Killing Me Softly is a love story but not in the typical sense; it’s obsessive, all consuming, violent, intense, desperate and ultimately terrifying....moreKilling Me Softly is a love story but not in the typical sense; it’s obsessive, all consuming, violent, intense, desperate and ultimately terrifying. And oh my god is it good. I literally could not put this down.
If I could compare this book to anything I would say that initially it reminded me of a combination of 9 ½ weeks and that Richard Gere/Diane Lane movie from a few years ago (Unfaithful) -based on the passion, intensity and utter randomness of our couples first encounter. Of course it then unravels into a tense psychological thriller which much in a car wreck sort of way you can’t take your eyes off of. Throughout I had a feeling of, this just can’t end well.
I should mention that despite the fact that the blurb on the jacket describes this book as ‘erotic’ all the sex scenes are off page; it’s still sexy as hell -in an alarming sort of way. And I’ll admit to being very uncomfortable in sections, shaking my head at our heroine’s decisions and basic lack of “self” (“what the hell are you thinking girl?”) I also doubted myself, doubted Alice and Adam and was left utterly raw and heartbroken by the end. Just the kind of reading experience I love.
Alice Loudon has it all: a comfortable life, a stable (nice) live-in boyfriend, a good job, clever friends, and then one day while walking down a London street on her lunch hour she sees him, standing there, staring, as if waiting for her. The attraction is immediate; it’s unexplainable, like a lightning bolt that neither of them can turn away from. He is Adam Tallis and without speaking a word she follows this complete stranger to his apartment where she proceeds to let him take her clothes off and engages in the most intense love making she has ever known. In fact with Adam she needs a new word for sex. He envelopes her, obliterates her, he is unlike any man she has ever known, and within days she is lost to him.
Abandoning everything (and I mean that literally) Alice leaves her boyfriend and moves in, within months they’re married. Nothing matters except him and them and her world becomes very small. She barely recognizes herself in the mirror anymore as Adam begins to possess every aspect of her being. He worships her, desires her, loves her in an all-consuming way and there isn’t room for anyone or anything else. Alice’s world shrinks to being just Adam; the stranger she fell in love with on a street.
Adam. Her enigmatic husband, world renowned mountain climber, guide and reluctant hero after his last expedition in the Himalayas left half of their group dead. Adam comes with a whole circle of mysterious and exotic friends and it’s when Klaus decides to write a book about the tragedy of the Chungawat expedition that Alice opens her eyes. Reality creeps in, jealousy and doubt takes hold and the tension level rises. How well does she really know this man? Told entirely from the first person we witness Alice’s inner turmoil, doubts and fears as curiosity about her husband’s past and former lovers becomes in of itself an obsession.
“What a ghastly farce it all was. Our whole marriage was built on desire and deception.” (less)
SIDECAR was one of those books that I couldn`t stop reading yet wanted to put away and slowly savour because I just d...moreOpening Line: “The Kid was cold.”
SIDECAR was one of those books that I couldn`t stop reading yet wanted to put away and slowly savour because I just didn`t want it to end. I absolutely loved Casey and Joe and I`m fast approaching phonebook status with author Amy Lane, you know if she wrote a phone book I`d read it cover to cover, probably cry at the end then write a gushy fangirl review all about it. Everything she writes just grabs me by the guts, sometimes destroys me, always makes me sigh and smile and generally leaves me a hot tear streaked mess. Sidecar was no exception.
This is amazing and rare story; encompassing twenty-five years of love and well, life. And because of the length of time we get to spend with our characters this also becomes more than just a story, this is a lifetime, this is every little heartache and hope and triumph. This is epic. Thanks for the ride Amy!
Ponytailed, Harley riding, bear of a man Joe Daniels is on his way home from his job as a pediatric nurse when he comes across a visibly distraught teenager on the side of the road. Joe has picked up his share of runaways over the years in this remote area, feeding them and giving them a safe place for a few days until they head out into the world again. He’s assuming this 16 year old will be the same but Casey is about to change everything.
At first Casey is wary of accepting the big hippie bikers offer, knowing some of the shit he`s had to do over the past few months just to get a meal. But he`s also reached the end of his endurance; he’s exhausted, dirty, hungry, lice riddled and reeling from the recent abuse of a trucker. He can either go back to the bridge he almost jumped off or he can go with Joe.
Casey’s story is not a revelation, on the run because his parents couldn’t accept him being gay; now all he needs is a break, just a place to make a start for himself. He`s found it with Joe and so much more. Joe doesn`t want anything from him (definitely not sex even though Casey offers) he just wants Casey to have a chance to grow up without judgement and become a good man. So Casey doesn`t leave, with Joe as his legal guardian he goes back to school, gets a job, helps remodel the house, they get a dog, he dates a few boys and life goes by.
