Author: Jackie

Categories
Books in Translation

2666 – Roberto Bolaño. Part 1: The Part About the Critics

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 1: The Part About the Critics, pp. 1-160

Part 1 introduces us to four academics who specialise in the German author Archimboldi. Archimboldi has disappeared, and the academics are keen to discover his whereabouts. They travel to various literary conferences to discuss his work, and hope to find potential clues to his location. There is also a strange love triangle which develops between three of the academics. Not much happens in this section, but each of the characters is introduced vividly. Part 1 doesn’t really work as a book in its own right, but is a good beginning to what will hopefully be a well developed plot.

I found the formality of the book strange to begin with. Perhaps it is just the British culture, but it was really weird for me to read all the characters being referred to by their last names. I got used to it after a while, but then some characters started to be introduced by their first names. Does anyone know why this is?

Sometimes the book went into too much detail:

All four were put up at the same hotel. Morini and Norton were on the third floor, in rooms 305 and 311, respectively. Espinoza was on the fifth floor, in room 509. And Pelletier was on the sixth floor, in room 602.

I felt like it was waffling a bit, and adding too much unnecessary information. I’m sure the book could be reduced down to half its size without losing any crucial points. Does anyone else feel it would benefit from some word pruning?

The plot was a bit unbelievable in places. The scene with the taxi driver was a bit far fetched for me. It is quite normal for someone to say that:

….London was such a labyrinth, he really had lost his bearings.

The cabbie isn’t quoting Borges in saying this, it is a phrase in common usage. I certainly didn’t know that this phrase originated from Borges, and even if the taxi driver was aware of this fact I’m not sure why it resulted in him being severly beaten. It was all a bit odd to me. Did anyone else understand why this section was in the book?

The writing was reminiscent of Robertson Davies’ The Rebel Angels, although this maybe just because both were set in the world of academia. Does anyone else see a similarity between these two books?

I think it has the potential to be a really good book, and look forward to reading the next four sections, but I am really pleased that we are reading the book over several months, as I think the density of the text would really put me off completing this book in one go, and I would probably have been tempted to give up.

Overall, part 1 was quite average, but has the potential to be the start of a really good book.

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What did you think of part 1?

Are you enjoying the read-along?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this massive book!

Categories
Orange Prize Other

Who is going to win the Orange Prize this year?

I have now read all six books short listed for the  Orange Prize 2009.  Overall, I wasn’t very impressed with the quality of books which made the short list. I think that the judges this year must be fans of literary fiction, particularly books which are reflective and full of wisdom. I prefer great characters and a complex plot, so I didn’t get much pleasure from reading the final six.

So who is going to win the Orange Prize this year?

Here are my thoughts on each book’s chances…..

 

The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt

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My review

I don’t think this has a real chance of winning. Some people enjoyed it, and it does have some interesting literary devices in it, but overall it doesn’t have the feel of a prize winning book.

Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deirdre Madden

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My review

There is an outside chance that this could win the Orange Prize. Fans of literary fiction really enjoy this book, and lovers of general fiction (like me) do not find anything wrong with it. It is a nice gentle read, and it does have a great ending. If the judges are a mixture of literary fiction and general fiction lovers then they could well compromise on their favourite book by agreeing to choose this as a winner. 

Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman

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My review

I don’t think this has a realistic chance of winning. There is nothing wrong with it, but it doesn’t have that magic spark. It is a reasonable read about an important historical case, but I think it did well to get nominated.

Home by Marilynne Robinson

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My review

I think that Home has a very real chance of winning the Orange Prize. Fans of literary fiction love this book, they rave about it being their favourite book of the year, and how amazing the poetic prose is. I didn’t enjoy it at all, but I’ve a feeling that the judges do and so it will probably win.

The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey

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My review

This my favourite by a long way. The writing was so moving and thought provoking. It was in a league above the rest for me and I really hope that it wins, but I’m not that sure it will.

 

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

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My review

Burnt Shadows has an outside chance of winning. The plot is very ambitious, and I don’t think it quite worked, but everyone enjoyed it to some extent, and there were quite a few literary devices to please those judges. I wouldn’t be overly surprised if this managed to sneak through to win, as not many books try to achieve the things this one does.

 

The winner is announced on 3rd June, and I really hope that The Wilderness wins, but if I had to place a bet I’d put my money on Home.

Have you read any of the shortlist?

Who do you think will win?

I look forward to hearing your opinions!

Categories
Uncategorized

The Room of Lost Things – Stella Duffy

The Room of Lost Things is set in London, and shows a side to the city which isn’t often seen. The book is set in a dry-cleaning shop and follows its owner, Robert, as he decides to retire and pass his business on to the young, east Londoner, Akeel. The book gives brief glimpses into the lives of those who enter the dry-cleaning shop, or some who are simply are passing by. In doing so it paints a picture of the people who live near the railway arch of Loughborough Junction, south London.

Unfortunately I didn’t fall in love with this book. There were too many characters introduced too quickly. I didn’t count them, but I saw one review on Amazon which stated that 26 were introduced by the half way point. I know that this was to demonstrate the diversity of the local population, and that we are only supposed to capture glimpses of their lives as you would in a dry-cleaning shop, but my poor little brain can’t cope with this sort of thing, and I had nothing to pull me in to the book.

