Category: Other

Amity and Sorrow by Peggy Riley

Five words from the blurb: daughters, born, cult, rural, help

Amity and Sorrow has been receiving almost universal praise from the blogging world. I was impressed by the writing quality, but unfortunately the subject matter wasn’t for me.

Amity and Sorrow are two teenage girls who escape from a fundamentalist cult with their mother, Amaranth. Amity loves her new freedom, but Sorrow longs to be back with her tyrannical father.

The writing in this book was fantastic. The characters were beautifully drawn and the descriptions were atmospheric and absorbing. I should have loved this book, but unfortunately there were two problems.

The first was that the plot was very basic. It meandered from one scene to the next with no forward momentum. As the book was quite short I could probably have coped with this, but unfortunately I have a very low tolerance for religion in books and as this content increased I became more frustrated. I wanted to slap all the characters (a good sign I was engaged with them!) but I couldn’t bear to read page after page of information about life in a cult.

I abandoned it, but if you have a higher tolerance for reading about fundamentalist religions then you’ll probably love it.

DNF

Ferney by James Long

Five words from the blurb: Somerset, house, past, strange, connection

Ferney is one of those sleeper hits that occasionally crops up in conversation. It isn’t well known, but everyone who’s read it seems to love it. I bought a copy, keen to see why this was the case.

The book is set in Somerset and centres on Mike and Gally, a couple who fall in love with a dilapidated cottage that they come across by chance. They manage to persuade the owner to sell it to them and start restoring it straight away. Whilst working on their new cottage they meet Ferney, a strange old man who seems to know everything about the local area.

The book immediately reminded me of Outlander (Cross Stitch in the UK). Unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of Gabaldon’s book, but many of you are so I thought you’d like to know about this one. Ferney uses reincarnation to catch glimpses of the past, instead of the time travel present in Outlander, but the two books share the same corny romance, poor writing and unrealistic plot. If you’re looking for a light, escapist read then you’ll love this book, but I’m afraid it wasn’t for me.

DNF

Intrusion by Ken Macleod

Shortlisted for the 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Award

Five words from the blurb: future, pill, eradicate, genetic, defects

Intrusion is set in the near future at a time when women can take a pill during pregnancy to eradicate abnormalities in the fetus. The book follows Hope, a woman who decides not to take the pill, as her pregnancy progresses and friends, relatives and the authorities try to persuade her to change her mind.

I first heard about this book when I read an intriguing review on David’s blog. I’m drawn towards books that investigate the issues surrounding the eradication of disability and so picked up a copy from my library. Unfortunately this book failed to grip me and I abandoned it after about 100 pages.

The writing was very light and so fast paced that I felt the real issues were ignored. The book seemed to concentrate on whether it was legally possible to force women to take the pill and these discussions lacked any real weight:

‘Much as it pains me as a not very good Catholic,’ Fiona said, with a wry look, ‘I have to tell you that there are non-religious faith objections, if you see what I mean. Off the top of my head, uh, Green Humanism for one…’
Hope burst out laughing.
‘Green humanism? What’s that? Humanism for little green men?’
‘It’s about leaving nature alone, as I understand it,’ said Fiona a little stiffly.

I skim read a bit further and discovered the genetic difference present in Hope’s baby. This lost the book any credibility it might have had and rolling my eyes I put the book down for good.

Recommended to those who enjoy light science fiction.

DNF

Have you read any of these books?

Did you enjoy them more than I did?

Postcard image from Zazzle

May is turning out to be a busy month for me. I went to Barcelona for the first bank holiday weekend and had a fantastic time. We all enjoyed the beautiful buildings, the amazing food and the break from normal life.

At the moment I’m rushed off my feet organising a second-hand toy/clothing sale and a summer fair for my boys’ school. Hopefully both will raise lots of money so we can buy laptops for the children.

Things are also busy on the family front. This weekend we’re celebrating my Granny’s 90th birthday and the weekend after that my in-law’s Ruby wedding anniversary. It is great to see so many big milestones in the family. 

All this helps to explain why I haven’t got any books to tell you about today and why I probably won’t have many more for the rest of the month. The problem is compounded by the fact I’m craving long books at the moment. I’m currently immersed in the wonderful A Tale for the Time Being and want to complete A Suitable Boy soon. I may want to read a shorter book after that, but for the next week or two I predict a review shortage around here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 Shortlisted for 2013 Women’s Fiction Prize

Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver

Five words from the blurb: butterflies, marriage, climate, destruction, poverty

Flight Behaviour begins with the discovery of thousands of monach butterflies a long way from their usual migratory path. An investigation into their behaviour change begins; a story that runs alongside that of one woman’s marital breakdown.

This book had many beautiful passages, but the climate change argument was heavy handed. I felt as though I was being given a lecture, with a weak, meandering story occasionally getting in the way of this verbal battering.

Climate change is an important subject, but I’m afraid this book lacked the emotional power required to motivate anyone to change their habits. I was surprised to see it shortlisted for the Women’s Fiction Prize.

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Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

Five words from the blurb:  graphic novel, relationship, psychoanalyst, readers, mother

A few years ago I read Fun Home and loved its dry humor and originality. Unfortunately the sequel didn’t live up to my expectations and I ended up abandoning it after about 50 pages.

Are You My Mother? follows the same graphic novel format as Fun Home, but is a lot darker. It concentrates on the relationship between Bechdel and her mother, but feels repetitive. The continual introspection bored me and I longed for the book to take on a wider subject matter. Unfortunately my wish was granted with the introduction of Virginia Woolf. I’m not a fan of Woolf and the references to her work did nothing for me. The book went on to quote numerous passages from a psychology text book and the plot was too meandering to engage me with its weird content. I gave up after about 50 pages.

I recommend reading Fun Home, but only try this one if you’re a fan of complex psychoanalysis.

DNF

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 Translated from the Spanish by Gregory Rabassa

Marks of Identity by Juan Goytisolo

Five words from the blurb: Spain, exile, searches, history, political

I’m going to Barcelona soon and so wanted to read some fiction set in the city. This book was described as a Spanish masterpiece and seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately I found it very difficult to read – after about 30 pages I still had no idea what was happening. This is probably because I don’t know much about Spanish history. I’m sure that anyone familiar with the political situation within the country will appreciate this, but I’m afraid it was lost on me.

DNF

Have you read any of these books?

What did you think of them?