Chris’s Comments (group member since Feb 01, 2011)

Chris’s comments from the Around the World in Books group.

For Andorra ...
Andorra by Max Frisch
Death Has a Thousand Doors by Patricia Grey
The Road to Andorra by Shirley Deane

In another attempt to finish reading books from countries beginning with the letter A, please offer book suggestions for...

ALBANIA
AMERICAN SAMOA
and ANDORRA

Please get your suggestions in by Sunday 16th, and I'll put them up to vote in a poll.

Thanks

It's taken me about 3 quarters of the book to actually start enjoying it. It all seemed a bit implausible and far fetched. Then I discovered that it's loosely based on real events; the Counsellor was a real person as was the settlement and battles at Canudos. The history is incredible really!

Somebody at work was saying that South America is well known for hosting idealist communities, such as Nietzche's sister who set up a commune in Paraguay which was intended to be a model town of German superiority - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nueva_...

Anybody know of (or lived in??) some interesting communes?

Few benefits?? I can think of loads! But I guess the grass is always greener right? :)

Kept me tense and on the edge all the way through. Very very good book. Constantly made me wonder what my hometown - and my way of life - would be like in similar conditions.

And I agree, Laureen, I enjoyed the ant chapter the most. I think it sums up the whole idea from the author that we might be really clevel animals, but we havent got a clue when it comes to the bigger picture.

I kinda like the idea that we, as a race, are failing really badly and all of the other animals know it. Maybe that's just me being weird though :)

Really enjoyed it, despite the over-the-top "you-are-all-bad-people, you-should-be-naturists-like-me-or-you'll-destroy-our-whole-planet" vibes.

Despite the 'holier-than-though' attitude, I think reading something like this does change your perspective. Or, in my case, reminding me that I already hold that perspective about nature - but just completely fail to apply it for a lot of the time.

Anybody started this yet?

I would love to have given this book 5 stars, but could only give it 3. This really is my kind of book: it's an engaging story about an astonishing place and time and the level of detail makes it very believable. The author paints a picture of the day-to-day life in the heart of the Congo exceptionally. Likewise, the narrative of the larger scale political events are explained well without intruding.

Yet I could not stand any of the main characters, they either bored me, irritated me or just plain repulsed me (aside from Leah, who grew on me as the book progressed). Others were unbelievable caricatures. And the opinions of the author shine through so strongly, without any nuance or counter-argument coming from anywhere that it really begins to grate in such a long book. I get the feeling that the extreme evangelism of Father Price was modelled on the author herself.

Having said that, I really did enjoy reading large parts of this book, but I couldn't recommend anybody else to read it unfortunately.

Personally, I'm not keen on crossing off more than one country per book. But I guess we could put it up to vote or something?

Can't seem to find much. This might be stretching the rules a bit but I read that Paul Theroux's The Old Patagonian Express goes through Costa Rica.

Laureen wrote: "I just finished Heart Of Darkness and am now going to start Poisonwood Bible. I am very interested to see the parallels as i have read that there are some between the characters. Has anyone else..."

Haven't read Heart of Darkness for a long time, but I've got it on the shelf ready to have a bash if I get time this month.

After a bit of a slow start (100 pages or so) I'm finally starting to enjoy this one. Felt a little bit like Little Women to begin with, although I can't put my finger on why.

I think the book is growing on me as the characters are interacting with the people and places in the Congo rather than being shocked and horrified with it.

Hopefully it continues getting better!

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - Largely because I like the title!

I need to read Swallows of Kabul - I think I joined the group after its time had passed. Glad you enjoyed Purge, especially as you are going there soon. Or have you been now?

Thanks for keeping an eye out Elizabeth. local library is minuscule, do probably not worth having a library card. She got a kindle for Xmas so I think she'll get most of her books from there now.

Oh, also would be interested to hear about Bath. Actually, maybe I should get another copy of the book.

My mum is currently borrowing (read: stolen) this book so I doubt I'll see it anytime soon. I would just like to mention that Bill Bryson almost makes it to my part of the world:

"I went into the bus station and found two women sitting in an office beyond an open door, talking together in that quaint ‘Oi be drinkin zoider' accent of this part of the world. I asked them about buses to Minehead, about thirty miles to the east along the coast. They looked at me an if I’d asked for connections to Tierra del Fuego.
‘Oh, you won’t be gittin to Moinhead this toim of year, you won’t be,’ said one.
‘No buses to Moinhead arter firrrrst of Octohaaorrrr,’ chimed in the second one.
‘What about Lynton and Lynmouth?'
They snorted at my naivety. This was England, This was 1994.
‘Porlock?’
Snort.
‘Dunster?’
Snort."

So, he never made it to Minehead because of the lack of transport. Transport is slightly better now, but still very frustrating. But still Minehead is considered out in the sticks - a fact Bryson would have ridiculed, I'm sure...

Now I live in Cambridge but I read Notes from a Small Island before I moved here, so if he says anything interesting about it please let me know!

As for next month's country ... I'd like to read something from an African country, personally.

There looks to be a good selection from the Congos. Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart is something I wanted to read a while ago but, until now, completely forgot its existence. Anyway, I'm getting too far ahead of myself - we haven't even decided on a country yet!

What have been your favourite books so far?

I have two clear favourites, Endurance and Ali and Nino. If I had to choose one it would be Endurance - I was completely astounded by it.

Who would have thought that Antartica and Azerbaijan would throw up such gems?!