The book improved in the second half as we learned more about Robert, and I got a bit more used to the writing style. I found the ending quite poignant, but I’m afraid that a great last paragraph couldn’t compensate for the lack of real plot during the rest of the book.

The Room of Lost Things was recommended to me by Simon, and I have seen a few other good reviews around. So, please do not dismiss this book on my account. I am well known for having a poor capacity for coping with lots of different characters, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book much more than me. 

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Categories
Orange Prize

Molly Fox’s Birthday – Deirdre Madden

Short listed for the Orange Prize 2009

It looks as though this year’s Orange judges have a love for books which reflect on life, as this is the third one which does so (fourth if you count The Invention of Everything Else, which does, although to a lesser extent). Molly is an actor, who has loaned her house in Dublin to a friend while she is away. The story takes place on just one day, which happens to be Molly’s birthday. Staying in Molly’s house brings back memories of their friendship, and how their lives have evolved over the years.

The book was quite easy to read, but I found the story quite ordinary. The characters didn’t have that special spark, and so their lives failed to engage me.  Near the end of the book we find out about Andrew, a mutual friend. I found his life this much more interesting than Molly’s, and I wish the book had been concentrating on him throughout, as it was too little too late for me. It did pick up in the last fifty pages, and the ending was very well crafted, but this wasn’t really enough to make up for the average start.

There were a few good quotes, but in comparison to Wilderness this book felt very light.

….everyone gets pretty well what they want in life because they make a point of doing so, but the problem is that a great many people either don’t know what it is they want or they won’t admit it,

This is a nice gentle read, but there is nothing particularly remarkable about it, and it is instantly forgettable.

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I have now completed this year’s Orange short list, so I’m off to write a nice comparison post for you.

Have you read this book? Did you enjoy it?

Categories
2008 Orange Prize

Home – Marilynne Robinson

Winner of the Orange Prize 2009

I’m afraid that I have to admit I didn’t finish this book. I gave up after about 60 pages. The characters failed to engage me, and I was struggling to concentrate on the words. Maybe the problem was made worse by the fact I had just finished the amazing Wilderness, or maybe it was because I had the memory of how boring I found Gilead so fresh in my mind, but either way I didn’t see the point in wasting my precious reading time battling with a book that I know doesn’t suit my reading taste.

The writing style was different to Gilead, and it had the benefit of not containing the continual bible references, but I don’t think the prose was as good as the Pulitzer winner – it seemed a lot less profound. I think people who love Gilead will find this slightly less satisfying, but I haven’t read very much, so can’t really give a proper opinion.

I’m afraid this just wasn’t for me.

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Have you ever liked a book from an author you’ve previously decided was not for you?

This book is favourite to win the Orange  Prize – do you think it has a chance?

Categories
Other Uncategorized

Reviews so good….. I bought the book!

I have been looking through my stacks, trying to decide which books to read in June. I noticed that I have built up quite a large number of books recommended by fellow bloggers. In order to get through these, and gain an insight into the tastes of my favorite bloggers, I am going to make an effort to read as many of these books as I can in June and July (before the Booker long list is announced on 29th July).

Here are the books I was persuaded to get hold of:

Brothers by Yu Hua 

The moment I finished reading this review by Nonsuch Book I bought a copy online. It sounded so different to the other Chinese books I’d read that I had to have a copy.

Sugar Cage by Connie May Fowler

Sandy’s continual repetition of how good this author is finally wore me down, and I tracked down a copy of this book on Bookmooch. I’m looking forward to reading about the real Florida!


To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Beth voted this one of her favourite books of 2008. I hadn’t heard of it at the time, but have since seen lots of good reviews. Beth’s review persuaded me to part with my cash straight away!

Margery Sharp

Jane has mentioned Margery Sharp several times. I recently found three of her books, The Nutmeg Tree, Britannia Mews and Harlequin House. I’m going to read one of them – Jane – Which should I try first?

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The Master and Margarita

Matthew’s raving about The Master and Margarita persuaded me to buy a copy. It arrived in the post this morning, so will probably be the first one I read.


The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak

Nymeth’s review was so powerful, that I ordered a copy straight away. I have since seen some average reviews of it, so am hoping that Nymeth was right in persuading me to buy this one!


Firmin by Sam Savage

A couple of weeks after reading a great review of this book I saw it in a charity shop, so picked it up straight away. I was convinced I saw it on Diane’s blog, but can’t find it there. Have you reviewed this book recently? I’d love to correctly identify you here!

There are a few other books which I’m hoping to get my hands on in the next couple of months. Most notably De Niro’s Game by Rawi Hage recommended by Claire and The Room of Lost Things by Stella Duffy, recommended by Simon. Hopefully I’ll be able to get these books and read them too!

 

 

Some of your probably weren’t even aware that I bought the book on the strength of your recommendation alone. Are you surprised by the book I bought? Approximately how high in your list of favourite books is the one I have chosen? Number 1? Top 10?, Top 50?

If you could make me read one book – which would it be?

I hope to repeat this excerices frequently, so please nominate the book you’d most like me to read, and if your pitch is good enough I will get hold of a copy!