Author: Jackie

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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.

stars41

Are you enjoying 2666 more now?

Can you wait a full month before beginning Part 4?

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Other

July Reading Summary and Plans for August

The amount of time I spend reading seems to be increasing – I managed to read and review 15 books and 1 audio book in July. I have also completed another 5 books and have their reviews waiting to be published in the next few days. I put this down to having a few spare weekends in July to read, so getting through a few extra books during this time.

I like having a few reviews/other posts under my belt, as it means I don’t have to worry about ensuring I have time to write a blog post each day. This isn’t something I’ve really done in the past, but planning posts several days in advance is something I recommend.

Do you write write your posts in advance? How many days ahead are you?

Favourites of the month

 

Books reviewed during July

The Other Hand – Chris Cleave  stars51

Flu – Gina Kolata stars4h

Blackmoor – Edward Hogan  stars41

Kill-Grief – Caroline Rance stars41

Lanterns on Their Horns – Radhika Jha stars41

Fathers and Sons – Richard Madeley stars41

The House at Riverton – Kate Morton stars3h

Six Suspects – Vikas Swarup stars3h

Sugar Cage – Connie May Fowler stars3h

The Late, Lamented Molly Marx – Sally Koslow stars3h

Tragedy At Law – Cyril Hare stars3h

The Lost Book of Salem – Katherine Howe stars3h

Sea of Poppies – Amitav Ghosh stars3

Reading in the Dark – Seamus Deane stars3

Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel stars1 (DNF)

Audio Book 

Rhett Butler’s People – Donald McCaig  stars3

I also wrote this review for a favourite from my pre-blogging days:

The Clan of the Cave Bear – Jean Auel stars51

Plans for August

I’m going to focus on the Booker long list in August, maybe adding a few Japanese books for variation.

I’ll try to add a few other books as well, just so you don’t get sick of reading about Booker books!

Did you find any great books in July?

Are you planning to read any thing from the Booker long list in August?

Categories
Blogging Other

What shape is your rating system?

I have been think a lot about rating systems recently, and wondered how other people’s rating system work. The scientist in me likes to use diagrams to demonstrate this – so please bare with me as I try to explain!

My rating system is shaped a bit like this:

rating

I would rate almost all the books in the world as one star (blue). They have no interest to me, and with any luck I won’t even start to read one of these books. Occasionally I am unlucky enough to read one, but most of those books on car engines, knitting, the benefits of plastic etc. will remain on the shelves, unread by me.

The majority of the books on my blog will be 3 or 3.5 stars (orange). These are average books. Reasonable reads, but nothing outstanding about them. If I had my time again, I probably wouldn’t read them – I like to try to find the rarer 4 star (yellow) or almost impossible to find 5 star (red) books.

I think of 5 star books as being masterpieces. They are the ones which grip you from beginning to end, alter your thinking on an issue and stay with you forever. I don’t find many of these books and they account for only a very tiny percentage of all the books ever published.

What does your rating system look like?

Are you ratings evenly spread like this?

rating2

or a less severe version of mine?

 rating3

 

….or a different shape entirely?!

I’d love to hear what you think about this!

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Other

The Japanese Literature Challenge 3!

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I have been looking forward to the start of Dolce Bellezza’s Japanese Literature Challenge for a while. I have loved every Japanese book that I have read and this challenge is a great way to discover new books, which are otherwise quite hard to find reviews for.

I have saved up a few Japanese books ready for the start of this challenge, so in the next 6 months I plan to read as many of these as possible:

.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

I love Murakami, but have somehow managed to miss his most popular book.


 

The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak

Nymeth’s review was so powerful, that I ordered a copy straight away.  I’ll probably read this one first.

The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby

I’m currently reading The Tale of Genji, so plan to read this biography of it’s author before finishing this marathon read.

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

I have been reading this classic for a few weeks now. I hope to finish it at some point during this challenge.

Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace

I love the sound of this book, but don’t know whether the repetitive noises in this book will wind me up too much!

There are a few other Japanese books that I really want to read including The Housekeeper and the Professor and Grotesque, but as I don’t own copies of these they’ll have to wait!

Do you love Japanese literature?

Are you planning to take part in this challenge?

What is your favourite Japanese book?

 

Categories
2008 Other Prizes Recommended books

The Other Hand – Chris Cleave

 Note: This book is published as Little Bee in the US.

It has been a long time since a book has moved me to tears, and even longer since one this length (375 pages) has been compelling enough to read in a single sitting, forcing me to stay up late into the night to finish it.  

This book is one long emotional roller coaster. The horrific lows enhanced in intensity by the touching, laugh out loud highs. The poignancy of the book was increased for me, by the fact that my eldest son is a very similar age to the little four-year-old boy in the book. My son’s character is so similar to his,  so I kept picturing my family when reading the book, with moving results.

The book is set in Kingston-upon Thames, which is only a few miles from my house, further increasing my relationship with it. The story focuses on two women, one a mother leading a supposedly normal life in England; the other a young woman from Nigeria who has come to the UK seeking asylum. After meeting each other their lives are never the same again.

I won’t give away any more of the plot, but just be assured that this is going straight into my top 20 books of all time.

Highly recommended.

stars51

I have just discovered Chris Cleave’s blog and it has instantly become my favourite author blog. His humour and observations are so original. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Cleave becomes one of my all-time favourite authors on the publication of his next book.

Have you read this book?

Have you read a more emotional book this year? Ever?

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Other

Win a copy of Kill-Grief by Caroline Rance

A few days ago I reviewed the brilliant, but disgustingly realistic Kill-Grief by Caroline Rance. I am now pleased to announce that I have a copy to give away, so you can experience the gore and smells for yourself!

To enter, just leave a comment below before midnight GMT on 12th August.

The competition is open to EVERYONE, no matter where in the world you live.

I have never read a book which captures the squalor of 18th century England so realistically, so I asked Caroline a few questions about her research in the comments section of the review. Some of you may have missed them, so I’ve copied them here:

Do you enjoy reading about the medical procedures of this time period?

I loved doing the research. The starting point was the actual records of Chester Infirmary in the 1750s – these showed how the hospital was run, and I used some of the names of real-life staff. For the more gruesome aspects, I read 18th-century surgical textbooks and visited medical history museums to see things like the instruments used. I find all that stuff really interesting.

How did you manage to capture the smells so realistically?

I think I must have an unusually strong sense of smell, as that’s often what I notice first about a place. I find modern life quite smelly too, so it was fairly easy to imagine the smells in all the new situations Mary finds herself in.

Did you visit any sick people to observe their pus? LOL!!!

I have seen a fair bit of blood and pus while looking after horses for the past 20 years, so had some first-hand experience of that!

Thank you Caroline! I am impressed by your sense of smell, and look forward to reading your next book about a Victorian freak show.