Author: Jackie

Categories
2009 Other Prizes

After the Fire, A Still Small Voice – Evie Wyld

Winner of 2009 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for best work of literature by a UK or Commonwealth writer aged 35 or under

I have heard a few people rave about this book, certain that this is going to win numerous literary awards in 2010; so I thought I should get a head start on the prize lists and read it beofre all those long lists are announced.

After the Fire, A Still Small Voice is set in Australia and is split into two different narratives. The first follows Frank who moves to an old shack previously owned by his grandparents, to escape his violent relationships.

The second focuses on Leon, the child of European immigrants who sought refuge in Australia after their lives were threatened in WWII. Their new life is shattered when his father volunteers to fight in the Korean war.

This book is beautifully written and there are some evocative descriptions of the Australian landscape, but I’m afraid the plot was too gentle for me. The style reminded me of Brooklyn in that the story and prose are very simple, but the emotion is there, bubbling under the surface.

I am sure that this book will pick up some more award nominations, but it was too quiet for me. If you love gentle stories examining relationships and the sense of belonging then you’ll love this book, but I need a bit more action in my novels.

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Have you read this book?

Categories
Other Weekly Geeks

Does sex in literature kill the romance?

I’m not a prude. I have no objection to reading about sex, but for some reason any description of sex in literature kills the romance for me. In fact the most romantic books are those in which the couple aren’t even together, but separated by a war or other uncontrollable event. That feeling of longing is so romantic and beats most occasions when the couple is actually together. There are also couples who don’t miss each other for a very long time apart, but get creative like using sex toys for men and Women’s Vibrators sex toy when finally making love. Dealers оf sex toys rake іn billions оf dollars еvеrу year. Thеіr products аrе ѕо diversified аnd today аrе available іn еvеrу раrt оf thе world. Nоw, іt looks like thіѕ business оf melbourne male strippers satisfying sexual desires іѕ іn vogue. Thе single, married, old, young today patronize sex toy shops аnd thе manufactures, wisely tоо, аrе steadily churning оut mоrе alluring аnd sophisticated ones. It ѕееmѕ like thеrе wіll bе nо end tо thеіr innovative ingenuity tо inventing thеѕе new instruments оf sexual pleasure. The slimline design of 50 Shades Greedy Girl  is comfortable for first-time rabbit users. Today ѕоmе оf thеѕе toys act аnd behave exactly like opposite sex partners іn thе act. True. But hеrе, wе want tо look аt thе origin, intentions аnd effects оf thеѕе toys оn thе users, especially thе spiritual аnd psychological implications.  Sex toys аrе nоt new. Thеу hаvе a lоng history thаt started wіth thе uѕе оf carved objects thаt represented thе penis. Thе ancient Roman, Greek, Chinese, Asian, Indian hаd thеѕе objects carved оut оf stones, iron, gold, wood аnd оthеr materials thаt wеrе used tо drive masturbation. Sоmе оf thеm (like thе Greek) аlѕо hаd worship оf sex gods аnd goddesses wеrе thеѕе objects wеrе displayed, used аnd оthеr sexual immoral acts wеrе extensively promoted, including sex wіth demons аnd spirits. Sо, wе саn rightly say thаt thе foundation оf sex toys wаѕ thаt оf thе desire fоr ‘unlimited’ pleasure аnd thе worship оf demonic gods. Thіѕ invention metamorphosed іntо оthеr objects аnd іn thе 20th century wе saw thе fіrѕt electric vibrator invented. Sіnсе thеn, іt hаѕ bееn a deluge оf thеѕе manual аnd later sophisticated instruments оf sexual pleasure. Sоmе оf thеm winking аnd talking! Wow!

The most romantic book I’ve ever read is The Time Traveler’s Wife– the couple’s love for each other heightened by Henry’s continual time travelling. There is so much truth in the old saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”.

I think the best sex scenes are those in which the bedroom door is firmly closed to us. Knowing what our favourite characters get up to ruins their magic for me – I’d much prefer to leave all the sex scenes up to the imagination. Sex isn’t a subject that we normally discuss, so what one couple finds normal, another will find very strange. I don’t want to feel weird because I know too much about a couple, however fictional. I want to feel their love through knowing glances and a shared happiness.

Edited to add:

I’ve just been reading a beautifully romantic scene in the otherwise wonderful Cutting for Stone and thought it was an excellent example of sex ruining everything:

Without removing myself from within her, I rolled onto my back, holding her, flipping her, and setting her on top of me, her breasts hovering over me.
“You need to pee? Go ahead,” I said, my breath coming quick.
“You’ve done that before, too.”
I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her  to me hard. I smelled her fever, and the scent of blood and sex and urine. I came again.

Do you think that sex in literature kills the romance?

Which is the most romantic book you’ve read?

Visit the weekly geeks for more discussions on romance, sex and love.

Categories
2010 Fantasy

Ruby’s Spoon – Anna Lawrence Pietroni

Ruby’s Spoon is an atmospheric book with a fairy-tale feel. The story is set in a small town called Cradle Cross, famous for it’s button factory. The residents of the town are disturbed by the arrival of Isa, a strange woman who is searching for her sister. Ruby is drawn towards Isa and offers to help in the search, secretly hoping that she will be rewarded with a journey on the sea.

The majority of the book feels as though it is set in our world, but then something slightly out of the ordinary will happen; I was left wondering whether the mention of mermaids, witches and other strange events meant that it is actually set in a parellel universe.  

