masks, chairs made from human skin, and body parts sewn into yet more furniture abounded through Ed's house of horrors (local kids had been telling stories for years of Gein's shrunken heads, which were written off by their parents as wild imaginations) and it is obvious that Gein's transvestitism went a lot further than most - instead of wearing women's clothing he much preferred wearing their skin (yeesh).
As you can see, the subject matter is fascinating, and more than a little sensational, but it was mostly handled well imparting a fair amount of information in a very readable format. There was one instance (as there was in another of Schechter's books that I'd read) where the author presents an 'inside the mind of the killer' moment that I could have done without (I take exception in true crime books to the kind of recreations when no-one could really have known what was going on, and Gein's constant memory lapses, whether real or fake, made sure he never came clean about what had happened after Mrs Worden's murder) and I would have liked a lot more depth to the psychology angle, as well as more on what was behind the rash of 'Gein humour' as the local population struggled to come to terms with what had happened in their midst.
The most successful angle of the book was with regard to the media frenzy that Gein's crimes inspired, and the antagonistic relationship between the press and police. While a strong believer in press freedom, I also believe that can only be properly achieved when the press that you're dealing with have ethics, and unfortunately most of the mob of reporters behaved much more like those in trouble recently in the UK for hacking and other various underhand methods than journalists with integrity - happy to print anything, true or not, if it gave good story.
As for just why Ed Gein has had such a lasting impression on our collective psyches, this book doesn't quite pin it down but gets points for making a decent attempt.(less)
Short but perfectly formed as Atwood takes on the Odyssey, or more specifically, Penelope - the woman Odysseus left behind when he went traipsing off...moreShort but perfectly formed as Atwood takes on the Odyssey, or more specifically, Penelope - the woman Odysseus left behind when he went traipsing off around the world fighting wars, battling monsters and sleeping with goddesses. Either viewed as someone who must have been up to no good whilst hubby was away, or as an example of the constant, dutiful wife (or as Penelope puts it within, "a stick to beat other women with") here she gets to relate her own tale, as do the maids who got the sharp end of the stick (or rather, the taut end of the noose?) when Odysseus finally deigned to return, as they form a fabulous Greek chorus punctuating Penelope's tale with their own point of view.
I'm something of a fan of Odysseus, but even I have a few misgivings about certain parts of the myth so this feminist take on it was right up my alley, being intelligent, funny (I couldn't help but snort whilst nodding appreciatively over the depictions of Penelope's childhood, and her infamous cousin Helen) and, as always, thought-provoking (especially when you factor in the unreliability of the narrator, who admits herself that both she and Odysseus were "proficent and shameless liars of long standing. It's a wonder either one of us believed a word the other said. But we did. Or so we told each other").(less)
As solidly entertaining as all of the other books in this series, with a litle extra squee and a touch more annoyance too.
Following on exactly where t...moreAs solidly entertaining as all of the other books in this series, with a litle extra squee and a touch more annoyance too.
Following on exactly where the last one left off, Savannah finds herself completely without her magic, with the witch-hunter still on her tail. It seems though that the witch-hunter is just a pawn in a much bigger plan, in which an all-out supernatural war is brewing.
Savannah is still a likeable character, even if she makes some incredibly bone-headed decisions (she is young still, I suppose) and I did get a thrill from having so many of the Otherworld characters pop up (continue with this, please) but the annoyance came from yet another cliff-hanger, with virtually everything brought up in the book left unresolved. If this one had been combined with Waking the Witch I wouldn't have minded so much, but instead it just felt like an extension that on reflection doesn't really progress things. Okay, we now know about the war and the supernatural liberation movement, but other than that we've moved sideways rather than forwards. I don't mind cliffhangers so much when I know I've got the next instalment ready to read, but waiting a year for any resolution really bugs (I'm instant gratification girl), and I much preferred having each book's story self-contained.(less)
Hmmm, an odd one this. Set in the same world as the preceding two entries this one has more in common with the first, as it ties in with the Blight an...moreHmmm, an odd one this. Set in the same world as the preceding two entries this one has more in common with the first, as it ties in with the Blight and zombies that we met in Boneshaker, along with a couple of characters, but I didn't enjoy it half so much as I did Clementine in particular.
