Month: March 2010

Categories
Orange Prize Other

Who will be long listed for the Orange Prize 2010?

Next week (17th March) the long list for the Orange Prize 2010 will be announced. The Orange Prize is awarded annually for the best fiction novel written by a woman. I have really enjoyed reading books nominated for this prize in the past and so am looking forward to seeing who makes the list this year.

I thought it would be interesting to try to predict which books would make it on to the list. I found it very hard to come up with 20 titles – the first 12 came to me very quickly, but it took a long time for me to complete the list. I have no idea if they are all eligible and haven’t read them all (so don’t know if they deserve to be there) but here is my prediction for books that might make the cut next week:








What do you think of my selection?

Have I missed any books that you think deserve to be on the list?

Which book would you like to see win the Orange Prize this year?

Categories
2010

So Much For That – Lionel Shriver

We Need to Talk About Kevin is one of my all-time favourite books and although I was less impressed with The Post-Birthday World I still found it to be an enjoyable read. I was excited to discover that Lionel Shriver had a new book out and was lucky enough to win a proof copy of the book via a competition on Twitter.

So Much For That is a novel that takes a close look at the American healthcare system. The book follows Shep, a handyman from New York,  who sells his business for $1 million. He is looking forward to a comfortable retirement, preferably on a remote island off the cost of Tanzania. Unfortunately he discovers that his wife has cancer and so the plans are put to one side while she receives treatment. When the bills for her medical care start to appear Shep suddenly discovers that his retirement nest egg isn’t going to stretch very far.

Unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of this book – it felt like one long rant about the state of the US healthcare system.

Thirty percent of the money spent on medical care in this country goes to so-called ‘administration.’ Fact is, there’s a wholly fatty layer of for-profit insurance companies larded between Glynis and her doctors, a bunch of bloodsucking greedy fucks making money off her being sick. Kick those assholes out of the picture, and for the same cost the whole country would be covered, without fifty different bills a week arriving in your mailbox.”

The book was packed with facts and figures about various clauses within the system and the way Shep just happened to have friends with different medical problems (perfect for showing other ways in which the healthcare system was failing)  just made me cringe – it was all so contrived.

The whole tone of the book felt depressing and defeatist and I struggled to make it to the end. Lionel Shriver makes a fantastic argument for reforming the US healthcare system, but I’m afraid that in the UK she will mainly be preaching to the converted. I’m sure this book will have much more relevance in America and probably cause some controversy, but as a UK reader I found discussing the small print of insurance policies very dull.

I look forward to seeing how this book is received in America, but I think readers outside the US will be disappointed.

Are you planning to read this book?

Have you read any of her earlier books?

Categories
2010 Recommended books

The Blasphemer – Nigel Farndale

I’d describe The Blasphemer as a solidly good read. It begins by following a couple, Daniel and Nancy, as they travel to the Galapagos Islands. Their plane crashes into the sea and Daniel’s instincts take over – he rescues himself without stopping to think about saving Nancy. Nancy survives the crash too but becomes resentful of Daniel. She questions how much he loves her, thinking that if he had any real feelings for her then he would have put her life above his own.

In a parallel narrative we find out about the equally difficult decisions Daniel’s great grandfather made during the First World War. The scenes of the battlefield were particularly vivid and packed with emotion.

Blood is roaring in his ears. He needs to urinate. A feeling of inertia is creeping over him. He’s no longer sure he’ll be able to climb the ladder. All his fears, he knows, lie over these sandbags – fears not of pain but of annihilation, of ceasing to exist, of unimaginable emptiness.

Back in the present day, Daniel begins to investigate letters that his great grandfather wrote and we slowly learn the truth about what happened all those years ago.

I loved this book! It was written simply, but effectively and I was gripped throughout. There were plenty of twists and turns to satisfy my craving for a complex plot and the characters all came to life for me.

The book analyses whether you have time to weigh up all your choices when your life is in danger and whether your responsibility should be to look after yourself or everyone around you.

There were a few sections where I thought the book went too deep into religious discussions, but I’m not a fan of these at the best of times, so most people would probably be OK with it.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story with emotional depth.

Have you read The Blasphemer?

Did you enjoy the religious discussions in it?

Would you be upset if your partner saved themselves first?

Categories
2008

My first self published book: The Native Hurricane – Chigozie John Obioma

I hadn’t read a self published book before I started this one. I had the impression that they were likely to be of a low quality, published for the author’s pleasure rather than the reader’s. I had no intention of reading one until someone (completely unconnected to the author) mentioned how good The Native Hurricane was. I was still unconvinced, but then a few weeks later I spotted another person raving about it. The coincidence was too much for my curiosity and so I decided to buy a copy.