I loved the imagery in the book and there were some beautifully touching passages: 

“My daughter drowned before her had a birthday. My grief is here; this handkerchief. I’ve worked her letters here, fine stitches in the corner, but look at all the rest of it, this empty space that says what might have been.” “Yes, yo were blessed with grief so small that yo can keep it in your pocket. My son was fully grown when I lost him to the War. My grief is larger than a sail.”

The dialect did take a short amount of time to get used to, but after a few pages I enjoyed the added atmosphere that it gave to the book.

The plot was straightforward, but strangely mesmerizing. The bizarre nature of some scenes meant that you never really knew what would happen next. I found the ending a bit of an anti-climax, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

The book is very well written and packed with symbolism and underlying themes. The originality and depth of this book make it a perfect for a book group choice. I’d love to discuss some of the aspects of this book, so if you’ve read it please comment below.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys books which are slightly out of the ordinary.

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Have you read Ruby’s Spoon?

Did the mermaid exist?

What made Isa a witch?

Categories
Blog Improvement Project Blogging Other

Blog Improvement Project: Create a Blogging To-Do List

The first task for the Blog Improvement Project is to create a list of things on your blog that you’d like to change.

I am aways fiddling with things on my site and spend hours trying to decide what would improve it. I really need to focus on the important things instead of just tinkering with new plug-ins!

Hopefully this list will encourage me to make big changes, rather than messing around behind the scenes!

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My To-Do List

Add new header image

I like the way that my header image gives you an instant feel for the sort of books that I read, but I really need to take a better photo – without any shine!

Edit my challenge tab

I need to change the challenge page to reflect the challenges I’m doing in 2010 and to ensure it focuses on my long-term reading challenges (Booker, Orange, Pulitzer prizes)

Update my categories

Overall I am quite happy with my categories, but there are a few redundant ones, mainly in the challenges section.

Rebecca has a concise category list that I admire.

Improve Sidebars

I’d like to edit the text in my sidebars, so that it is stands out more. The  most popular post section is just a sea of words at the moment – I’d like to look at putting them in boxes, and perhaps use drop-down boxes to reduce clutter.

Rob Around Books has a beautiful set of sidebars. I wish mine were as clear as his.

Improve social media integration

I need to think about adding a twitter feed, and improving the visibility of dig/delicious links.

Paperback Reader’s new blog is only a few days old, but I’m already coveting her social media boxes.

Can you think of anything else I should do to improve my blog?

Do you waste hours playing with the settings of your blog?

Categories
1990s Booker Prize

Disgrace – J.M. Coetzee

 Winner of the 1999 Booker Prize

I had always assumed that Coetzee wrote complex books, which were difficult to read. This idea was confirmed when I attempted to read Summertime last year. I am trying to read all the Booker winners and so decided to get through Disgrace before it intimidated me any more. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Disgrace is a fantastic book, which is easy to read yet tackles many thought provoking issues.

Disgrace is set in South Africa and centres on a professor of Romantic poetry who is forced to resign from his position after he is discovered having an affair with a student. With nothing to keep him in the city he retreats to his daughter’s small farm, where they become the victims of a brutal attack.

I was surprised by how modern and readable the book was. I had the idea that Coetzee wrote pretentious, poetic prose, but this was the opposite. The writing was clean and simple, with no flowery descriptions. It was this simplicity that gave power to the words, drawing me into the disturbing life of South Africans struggling to adapt to their changing society.

I was gripped from beginning to end, reading the book in just two sittings. The title is very appropriate, as the book deals with one disgraceful issue after another. I was impressed by the way layers of symbolism were woven into the seemingly simple story. The fact that the book can be taken at face value, or studied to reveal more complex themes, means that this is the perfect introduction to literary fiction.

Disgrace is a worthy winner of the Booker prize and I highly recommend it.

 

 

Did you enjoy Disgrace?

Are any of Coetzee’s other books written in the same simple writing style?

Categories
2010 Crime

Blacklands – Belinda Bauer

Blacklands was the second selection for the TV Book Club. I couldn’t decide whether to read it or not, but although the rest of the show was poor, the short discussion they had on the book actually persuaded me to check a copy out of the library.

Blacklands is set in Exmoor and centres on Steven, a twelve-year-old boy whose uncle  was murdered 18 years ago. He is trying to find the body, so that his Grandmother can finally have some closure. After a fruitless search Steven decides to write to his uncle’s killer in the hope he will reveal the location of the body.

Blacklands is a very quick and easy read – I completed the whole book in one sitting, proof of how gripping I found it. Unfortunately I found the book too light for me and I was left feeling slightly disappointed.

Lots of interesting issues were introduced, including how a tragedy can continue affecting a family many years after its occurrence, but I felt that these issues were not investigated properly. The real heartbreak was skimmed over, producing a fast paced book, with no emotional depth.

Steven’s character was well drawn and I found the child’s perspective to be realistic and touching, but his letters to the serial killer went beyond reality. I struggled to believe that any correspondence between a murderer and child would be allowed and the cryptic replies were just too convenient.

I don’t think I’ll remember much about it in a few years time, but it entertained me for a few hours. Despite these criticisms it is a good page turner and is ideal for anyone who enjoys lighter crime novels.

 

Did you enjoy Blacklands?

Did you think the letters were realistic/would ever be allowed?