Month: January 2011

Categories
1980s Chunkster Historical Fiction Pulitzer Prize

Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurtry

 Winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize

What an epic! I am really pleased that after nearly three months I finally made it to the end of this massive book. I originally started reading Lonesome Dove as part of Amy’s readalong, but unfortunately I failed to keep up with everyone else and so had to make do with reading their comments several weeks after I made it to the same spot.

Lonesome Dove is the first Western I’ve ever read. It contained all the elements that I was expecting in a Western (cattle, horses, guns and the big outdoors) but the atmosphere was very different. I was surprised by the gentle humor running all the way through it and, although several people were killed, it never felt dark. 

The story begins in Lonesome Dove, a small town in Texas, and follows a group of men who decide to take some cattle to Montana. We see the dangers that they face from both animals and other men, but also the complex relationships that they have with each other. Lonesome Dove crosses so many genres – it is a romance novel as well as a vivid piece of historical fiction. It is a shame that it is called a Western as I think the term is quite off-putting to some people.

The book started off very slowly – it took me about 300 pages to begin to engage with the characters, but once this happened I found them to be some of the most vivid I’ve ever read about. There was very little forward momentum anywhere in the book, so I never felt compelled to pick it up and start reading again. This made it feel much longer than its already imposing 940 pages.

The characters were very well developed, but there were many points when I wished that the book would stop fleshing out the characters and get on with the story. The plot picked up in the final section, but I was a bit frustrated by the number of loose ends left unresolved.

I’m really pleased that I made it to the end of this classic, but I wish it had more pace and a less meandering plot. There was a lot to enjoy and I do think that it is one of those books everyone should try at some point in their lives. Recommended.

Opinions are divided on this one:

…..both funnier and sadder than I’d ever anticipated. Whimpulsive

…life is too short to spend my reading time in the company of people I don’t like who are doing things I find repulsive. Semicolon

Lonesome Dove is on my all time favorites list. Capricious Reader

Can you recommend any Westerns which have a faster pace?

Categories
Other

Links I Like

Town check out all the books from its library in an effort to avoid closure.

This essay on why Chinese mothers are superior seems to have started the largest Internet debate this week.

People got almost as heated about the number of spaces at the end of a sentence.

The difficulty of writing novels set in the Internet age.

Neil Gaiman is to star in the Simpsons.

Harper Collins release enhanced ebooks for The Chronicles of Narnia series:

Stieg Larsson was the top European writer in 2010.

The judges for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize have been announced.

Book scanning device adds fuel to copyright debate.

The BBC are going to adapt Sarah Water’s book, The Night Watch, for TV.

For those in the UK

The deadline to become a World Book Night giver has been extended.

Save Our Libraries From Cuts and Closures!

Listen to Amanda Ross talk about the TV Book Club. Don’t forget that the new series starts tonight!

Have a wonderful week!

 

Categories
2009 Orange Prize

The Way Things Look to Me – Roopa Farooki

 Long Listed for 2010 Orange Prize

The Way Things Look To Me is a simple story about how a brother and sister cope when the death of their mother forces them to care for their little sister, Yasmin, who has Asperger’s syndrome.

The book switches between the viewpoints of the three siblings, showing us their thoughts and frustrations as they try to adapt to their new lives. I was impressed by the distinct differences in their voices and found Yasmin’s narration to be a realistic example of how a person with Asperger’s speaks.

My name is Yasmin Murphy, and sometimes I am so full of things to say that I’ll feel that I’ll burst if I can’t get them out, and will talk, and talk, and talk until I can see people fidget and move uncomfortably

Yasmin is also supposed to have synesthesia, a condition which means that you see words and numbers as distinct colours. I didn’t understand why this was introduced to the book as it was never investigated properly and seemed an unnecessary addition to the plot.

The book was easy to read and contained a few emotional sections, but I felt it lacked something. I think that reading this book so soon after reading Born on a Blue Day was a big disadvantage for it. The two books both mention Asperger’s and synesthesia, but Born on a Blue Day made me feel as though I understood what it was like to have the conditions. The Way Things Look to Me was mildly entertaining, but didn’t have that same deep insight.

Recommended if you are looking for a quick, entertaining read with a bit of emotion, but if you are after any real insight into Asperger’s then I’d look elsewhere.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

Each of the three characters is multi-dimensional and written with great sensitivity and insight. Curious Book Fans

It is very difficult to dislike Roopa Farooki’s novels.  They are as eager to please as puppies, and who doesn’t like puppies, at least hypothetically? Eve’s Alexandria

…this neurotypical enjoyed it immensely. Roopa Farooki knows how to write. Action for Autism

Note: Im aware I’ve broken my New Year’s Resolution in finishing a 3.5 star book, but I’m making exceptions for books about Asperger’s.