At 27 Joe is pretty settled in his life, he works at the hospital, he likes his seclusion, he loves having Casey around and he dates a few girls and a few boys. Their relationship works, for several years it works but Casey is growing up and he`s never hidden the fact that he wants Joe. So far Joe’s been able to play it off, telling him he`s just a kid and doesn’t know what he wants and that’s where the conflict comes in because suddenly Casey isn`t a kid, suddenly, overnight (well 6 years) Casey is a man and Joe can no longer deny what s been growing between them. How it hurts now to see him with his silly boyfriends.
Gawd the moment Joe realizes that he`s in love with Casey, that he wants him is so perfect and so beautiful and so well written it makes you want to cry. I`ll be honest though I had my doubts as to whether Lane could pull off this transformation taking them from a pseudo father son relationship to lovers but I needn’t have worried and YES, Finally, the payoff for their first time together is so worth the long wait.
”I want you. I want to hold you. I’m suddenly, terrifyingly, overwhelmingly possessed with the idea of what your mouth would taste like under mine, and I don’t know how to say it or even think it.”
And still their story goes on. Joe wants a child, same sex adoption wasn`t really a thing in the nineties so that’s a problem, Joe also wants Casey to travel, to see the world and experience everything before he settles down. Casey just wants Joe and time marches on, in the blink of an eye 25 years has passed and that is life. Cheers.
I want to mention that Amy has also included a song title for each chapter, relevant to when it takes place and what our characters are going through. And because this starts in 1986 –the year I graduated (!) I had an absolute blast with this playlist, bringing back lots of memories for me, when I had super big hair and Corey Hart was the bomb. 319jb5+
Opening Line:"I was thirty years old when the seaplane T.J Callahan and I were travelling on crash-landed in the Indian ocean."
Gawd this left me shatt...moreOpening Line:"I was thirty years old when the seaplane T.J Callahan and I were travelling on crash-landed in the Indian ocean."
Gawd this left me shattered, easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. It’s taken me ages to get a review organized because I just couldn’t figure out how to write one that would do this amazing story justice.
There were just so many things I loved about this; a survival story, a forbidden romance, a tropical desert isle location, action, suspense, (freakin sharks) uncertainty, heartbreak. ON THE ISLAND was unputdownable from the very first page, took me on a ride that I didn’t want to end and tugged at my heartstrings every step of the way. Anna and T.J’s story of survival and ultimately love is fascinating, well written and not one that I'll be able to forget.
Thirty year old Anna Emerson has just taken a job tutoring a wealthy family’s 16 year old son for the summer. The job takes her to the Maldives, which is perfect because her current relationship is going nowhere and she wants the time away to sort out her feelings. Anna meets up wither student in the airport where they begin the long multi connection journey together. T.J Callahan is old beyond his 16 years, having just stared cancer in the face but spending his summer vacation with his family and a tutor is the last thing he wants to do even if she is kinda hot.
On the last leg of their journey the pilot of their single engine plane suffers a heart attack and crash lands somewhere in the Indian Ocean. With Anna unconscious T.J manages to get them ashore and then their journey begins. For 3 1/2 years Anna and TJ struggle for survival on the deserted tropical island (think Tom Hanks in Castaway) armed only with only with items that wash up on the beach, a determination that they will be rescued and each other. Together they face insurmountable odds and with each year that passes their bond and dependence on each other only grows.
A lot of other reviewers have mentioned the age factor being an issue but I never had a problem with it. I felt that their relationship took a natural progression due to their circumstances. I mean they relied on each other completely and after a time rescue and the outside world would have seemed a dream. Through uncomplicated writing and an alternating 1st person POV the author really gives us a feel for both characters. This is particularly important in T.J’s case because his POV matures from boy to man, assuring the reader that there isn’t anything wrong or dirty with the romance aspect.
The survival side of their ordeal is also realistically portrayed and this is definitely one of those books that will make you stop and think; what would I have done in their situation? Would I have done anything differently? Would I have survived? Could I have bettered the situation?
Throughout I kept having flashes of The Blue Lagoon (especially during the shark scenes) which was an absolute favourite movie of mine as a teenager (Come on, Christopher Atkins romancing Brooke Shields in a loin cloth) This may have played a part into why I loved this book so much, well that and haven’t we all had the marooned on a desert isle with a hot guy fantasy at one time or another? Other influences here were Lost and as I mentioned Castaway.
This is a beautiful love story that until the very end I was never sure how it was going to play out. *Sigh* the epilogue. I want to thank everyone who recommended it to me and I’ll be doing the same Cheers.
So, a little known (and completely unnecessary) fact about me is that I’m huge fan of the Rocky movies. That’s right Rocky Balboa is my hero. I couldn...moreSo, a little known (and completely unnecessary) fact about me is that I’m huge fan of the Rocky movies. That’s right Rocky Balboa is my hero. I couldn’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen the movies over the years but I still cheer along every single time and get all caught up in the struggle, heartbreak, training montages, music, love story and that final 15 round, blood splattered, go for glory, give it all ya got, fight. I’m actually at a loss as to explain why they move me so much? Maybe it’s because I’ve always loved an underdog and this is the story of the ultimate underdog; a man whose whole life centers on a million to one shot. It’s also about going the distance and in the case of the original movie losing but winning the girl anyhow.
