Doug Lewars's Blog, page 32

As The Underworld Turns

As The Underworld Turns by Robyn Peterman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This book is pure fluff from cover to cover and since fluff was what I was looking for at the time I started reading it, it met my needs nicely. There is a reasonable amount of humour and a bit of cringe, but no so much as to stop me from continuing. What I don't understand is who the intended audience is. It combines elements of chick-lit with the supernatural. It seems too supernatural with unstated overtones of violence for the chick-lit fans and far too rom-com for the supernatural aficionados. Still, the author seems to have a considerable following, so presumably an audience must exist or the publishers would never have allowed the series to continue.

The love interest is a tsundere, cold and hostile towards our protagonist until, near the end, confessing love and desire. The shift is a little on the abrupt side but this isn't a long book so perhaps the author needed to pick up her pace a bit near the end. Although rather coarse in her presentation, Ms. Peterman keeps the story moving and the heroine remains feisty albeit constantly complaining about pretty much everything. This is book one of a series and the author attempts to persuade readers to move on to the next by leaving everyone in some sort of peril at the conclusion and resolving next to nothing. I may continue to the next book but while I enjoyed the first, I didn't enjoy it to such an extent I'll actively seek out the next. If I happen to stumble across it at a time I want a bit of fluff I'll read it. If not, the bad demon can keep the love of our protagonist's life and that will be that.



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Ogres

Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

The library classified this under 'humour' which means they either made a mistake or librarians have an incredibly subtle sense of humour. There are certainly no laughs in the text. There is a very tiny probability the author wrote from cover to cover, a tongue-in-cheek satire on fantasy in general and far left polemics. If such is the case I have sorely wronged him by assigning the book a one, but frankly I suspect he wrote it straight and it's nothing more than fantasy with cringe-worthy far left overtones. Fortunately it's short.

As others have noticed there is a plot twist at the end. It was quite surprising which is good but utterly irrelevant to the story.

If you're an author I might recommend this book for one reason. The author provides a textbook example of why it's a really bad idea to write in second person. If you're not an author I see no reason to waste your time on this one. Perhaps the author had a bad day and some of his other works are better.



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The Idiot

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible spoilers ***

I've always been intimidated by Dostoevsky, partially by the sheer length of the books and cast of characters. In addition, it seems Russians firmly believe the quality of a name is directly proportional to the number of syllables it contains. Therefore I haven't, in the past, been able to get through any of the longer classical Russian works. This time I tried it in audio format. It was about 28 hours in length and was still a bit of an effort but I was able to make it through. I was concerned at the outset I might forget who was who, and this happened; but I was generally able to keep up with the story even if I didn't know exactly the relationship between the prince and whatever individual he was speaking to at the time. I think going the audio route is a good solution if you want to read books of this complexity.

I thought the story was good, but not as good as I was expecting. I think my expectations were too high based on how much hype such books are given. Before starting, I read a plot summary in Wikipedia and this helped. Still I think the work could have been shortened without any great loss. For example, the scene with General Ivolgin in which he relates a tale of being a young lad in Moscow when Napoleon entered the city and spent time with the general was tedious and largely irrelevant.

The thing I liked most about the book was the manner in which Dostoevsky portrayed the society of the day. Even though the Epanchins are described as middle class, by today's standards they would be decidedly upper class. It seems in 1865, when the book was published, class was defined more by breeding than by money. The Epanchins own a number of estates, but are looked down upon by the scions of the day. It would be interesting to know how much of the dialogue was based on the style of actual drawing room conversations and how much was affectation on the part of the author. Based on the sheer size of the book I suspect much of it reflects the tone of the day.

Dostoevsky noted he created the prince as an exemplary character and explores his interactions with the society of the day - sort of a Stranger in a Strange Land concept. He then went on to say he had to let the book go where it would based on those interactions. Personally I suspect Dostoevsky confused simplicity of mind with goodness. The prince has none of what today would be described as street smarts. He is completely naive, believing the best of everyone and forgiving everything. For this reason he is described as an idiot. After a time, I found the label apt. Certainly he is intelligent, but his blindness to reality is not so much a virtue as an impediment to his own character development.

Ultimately the story comes down to a love quadrangle, or perhaps a love triangle with Rogozhin on the periphery. I thought Ippolit asked the most pertinent question when he asked the prince if he was in love with two women. When he answered in the affirmative Ippolit speculated the possibility he was in love with neither of them. This question is never resolved and it is left for the reader to think about after finishing the book.

One thing which particularly fascinated me was how some things back in the mid 1800s parallel current events. There was a discussion of liberalism which made me chuckle because many of the same comments can be found in Twitter today.

Overall I liked the book, although some parts were decidedly tedious. I think choosing audio format was a wise on and I may give other Russian classics a try using this approach.



