Category: Everything Else

John Saturnall’s Feast by Lawrence Norfolk

Five words from the blurb:  witchcraft, book, ancient, dishes, love

The book started well, with a wonderfully atmospheric scene in which a young boy and his mother are persecuted as witches.

Oily-smelling tallow-smoke laced the warm night air. The banging of pots and pans mixed with the villagers’ shouts. John felt his mother’s hand tighten, pulling him along. He heard the bag knock awkwardly against her legs, the breath rasp in her throat. His own heart pounded. Reaching the edge of the meadow they clawed their way up the first bank.

The pair escape and seek refuge in a forest, but child ends up working in the kitchens of a large manor house. Unfortunately the book became less gripping as it continued. There was lots of interesting information about cooking in a busy 17th century kitchen, but I failed to bond to any of the characters. Although individual scenes were vivid there was no forward momentum and I frequently found it difficult to pick up the book after a break. Many people love this novel, but I found it patchy and I’m afraid that even the snippets of historic cookery weren’t enough to hold my attention. I started skim reading after about 100 pages and abandoned the book shortly after that.

DNF

 

 Translated from the Norwegian by Sverre Lyngstad

Hunger by Knut Hamsun

Knut Hamsun won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920

Five words from the blurb: mind, writer, starvation, fluctuating, insight

Hunger had been on my wishlist for a very long time. It had been recommended to me on numerous occasions, is cited as a modern masterpiece, and Paul Auster describes it as “one of the most disturbing novels in existence”. On seeing it named on yet another “must-read” list I decided to buy a copy. I was worried that it would be too disturbing, but was disappointed to discover that the book had a light hearted tone and lacked any real darkness.

The book centres on a young writer who is so poor he can no longer afford to buy food. He desperately tries to get articles published in the hope of receiving enough money to buy his next meal. Unfortunately the book contained almost no plot – instead it meandered from one non-event to another. The stream-of-consciousness writing style was almost bearable, but the light-hearted tone annoyed me.

As I lie there in this position, letting my eyes wander down my breast and legs, I notice the twitching motion made by my foot at each beat of my pulse. I sit up halfway and look down at my feet, and at this moment I experience a fantastic, alien state I’d never felt before; a delicate, mysterious thrill spreads through my nerves, as though they were flooded by surges of light. When I looked at my shoes, it was as though I had met a good friend or got back a torn-off part of me: a feeling of recognition trembles through all my sense, tears spring to my eyes, and I perceive my shoes as a softly murmuring tune coming toward me.

I appreciate that it may be an accurate description of a person on the verge of despair, but I’m afraid I couldn’t connect with it. I abandoned it after about 80 pages.

DNF

 Have you read either of these books?

Did you enjoy them more than I did?

 Translated fron the Danish by Lisa Hartford

Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Five words from the blurb: Copenhagen, detective, unsolved, crimes, tortured

I decided to read Mercy after Kim gave it a glowing review. Unfortunately I didn’t love it as much as she did, but it was an enjoyable piece of crime fiction.

Mercy is a police procedural that centres on Detective Carl Morck, a moody man who is haunted by the recent death of a colleague. In order to distract him from his problems he is assigned a new job investigating unsolved crimes. His first case involves a woman who disappeared five-years-ago. Everyone thinks she’s dead, but through her narrative, which is given in alternate chapters, the reader discovers that she is imprisoned in an underground bunker.

I initially loved this book – the character development was fantastic and the descriptions of the woman trapped underground were vivid and compelling. Unfortunately everything unraveled as the story continued. I found the pace slowed and the middle section was far too long. The also thought that the ending was a little predictable and there were too many cliches.

Overall it was entertaining, but nothing made it stand out above other good pieces of crime fiction.

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Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

Five words from the blurb: hospital, memory, unrecognizable, madness, tests

Brain on Fire is a non fiction account of what happened to a New York reporter in the month she was struck down by a rare brain disease (anti-NMDA-receptor autoimmune encephalitis). The details of how her mind was affected were scary to read, but I found myself bored by the large amount of medical data. I think part of my problem with this book comes from the fact I listened to a wonderful Radio 4 interview with the author which summarised the major aspects of this book. This meant I knew the more interesting scenes already and the additional information didn’t add anything to the story I already knew.

The book was written in a compelling, chatty style and I found the beginning, as the first signs of her illness appeared, very good. Unfortunately I found the rest of the book disappointing. The descriptions of each visit to the hospital became repetitive and, although I realise she suffered greatly, I’m afraid that the confusion of doctors and the details of the tests they performed was of little interest to me.

Overall I’m sure this book will be of great benefit to the families of those suffering from encephalitis, but I think the technical details may be too much for the general reader.

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The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Five words from the blurb: catastrophe, survival, rotation, Earth, vulnerability

The Age of Miracles has been dividing opinion in the blogging world and I was convinced that I’d hate it, but, although it was a light book with lots of flaws, I found it strangely compelling.

The book is narrated by an eleven-year-old girl living at a time in the near future when the Earth starts to spin more slowly. This means that the days become longer and Mankind begins to suffer from a range of problems, from food shortages to gravitational sickness.

The plot was gripping throughout and, although I questioned many of the scientific details, the basic story of a world in crisis was thought provoking.

The narrator felt much older than her eleven years and I’d have preferred to know about the problems faced by the adult population, but these are personal preferences and it almost seems wrong to bring them up when the book was so compelling that I read it in a single sitting.

Recommended to those looking for a light, entertaining piece of dystopian fiction.

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Have you read any of these books?

Did you enjoy them?