When Rocky Balboa came out a few years ago my fan-girl status piqued and I hunted down all the novelizations. I’d been hoping that I might find something new in the novel, some in depth characterization or at least some scenes that weren’t in the movie because honestly just how in depth can Rocky be? He’s a pretty simple character. Anyways there are a few gems here but for the most part this was just an okay, somewhat clunky read that didn’t really add anything to the experience. In fact it often read more like the original screenplay than the novelization it was meant to be. “Adrian was visibly upset. She walked across the room. She turned the light on.”
Rocky’s relationship with Gazzo is better developed here, while his relationship with Micky is less so and there is a great scene with Balboa nervously riding up the elevator to Apollo’s office when he still thinks he’s being sought after as a sparring partner. The final fight scene which is so spectacular in the movie is kind of lack luster here and the actual ending is different with both Rocky and Adrian being carried overhead by exuberant fight fans after the final decision is announced instead of Adrian sneaking under the ropes and telling Rocky she loves him as the decision is announced. The one here felt very awkward and I’m glad Stallone changed it.
Anyways I’m still rockin my Italian Stallion t-shirt on the weekends and have quit questioning why I’m such a fan. One day I’ll make it to the natural history museum in Philadelphia and run up those steps. It’s on the bucket list. Cheers. (less)
Opening Line: "Driving down Long Valley Road. Lovely day; bright sunshine, blue sky."
This week has been one filled with romantic tragedies for me. Fir...moreOpening Line: "Driving down Long Valley Road. Lovely day; bright sunshine, blue sky."
This week has been one filled with romantic tragedies for me. First I went to the see the re-release of Titanic in 3D (oh Jack) and then because I hadn’t had quite enough heartache I decided to revisit one of my all time favourite romances with Somewhere In Time (Bid Time Return.) It’s been years since I first read this as a teenager, -god knows how many times I watched the movie starring Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve (another tragedy there) and I wasn’t sure if I’d feel the same about it now.
Really the only difference this time around was that I was able to appreciate the quality of the writing and amount of research that must have gone into making this tale of time travel, well, believable. The romance is still as moving as it was. And yes much like Titanic even though I knew what was coming I still shed a tear at the end.
Told from a first person narrative and written as if you were reading a journal, we meet Richard Collier. A 30ish Los Angeles screenwriter with an inoperable brain tumour. Not wanting to burden his family, Richard packs up his life and decides to end his days wherever the road takes him. These beginning chapters are fast moving, choppy and written with short slightly erratic paragraphs as Richard dictates into an audio diary. In the second half the journal entries become longer and more detailed and quite honestly a little dry in places.
Through the fate of a coin toss Richard finds himself at the Hotel Del Coronado, a grand seaside resort, steeped in history that manages to become a character onto itself here. It’s within the hotel museum that Richard comes across a turn of the century photograph of an actress named Elise McKenna, and at that moment everything else in Richard’s life ceases to exist. He can’t stop thinking about the beautiful woman, or the look in her eyes, becoming obsessed with her and the time she lived in. Richard then begins to research her life and in every instance notes a complete change in her character after her acting troupe left the hotel 75 years before. If only he could meet her, if only he could get to her and find out what made her so sad, why she never married.
Its then that Richard begins researching time travel and self hypnosis, convinced that he can get back to her. When he finds his name in an 1896 hotel registry he knows with certainty what the change in Elise was. He was with her, now he just has to get back to her. Some of the time travel paradoxes in this are positively mind bending and you can’t think about them too long for fear of brain explosions.
As I mentioned the writing changes as soon as Richard finds himself in 1896 (yeah he does) becoming more formal and detailed. It is explained that he is now writing his accounts instead of dictating. Matheson’s descriptions of the time are pure genius, not just taking into account the obvious like clothing but the social attitudes, the language differences, the size of people. Is everyone short and stocky? I loved the descriptions and Richards discovery of it all. The romance aspect here is beautifully done albeit a little soppy and with a hint of the supernatural, because as it turns out Elise was expecting him. Well not him but through a physic she’s been waiting for someone mysterious to sweep her off her feet. Her over protective manager plays the antagonist here, trying in vain to keep them apart and while Richard should hate him he finds that he cannot because he knows how the man dies.
I suppose you can’t change the past though and as much as I found myself cheering for our couple it was already written. Probably the most moving part of this book is in the afterward (provided by Richard’s brother) which explains that his time travel was only that of a form of escapism provided by his tumour amassed brain. Robert Collier cannot however explain the love letters in Richards pocket or the antique (yet new) pocket watch or Elise McKenna’s famous dying last words. He leaves it up to the reader to decide if it happened or not. I think it did. Cheers. 291jb4(less)
Opening Line: "I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference."
So I’m going to try to write a somewhat sensible review here that doe...moreOpening Line: "I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference."
