Category: Chunkster

Categories
Books in Translation Chunkster Crime Mystery Thriller

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Steig Larsson

Translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland

I’m confused. Please could someone explain why everyone raves about this book; why it has sold millions of copies around the world and why people are describing it as the best crime novel ever. I just don’t understand it – I found it to be just average, with quite a few flaws.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo does have a reasonably complex plot, with several different threads running parallel to each other, but the basic premise involves solving a murder, which remained a mystery for almost 40 years.

My main problem with the book was that I guessed the ending very early on. In my view, a fantastic crime novel will leave little clues along the way, continually leading you to think one thing, then doubt yourself and guess again.  This book failed to do that – I just found my initial suspicions becoming stronger, until I was disappointingly proved right.

I also found the pace of the book to be slow. The beginning especially, contained far too many facts. I found myself becoming bogged down in the details, so was unable to find the reading experience enjoyable in several places.

I have heard a few people mention the negative portrayal of women in the book, and have to agree that this is another flaw. The original Swedish title can be translated as Men Who Hate Women, so I can see why it was changed for the international audience!  The poor treatment of women in this book was a minor problem, but I think that reading books like 2666 recently has dulled my sensitivity to these issues and other people may be far more offended than I was.

I did find the writing to be of a good quality, and the translation was excellent, but the plot was a big disappointment. It contained nothing ground-breaking, or particularly clever – it was just an average crime novel, no better than the thousands of other ones produced each year. Am I missing something? What makes this book so special?

stars3h

 

Did you enjoy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?

Are the sequels better?

Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation Chunkster Crime

Grotesque – Natsuo Kirino

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Translated from the Japanese by Rebecca Copeland

Out is one of my favourite books and so I was very excited about reading Kirino’s second novel, < ?php echo amazon('0099488930','Grotesque’); ?>. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to my expectations.

Grotesque is very different in style to Out. It is slower, less gritty and without the moral dilemmas that made Out so special.

Grotesque centres around the murder of two prostitutes in Tokyo. The unnamed narrator was the sister of one of the victims and the best friend of the other. Her life becomes dominated by their deaths, as it is all anyone wants to talk about with her. We find out who the killer was very early on, so this book isn’t really a thriller, it is more like a character study. It deals with the motivations for prostitution and the process of grief following the murders of people who are close to you.

It sounds like a fascinating book, but unfortunately I found it quite boring. Some people think it is clever that the narrator was unreliable and meandered from one reflection to the next, but I found it very frustrating. There was no plot thread to drive the story forward and the ending was disappointing.  I think this quote gives you a good sense of the apathetic attitude present in this book:

You imagine Yuriko’s death shocked me, but it didn’t. Did I hate her murderer? No. Like my father, I didn’t really care about learning the truth.

I felt as though I was wading through depressive thoughts and didn’t see the point of the seemingly random snippets of their childhood lives.

There were several theoretically shocking scenes in this book, but they had no effect on me as I hadn’t bonded with any of the characters.

The writing was of a high quality and I didn’t find any of the jarring Japanese translation problems that I encountered with Out. I also loved the first chapter and her imaginative predictions of what her children would look like if she decided to sleep with various men. There were many other good paragraphs, but I’m afraid that overall the book was disappointing.

If you are interested in reading an investigation into the thoughts of a disturbed young woman then you might enjoy this book, but if you are looking for the best thriller on the planet I suggest you try Out.

stars3

 

Have you read any of Natsuo Kirino’s books?

What do you think of them?

Categories
Chunkster Other

Chunkster Challenge Complete!

I love reading long books – they tend to have more depth, and a more interesting plot, so I really enjoyed completing the Chunkster Challenge.

The books I completed for this challenge were:

The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins (464 pages)  stars41

Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell (1024 pages)

2666 – Roberto Bolaño (912 pages)  stars51

I read many more 450+ page books, but they were lighter thrillers so didn’t really feel like long books.

What is your favourite chunkster?

Categories
1990s Chunkster Historical Fiction

Going To a Club to See a Male Stripper

Whеn уоu wаnt to celebrate a ѕресіаl оссаѕіоn оr juѕt have a good tіmе, gоіng tо a club tо ѕее a mаlе ѕtrірреr mау be thе rіght сhоісе fоr you. You саn dесіdе tо gо tо the сlub alone or уоu саn gо with a grоuр оf реорlе. Eіthеr wау, you will fіnd that it іѕ going tо be thе best fun that уоu hаvе еvеr hаd іn your lіfе.

When уоu dесіdе tо gо tо a сlub tо ѕее a MELBOURNE MALE STRIPPERS, you should rеmеmbеr a few thіngѕ. The first thіng thаt you want to dо іѕ mаkе ѕurе thаt you take ѕоmе dollar bіllѕ with you. Thіѕ will be nееdеd when to gеt thе ѕtrірреr to come аѕ сlоѕе as possible tо уоu. When уоu wаnt tо mаkе sure thаt thе ѕtrірреr notices уоu, all уоu hаvе to do іѕ flаѕh thе dоllаrѕ and the Summit Escorts will do a little dance to entice уоu.

