Category: Chunkster

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2010 Books in Translation Chunkster

The Whisperer – Donato Carrisi

The Whisperer Translated from the Italian by Shaun Whiteside

Five words from the blurb: missing, girls, arms, police, secrets.

I hadn’t heard of this book, but spotted it in my library and was sold by the bold lettering on the cover proclaiming it to be:

The Italian Literary Thriller Phenomenon

The blurb informed me that it had won lots of Italian book awards and was a record-breaking bestseller in Europe and so I decided to give it a try.

The plot revolves around the discovery of a circle of arms buried in a forest. The bodies of the girls that they belonged to can not be found and so the hunt for their serial killer begins.

I initially loved this book. The writing style reminded me of Sophie Hannah and I was totally gripped to the horror that was unfolding.

A fresh anxiety took hold of her. She had put her own life and the hostage’s at risk. And now she was scared. Scared of making another mistake. Scared of stumbling at the last step, the one that would take her out of this horrible lair. Or discovering that the house would never let her go, that it would close in on her like a silken net, holding her prisoner for ever.

Unfortunately things began to unravel as the plot progressed. I began to feel patronised by the way the book repeated things and over-explained every situation. It was definitely a case of being told what was happening, rather than shown.

There were several sections where I had to suspend my disbelief. I don’t mind this to some extent in a thriller, but the plot in this book stretched my tolerance threshold to the limit.

I guess my main problem with this book is the marketing. The Whisperer isn’t a literary thriller. It is a good thriller, but it doesn’t have the depth I’d expect from a book marketed with the word “literary”. I can see why thousands of people would enjoy flicking through this on the beach, but I was frustrated by the two-dimensional characters and the increasingly bizarre plot twists.

Recommended to those who enjoy fast paced thrillers that focus on plot rather than character.

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Categories
1980s Chunkster Historical Fiction Pulitzer Prize

Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurtry

 Winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize

What an epic! I am really pleased that after nearly three months I finally made it to the end of this massive book. I originally started reading Lonesome Dove as part of Amy’s readalong, but unfortunately I failed to keep up with everyone else and so had to make do with reading their comments several weeks after I made it to the same spot.

Lonesome Dove is the first Western I’ve ever read. It contained all the elements that I was expecting in a Western (cattle, horses, guns and the big outdoors) but the atmosphere was very different. I was surprised by the gentle humor running all the way through it and, although several people were killed, it never felt dark. 

The story begins in Lonesome Dove, a small town in Texas, and follows a group of men who decide to take some cattle to Montana. We see the dangers that they face from both animals and other men, but also the complex relationships that they have with each other. Lonesome Dove crosses so many genres – it is a romance novel as well as a vivid piece of historical fiction. It is a shame that it is called a Western as I think the term is quite off-putting to some people.

The book started off very slowly – it took me about 300 pages to begin to engage with the characters, but once this happened I found them to be some of the most vivid I’ve ever read about. There was very little forward momentum anywhere in the book, so I never felt compelled to pick it up and start reading again. This made it feel much longer than its already imposing 940 pages.

The characters were very well developed, but there were many points when I wished that the book would stop fleshing out the characters and get on with the story. The plot picked up in the final section, but I was a bit frustrated by the number of loose ends left unresolved.

I’m really pleased that I made it to the end of this classic, but I wish it had more pace and a less meandering plot. There was a lot to enjoy and I do think that it is one of those books everyone should try at some point in their lives. Recommended.

Opinions are divided on this one:

…..both funnier and sadder than I’d ever anticipated. Whimpulsive

…life is too short to spend my reading time in the company of people I don’t like who are doing things I find repulsive. Semicolon

Lonesome Dove is on my all time favorites list. Capricious Reader

Can you recommend any Westerns which have a faster pace?

Categories
2009 2010 Books in Translation Chunkster Historical Fiction Other Prizes Recommended books

The Dark Side of Love – Rafik Schami

 Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2010

Translated from the German by Anthea Bell

The Dark Side of Love is epic in every sense of the word.

