Category: Uncategorized

A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe

Five words from the blurb: entrepreneur, Atlanta, debt, idealistic, deliverance

This book started really well. The character development was fantastic and I quickly became attached to a wide variety of people. Unfortunately the plot seemed to stall in the middle and I completely lost interest. I only continued as I have developed an interest in stoicism and wanted to see how the book handled the subject. Unfortunately it didn’t handle it well. It quoted all the basic principles, but failed to develop them or apply them to the characters with any real meaning. I’m disappointed I wasted so much time with this 800 page chunkster.

Season to Taste by Natalie Young

Five words from the blurb: husband, dispose, body, subversive, aftermath

This book contained gruesome scenes of a woman eating her husband after murdering him in their garden. It was gripping throughout, but unfortunately it lacked depth. I felt the book was written purely to provoke controversy as it failed to address any moral issues. There were also several plot points that didn’t add up (eg. why didn’t she just feed him to her massive dog?) Recommended to those looking for an absorbing read, but don’t expect it to stand up to much scrutiny.

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Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas

Five words from the blurb: swimmer, rich, sacrifice, family, dream

I loved The Slap so was disappointed when Barracuda failed to have the same impact on me. I didn’t go to private school and have no interest in competitive swimming so that might explain why it didn’t captivate me as much as a book about the politics of slapping a child. The overall story was OK, but it dragged in places. I’d recommend The Slap over this every time.

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Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino

Five words from the blurb: husband, dead, poisoning, suspect, deceit

This wasn’t in the same league as The Devotion of Suspect X. The writing was simpler and it didn’t contain any of the same clever twists. I read to the end in the hope of being surprised, but unfortunately I wasn’t. Disappointing.

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The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

Five words from the blurb: letter, secret, opens, truth, family

This book was so gripping I found myself trying to read it whilst doing other things. It was a real page-turner, with a fantastic cast of characters. Unfortunately it is one of those books that falls apart under scrutiny and my opinion of it lowers every time I think about it. It created a fantastic discussion at my book group, but I think we’ll all have forgotten what happened by the next meeting.

(because I enjoyed the experience of reading it so much)

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Underworld by Don Delillio

Five words from the blurb: baseball, Russian, bomb, global, Bronx

I really wanted to read this modern classic, but I’m afraid the baseball bored me rigid. The writing was fantastic, but I failed to connect to any of the characters and felt an increasing sense of dread every time I picked up this massive chunkster. Life is too short to battle through a book this long that does nothing for you, so I abandoned it after about 150 pages.

DNF

The Summer of the Ubume by Natsuhiko Kyogoku

Five words: folklore, ghost, real, explanations, mystery

I was worried that this book might be too scary (it is described as horror on the cover) but that isn’t the case. The Summer of the Ubume is a rich discussion of the Japanese spirit world, concentrating on Ubume, the beings created when a pregnant woman dies. Unfortunately the book is dominated by a debate about what is real and what isn’t and I was already familiar with all the quantum physics and most of the philosophical arguments. If you’re new to this sort of discussion then you’ll love it, but I’m afraid I’d heard 90% of it before.

Despite the problems, it is probably still worth reading for all the information about the Japanese spirit world. 

Have you read any of these books?

What did you think of them?

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

Five words from the blurb: insanity, compelling, adventure, madness, truths

Fascinating investigation into psychopathic behaviour. It was light, entertaining and raised many interesting questions. It didn’t quite go into enough scientific depth for me, but was the perfect introduction to the subject.

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The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Five words from the blurb: forgiveness, racial, tension, sanctuary, mystery

Had a promising premise, but was surprisingly lacking in emotion. It didn’t give me any new insight into the racial tensions of the American South and I felt that the characters lacked depth. It was compelling enough to finish, but overall I was a bit disappointed.

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

Five words from the blurb: American, tragicomedy, adolescence, friendships, fortunes

Fantastic writing and wonderful character development, but the plot failed to grab me. It all felt too ordinary and I’m afraid I didn’t care enough to want to find out what happened.

DNF

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Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux

Five words from the blurb: metaphysical, challenging, forgery, identity, literature

Great premise, but I was unable to suspend my disbelief. I abandoned it at the half way point because it became increasingly weird, but lacked the charm or enlightenment necessary to keep me engaged.

DNF

Have you read any of these books?

What did you think of them?