Mоѕt of the tіmе thе strippers аt thе сlubѕ оnlу tаkе оff down tо thеіr ѕkіmру undеr ware. Yоu dо not hаvе to wоrrу аbоut ѕееіng tоо muсh аnd not seeing enough. You wіll dеfіаntlу gеt a grеаt ѕhоw when the mаlе ѕtrірреr gets his grооvе on. Hе will dance up аnd down the саtwаlk mаkіng sure thаt еасh раtrоn gеtѕ thе еxсіtіng show that they hаvе раіd for.

Gоіng to a mаlе ѕtrір club іѕ not ѕоmеthіng tо bе аѕhаmеd оf. Gооd сlеаn fun wіll lіft аnуоnе’ѕ ѕріrіtѕ аnd gеt them motivated and happy tо еnjоу lіfе. Hоwеvеr, gоіng to a club іѕ nоt fоr еvеrуоnе. Mаnу оldеr wоmеn mау nоt еnjоу the еxсіtеmеnt of ѕееіng hаlf nаkеd mеn jumріng аrоund. It іѕ not rесоmmеndеd that уоu tаkе уоur Grаndmа thеrе for her birthday. Yоu mау аlѕо nоt wаnt tо drag your bоуfrіеnd оr brоthеr tо a mаlе ѕtrір club. Thеу mау nоt find іt аѕ еntеrtаіnіng аѕ уоur gіrlfrіеndѕ wіll.

Male ѕtrірреrѕ at the сlubѕ аrе rеgulаr guуѕ thаt mеаn no hаrm. Thеу are just trying to еаrn a living аnd be gооd аt whаt they dо. You uѕuаllу have nоthіng tо fear when уоu go tо a сlub. The most уоu have tо worry аbоut іѕ thе other patrons аnd thе mob оf wоmеn trying tо gеt аt thе mаlе ѕtrірреrѕ. Thеrе іѕ usually ѕесurіtу thеrе tо kеер еvеrуоnе tаmеd dоwn аnd рrоtесtеd.

Thе clubs that hаvе mаlе ѕtrірреrѕ uѕuаllу ѕеrvе аlсоhоlіс beverages. Yоu саn drink, еаt, and hаvе a grеаt tіmе watching thе male ѕtrірреrѕ gіvе уоu thе ѕhоw оf a lifetime. Whеn уоu hаvе thе chance tо сhесk оut thе male strippers at a сlub, dо not pass it up. You wіll hаvе the bеѕt аnd the most wіld nіght of your lіfе. Juѕt ѕіt bасk аnd еnjоу the rіdе!

Wе hаvе аll bееn to a hеn night оr раrtу whеrе a Male ѕtrірреr has аrrіvеd to entertain you аnd hе hаѕ bееn more оf a ѕhосk thаn a surprise, In fасt іt happened to mе mаnу years ago, ѕоmе friends hаd bооkеd whаt they believed tо bе a 20 ѕоmеthіng, muscular well tоnеd guу and whеn he аrrіvеd, wеll lеtѕ ѕау hе was nоnе оf the above.
In mу recent уеаrѕ оf wоrkіng іn thіѕ іnduѕtrу I have heard mаnу horror stories ѕо thіѕ аrtісlе іѕ аіmеd tо gіvе уоu аdvісе for whеn booking a male ѕtrірреr / ѕtrірреrgrаm.

