Reading challenge in Sorrento -78% done.

Well I’m back from my travels, where I had a fantastic time on the Sorrento Coast, Italy.  While there I got a bit of reading in, although did do some exploring and sampling of the local areas; Pompeii for example.  Really enjoyed it over there, the weather was fantastic and the people we met where very nice and friendly.  Hoping to get back there one day, but I’m back…and literally as I stepped off the plane the rain came down and has stuck with me since.  Good old Britain.

So, what have I read?

 

The Martian by Andy Weir

Wow! I absolutely loved this book and it has in fact become one of my favourite books of all time.

As I suspect you know, there is a big budget Hollywood film made about the book, which I have just finished watching and am obviously going to say (bookish snobbery) isn’t as good, misses lots out and has a different ending.  But hay, that’s Hollywood! The story is, in a nutshell, about an astronaut that get’s left for dead on Mars and his efforts to then stay alive and survive the environment he is now in.

This is a fantastic, realistic and plausible thriller which had me engrossed from the beginning. The main character (Mark) is very likeable, very grounded and very…well believable and the moments of humour etc. he comes out with, had me laugh out loud on more then one occasion. I found myself routing for him throughout.

Recommend with ease! Stop reading this review, go read the book! 5 out of 5 stars!!

Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfega

These are a collection of fictional short stories written by an award winning and highly rated author! Admittedly the front cover showing an old fashioned American 50’s style looking UFO caught my eye and piqued my interest. ‘Homesick for Another World’. But this was possibly my mistake, expecting sci-fi style short stories which isn’t the case, which is not a problem as I like all genre’s, just this is what I was kind of expecting. Instead I walked blindly into short stories about modern day life but with grime, dirt and characters that are, well, kind of unlikable. I didn’t like them. They all had flaws, like real life which is what I suspects makes the stories appealing to others and normally me, but ugly flaws which means you can’t class them has hard done by types or make you feel, relate or route for them….they are just not nice people, in a detached way. I like a good baddie as much as the next reader, but these I don’t, there not even really baddies just different?, indifferent?

Also my now apparent sensitivities kicked in, which I’ve only just recently realised I’ve got, with some bad language (which I can live with) and some overly detailed sex scenes (which I’m not a fan of). This always makes me drop stars as means I couldn’t and wouldn’t honestly be able to recommend this to some of my friends and family. “Here ya go Mum, check out chapter two and what the lead character does to a prostitute”.

So, although I suspect a few people will disagree with my review/opinion, I’m writing it as a potential head’s up to people similar to me, so they know what they are walking into. Sorry to say I didn’t enjoy or like it, but recognise the author has obvious writing talent. I’ll also say this has been the most difficult review I’ve written, putting my finger on and trying to explain what I didn’t like has been hard, which I still don’t think I’ve done well.

One star out of five.