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July 03
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Simon
gave  to:
Short Short Stories (Pocket Penguins)
by
Dave Eggers
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my rating:
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read in July, 2009
Simon said:
"My first Eggers. No story is longer than a few pages. Most are surreal or absurd or perverse in some way. At times they work, revealing some amusing psychological quirk, at times it's just forced wackiness (a giant squid who wants to study to become ...more
My first Eggers. No story is longer than a few pages. Most are surreal or absurd or perverse in some way. At times they work, revealing some amusing psychological quirk, at times it's just forced wackiness (a giant squid who wants to study to become an accountant!!!), and several are just thinly-disguised anti-Bush rants.
(less)
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July 02
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Simon
gave  to:
Myrddin's War (Paperback)
by
B. J. Burton
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my rating:
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read in July, 2009
Simon said:
"The sequel to Dartmoor...The Saving starts out as expected, picking up the story five years later. The style is simple as before (Burton has a weakness for clumsy, expository dialogue) and characterisation is rather broad, but the plot is involving a...more
The sequel to Dartmoor...The Saving starts out as expected, picking up the story five years later. The style is simple as before (Burton has a weakness for clumsy, expository dialogue) and characterisation is rather broad, but the plot is involving and propulsive.
And then in the final third it all of a sudden turns thrilling and shockingly apocalyptic. The epilogue opens up a whole new set of possibilities, and make me wonder whether a third volume is on the cards. I'm in two minds as to whether another sequel is necessary, but if it does happen I'll certainly read it.(less)
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June 29
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Simon
gave to:
Dylan Dog (Unknown Binding)
by
Tiziano Sclavi
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Simon said:
"The edition I read isn't listed on goodreads, so I chose this one as it's neutral. Mine contained the stories "La storia de Dylan Dog" and "Finché la morte non vi separa". This is the first Italian fantasy comic I've read, and I ...more
The edition I read isn't listed on goodreads, so I chose this one as it's neutral. Mine contained the stories "La storia de Dylan Dog" and "Finché la morte non vi separa". This is the first Italian fantasy comic I've read, and I chose it more or less at random, without realising that the stories herein concern both Dylan's origins and his final fate. For some reason the "ending" comes first, and it's by far the weaker of the two stories. Apart from the fact that various revelations about the true nature of certain characters' identities and relationships carry no weight with me as I'd read nothing about them before, (imagine hearing Darth Vader say "Luke, I am your father" completely out of context), the artwork is weak and the plot exists simply to tie up loose ends.
The origin story is much more involving and successful, although the brutal aspects of the story dealing with British armed forces' treatment of IRA suspects sits uneasily with the more fantastical elements.(less)
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June 26
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Simon
gave to:
Four for Tomorrow (Paperback)
by
Roger Zelazny
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Simon said:
"Four stories. Two good, two so-so.
Two are fairly straight-forward adventure stories, but something about the style with which they are told, a certain pretentiousness, gives the impression that the author thinks they're something more.
The...more
Four stories. Two good, two so-so.
Two are fairly straight-forward adventure stories, but something about the style with which they are told, a certain pretentiousness, gives the impression that the author thinks they're something more.
The other two contain more food for thought. "The Graveyard Heart" has an intriguing premise and a langourous style suitable to the subject matter, while "A Rose For Ecclesiastes", while not free of pretension, ends up being quite moving, and feels like a kind of response/companion piece to Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles.(less)
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June 19
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Simon
gave to:
The Heart of the Matter (Paperback)
by
Graham Greene
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Simon said:
"This was my first Greene, but having seen the film version of The End Of The Affair a lot was familiar. In short, it's depressing but brilliant. It's all terribly British and clipped (especially the dialogue) but very moving. The climax packs quite a...more
This was my first Greene, but having seen the film version of The End Of The Affair a lot was familiar. In short, it's depressing but brilliant. It's all terribly British and clipped (especially the dialogue) but very moving. The climax packs quite a punch, although non-Catholics like myself probably have a harder time really understanding why the protagonist takes such drastic action. The main theme is the danger of assuming responsibility for others' happiness.(less)
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June 08
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Simon
gave  to:
Galapagos (Paperback)
by
Kurt Vonnegut
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Simon said:
"This is a satire, apparently. What exactly is being satirised is not clear to me. And isn't satire supposed to be, you know, funny? One simple and not particularly exciting idea is stretched to over 250 pages via shameless padding and mind-numbing re...more
This is a satire, apparently. What exactly is being satirised is not clear to me. And isn't satire supposed to be, you know, funny? One simple and not particularly exciting idea is stretched to over 250 pages via shameless padding and mind-numbing repetition. The irritatingly smug narrator keeps reminding us who's going to die and that everyone in the story is basically stupid and a waste of space.