I can see why it hasn’t been published in the UK – The Native Hurricane is the most African book I have ever read. The narrative hasn’t been toned down for Western readers, every sentence oozing African atmosphere. Initially I loved it, but unfortunately it soon became too much for me. I don’t have much knowledge of African traditions and so the folklore went over my head. I didn’t really understand what was happening, or the significance of each event.

But when I returned to my tent, the cry returned, even louder. I would go out three more times before realising that it was not the voice of a real woman, but just the echo of apparitions that were scattered on every tree in the evil forest, like invisible trees.

There was nothing wrong with the book – the writing quality was good and the characters well developed; the fault was with me, I just don’t know enough about their culture and that saddens me. I love reading books set in other countries, but my failure with this one leads me to question how realistic the books we are reading in the West are.

Are we just reading watered down versions of events rather than realistic portrayals of their society?

Are publishers only picking those books which are packed with clichés we think are representative of the countries mentioned?

This book makes me more determined to find books which show how Africans really live. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to come back to this book and understand what is happening.

I recommend this book to anyone with understanding of African mytholgy.

Have you read a self published book before?

Have you read any books which show the real Africa?

 

Categories
Other Weekly Geeks

My favourite author: David Mitchell

The weekly geek task this week is to talk about our favourite author and why we love them. 

My favourite author is David Mitchell – he is the only author where I have read and loved every single one of his books. Jose Saramago and Rohinton Mistry have the potential to knock him off the top spot, but as I haven’t read their entire back-catalogue yet I’m afraid they’ll have to languish in second and third place! 

 

My love for David Mitchell’s books began when I read Cloud Atlas as part of the Richard and Judy book club. I fell in love with his amazing ability to create several unique writing styles within the same book. By the time I read the section where the man becomes trapped in an old people’s home I was hooked by his ingenuity too. 

His writing is beautiful, but never complicated and packed with wonderful quotes:

A half-read book is a half-finished love affair.

My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops? 

 

  

I went on to read Ghostwritten and Number9Dream; they weren’t quite as good as Cloud Atlas, although Ghostwritten got close, but as these were his first books I’ll forgive him. Both of these contain elements of Japanese literature that I love. David Mitchell lived in Japan for a number of years and the influence of their culture is especially strong in these two novels. I love the way he has incorporated their folklore and unpredictability into his novels.

 

Black Swan Green was a big departure in style and theme. It is set in a small English village and describes the life of a young boy growing up in the 1980s. I think the fact that I was a child of the 80s gave this book a special appeal to me. I loved reminiscing about the sweets, music and clothes described in the book and the fact that I was gripped throughout, despite the gentle plot, shows the author’s talent. 

 

After waiting for 4 years I was very excited to hear that David Mitchell had a new book out later in the year. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet is released in the UK on 13th May. Yesterday I received a proof copy of it through the post. I was so happy! I think it is the highlight of my blogging career. I have already read the first few chapters and am loving it as much as I hoped I would.  I really hope that it wins the Booker Prize this year as I feel that he is one of the most talented authors alive today. He has been short listed twice before, but a win would give him a lasting place in literary history. I haven’t read anything else good enough this year, so I’ve got my fingers crossed!

Have you read any books by David Mitchell?

Which is your favourite?

Categories
2000 - 2007 Orange Prize

Buddha Da – Anne Donovan

 Short Listed for the 2003 Orange Prize

Buddha Da is a lovely story about a working-class Glaswegian man who decides to convert to Buddhism. The book follows his every day life as he begins be appreciate the benefits of simple living and meditation. His family don’t understand his desire for a more meaningful life and this causes them to drift apart.

The book is written entirely in dialect and I have a feeling that those unfamiliar with the Scottish way of pronouncing things may struggle with this book. Here is the first paragraph so you can see how you’d get on:

Ma Da’s a nutter. Radio rental. He’d dae anythin for a laugh so he wid; went doon the shops wi a perra knickers on his heid, tellt the wifie next door we’d won the lottery and were flittin tae Barbados, but that wis daft stuff compared tae whit he’s went and done noo. He’s turnt intae a Buddhist.

For those who are struggling: Radio rental is rhyming slag for mental, meaning mad.

It took me a little bit of time to get used to the dialect but after a few pages I started to love it and thought it really added to the atmosphere.

The plot was quite gentle, but there were thought provoking discussions about how to give more meaning to your life and the problem of balancing this with your relationships.

Overall it was a light, entertaining read that I’d recommend to someone looking for something a bit different.

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Did you understand the first paragraph of the book?

Have you read Buddha Da?

Have you read any other books written by Anne Donovan?