  • The 850 pages are imposing.
  • The writing quality surpasses the ordinary.
  • The narrative encompasses an impressive period of time, following three generations as political change forces their lives in different directions.
  • There is a hero who battles against adversity, capturing your heart.

The Dark Side of Love is set in Syria and follows two feuding families from 1907 through to 1970. The central characters are Rana and Farid, a couple who fall in love, but are unable to be together due to the generations of hatred between their rival clans.

The gulf between the Mushtak and Shanin families was deep. Later, no one could say just how their hostility had begun, but even the children of both families were convinced that they would sooner make friends with the devil than one of the enemy clan.

The first 300 pages of this book were slow going. New characters seemed to be introduced on each page and I found it almost impossible to keep track of who everyone was. In the end I gave up trying to work it out and approached each chapter as if it were a short story. This worked really well and I found myself treated to numerous Syrian myths and legends. I found the details of their lives fascinating and so although I couldn’t tell you who half the people were I never lost interest in the book. It took me over two months to read the first 400 pages, but I’m pleased that I took the time to absorb their world as I think it made the second half of the book even better.

At the centre of the book the narrative became more conventional and the focus shifted to Farid. This increased the pace of the book and I managed to complete the second half in just two weeks. Farid finds himself in many terrible situations, both political and personal, but the lengths that he goes to to try to be with Rana are heartbreaking. Their love was so strong and realistic that this has become one of my favourite romances.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a happy book though – there is a lot of violence and suffering. I’d describe it as a cross between A Fine Balance and Palace Walk. The complex political and religious situations in Syria are woven with more personal stories of families trying to arrange favourable marriages for their children or find appropriate jobs. I learnt so much from reading this book, but I’m going to re-read it as I’m sure that would reveal many more layers.

This isn’t an easy read, but it is well worth the effort. I think it is a literary masterpiece and that everyone interested in Middle Eastern literature should ensure they read it.

Highly recommended. 

Categories
1950s Books in Translation Chunkster Classics Historical Fiction Nobel Prize Recommended books

Palace Walk – Naguib Mahfouz

 Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988

Translated from the Arabic by William Maynard Hutchins and Olive E.Kenny

Palace Walk is the first book in the Cairo trilogy, which is normally considered to be Naguib Mahfouz’s greatest achievement. It became a best seller in the Arab world on its release in 1956, but also enjoyed worldwide success, selling 250,000 copies in America.

The book is set in Egypt and describes the life of the Al Jawad family. Every aspect of their day is described in minute detail and so we learn exactly what life was like for the middle-class shopkeeper and his family. The book begins in 1917 and focuses on the complex task of finding someone suitable to marry each of the children.

Men play the dominant role in the household, using the words of the Qur’an to decide the most appropriate course of action. The women in the book were oppressed and spent most of their time shut inside, but at no point did this feel wrong to me. The book made me understand why this society worked in the way it did and at some points I was envious of their tight-knit community and the way the women were so close to each other.

No woman was anything more than a body to him. All the same, he would not bow his head before that body unless he found it truly worthy of being seen, touched, smelled, tasted and heard. It was lust, yes, but not bestial or blind. It had been refined by a craft that was at least partially an art, setting his lust in a framework of delight, humor and good cheer. Nothing was so like his his lust as his body, since both were huge and powerful, qualities that bring to mind roughness and savagery. Yet both concealed within them grace, delicacy, and affection, even though he might intentionally cloak these characteristics at times with sternness and severity.

I loved reading about the complex marriage negotiations and the way the household was run, but the text was so rich with detail that I found I could rarely read more than about twenty pages a day. This meant that it took me about six weeks to read the first 300 pages.

At about this point the style of the book changed, the pace picked up and I flew through the remaining 200 pages in just two nights. WWI brought British occupation to Egypt, changing the lives of the household completely. Seeing fear and tragedy brought to a family I knew so well made the impact much greater.

Palace Walk gives an impressive insight into Egyptian life. I loved the characters and the way I came to understand their very different way of living. I finished this book knowing a lot more about Egyptian history, but also feeling a little bit wiser and more tolerant. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

Highly recommended.

Have you read The Cairo Trilogy? Are the other books in the trilogy similar in style/pace?