An ugly, misanthropic and depressing book.(less)
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May 29
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Simon
gave to:
Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through a Country's Hidden Past (Paperback)
by
Giles Tremlett
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my rating:
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read in May, 2009
Simon said:
"This feels like an Iberian equivalent to Tobias Jones' The Dark Heart of Italy; a British journalist describes the often traumatic events of a country's recent history (in this case the Civil War and Franco's reign) and then goes on a bit of a road t...more
This feels like an Iberian equivalent to Tobias Jones' The Dark Heart of Italy; a British journalist describes the often traumatic events of a country's recent history (in this case the Civil War and Franco's reign) and then goes on a bit of a road trip, analysing regional differences, cultural quirks and the national psyche. There are chapters on the development of the Costa del Sol, flamenco, Pedro Almodovar, and the Basque country.
Like Jones, Tremlett doesn't shy away from the horrors of the recent past, but it's balanced by his obvious affection for the country in spite of any flaws he perceives. I knew practically nothing about Spanish history before reading this, and it's dense and fact-filled but also very readable.(less)
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May 13
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Simon
gave  to:
Mr. Phillips (Paperback)
by
John Lanchester
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my rating:
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read in May, 2009
Simon said:
"Ecstatic quotes from respectable sources on the cover lead me to expect something special from this one (although I picked it up for free in a hotel library so I can't complain about wasting my money).
What I got was a collection of tired clichÃ...more
Ecstatic quotes from respectable sources on the cover lead me to expect something special from this one (although I picked it up for free in a hotel library so I can't complain about wasting my money).
What I got was a collection of tired clichés about a white collar worker who spends one day walking on the wild side. He's an accountant (of course) which means that he's mild-mannered, sexually frustrated and spends all his time making calculations in his head. That's about it as far as characterisation is concerned.
Having been made redundant on the Friday, he heads into town on the Monday and tries to think of things to do. He goes to watch a porn film (which he finds mechanical and unerotic - how original...), he follows a minor celebrity down the street, and does various other desperately uninteresting things. And then at the end it just stops. No climax, no resolution, no punchline. A couple of amusing scenes near the start break the tedium, admittedly.
Imagine a cross between Diary of a Nobody, Falling Down and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, but with less wit, insight or excitement.(less)
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May 11
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Simon
gave to:
Helliconia Spring (Paperback)
by
Brian W. Aldiss
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my rating:
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read in May, 2009
Simon said:
"An original idea, a vividly described environment, and a promising theme of community evolution and learning/knowledge conflicting with tradition/superstition as a civilisation struggles to cope with climatic change.
On the other hand the plot i...more
An original idea, a vividly described environment, and a promising theme of community evolution and learning/knowledge conflicting with tradition/superstition as a civilisation struggles to cope with climatic change.
On the other hand the plot is very jerky and I can't really see where it's all heading, or if it's even heading anywhere at all. The idea of satellites observing the drama unfolding below and beaming it back to Earth for mass consumption as a kind of reality show is interesting but doesn't seem to develop into anything vital.
Not yet, anyway. Volume 2, Helliconia Summer, is supposed to be better...(less)
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April 22
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Simon
gave to:
La maison qui marchait vers le large (Mass Market Paperback)
by
Carl de Souza
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my rating:
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read in April, 2009
Simon said:
"I read this on holiday in Mauritius as I wanted to read some local literature and this is set in the capital, Port Louis. At first it reminded me of The Yacoubian Building - a large, grand but dilapidated building inhabited by an ageing, arrogant old...more
I read this on holiday in Mauritius as I wanted to read some local literature and this is set in the capital, Port Louis. At first it reminded me of The Yacoubian Building - a large, grand but dilapidated building inhabited by an ageing, arrogant old man who has strained relationships with others in the same building. But it's smaller scale and more meandering than that.
There are some interesting observations on conflict between generations, between religions and ethnic communities (Mauritius is a surprisingly multicultural place), and some nice descriptive passages (although I came up against the limits of my French vocabulary in places), but sometimes the languid pace, while appropriate to the setting and characters, got a bit too slow for my taste, and while the plot meanders to its conclusion several threads seem to peter out or are abandoned entirely (Bibi Feroza's, for example).(less)
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