I ignored everything on my TBR and following recommendations on GR have started reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ]]>
bookshelves: currently-reading, my_library
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Just finished The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary which is children's not YA but enjoyable and better constructed than a lot of what is out there.. ]]>
bookshelves: borrowed, childrens, library
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"A fun little book - reminds of books I loved as a child"
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Silver wrote: "But one of the things Fowles was pointing out within the novel was that as a woman living in the Victorian age, she truly did not have a lot of choice. While I do not find some of the things she di..."
Just because you understand someone's motivations doesn't always mean you can empathize with them.
I found Sarah to be wantonly mysterious and aloof which seemed to exacerbate her situation and attraction the least desirable kind of attention.
As I said I read it as a teenager filled with many conflicting emotions maybe as a calmer, more forgiving adult I would like Sarah more.
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This is probably my favourite book so far this year.
It wasn't life-changing but I enjoyed reading it in a way I haven't enjoyed a book in a long time.
At first I was cautious because of the circus theme but I adored the older Jacob from the word go.
Rosie was also a wonderful character and I loved the ending. ]]>
Everyman wrote: "I've been enjoying this discussion about Emma, which is one of my very favorite books. A few comments.
First, I think we have to look at her in the context of the era in which she was created and in which Austen was writing. She may seen naive compared to modern young women, but I don't see her as naive in the context of the society in which she was raised and lived...."
I would agree with this except that Knightley also seems to think she is being naive and careless.
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bookshelves: 1001, borrowed
Having read White Teeth I decided to have pity on myself and swore never to read Zadie Smith again.
The booked dragged terribly especially towards the end and I felt I was slogging through it rather than enjoying the reading experience.
This is a pity as certain elements such the beginning scene, the discussions with the lesbian niece and the brothers Ahmed were not only clever but also quite funny.
My impression is that Zadie Smith started a novel because she had always been told she wrote well. And it is true that she can produce an amusing turn of phrase and entertaining dialogue.
However as a literary student she felt it incumbent upon her to write something 'significant' rather than the light, humourous novel which would have been so much better suited to her talents.
Half way through she became bored and also realised that she was at the end of her plot with no resolution in sight. She battled on to the end but the effort of completion stretched her skill beyond its snapping point thus her writing style because stodgy and lost most of its irony and humour.
Even the fact that the book was set in England in an era I well remember did not redeem this book for me. ]]>
bookshelves: 2009, borrowed, currently-reading
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