Categories
2011 Crime Thriller

The Facility – Simon Lelic

Rupture was one of my favourite books of 2010  and I am sad that it didn’t receive the attention it deserved. I was pleased to discover that Simon Lelic’s second book was going to be released so soon after his first and I jumped at the chance to read it.

The Facility is set in the near future and centres on a secret prison which the British Government are using to hold people under their new “Unified Security Act”. Initially created to hold terrorism suspects without charge, the authorities are now using it for questionable purposes. The book follows one man who doesn’t understand why he has been imprisoned and those on the outside who are desperate to discover why he has disappeared.

The book is a fast paced thriller which is gripping throughout. It isn’t for the prudish as there is strong sexual content from the start and I must also warn you that it gets quite dark and violent in places.

Unfortunately I didn’t find it as thought provoking as it could have been – it read like a conventional thriller instead of being a deeper investigation into this complex issue.

It also lost the wonderful one-sided-conversation writing style of Rupture. The writing quality was still high, but there was nothing to make it stand out from the crowd of other thrillers produced each year.

The Facility is a wonderful thriller, but I had hoped it would be so much more than that. I urge you to read Rupture so that you can understand why I had such high hopes for this book. The Facility is worth reading if you are after an absorbing, fast paced read, but I’m hoping that his next book returns to the magic of his first.

Categories
Other

Read or Reject? #1

My New Year’s Resolution is to give up on books that aren’t outstanding. I don’t want to miss out on a gem that happens to have a poor beginning, so I hope that you can help me sort the wheat from the chaff.

Should I continue reading any of these books?

South Riding by Winifred Holtby

I love BBC adaptations of books, but prefer to have read the book before I watch them on TV. When I discovered that South Riding would be the next book to receive the period drama makeover I decided to give it a try.

South Riding is a snapshot of an English community after the First World War. We see the relationships between the villagers and the little things they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. It was easy to read and “charming”…… aaarrrgghhhh….. *runs away*.  I actually read about 250 pages of this book before deciding it wasn’t for me. I’m looking forward to watching the BBC adaptation, but I prefer my books to have a darker element and a stronger narrative drive.  

You’ll have to do a lot to convince me to read the last half of this one!

The News Where You Are by Catherine O’Flynn

The News Where You Are is the first real casualty of my New Year’s Resolution. I suspect that if I’d have finished this book I’d have given it 3.5 stars. I loved What Was Lost and was hoping that this one would be even better, but unfortunately it didn’t deliver.

Catherine O’Flynn has a special talent for writing modern dialogue – she makes it seem so realistic. I loved the first few chapters of this book – the characters came alive on the page and were both amusing and insightful. We get to meet a regional new presenter and learn a bit about some of the seemingly mundane stories he broadcasts. Unfortunately the plot didn’t seem to go anywhere and I found it increasingly difficult to motivate myself to continue reading.  I gave up after about 100 pages.

Am I missing out on some amazing plot twists?

The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi

I started reading this book last Summer. I can’t remember anything being particularly wrong with it; all I know is that other books kept calling to me more loudly and so this one accidentally fell by the wayside. My book mark is only in page 27 so I didn’t give it much of a chance, but I’m not sure it is for me.

Should I start it again?

 

Was I wrong to give up on any of these books?

Is there magic lurking in the final pages?

Categories
2000 - 2007 Recommended books

Peripheral Vision – Patricia Ferguson

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to take a chance on lesser known books and I’m really pleased to report that my first venture into the unknown was a massive success. I decided to read Peripheral Vision after seeing a post on the Fiction Uncovered website in which Amanda Craig highlighted some undervalued authors. She described Patricia Ferguson’s novels as dark and dazzling – exactly the sort of books I love!

I chose to read Peripheral Vision because it is primarily about motherhood. Through the eyes of three different women we see how the relationship between a mother and child can be both powerful and fragile.

The writing is amazingly clear and a high degree of emotional intensity is built up in a very short period of time.

The first few pages read like a piece of quality chick lit, but this book quickly becomes more than that – the writing has a depth of both character and theme. The cover image implies that this is quite a light book, but there are a few disturbing scenes so I don’t advise reading this if you are squeamish!

The book begins as a series of short stories, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they all linked up in the end. This plot isn’t packed with action, but the power of the relationships was enough to grip me completely.

It seems to her that all maternal love degrades naturally, as the perfect baby becomes the imperfect adult; that such natural fading, from adoration to gentle mutual fondness, is normal.

The theme of vision also runs through the book and I especially loved the details of ophthalmic surgery – I felt as though I was being educated as well as entertained.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in books about motherhood, especially if you appreciate quality writing.

 

Have you read anything written by Patricia Ferguson?