Nurse Vinita 'Mercy' Lynch (nee Swakhammer) is working in a hospital in Richmond, tending soldiers injured in the war that's been raging for years between the Union and the Rebs, when she receives a couple of messages: not only is she now a widow, but her estranged father is dying and wants to see her, all the way across the other side of the country. And so Mercy sets off by dirigible, boat and train, or more specifically the Dreadnought, a huge military train that along with its passengers is carrying a mysterious cargo.
Not much really happened for long stretches as Mercy chatted to various passengers along her way, punctuated by furious bursts of action as she was either caught up on the front line or on the train as it's beset first by Reb forces and then by the undead. Fortunately for Mercy she's rather unflappable and rises easily to her various challenges, but I can only think that her unruffledness rubbed off on me as I found it hard to care what happened.(less)
I feel rather mean giving this a 2 as it became immediately clear that I'm not the intended audience, and my 10-year old self would have loved it, but...moreI feel rather mean giving this a 2 as it became immediately clear that I'm not the intended audience, and my 10-year old self would have loved it, but I'm a long way past that age. I should have probably just given it up but I'm not made that way.
When Kendra and Seth go to stay with their reclusive grandparents, little do they know that they're actually going to stay on a magical preserve, where all manner of mythic creatures are housed to preserve them from extinction. While Kendra isn't a natural rule-breaker, her little brother Seth most definitely is, which leads to adventure. As does the fact that not all of the residents of Fablehaven are necessarily very nice, and Kendra and Seth soon find themselves in a position where only they can save the day.
There's a nice imagination at work in this along with strong characters, but at times I felt like I was getting way too much exposition from the adults, and while I'm an avid fan of some children's books, this one was just a little too young for me. But pay me no mind, as if you've got young kids you can't go far wrong with this.(less)
Proving yet again what a great writer Jane Austen is/was, by providing me with yet another book that I thoroughly enjoyed while harbouring an intense...moreProving yet again what a great writer Jane Austen is/was, by providing me with yet another book that I thoroughly enjoyed while harbouring an intense dislike for its heroine.
While very different to Fanny from Mansfield Park she's at least as awful by way of being a conceited, judgemental, snotty, meddlesome and spoiled young woman who while being rather witty and charming in conversation proves herself to be a truly abominable, careless friend. Thankfully due to it being written in such a witty, knowing way it's quite good fun to watch Emma blunder her way through the match-making she thinks she's so good at, while pitying poor Harriet for having such a horrid friend.
With brilliant characters (I loved Mr. Knightley and liked that he wasn't blind to Emma's faults, even if I had secretly hoped that somehow Harriet might snag him after all to serve Emma right) and an acute eye for social scenes and bitchery (in particular regard to Mrs Elton and Emma herself once Jane Fairfax is introduced) this was great fun.(less)
Revenge may well be a dish best served cold but no matter how you serve it, it turns out not to taste as sweet as you imagined. However, and luckily f...moreRevenge may well be a dish best served cold but no matter how you serve it, it turns out not to taste as sweet as you imagined. However, and luckily for the reader, it does give you a shit ton to chew over and savour, especially if you're in the mood for another nihilistic, blackly funny and brilliantly characterised look at the pointlessness of it all as Monzcarro Murcatto, the ruthless and feared Butcher of Caprile, is betrayed by those closest her and left for dead, starting her on an orgy of violence as she wreaks her bloody vengeance on those who killed her beloved brother and would have left her in the same state.
Yet again I loved the characters Abercrombie gave us, including but not limited to a number-obsessed convict who's handy with a cleaver, a vain and self-deceiving poisoner (who is absolutely hilarious by the way, and had me snorting my appreciation more than a few times) and his assistant, and a few familiar faces from The First Law Trilogy (though some of them are less recognisable by the time we get to the end (view spoiler)[Oh, poor Shivers, who comes to the story trying to be a better man, and ends it having lost so much more than just his eye. Eep! (hide spoiler)])
Again Abercrombie is brilliant at getting you to empathise with and, some of the time, even egg on a bunch of murderers intent on bloody mayhem, and while we usually reach the end of the story with humanity so much worse off than when we started it (both in terms of numbers of lives lost, and what's become of the lives of those left standing) getting there is a huge amount of fun and I love being inside this world.
A 3.5 really, in which we’re away from the Seattle of the first book and out into the wider world in the company of Captain Hainey, who we met briefly...moreA 3.5 really, in which we’re away from the Seattle of the first book and out into the wider world in the company of Captain Hainey, who we met briefly in Boneshaker.
