Colin Marks's Blog, page 3
October 15, 2023
Review: How to Spot a Fascist by Umberto Eco
Three very brief essays. The first had an interesting historical aspect, his life in the fascist era, but the others are entirely forgettable.
July 20, 2023
Review: Once a Monster
I loved Robert Dinsdale’s The Toymakers, but I really struggled with the pace of his latest novel, Once a Monster. The PoV changes were fine, switching between Nell and Minos, and a few other characters along the way, but the prose really could’ve done with a trim. Every thought was laboured, every plot point discussed to death, and I found myself skimming pages to get to the next scene! The ending too could of used some love – it felt rushed and too eager to wrap up lose ends. Still, it was bet...
April 24, 2023
August Blue by Deborah Levy
I couldn’t decide if August Blue was a work of genius or a literary ramble. And upon finishing, I’m still somewhat on the fence. Elsa (the name, the blue hair, froze on stage – shades of Disney?) drifts around Europe and says goodbye to her mentor and adopted father. The writing carried this novel for me, I struggled with Swimming Home but here the prose was pitch perfect. Definitely not a novel for all, but I did enjoy it, though I’m not sure what I’ve just read…
March 6, 2023
End of Story by Louise Swanson
End of Story is an interesting read, and hugely impressive for a first novel. The writing is phenomenal, very good prose, and I suspect Louise has a solid literary future ahead of her! The novel itself was interesting, though somewhat predictable, and for me it oddly became less believable towards the end. It goes to show, ‘if you tell a story well enough, it’s true’!
February 4, 2023
Review: The Purgatory Poisoning by Rebecca Rogers
Purgatory Poisoning is a good premise – guy stuck in purgatory given the task of identifying his murderer – and it’s pretty well executed in a Good Omens-lite kind of way. It’s whimsical rather than funny, interesting rather than clever, but it ticked enough of the boxes to keep me going. The ending seriously dragged, a huge case of over-explaining and tying of loose ends, but otherwise it was an enjoyable read.
January 18, 2023
Review: Call Time by Stephen Jones
Steve Jones is a British TV presenter. I’ve never seen him, but apparently he’s good natured. Call Time starts slow then charges towards several genre cliches, so I was looking for reasons to to file it under DNF. Unfortunately, that good nature comes across in his writing, giving it just enough momentum to keep you interested. This isn’t complex literary fiction, but as a silly but fun poolside read, you could do a lot worse.
January 6, 2023
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz
This is about as unique as you can get! Cara lost her factory job and her benefits have expired – the whole novel is a one-sided series of interviews with a welfare department employee who is assisting her with getting another job and assessing whether she’s eligible for further benefits.
Sounds pretty dull, eh? Well, it’s anything but. Cara is a natural story teller and a rare voice in fiction. She’s from a poor background, her landlord is trying to break her tenancy agreement as the area ha...
November 1, 2022
Review: The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom
As debuts go, this is impressive and I’m sure Jon Ransom has a healthy writing career ahead of him. The problem, I felt, was that he tried to cram all his creative ideas into a single book – dysfunctional family, (non-)romantic trysts, and a bit of the supernatural (or mental health, it’s never made clear). The writing was also too abrupt and harsh, a theme I’m seeing a lot in recent publications – it’s good for tension, but if the tension if taut throughout then there is no roller-coaster of em...
Review: The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell
The Whispering Muse is a good summer read – well, late autumn read I guess now. It’s well paced, describes the theatre and the productions well, and is easy to read. The ending felt rushed (was the deadline looming or was the mortgage payment due!), and I’m sure it’ll be forgettable in weeks, but it’ll keep you hooked from the start to finish – I read it quickly, in just a couple of days, and that’s not usual for me!
October 31, 2022
Review: Awareness by Anthony de Mello
Tim Ferriss has recommended this book several times, so I was keen to give it a try, but wow, this was a slog. I believe it was transcribed from de Mello’s classes and presentations, and may be in the flesh it works better, but in the written word it comes across as smug and arrogant. There are some interesting sections, but with even those you have to fight through his language to get to the meaning. To be fair, this was written in 1990 and mindfulness and stoicism have come along way since the...