So I’m going to try to write a somewhat sensible review here that doesn’t come across as all gushy fan-girl. I will say (hopefully only once) that I adored this book but you should know that I'm a bit of a sucker for a tragedy too. ONE DAY was brilliant in every way; making me laugh and cry while filling me with nostalgia and longing. And because I’m the same age as Dexter and Emma the time frame here was also totally relatable (see nostalgia) with little details I had forgotten about from the past two decades.
Equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious yet also suspenseful as each chapter takes place a year to the day after the last one so you have to figure out what’s happened in that time between. And of course you want the H/h to get together so you’re waiting with bated breathe for them to finally “see” each other too. In the end this also made me want to seize the day like it’s my last, phone up all my long lost friends and lovers and look at old photographs. Hmmm and I haven’t even gotten into the genius of the writing yet (how do you put that into words?)
I knew that writing a review here was going to be difficult (when you love a book this much there doesn’t seem to be enough correct words to do it justice) and I promised myself to just keep this short and to the point so here goes... This is one of the most hilarious, perceptive, witty, moving and heartbreaking books I have ever read.
Told in 5 parts in alternating POV’s and over a span of twenty years Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley meet in 1988. Em has just graduated from university and hooked up with that boy she’s seen around for ages. He is Dexter, beautiful, pretentious and in his mind destined for greatness. As the sun rises they drink wine and talk about their futures. They have their whole lives stretching out ahead of them in an endless number of days and isn’t it going to be wonderful they can achieve anything they want to.
Starting as lovers Dexter and Emma continue as friends and the book joins them on July 15th of each year (St Swithin’s day) through their 20’s and 30’s and into their 40’s. As anyone in their 40’s knows, life happens and it doesn’t always go as planned, missed opportunities and the like.
“When I was younger everything seemed possible. Now nothing does.”
Through phone calls and letters, in different countries and towns, through assorted relationships, jobs and life’s little surprises and ruts we join Em and Dex each year in a unique snapshot of their life. They don’t always get along but they do think about each other everyday in some way and in case you haven’t figured it out this is ultimately a love story.
I can’t say much more about this without giving it all away. But when I read the last word I wanted to start it again and nothing I’ve tried to read since compares. Cheers.
“Live each day as if it’s your last, that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that?” (less)
Opening Line:"My grandfather, the knife fighter, killed two Germans before he was eighteen."
I came away from this feeling, very cold, very hungry and...moreOpening Line:"My grandfather, the knife fighter, killed two Germans before he was eighteen."
I came away from this feeling, very cold, very hungry and with an inexplicable need to make sure my pantry was full. CITY OF THIEVES is a fantastic story; set in 1942 during the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad. It’s a coming of age story filled with adventure, suspense, friendship, romance and tragedy all washed down with (from what I understand) a historically accurate picture of Leningrad during the blockade.
I should point out that despite the events of the time this is also a surprisingly funny read as our two main characters; Kolya the romantic optimist and Lev with his random internal observations both have an interesting way of looking at life around them during the absurdities of war.
The story begins with a powerful opening chapter; a writer asks his grandfather to tell him about his experiences during the war. All the narrator knows -and he doesn’t remember anyone telling him its just one of those family folklores that he always has- is that his grandfather, "the knife fighter" killed two Germans before he was eighteen and is missing a finger. And so Lev begins to tell his story to his grandson. Talking openly for the first time about his childhood, coming to America and sex. Mostly though he talks about a two week period in 1942 when he met his best friend, the woman that would become his wife and killed two Germans. I actually referred back to this chapter several times during the course of the book and again when I finished.
Its January 1942 Leningrad is under marshal law, surrounded by the German army and what’s left of its inhabitants are starving. Our hero 17 year old Lev Beniov has just been arrested for looting and placed in a cell with a handsome friendly deserter named Kolya Vlasov. Both of their crimes are grounds for execution and as our heroes get to know each other that’s what they expect come morning. However in a twist of fate they are given a chance to save their own lives, a secret mission for a powerful soviet colonel, all they have to do is find a dozen eggs for his daughter’s wedding cake.
A dozen eggs in a city cut off from supplies, a city resorting to cannibalism and eating glue from book spines to survive. It is of course a ludicrous and impossible task one which takes our new friends far into German occupied territory, through the bitter cold of winter and countless adventures and atrocities. The outcome didn’t really surprise me but I haven't stopped thinking about it either.
“One moment I thought I had a few minutes left to live; the next a sniper was flirting with me. Was she flirting with me? The days had become a confusion of catastrophes; what seemed impossible in the afternoon was blunt fact by the evening. German corpses fell from the sky; cannibals sold sausage links made from ground human in the Haymarket; apartments blocs collapsed to the ground; dogs became bombs; frozen soldiers became sign posts. I had no food in my belly, no fat on my bones and no energy to reflect on this parade of atrocities. I just kept moving, hoping to find another half slice of bread for myself and a dozen eggs for the colonel’s daughter.”(less)
Opening Line:"Charlie St. Cloud wasn't the best or brightest boy in Essex County, but he was surely the most promising"
I read this a few years ago but...moreOpening Line:"Charlie St. Cloud wasn't the best or brightest boy in Essex County, but he was surely the most promising"
I read this a few years ago but after recently seeing the movie I was reminded of how much I’d liked this story and decided I had to revisit Charlie St Cloud and his little brother Sam. Even though I knew the big reveal this time through I was still able to immerse myself completely in this magical, moving journey from death back to life.