Captain Hainey is a pirate, a former slave and now captain of the Free Crow, a warship that he liberated years previously which has now been liberated from him (and renamed the Clementine). His pursuit of the stolen bird has caught the attention of some powerful people and so his path must cross with that of Marie ‘Belle’ Boyd, famous ex-Confederate spy and now agent for the Pinkertons.
Much shorter than its predecessor, even minus the rotters this was a rollicking good adventure that I tore through in no time – I loved the snappy dialogue and furious pace, and actually found the storyline itself preferable to that in Boneshaker. I’d still have liked a little more depth, but this is great fun nonetheless.
Oh, and just one more thing – I love having books where the heroines are capable women long past their teenage years. (less)
When I realised that George RR Martin had done a vampire book, I was so excited I almost had a small accident. While that feeling didn’t last through...moreWhen I realised that George RR Martin had done a vampire book, I was so excited I almost had a small accident. While that feeling didn’t last through the entirety of the book, I’m blaming that more on the fact that the people in my life seem determined not to let me have more than 5 seconds to myself, leaving me unable to read more than two words together in an unbroken stream and ensuring I couldn’t get as fully immersed (particularly towards the climax) as I’d normally like (I’m not bitter...much).
Set in 1850’s in the area on and around the Mississippi where great steamboats plied their various trades on the river, Abner Marsh has always dreamed of building one of the greatest. He’s able to realise his dream thanks to the partnership of an odd but extremely wealthy man, Joshua York, who has some strange habits and stranger friends. Joshua is a vampire, though he has conquered the thirst and is now seeking to unite his people and lead them into a new age of friendship and cooperation with humans. Unfortunately, not all of his people share that dream, as he soon comes to realise once face to face with Damon Julian, a far more ancient and malevolent vampire who has set up home in an old plantation house, and has no intention of making friends with ‘the cattle’.
A deliciously atmospheric mix of history and fantasy, Martin gives us his own take on vampire mythology that works brilliantly within its setting – a South that’s still very much slave country, and where beautiful surfaces fail to entirely conceal the rot underneath. While far less flowery than Anne Rice, Martin’s language is incredibly descriptive and I felt like I was getting a flavour of what life might have been like as a 19th century riverman and I was rather invested in Abner in particular, realising halfway through that I was a little ball of anxiety waiting to see how the fate of the Fevre Dream (Abner’s steamboat) would play out as it turned from being Abner’s dream to the stuff of nightmares.
Having become an uberfan of Martin’s through reading the Song of Ice and Fire series, I’m glad to see that his standalones are no less enthralling and can now happily start adding tons more to my already huge to-read list.(less)
A look at how 'cutting edge' forensics apparently took down 12 serial killers - each chapter has an overview of both the killers and their crimes, the...moreA look at how 'cutting edge' forensics apparently took down 12 serial killers - each chapter has an overview of both the killers and their crimes, the investigations and what tools were used to break the case, from letter tracing to DNA and from psychological profiling to brain fingerprinting.
More like a Channel 5 documentary than an in-depth look, I would have liked a little more depth regarding each investigation - instead of following developments and leads we skipped lightly over the details until we got to the point the author wanted to talk about, which she then dispatched rather quickly. Some of these tools didn't seem that cutting edge to me with the way they were described a little fuzzy, and I didn't feel that some of the cases illustrated what the author was trying to achieve, sometimes showing instead the incompetence or bad management of the law enforcement side (particularly when it came to Robinson and 'the sting', which he would have got away with if he hadn't been persuaded to seek treatment for some injuries).
That said, I did get lots of suggestions for further reading which got this book a further point. (less)
I don't think I've read much steampunk before, and as a first taste of the genre this was a nice appetiser.
Set in gold-rush era Seattle, an inventor...moreI don't think I've read much steampunk before, and as a first taste of the genre this was a nice appetiser.
Set in gold-rush era Seattle, an inventor named Leviticus Blue builds a drill - the Boneshaker - capable of drilling down into the Alaskan ice, but before it gets to do its job he uses it to tunnel his way into the downtown banks causing huge destruction and unleashing a gas - the Blight - which kills any who breath it and turns them into rotters, otherwise known as zombies. With the contaminated city now walled off, Leviticus' widow Briar lives a hard, shunned life on the Outskirts with their son Zeke. When Zeke sneaks into the city in a misguided effort to clear his father's name, Briar has to go in after him...