Do you recommend any of Naguib Mahfouz’s other books?

Categories
2010 Booker Prize Chunkster Recommended books

Skippy Dies – Paul Murray

 Long listed for 2010 Booker Prize

One of the reasons I love reading entire long lists is that I stumble upon fantastic books that I wouldn’t otherwise pick up. I had heard good things about Skippy Dies before the Booker long list was announced, but I couldn’t motivate myself to read 650+ pages about teenagers living in an Irish boarding school. I’m so pleased that I read this book as it was entertaining, gripping and insightful.

The book opens with Daniel ‘Skippy’ Juster dying. At first the reason for his death seems obvious, but the plot then goes back in time and we slowly discover that the cause of Skippy’s death isn’t as simple as people initially suspected.

Much of this book could be described as a coming-of-age story, but unlike most other books which describe the lives of teenagers, this book captivated me. Skippy drew me into his emotionally charged world and nearly managed to make me laugh and cry – something no other book has managed to do. I was amazed at how much the everyday school life engaged me – I flew through the book and found every single one of the pages to be captivating and necessary for the plot.

Skippy’s roommate is Ruprecht, an overweight genius trying utilise M-theory to travel to another dimension. I’m a big fan of complex science in literature, but I’m sure that those who struggle to understand physics will still love Ruprecht’s enthusiasm for invention. As well as physics we are also treated to war poetry, Irish folklore and an array of other subjects – I loved it!

As the book drew to a conclusion I became increasingly impressed with the complexity of the plot. When I reached the final page I wanted to start the book all over again, just so I could see the little clues that I’d failed to pick up on.

This book works on so many levels – it is easy to read, but the text hides enough to entertain multiple re-readings.

I can see future generations studying this book and I think it would be a worthy winner of the 2010 Booker Prize.

Highly recommended.

Have I persuaded you to try this book?

Do you think it deserves to win the Booker Prize?

Categories
2010 Chunkster

The Passage – Justin Cronin

I’m afraid that I’m the type of person unable to resist hype. If everyone is talking about a book then I need to be able to join in that conversation. The Passage seemed to be one of the biggest books of 2010 and so I had to find out why everyone was talking about it.

The Passage is about vampires and if that sounds off-putting then don’t believe those that tell you otherwise – trust your instincts and don’t get drawn in as I was.

The Passage started off very well. I loved the first section in which we were introduced to Amy, a six-year-old girl abandoned by her mother; and an FBI agent recruiting death row prisoners to research a new virus. The writing was beautifully crafted and the pace was fast  – I just had to know what happened next!

Unfortunately everything went wrong about 200 pages in. The book jumped forward in time, the pace slowed and I became bored. At about the 250 page mark the book jumped forward another 90 years and things became even worse. We lost all the wonderful characters we’d been introduced to and were suddenly faced with lots of random people, all trying to build a new life after the world was devastated by the vampire virus. Unfortunately it didn’t ring true for me. I think my main problem is that I don’t believe in vampires and so can never be scared of them. It all just seemed silly to me. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters as there were too many of them and so I didn’t care what happened to them.

The glass behind them didn’t so much shatter as explode, detonating in a hail of glinting shards. The air blew from his body as he was knocked across the room. It was only later that Peter would realize that the viral had come in right on top of them. He heard Sara scream – not even words, just a cry of terror.

At the 400 page mark I nearly gave up, but I felt that I’d already invested too much time to do that and so persevered until the end. I was unaware that The Passage is the first in a trilogy, so didn’t realise that I’d be left hanging after completing nearly 800 pages. That did annoy me a bit, as I had hoped to at least be rewarded by an ending.

I’m sure I’ll love the films, but in an unbelievable world I need emotional connections to draw me in. I won’t be reading the rest of the trilogy.

Opinions seem to be divided:

….a mind-blowing book. S Krishna’s Books 

…sillier than I had hoped it would be… Rhapsody in Books

Overall a very interesting concept, but the execution left something to be desired… Devourer of Books

I hope that readers will suppress their sizeist tendencies and embrace this mesmerizing, epic tale.  Lovely Treez Reads