With a story and writing style reminiscent of Nicholas Sparks this is an easy, beautiful and somewhat tear-jerking read that I would recommend to fans of his. There is of course a touching love story here but to me this was more about brothers, letting go of the past and embracing life.
Sherwood also manages to also bring the seaside town of Marblehead Massachusetts to life with quaint and intriguing secondary characters and a unique yachting theme. There were times here when I could actually smell the sea breeze, feel the salt spray on my face and really see his descriptions of clouds and setting suns. So much so that despite the movie being filmed some 50 miles from my (Canadian) back yard I still had the urge to visit New England. I think what I liked most here though was Sherwood’s comforting take on the afterlife; giving us all hope that our departed are with us, all around us and waiting for us.
As a teenager Charlie St. Cloud died in a car accident, brought back after a few minutes by the paramedics his younger brother Sam wasn’t to be so lucky. During those brief moments before Charlie was returned to life he made a promise to his brother that he would never leave him, and he never has. Now 13 years later Charlie is working in a cemetery, he’s still full of guilt over the accident however by some twist of fate he can now see the dead walking amongst the tombstones and every night at sunset he meets Sam in a secret grove where they play baseball together in a Field Of Dreams sort of way. Charlie’s never missed a single sunset with the fear that his brother would fade away if he did, in this way though neither of them has been able to move on. The cemetery almost becomes a character of its own here, no longer feeling like a creepy, sad place but one of magic and adventure.
Tess Carol is about to embark on a solo sailing trip around the world so meeting someone like Charlie is definitely not in her plans. Yet despite his odd habit of disappearing at sunset she can’t help but fall in love, these days he seems to be the only one who really “sees” her. When Tess’s boat is lost in a storm Charlie is faced with the ultimate choice between death and life. In joining the search party he chooses love and a future full of possibilities yet in doing so he’ll also break his promise and risk losing his brother forever. (less)
4.5~ Wow, this was one of those short sneaky books that you devour in a day and then can’t stop thinking ab...moreOpening line:“I have always loved my wife.”
4.5~ Wow, this was one of those short sneaky books that you devour in a day and then can’t stop thinking about. At about 130 pages SUNRISE ON KUSATSU HARBOUR has a huge story to tell and with about 200 more pages it would have been an epic read. As it stands though it felt rushed and important events that I would love to have read about in greater detail were glazed over. However the narration style almost dictates this as it is the retelling of a story from a third person and the underlying message does still manage to shine thorough.
Sunrise is a frightening, tragic and haunting story of star crossed lovers. Encompassing love and hate, revenge and prejudice but most of all forgiveness. It’s a small book with a big message and a twist at the end that will really leave you wondering. I also think that this book would make for a fantastic movie, regardless I’m just glad I found it.
We begin with a man finding a video tape at a garage sale. Instead of the tape containing the movie he was expecting it instead shows the confession of an older Japanese man. And so our story begins with the writer of this tale telling us Meiko’s story via the video diary. Taking us back to Japan during the 2nd world war where we watch a young couple fall in love and make plans for a promising future together. One fateful day our hero Meiko is called to serve in the army, he pledges his undying love to his girlfriend Tori on Kusatsu beach, vowing to always be true to her and return and get married as soon as Japan wins the war. Meiko then leaves his peaceful village in Hiroshima to help create biological weapons for the war effort.
So, now that we know where they are, we all know what’s coming next and it was very interesting to see life from the other side of the war. On the day the US drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Tori is in Kusatsu harbour, missing her man. The blast knocks her from the beach and into the ocean saving her life. However everyone and everything else she has ever known is now gone. Deciding that she must try to find Meiko, Tori then travels many hundred miles to where he is stationed in Nagasaki only to learn that just the day before Meiko went AWOL and is now trying to find her back in Hiroshima.
That is when the 2nd bomb drops on Nagasaki, leaving Tori alive but horribly burned and disfigured. She is hospitalized for a long time. Meanwhile Meiko has of course not been able to find his true love and can only assume that she is dead. When the Emperor of Japan surrenders Meiko makes his plans for revenge, sailing out of Kusatsu harbour on a boat bound for America. Little does he know that the figure watching from Kusatsu beach is his Tori. As I said this a star crossed lover’s story and our couple cross paths many times before finally meeting again far away and under unusual and fateful circumstances. For such a short read this book is decades in it’s telling with Meiko paying a huge cost for his revenge. Not easily forgotten. (less)
In the beginning of Water For Elephants Jacob Jankowski tells us that he is ninety or ninety-three. One or the other. He's not really sure anymore. Hi...moreIn the beginning of Water For Elephants Jacob Jankowski tells us that he is ninety or ninety-three. One or the other. He's not really sure anymore. His body betrayed him years ago and Jacob now fears that his mind isn’t far behind. Shuffling along miserably behind his walker, he’s living out his final days in the nursing home and hating every minute of it. Just another invisible senior citizen who’s family and the world as a whole has forgotten about.