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The Throwback

The Throwback by Tom Sharpe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

Once again Tom Sharpe has provided readers with a fine romp. The characters are unbelievable but that's fine. Likewise the plot is fantastical but put together in such a way as to provide plenty of chuckles. Those who like farce will enjoy this book while those who take the world, and literature, seriously won't like it at all.



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The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I've never met a Terry Pratchett book I didn't like and I doubt I ever will. This was a fine sequel to The Color of Magic. It is humerous, adventuresome, and a fine fantasy. I highly recommend it.



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The Midden

The Midden by Tom Sharpe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This is farce pure and simple. True, the author is using some satire but his targets are pretty much from a bygone era. After all, the book was published in 1996, and, presumably written some time before so it is far from contemporary. I loved it from cover to cover; however, Tom Sharpe is my favorite author and I expect I'd enjoy a shopping list if it were written by him.

If you're of a serious mind you're wasting your time on this book. Do not look here for character arcs, an in-depth understanding of the human condition, or even believable characters. Look instead for silliness. If you like movies and television such as Fawlty Towers, Keeping up Appearances, Monty Python or Last of the Summer Wine, there's a pretty good chance you'll enjoy this as well. On the other hand, if you're looking for Giller or Booker prize winning literature, this isn't for you. In addition, I doubt it's for anyone under the age of thirty-five, and possibly that age should be raised to sixty.





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Bossypants

Bossypants by Tina Fey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This is a combination of memoir, management advice and humour. It was fairly good although Tina Fey is, or was in show business and did a lot of name dropping. Since I don't bother with movies or television, I have no idea who 95% of the people referenced were. That limited thing somewhat. Still the book is well written and I learned a bit about improv comedy. I think if you like show business and know something about it you'd enjoy this book.



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Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story

Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story by Alan Riding

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

Comprehensive and well organized, this work provides considerable insight into the world of opera. It is, however, more of a reference work than the sort of book one might enjoy reading from cover to cover. Looking up a particular opera, composer, era or location might provide considerable information but unless one is truly an opera aficionado, I can't see reading it. I got it in audio format and let the narrator drone on while I did other things. I doubt I could have finished it in print. I did learn a number of things and encountered both operas and opera composers I'd never heard of so at least my time spent was enlightening.



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NPR Favorite Driveway Moments

NPR Favorite Driveway Moments: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go by National Public Radio

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This is an audio book because it's a collection of NPR stories from the radio. I like audio books because I can listen while doing other things like making dinner and washing the dishes. They claim this is a collection of their best stories but while I found them okay, they didn't strike me as being particularly special. Basically this is just a variation on a podcast.



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Bridget Jones Diary

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This book is advertised as a classic multi-million best seller so clearly a good many people like it. I'm not one of them. It's supposed to be humerous and there are a few chuckles but they're few and far between. In addition, none of them come from the protagonist. Since this is a diary, almost the entire book is from Bridget's point of view, but where there is humour, the lines are given to someone around her, not Bridget herself. She is an insecure, neurotic, incompetent, mildly obsessive, whiny, clingy, woman without any organizational skills or self control. Her entire life revolves around how others - mostly men - see her. This is not someone I could, or would tolerate in my life for more than an hour, so it wasn't easy wading through her litany of complaints which comprise so much of this book. She also comes across as possibly bi-polar. I considered DNFing the thing at page 30, decided to keep going and considered it once more by page 60 but I hate DNFing books and rarely do so. The only two good things about this was the upbeat ending, pretty much mandatory in any sort of chick-lit and a truly impressive one liner when she discoveres hard evidence of her boyfriend having an affair.

Being in the form of a diary, the plot is pretty much slice-of-life. That's acceptable although what passes for Bridget's life is painfully trite. The author patterned it loosely - very loosely -around Pride and Prejudice. There is a Mark Darcy who initially appears contemptuous of Bridget - reasonably so in my opinion - gradually grows fond of her and eventually falls in love for the happy ending. That latter I thought was a huge stretch. This guy is portrayed as being a highly successful lawyer and very intelligent. In the original, Elizabeth Bennet was portrayed as well-read, independent, and rather opinionated, characteristics Mr. Darcy came to value. Bridget is a ditz and the happy ending is a stretch. There is also the running-away-from-home elopement sub-plot but instead of a naive sister, this author has the mother take off with a latin smooth-talker. I thought that was a nice twist. True to form, Mr. Darcy comes to the rescue and recovers the family honour. It's been a long time since I read Pride and Prejudice so there may be other things from that book this author plays with.

As is customary, there are a number of quotes extolling the book's virtue. One line is, 'she (the author) has articulated the traumas of a generation'. If this is true - and it might be- modern society is in more trouble then we could ever possibly believe.

If you read this book and aren't British, you may find the beginnings of each day a little confusing. It took me a while to figure out the code. Most days begin with something like 9S2. This is a recording of her weight and it means 9-stone-two-pounds. One stone is 14 pounds. I expect most North American readers would be confused by this.

In general, I didn't like the protagonist and don't recommend the book; however, if you like chick-lit in general, you may enjoy it.



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