Month: August 2009

Categories
2009 Short Story

Nocturnes – Kazuo Ishiguro

I haven’t read any of Kazuo Ishiguro’s books before, although have a few here in the TBR pile and have heard only good things about his writing. I wasn’t planning to read this one, but then I spotted someone returning it at the library. I know how hard these new releases are to borrow and so snapped up the chance to get it, but when I got it home I realised that it wasn’t really my sort of book. I’m not a fan of short stories and  a quick scan through the blurb revealed the stories to be based around music – something I like listening to, but have no real passion for.

I read the first story, and had almost decided to return it to the library when I spotted Jane’s review. She urged me to continue, highlighting the fact that it is a quick, well written read. I agree with her, and in many ways I am pleased that I read it all the way to the end.

The stories are all based around ‘music and nightfall’ and while they are well written, they encounter the major problem I have with short stories, which is that the moment I start to bond with the characters and become interested in their story, they are gone. The depth and complexity of plot which I love in a novel can never be present in a story lasting just a few pages.

Each of the stories was based around the lives of reasonably normal people, and so didn’t give any insight into different lives or ways of thinking, as in The Thing Around Your Neck (one of the only short story collections I’ve ever liked). The plots were all quite gentle, and this book reminded me of Brooklyn, the Booker prize nominated book, which I read recently. I think anyone who loved Brooklyn would enjoy reading this collection, especially if you are a music fan.

If you enjoy reading short stories, then this is a reasonably good collection, but it wasn’t for me.

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I’m planning to read at least one of Kazuo Ishiguro’s books before the end of the year.

Which one do you think is the best?

Categories
2009 Booker Prize

Brooklyn – Colm Tóibín

 Long listed for the Booker prize 2009

Brooklyn is a gentle story about a young woman emigrating from a small town in Ireland to Brooklyn in the 1950s.

The writing is very simple and the plot basic, but this meant it could be read very quickly. The book captures the nostalgia of someone who leaves their home and the culture-shock they encounter when moving to a new country.

I found the book too gentle for my tastes, but I can see that it would appeal to a lot of people. The story is one I’ve heard many times before and although the writing is carefully controlled it didn’t offer anything that I hadn’t seen before.

The characterisation was also a bit flat for me. The central character, Eilis, didn’t display any strong emotions. The story was revealed through her observations and she just seemed to be pulled along by the plot rather than taking an active part in it. I prefer my characters to display a bit more strength or emotion than she did.

Overall I was a bit under-whelmed by this book and would only recommend it to those who enjoy books with a gentle plot.

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I have heard great things about Colm Tóibín, but this is the first of his books which I have read.

Have you read any of his other books?

Are they written in a similar way to this?

Categories
Blogging Other

Contact with authors

In the last week I have had contact with three authors. This is something I never expected when I started blogging, and has really added to the experience.

The first was when Caroline Rance commented on my review of her debut novel, Kill-Grief. This was the first time an author has ever commented on my review of their book. Caroline then went on to answer my questions about her research technique and then to blog about me!

It was so nice to meet an author who was so willing to answer my questions and join in the blogging experience.

Remember: There is still time to enter my competition to win a copy of Kill-Grief.

 
The next time I encountered an author was when Sam Taylor commented on my Who is going to be on the Man Booker Longlist 2009? post. I had predicted that his book, The Island at the End of the World, would make the Booker long list this year. Unfortunately it didn’t make it onto the list, but he appreciated my prediction and offered to send me a signed copy of his book. I’m really looking forward to reading it and am so happy to have had contact with him.

The final encounter was very different. I noticed that Emma Darwin’s blog had linked to me, so went to investigate. I discovered that she had seen my not-so-positive review of her book, A Secret Alchemy, and written a post about the difficulties of voicing historical fiction characters. I was very impressed by her response and wish that all authors displayed the humility that she did. It is a timely reminder that authors may well read your reviews, good or bad, so it is important that you write all reviews with this in mind.

Have you had any encounters with authors?

Which author has impressed you the most in their interactions with bloggers?

Categories
2009 Recommended books

The Invisible Mountain – Carolina De Robertis

A few weeks ago I wrote about the lack of South American books I’d read, so I jumped at the chance to read The Invisible Mountain which is set in both Uruguay and Argentina.