When the circus comes to town and sets up its Big Top tents across the street Jacob comes alive and through a series of flashbacks begins to tell us his life’s story. Taking us back to when he joined the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth, a traveling circus he toured with during the great depression. So step right up folks because this old man has quite the story to tell.
At the age of 23 Jacob had a predictable future set out ahead of him, one that certainly didn’t involve joining the circus. However with his parents untimely death and the bank foreclosing on his family home Jacob soon finds himself homeless, heartbroken and mentally quite unable to sit his final veterinary exams. When an exotic, animal filled train steams toward him Jacob doesn’t even think. Flinging himself aboard the boxcar and inadvertently changing his destiny forever.
I absolutely adored this book, alternately falling in love with both Jacob, the crotchety old man and Jacob, the young, moral and penniless circus veterinarian. Water For Elephants transported me to another time and quickly became one of those books I never wanted to end.
Author Sara Gruen has researched the depression era circus life down to the smallest of details and I feel that this captivating and vivid story will appeal to almost anyone. Filled with action, adventure and a sweet forbidden romance there is also a fascinating sideshow of secondary characters including a clever Polish Elephant, a grouchy little person as Jacob’s roommate and a cruel and schizophrenic animal trainer whose wife Jacob just happens to fall in love with. All of this has been wrapped together with a compelling and innovative behind the scenes look aboard a travelling circus train. Showing us more often then not the darker side of circus life after the big top closes down. This is a love story, a life story, an animal lover’s story but above all it’s a circus story and who of us hasn’t dreamed about running away and joining the circus at some point in our lives? And the ending… *sigh*
I can't say enough good about this book, its easily one of my favourite reads this year and with Robert Pattison now taking on the upcoming movie role version of Jacob, I was able to picture him while reading, making it all the more sweeter. Cheers!
Opening Line: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, Mrs Powell once said from the front of my high school literature class, going...moreOpening Line: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, Mrs Powell once said from the front of my high school literature class, going on to explain that some ancient Chinese scholar made that sage observation many centuries ago."
A Wayward Wind was one of those great surprise reads as I’d never heard of author John. W Huffman before and knew next to nothing about this story when I began. I will admit to a somewhat shaky start though as I got used to his style of writing and love of exclamation marks which peppered almost every sentence in the beginning chapters! However Huffman’s a fantastic storyteller and it wasn't long before I was carried away by this gripping adventure.
Huffman does a great job here of voicing the 60’s teenager, transporting you back to a time we can all relate to; when you lived in the moment, nothing was as important as your best friends (or that first kiss) and it felt like the whole world was against you. This story often reminded me of Stephen King, in particular Stand by Me or The Body. Probably because of the era it takes place in and the fact that 90% of the adults portrayed here are evil or in the case of parents left purposely vague. It also jumps back and forth between past and present and these sections are cleverly woven together by the end with our characters showing us the bond they formed and the events that marked them forever.
Its 1967, Jay Harte is just back from Vietnam, a decorated but disillusioned hero who can no longer fit into society. Along with his purple heart and bronze star Jay’s also got some serious scars, a short temper and can’t seem to find a job- since there isn’t much call back ‘in the world’ for leading men through a jungle and avoiding sniper fire. All of this pales however when he receives a letter from his childhood friend, now on death row for killing a man. The young Oliver Freeman that Jay remembers would never have been capable of such an act but it seems time and circumstances have changed both of them.
And so our story begins with Jay travelling to Angola state penitentiary and then flashing us back to the summer of 1960 when at 14 years old he and Ollie ran away in search of Ollie’s missing, and unbeknownst to them, heroin addicted mother. Hitchhiking their way to New Orleans and Baton Rouge they sleep under bridges, work odd jobs and come to rely on each other completely. Early into their adventure Hattie Trudeau joins them and with her inclusion they become the 3 musketeers. Now as well as avoiding gangsters and pimps in their search for Ollie’s mother they’re also on the run from the police and Hattie’s abusive guardian, Old Pete. The past and present eventually comes together along with an ending full of surprises.
A Wayward Wind touches on a huge scope of issues; becoming a love story, an adventure and a tragedy. Showing the bonds of friendship, the casualties of war and the horrors of addiction. Highly recommended. (less)
Opening Line: "There were good times and bad times, but in the beginning there were more good times."
Wow this was fantastic, in a watching a beautiful...moreOpening Line: "There were good times and bad times, but in the beginning there were more good times."