With it's Blight-ridden western-ish setting, zombies, air pirates and assorted other interesting characters this ticked all the right boxes for me, although it never quite rose up to being quite as awesome as I wished it would. I kept waiting for something a little more to happen than running blindly from rotters into whatever direction fate decided, bumping into whoever you needed to bump into and rather easily dispatching what was apparently a big bad, but I'm still interested enough to read the next book of the series and see where it takes me.(less)
Stephen King usually speaks to a small, scared and helpless part of me that hopes everything is going to be alright. It seems that as Bachman he whisp...moreStephen King usually speaks to a small, scared and helpless part of me that hopes everything is going to be alright. It seems that as Bachman he whispers to a smaller cynical, angry, and violent part that knows nothing will.
I assumed that I was more than familiar with this story thanks to having seen the Ahhnuld movie a thousand times or more. Turned out that, apart from the main character's name and the Games concept, I knew an entirely different beast altogether.
Ben Richards isn't the muscle-bound 'Butcher of Bakersfield', framed for a crime he didn't commit. He's a normal, desperate man, unemployed and watching his 18 month old daughter die of pneumonia while his wife attempts to earn money for medicine on her back, whose only way left of providing for his family lies in becoming a contestant for one of the Network's many shows for people desperate enough. These range from Treadmills to Bucks, where the ill can earn cash by running until they conk out, all the way up the The Running Man, where potential troublemakers are weeded out by being hunted down and killed, with the amount of time they stay alive discerning how much cash their dependents can look forward to. Thanks to his intelligence and contempt for the unfair society around him, Richards is picked for the latter and here the Hunters out to get Richards aren't the gaudy Buzzsaws and Dynamos of the film but could instead be any one of the people around him, while the ones who aren't are still potentially well-rewarded informers.
What's really scary is how plausible the world created is, being not so far from our own, depending on your viewpoint. As the rich are rewarded with tax breaks, the bankers who nearly ruined us get yet more bonuses and our utility companies tell us they have to put up prices to cover their costs while at the same time posting record profits, our MP's talk about the poor of this country who survive on benefits as though they're morally bankrupt, grasping and lazy scum who ought not even have that small financial safety net and huge chunks of the country believe the party line regardless of the evidence in front of them. Entertainment-wise we already get such gems of television as To Catch A Predator, where paedophiles are lured into televised confrontations, Cheaters where we get to see the direct emotional fallout of your partner betraying you, and I personally tune in weekly and watch Ronnie physically and emotionally abuse everyone around him on Jersey Shore, half-horrified and half hoping someone will appear and pummel him into the pavement (so I'm really in no position to judge, but that never usually stops me). The world within The Running Man has, just like Ronnie, simply had a steroid injection and become meaner and King (Bachman) plucks my strings as masterfully as usual, until I was almost egging Richards on to his violent conclusion.
Great stuff - and I should probably leave it there before someone calls MTV and puts me on some sort of watch-list.(less)
A 'classic of erotic literature' that is completely unerotic, this was a strange one for me. I can appreciate Miller's skill as a writer, which comes...moreA 'classic of erotic literature' that is completely unerotic, this was a strange one for me. I can appreciate Miller's skill as a writer, which comes to life beautifully whenever he is ruminating on art, the streets of Paris and humanity in general, but whenever we came back to the main thrust of the book I found myself underwhelmed and unadmiring. Much of this probably comes from my opinion towards desire as depicted within - it's a form of desire that is either extremely male or individual to Miller in which women are reduced to a nameless, faceless parade of 'cunt' (clearly that's the only important part of us, the prick...) only of worth when giving a lay or doling out francs or food, and the copious amounts of sex being had is a hostile and squalid battle, not enjoyed due to any attraction it would seem but merely as a way of competing with other men, eradicating the traces of those who came before. I soon started to find it all rather tedious, alleviated intermittently by quite beautiful passages on the environment of Paris, or the paintings of Matisse.
I can appreciate that this book, with it's unapologetic honesty and liberal use of fucks and cunts, would have been groundbreaking at the time of it's writing, but 70-odd years later it's lost it's power to shock and instead left me feeling a little 'meh', as well as infinitely glad I've not had the misfortune of meeting a man like this.
Oliver is an evil genius, flying under everybody's radar by playing dumb, whose secret global empire managing...moreThank you Josh Lieb, that was delicious.