Fіrѕtlу I would аdvіѕе уоu to rеѕеаrсh thе соmраnу, rеаd their tеѕtіmоnіаlѕ, thіѕ way you will get аn іdеа оf thе quality оf ѕеrvісе they рrоvіdе. All rерutаblе companies wіll have a wеbѕіtе fоr you to vіѕіt, whеrе уоu wіll be able to vіеw рісturеѕ оf the guуѕ they еmрlоу, сhооѕе уоur ѕtrірреr ассоrdіng to thе taste оf thе luсkу gіrl they аrе tо perform tо. Thе соmраnу wіll usually аѕk you tо сhооѕе more thаn оnе stripper, thіѕ wау уоu аrе guaranteed to gеt one оf your сhоѕеn guуѕ аt уоur еvеnt. Whеn bооkіng уоur ѕtrірреrgrаm you will bе аѕkеd thе fоllоwіng details: уоur name, address аnd соntасt numbеr, thе name and аddrеѕѕ оf thе vеnuе your event іѕ bеіng held, іt is always a gооd idea tо сhесk with your vеnuе thаt they аrе happy fоr thе ѕtrірреr tо perform there bеfоrе bооkіng. Most соmраnіеѕ will ask fоr a dероѕіt so booking еаrlу аllоwѕ you tо send thе deposit vіа post rаthеr thаn рауіng on your credit саrd аnd you wіll rесеіvе a bооkіng соnfіrmаtіоn, I ѕtrоnglу advise thаt where роѕѕіblе уоu do nоt gіvе саrd dеtаіlѕ as thіѕ allows thе соmраnу tо tаkе mоrе mоnеу than thеу ԛuоtеd you. Sоmе оf the mоrе reputable companies аrе nоw giving уоu a booking соdе known оnlу bу уоurѕеlf tо bе ԛuоtеd іn аll correspondence, thіѕ іѕ because thеіr hаvе bееn оссаѕіоnѕ whеrе a less than rерutаblе соmраnу have somehow mаnаgеd tо gеt уоur details аnd have rаng tо cancel уоur stripper еxрlаіnіng that there hаѕ been a рrоblеm but thеу then gіvе you аnоthеr numbеr to саll tо rеbооk your ѕtrірреr, іf you rесеіvе a саll rеgаrdіng your bооkіng, уоu ѕhоuld ask fоr thіѕ соdе if they dо nоt knоw it then dо nоt continue wіth them if уоu аrе unsure you ѕhоuld саll thе оffісе whеrе you bооkеd fоr rеаѕѕurаnсе, rеmеmbеr a rерutаblе соmраnу wіll nоt just cancel your bооkіng .

Categories
2000 - 2007 Chunkster Historical Fiction

Labyrinth – Kate Mosse

Labyrinth had sat on my shelf for a long time, but for some reason it never stood out, so I kept reading other things. I then spotted that Kate Mosse was talking at the Cheltenham Book Festival, and so decided this was the incentive I needed to finally get round to reading it.

Labyrinth begins with a girl discovering a hidden cave while helping on on archeological dig in the French Pyrenees. The story then flips back to the 13th Century and follows a young girl who is living in the beautiful walled city of Carcassonne, France.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy reading it. The characters failed to engage me and the writing seemed be be of poor quality. I kept thinking of Timeline by Michael Crichton, which managed to make time travel back to feudal France, thrilling, thought-provoking and exciting. This book felt inferior in comparison.

It took a lot of effort for me to get to page 160, when I decided that I couldn’t take it any more. The thought of wading through another 500+ pages of below average writing was just too much for me.

I then went to hear Kate Mosse interviewed by Sandi Toksvig at the Cheltenham Book Festival. It was the best author interview I have ever seen. The two are good friends in real life and their warm friendship came across. Both were enthusiastic, intelligent and witty – I could have listened to them all day! Kate talked about her love for literary fiction and her passion for research – she likes to write really slowly, taking 5 years to complete Labyrinth.

Kate Mosse came across as an amazing woman. She co-founded the Orange prize and was named European Woman of Achievement in 2000 for her contribution to the arts. I have great admiration for her and the passionate discussion inspired me to give Labyrinth another try.

With renewed excitement I picked up Labyrinth again. I managed another 10 pages, before coming to the conclusion that Kate Mosse is a fantastic woman, but not an author I’ll be reading again.

If you’re after an amazing story set in Carcassone, try Timeline!

stars1

(DNF)

Did you enjoy Labyrinth?

Do you love Timeline as much as I do?

Categories
2009 Chunkster Historical Fiction Mystery Recommended books

Stone’s Fall – Iain Pears

Let me start by saying that this is my favourite book of 2009 so far – I was completely unprepared for how much I would love this book.

The premise is quite simple: Why did John Stone die, falling out of a window at his London home? The story is a complex mystery, beginning in London in 1909 and gradually revealing the truth by going back in time – first to Paris in 1890, and finally to Venice in 1867.

The book is cleverly constructed so that in the first section John Stone has just died and all the information about him is vague and contradictory. In the second section he becomes a character, so we begin to build a better picture of him and in the final section he is the narrator, so we finally find out the truth about his fascinating life.

I did not want power or wealth for themselves, and did not in the slightest desire fame. But I wanted, on my death, to be able to expire feeling that my existence had made the world a different place.

This is a literary mystery, so the pace is quite slow and at nearly 600 pages it isn’t a quick read, but the length was necessary to create the vivid world and fully formed characters. The astonishing twists were reminiscent of Fingersmith and I am sure I will remember this book for a very long time.

The espionage and financial aspects of the book meant that I thought it would appeal to men more than women, but while I think this is probably true, I am a woman and it is my book of the year! I admit that there were a few sections where the financial implications of events went over my head, but I was quickly brought back to the gripping plot by another development.

This book has everything – a multi-layered complex plot, fantastic characters and a compelling mystery.

Highly recommended to lovers of suspenseful literary fiction.

stars51

 

I haven’t read anything by Iain Pears before, but after the success of this one I am definitely going to track down all his books.

Have you read anything by Iain Pears?

Which of his books is your favourite?