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July 26
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Caela
gave
 
to:
The Child in Time (Paperback)
by Ian McEwan
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Caela said:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Th...more
I love Ian McEwan, I really do. And I'm glad I didn't start off with this book, because I think it would've put me off him if I hadn't already devoured Atonement and Saturday.
The book started well, and the scenes of Kate's disappearance were chilling. McEwan was inside his characters' minds wholly, and as usual, I became lost to the protagonist's deep thoughts.
Around half way through, it started to go downhill. Stephen seemed to change suddenly, for no reason I could fathom - almost as though McEwan had changed his mind about where his main character should end up. I had to check the page sequencing, as I was certain that the old battered novel I had picked up in the Oxfam bookshop on Morningside Road was missing a chunk; but no, my copy was complete.
The ending was cringeworthy. For a couple who had been so wounded and separated by the loss of a child to suddenly repair their relationship in the final chapter was unpleasant and unrealistic. Had they both forgotten that the size of their grief made the other repellant? Were they trying again for reasons even Trisha Goddard would condemn - "for the sake of the new child"?
I feel failed by McEwan and his normally excellent stories. Perhaps I am being a bit over-sensitive; nothing could repair my marriage after our son died, and it is grotesquely simplistic to suggest otherwise. But then, what's the point in reading if you don't interpret the words on a very personal, sensitive level?...less
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July 16
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Caela
marked as to-read:
The Broken Bridge (Mass Market Paperback)
by Philip Pullman
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Caela
marked as to-read:
Confessing a Murder (Paperback)
by Nicholas Drayson
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Caela
gave
to:
The Book Thief (Paperback)
by Markus Zusak
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Caela said:
"I liked this book. I liked it quite a lot, in fact.
Nazi Germany from a pro-Jewish German perspective is a scary place, and the story was touching in all the right ways. But I have a niggle I can't quite place, regarding the narrative. It was a...more
I liked this book. I liked it quite a lot, in fact.
Nazi Germany from a pro-Jewish German perspective is a scary place, and the story was touching in all the right ways. But I have a niggle I can't quite place, regarding the narrative. It was a good story - but had it been told better, it would have been a great story....less
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June 10
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Caela
gave
to:
A Photographic Guide to Conformation (Hardcover)
by Robert Oliver, Bob Langrish
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Caela said:
"What Robert Oliver doesn't know about quality horses isn't worth knowing. He's been at the top of his game for longer than I care to remember, and although this book is geared mostly towards cobs and riding horses the fundamentals of conformation re...more
What Robert Oliver doesn't know about quality horses isn't worth knowing. He's been at the top of his game for longer than I care to remember, and although this book is geared mostly towards cobs and riding horses the fundamentals of conformation remain the same across the board. This book is a little gem for anyone interested in how their horse is built....less
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July 26
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Caela
is currently reading:
The War of the Worlds (Penguin Classics)
by H. G. Wells, Andy Sawyer
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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June 10
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Caela
marked as to-read:
Misery (Paperback)
by Stephen King
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Caela
marked as to-read:
Rift (Paperback)
by Beverley Birch
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Caela
gave
to:
Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony (Paperback)
by Eoin Colfer
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Caela said:
"I like Eoin Colfer - he has some cracking ideas. However, he is one of the laziest writers I've read in a while. His work would be so much better if he spend a little time on it; he has the manner of a 10 year old boy with a brilliant idea, despera...more
I like Eoin Colfer - he has some cracking ideas. However, he is one of the laziest writers I've read in a while. His work would be so much better if he spend a little time on it; he has the manner of a 10 year old boy with a brilliant idea, desperate to gush it all out before it's lost.
There is no excuse for a children's book to be shoddy. I'm not ashamed of reading children's books, but I do wish authors would try a little harder. Colfer has a good mind and a great deal of potential to write well... he just seems to choose not to....less
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May 30
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Caela
liked a trivia question:
In C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, what mythical creature does Lucy encounter on her first trip through the wardrobe into Narnia?
see if you know the answer »
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