Oliver is an evil genius, flying under everybody's radar by playing dumb, whose secret global empire managing skills are put to the test when he takes up the unwitting challenge of his father and runs for class president.
This book almost drips with disdain and I loved every second, along with it's sneering, sarcastic and sociopathic anti-hero, Oliver. Snort out loud funny, it's humour is helped along by snarky footnotes and photographic evidence. Amongst other things I also hugely enjoyed Oliver's head games on Mr Moorhead; his fondness for his Basque-trained pit bull, Lollipop; the mysterious Chinese exchange student who's exceptionally developed for a middle-schooler; and Oliver's admiration for Tati, the Meanest Girl at School.
Great stuff - my only complaint is that there wasn't more of it, as I would have welcomed spending far more time in Oliver's world.(less)
Excellent - the sort of book that has me wanting to go out afterwards and slap copies into the hands of passers-by, attempting to turn everyone I meet...moreExcellent - the sort of book that has me wanting to go out afterwards and slap copies into the hands of passers-by, attempting to turn everyone I meet into some sort of class warrior.
As the cover says, this is an account of Orwell's time on the other side of the poverty line that most of us are lucky not to have to experience - not the kind where you're wondering what bills to pay this month in order to meet your rent, but where you're wondering where you're going to sleep that night and how to get food after days of hunger. It's easy to see how these experiences informed Orwell's politics and morals, which are a huge part of his later works (well, of the ones I've read, anyway).
I was recommended this by my brother, who warned me of his constant need to go and make a sandwich and have a bath after every chapter - it didn't have quite that effect on me, but it's possible that's due to my being on the tail-end of a two-month sickness/unable to eat cycle which made me better able to appreciate statements like a lack of food "reduces one to an utterly spineless, brainless condition, more like the after-effects of influenza than anything else. It is as though one had been turned into a jellyfish, or as though one's blood had been pumped out and lukewarm water substituted." Yup, sounds about right George (although I feel a little obscene comparing my own situation to that within the book - there is food out there in my fridge after all, if only I could eat it).
Contains absolutely fascinating insights into many areas of life not seen by the lucky majority, as well as some vivid characters and places (being behind the curtains at the Hotel X. in Paris has made me look at those in the 'service industry' with new eyes, and I'm not quite sure I'll ever enjoy a steak in a smart restaurant half so much ever again) as well as questioning the necessity of some of the work those hard-up are forced to do in order to survive. The life of a plongeur is hardly a life at all by most people's standards, and yet 'jobs' like these will always abound while we have people willing to pay for the illusion of luxury:
"Essentially, a 'smart' hotel is a place where a hundred people toil like devils in order that two hundred may pay through the nose for things they do not really want."
Things appear to be harder again once he reaches London, where instead of hustling his way into day work or a bed for the night, vagrancy seems the only option left and we find ourselves in a world of 'spikes' where you may be locked in for the night and fed a small amount of bread and tea before being moved on, well-meaning churches that will feed you on condition you get on your knees and pray ("It is curious how people take it for granted that they have a right to preach at you and pray over you as soon as your income falls below a certain level"), and the ridiculous laws that govern the streets of England that are ostensibly there for protection (people are stopped from begging for being a nuisance, and tramps are stopped from sleeping in public places apparently due to the risk of dying of exposure, but mostly it would seem because being poor immediately makes you 'other', something to be viewed with suspicion and despised).
Sadly, it's a situation that we don't seem to have learned anything from over the past 60-70 years, and it seems you could take the sentiments presented within as those of the average educated man and pop it straight into the mouths of the Government and the well-off today:
"We know that poverty is unpleasant; in fact, since it is so remote, we rather enjoy harrowing ourselves with the thought of its unpleasantness. But don't expect us to do anything about it. We are sorry for you lower classes, just as we are sorry for a cat with the mange, but we will fight like devils against any improvement of your condition. We feel that you are much safer as you are. The present state of affairs suits us, and we are not going to take the risk of setting you free, even by an extra hour a day. So, dear brothers, since evidently you must sweat to pay for our trips to Italy, sweat and be damned to you."
If you're a fan of ranting/complaining/bitching, or of Denis Leary, you'll enjoy this.
A no-nonsense, not very PC part-rant/part-routine about Why We S...moreIf you're a fan of ranting/complaining/bitching, or of Denis Leary, you'll enjoy this.