Wow this was fantastic, in a watching a beautiful car crash sort of way. Following the day to day struggles, triumphs and ultimate decay of a heroin addict and his girlfriend. It was almost impossible to look away and put this book down even though it’s graphic, horrible, depressing and often pointless. Told in the first person with vividly poetic and just plain amazing writing there’s a surprisingly innocent love story told here as well and I found myself moved by their story. Pulling for our couple and hoping that they could just get clean long enough to come out on the other side of addiction with some kind of future together.
CANDY is a love story, a horror story, and an adventure. It’s darkly humorous and sadly moving. Filled with graphic descriptions of heroin use, vein hunting, needles, sickness, numbness, the endless cycle of finding your next fix, the selling of ones soul and the constant pain. I was exhausted just reading about the kind of stamina it takes to become a full blown junkie.
The scheming and scoring and stealing, the planning and begging and the sickness when you’ve either exhausted all options or you’re trying yet again to get clean (or maybe just not use quite so much) I could feel their pain and hopelessness in particular the mind numbing details as they lock themselves in their rundown apartment and attempt to kick on their own, this is what happens to you physically when you try to come off of a serious heroin addiction and it was tough to witness.
We follow our couple over a ten year period starting in Sydney during their heady early days of first love. Its summer and the world is beautiful and new. Candy, a gorgeous aspiring actress wants to learn everything about her new love, including what its like to use heroin and despite an almost immediate overdose the wheels are set in motion, she wants more.
Through our narrators eyes we watch Candy go from aspiring actress to high paid escort to street hooker. It’s an easy natural progression that somehow seems to make sense for both of them. He remains a con, a thief and a dealer. They often talk of getting clean, having a baby. They move to Melbourne to start again, they relapse; they get married and are the coolest couple in McDonalds dressed in their wedding attire, wasted after using their wedding money to score. There are serious highs and desperate lows. From high-end apartments to slums, hepatitis and crabs, bad scams, arrests and the loss of their baby. Throughout it all they remain in desperate love with each other and heroin.
This did not end at all like I was expecting and was in fact sadder then I had thought possible. It’s haunting when everything turns blue and all that’s left is methadone, madness, loneliness, a job washing dishes and playing Frisbee in the sun.(less)
Opening line:"This month my name is Mary and apparently, I'm as contrary as the nursery rhyme"
Broken is one of the most amazing books I’ve read in a l...moreOpening line:"This month my name is Mary and apparently, I'm as contrary as the nursery rhyme"
Broken is one of the most amazing books I’ve read in a long time, and author Megan Hart, well wow, I’m just in love with her writing. Reading Broken felt like eating dessert or chocolate, as she has a way of making her words delicious. So perfectly descriptive and achingly beautiful, I only wish I could put my muddled thoughts into sentences the way she does.
This is a unique, very real and somewhat heartbreaking story that will definitely make you stop and think and although categorized as erotica I never felt that the sex scenes were gratuitous instead they seemed to help move the story along which lets be honest is a rare thing. Really, it’s unfortunate that this needs a label at all because it is just so much more the erotica or romance or even a tragic love story -yet it is also all of these.
Despite the complex subject matter I also think we could all find a piece of ourselves in Hart’s multi-dimensional characters. In fact I became so involved with the characters that I felt like I knew them and literally ached along with them. They also had me laughing, crying, sighing, feeling angry, surprised and more then once left me downright stunned. When an author can pull actual emotions out of me then yeah, she’s got a fan.
Sadie and Joe first met on their lunch break, two strangers each needing something from the other. Now over the course of their evolving friendship they continue to meet once a month on an atrium bench and over a bagged lunch Joe tells Sadie about his latest sexual conquest. As the reader we get to hear Joe’s erotic story in first person from his female companions POV (this month my name is Brandy etc…) Joe’s character is left vague in the beginning, because this is after all Sadie’s story however as she gets to know him better so do we, picking up tidbits about his life from his sensual accounts. This stranger that Sadie can’t stop herself from meeting, in the end becomes a fully rounded empathetic character.
Sadie knows that she’s deceiving her husband by living vicariously through Joe’s stories yet she hasn’t physically cheated and at this point it’s the one bright spot in her life helping her deal with a stressful, sleepless and for the most part crumbling marriage.
Sadie met Adam in college and while we do get a few flashbacks to them as young lovers and a general feel for who they were as a couple in and out of the bedroom I personally would like to have seen a bit more of their relationship before Adams skiing accident rendered him a quadriplegic and changed things forever.
Their relationship is complex and Hart is genius here at peeling back the many layers of a marriage that has persevered when so many would have failed. We get Adams seclusion, rage and utter frustration with his body and the world in general, Sadie’s loneliness, guilt, fear and coping mechanisms. I felt like a fly on the wall with this couple, yes it was uncomfortable to bare witness to at times, but also magnificent. I’m really not going to say much else here as this is worth discovering on your own.
This was an absolute pleasure to read and as Megan Harts newest fan girl I’ll definitely be coming back for more. Cheers!(less)
Opening line:"The playback:late night, Brooklyn, a pot of coffee, and a chair by the window. I'm listening to a mix tape from 1993."