The book follows three generations of women and begins in rural Uruguay at the dawn of the twentieth century. Each of the women has to deal with a different set of problems, but the main theme of the book seems to be freedom; whether this is simply freedom within the home, or the greater, more brutal lack of freedom imposed by governments.

The book is beautifully written, balancing poetic prose with Spanish words, so giving an authentic atmosphere which perfectly captures the lives of these women. Each character is vividly drawn and I loved them all, so felt their pain whenever they had difficult circumstances to to deal with.

Although it felt more like three short stories, connected only by the link of motherhood, it was great for me to be able to see the changes taking place in these countries over the century. I’m ashamed to admit that I know nothing about the history of South America, and so although this book added greatly to my knowledge, it also left me hungry for more. I found myself searching the Internet for more information about the politics of this time-period, something I am rarely inspired to do while reading a book and just shows the effect this book had on me.

The Invisible Mountain is a really good book, which is both thought-provoking and shocking, but with some gentle, tender moments. It has many similarities to A Thousand Splendid Suns, but I found The Invisible Mountain to be the better written of the two.

Highly recommended, especially to people who like reading about different countries and cultures.

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Have you ever read a book set in Uruguay or Argentina?

Do you know much about the history of these countries?

Categories
1990s Other Prizes

Cloudstreet – Tim Winton

 Winner of the Miles Franklin Award 1992

Cloudstreet is described as an Australian classic and I was really looking forward to reading my first Tim Winton novel, but I’m afraid I was a little bit disappointed.

The book follows two working class families who are forced to live together in the same large house in a suburb of Perth. Set over a thirty year period, beginning in the 1930s, it started off well, building up each character vividly, but by about 100 pages in I was beginning to lose interest. The story was too gentle for me and although the writing was beautiful I found myself becoming bored.

The large number of characters further distanced me from the emotions of each individual. The plot was slow and rambling, focusing on minute details of their lives. I’m sure that a lot of people will love this, but I prefer a bit more action in my books.

The ending of the book was also a bit strange – it just seemed to stop, without tying up many lose ends. I felt as though my book was lacking the last few chapters. I don’t mind ambiguous endings, but this didn’t even seem to do that. It was a bit like the ending of Sea of Poppies in that respect, but at least we are expecting a sequel for that.

Another problem I had was that I found some of the Australian dialect difficult to understand and this was further hampered by the large number of Australian slang words used.

Overall, I can see why Australians adore this book, but I’m afraid it was too gentle for me.

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Tim Winton is the only author to win the Miles Franklin award 4 times and I am still interested in reading his other books.

Have you read any of them?

Which is the best?

Categories
2008 2009 Books in Translation Chunkster

2666 – Roberto Bolaño. Part 3: The Part About Fate

Steph and Claire are hosting a read-along for the highly acclaimed book, 2666, by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. The novel is 900 pages long, and divided into 5 parts. We are reading one part a month, for the next five months.

Here are my thoughts on Part 3: The Part About Fate

I loved this part – I found it so much easier to read than the first two. This section reads much more like a normal novel and I now have a fuller understanding of what is happening –  although I guess you can never really tell what Bolaño is up to!

This section focuses on Fate, a reporter sent from New York to cover a boxing match in Saint Terasa, the Mexican city plagued by a serial killer. Fate quickly realises that the killings make a more interesting news story than a boxing match and so starts to investigate them.

This section finally brings things together, connecting the characters so I can finally begin to see their purpose in the book. It was so satisfying to finally discover links between some of the seemingly random events of the first two chapters.

As usual the writing was beautiful. I could have picked quotes from just about every page, but I was struck by the repetitive mention of the sun. It seemed to have great significance within this chapter.

But the sun has its uses, as any fool knows, said Seaman. From up close it’s hell, but from far away you’d have to be a vampire not to see how useful it is, how beautiful.

They crossed the yard and the street and their bodies cast extremely fine shadows that every five seconds were shaken by a tremor, as if the sun were spinning backward.

When the sun comes up everything will be over.

This section was also had a faster pace than the earlier two and had a cliff-hanger ending, making this the first section where I have actually been tempted to dive straight into the next chapter. I’m resisting though, in the hope that the suspense will add to the enjoyment of the book.

It appears this book is improving all the time. I am really looking forward to getting into The Part About The Crimes. I have very high expectations for it. Let’s hope it can live up to them.

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Are you enjoying 2666 more now?

Can you wait a full month before beginning Part 4?