A no-nonsense, not very PC part-rant/part-routine about Why We Suck (he's actually taking on Americans, but just as much applies to my country as his) that also has some pretty neat ideas - I for one would subscribe to the pay-per-view cage match between Ma & Pa Lohan entitled "Who's fault is it, really?" My money's on Ma Lohan.(less)
More jolly good fun featuring my new literary crush, Sherlock Holmes, who I find absolutely hilarious as well as arrogant and intelligent and awesome...moreMore jolly good fun featuring my new literary crush, Sherlock Holmes, who I find absolutely hilarious as well as arrogant and intelligent and awesome in every way. Sir Arthur continues to surprise too - after a hilarious anti-Mormon section in A Study in Scarlet, in this we're treated to Holmes' pro-cocaine views (though Watson's less keen) which book-end the story. Hee!(less)
And we're finally done after taking what felt like forever during the first half, picking back up again slightly then plunging back into a Who am I?/M...moreAnd we're finally done after taking what felt like forever during the first half, picking back up again slightly then plunging back into a Who am I?/Mac & Jericho 4 EVA feedback loop before finally bowing out with an enjoyable reveal.
By the time we got to the reveal I'd spent a huge amount of time wishing a horrible death on every last raging asshole that populated the book (everyone - especially sodding Mac and Barrons), rolling my eyes and swearing at it and far too much time was spent fannying around (not just literally) before we got anywhere leading to trying to cram in too much towards the end, but the reveal was unexpected and just about saved this from a true savaging.(less)
I struggled to enjoy this one as much as the preceding entries as it attempted to ramp up the angst, with Mac trapped between numbers of hypocritical,...moreI struggled to enjoy this one as much as the preceding entries as it attempted to ramp up the angst, with Mac trapped between numbers of hypocritical, insufferable wankers and being one herself much of the time.
I'm also over the whole sexual threats and coercion in place of chemistry thing, and getting a little annoyed that this genre seems to rely on it so much.
This one ends on yet another bloody cliffhanger, so I'll read the last one anyway, but am far less bothered about doing so than I was with the previous books.(less)
Following in the same vein of nihilism as exhibited in the previous two Bachman books comes Roadwork, as Barton Dawes loses his mind when the city dec...moreFollowing in the same vein of nihilism as exhibited in the previous two Bachman books comes Roadwork, as Barton Dawes loses his mind when the city decides it's new bypass will reside where his home and place of employment currently sit.
No need for supernatural scares here - human thoughts and emotions, particularly the ones like desperation, fear, anger and grief, are disturbing (and touching) enough when in King's hands. (less)
Starting exactly where it left off, with Mac in the gutter having come across The Book, and leaving on another irritating cliffhanger. I won't be jump...moreStarting exactly where it left off, with Mac in the gutter having come across The Book, and leaving on another irritating cliffhanger. I won't be jumping straight into the next book this time as I need a little breathing room to get over my irritation with some (most) of the characters, although I still enjoy the story.
Mac, I've realised, I mostly don't like. Especially when she's playing games over The Book with Barrons and V'Lane (purposely avoiding it etc) instead of doing what she's supposed to be doing (while giving everyone else flack for doing the same as her).
The sidhe-seers annoy me, for much of the above reasons, and while Barrons is hot he's an abusive asshole. I don't really care if he and Mac ever get it on, as long as I find out if he's what I suspect him to be.
That said it's still easy to devour, and I am enjoying all of the other aspects of the story. I'm just now hoping that most of our main characters get wiped out before the story ends.(less)
Picks up exactly where the first one left off and is just as ludicrous, camp and easy to devour.
In this one Mac properly meets some other sidhe-seers,...morePicks up exactly where the first one left off and is just as ludicrous, camp and easy to devour.
In this one Mac properly meets some other sidhe-seers, spends some time in Faery, finds out about the eating of Unseelies (a nicely gruesome and unexpected turn) and gets into more danger from which Barrons has to swoop in and rescue her (a situation which is starting to get on my tits - can she start rescuing herself soon?)
I continue to prefer the ideas over the execution, but it seems churlish to rate this lower when I'm still enjoying reading them, although they're not as well done as the other supernatural series that I've read. At any rate I already have the next one lined up and ready to go, so it must have something going for it!
Just one other thing though, which has been really bugging me. Characters from this side of the pond should not be coming out with stuff like 'I did the math'. We do the maths.(less)
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