Before I-pods and...moreOpening line:"The playback:late night, Brooklyn, a pot of coffee, and a chair by the window. I'm listening to a mix tape from 1993."
Before I-pods and ripped CDs we all made mix tapes. I'm sure most of us over a certain age still have them safely hidden away somewhere, never quite having had the nerve to throw them out (broken cases and all) We named these tapes, gave them away to friends or lovers and assigned them different purposes. Remember the break-up tape, the I'm so infatuated with you tape, the party tape, workout tape, road trip tape, stolen off the radio tape etc, etc. It took hours to create a mix tape, attempting to get the songs in perfect order without cutting off the last one. Now imagine, nearly 20 years later having the courage to scour through and listen to all those tapes again. The joy of rediscovery, the nostalgia, the OMG I forgot all about that song which reminds me of that party,girl,boy,car moment. You might also experience pain or sadness over that long lost love. Well this is what LOVE IS A MIX TAPE is all about.
I absolutely adored this book. Rob Sheffield style of writing is so honest, natural and funny that you'll feel like your talking with an old friend. He manages too capture the spirit of the 90's perfectly too as he tells a moving autobiographical account of his years spent with wife Renee. Anyone who lived through that time and is into pop culture will find something relatable here.
This is also a tragic love story and on the very first page we learn that Renee has died, we just don't know how or why. We then flash back to the time to before they met as Rob experiences an awkward adolescence and discovers his love of Indie rock. One night Rob meets the sweet Southern girl of his dreams and although only 25 they soon marry. It's not a perfect marriage however; they're broke most of the time, they fight, they get a dog, they drink Zima (remember Zima?) but they always listen to music as one. Rob and Renee ultimately get 7 years together and even though I knew that Renee was going to die when it actually happened I was left stunned. Sheffield depicts the ache of new love and utter helplessness of losing it beautifully and following Rob through the next grief stricken chapters was at times hard to take.
Throughout this story it is always about the music and each chapter begins with a dated mix tape complete with side A/B track listings. Some of the tapes were made by Renee others by Rob but you're sure to have a lot of moments remembering your own life's soundtrack as you journey along with the music. You might even find a couple of new favourites. Cheers. (less)
Opening Line: "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love."
I really liked this book and found myself absorbed in the world tha...moreOpening Line: "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love."
I really liked this book and found myself absorbed in the world that Andrew Davidson has created. THE GARGOYLE is a multilayered tragedy within a love story and it will affect you on many different levels; horrific, sad and gruesome it is also complex, funny, thought provoking and redeeming. Unfortunately any summery you read won't really do it justice.
THE GARGOYLE has been written in a first person narrative and although we never learn the narrator's name he is self-consciously and sometimes humorously aware that he's writing a book. We begin with our good looking and self absorbed narrator (N) driving his car while high on cocaine and with a bottle of bourbon between his legs. He subsequently starts hallucinating and to avoid the burning arrows flying at his car drives off the road. N's car flips several times and catches fire, burning him alive. The next half of the book takes place within the burn ward as N begins his long road to recovery.
The car accident and most of the burn ward scenes are detailed, horrific and at times hard to read but they're also so well written that you'll be able to smell the hospital and really feel N's pain and suffering. N has been burned so severely that he no longer resembles anything close to the gorgeous porn star that he once was and as he begins his therapy it's only in the detailed planning of his suicide that he's able to get through the day. The shots of morphine that silence the snake living in his spine help too but you'll have to read the book to understand that.
One day a strange and wild woman known as Marianne Engel escapes from the psyche ward and sneaks into the burn unit. She proceeds to tell N that she has known him for 700 years, that he has been burned before and that they were once lovers in medieval Germany where she was a nun and he was a wounded solider. It doesn't matter if he can't remember; she tells him, she will prove it to him. And so begins Marianne's tales of their past lives.
The book then begins to jump between time periods as Marianne Engel tells her life story which is set in the middle ages along with several other short stories about different tragic lovers. The flashbacks became my favourite parts of the book taking us to Germany, Japan, Italy and the Vikings of Iceland. The characters from these times are exquisitely interesting and the details of the era, amazing. The research Mr Davidson has put into this book is simply mind boggling.
N doesn't believe Maryanne, concluding that she is schizophrenic, nonetheless he comes to rely on her and in their own way the two begin a relationship. Throughout Maryanne's storytelling and hospital visits she continues her lifetimes work, that of carving stone Gargoyles. We are also introduced to several characters both within and outside the hospital all slowly becoming N's friends as he changes and becomes a man of worth.
The only part of the book that `lost me' a bit would be the several chapters during N's morphine withdrawal whereupon he enters the gates of hell and confronts all the characters from Marianne's stories and quotes Dante's inferno. This was bizarre and went on for too long but did tie up all the characters from Marianne's gripping stories. For me the ending was thought provoking and perfect. Cheers!
"Only after I was born into physical repulsiveness did I come to glimpse the possibilities of the heart" (less)
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