Category: 1990s

Categories
1990s

Choo Woo – Lloyd Jones

I loved Mr. Pip so when John Murray, his publishers, invited me to meet Lloyd Jones I jumped at the chance. In preparation I decided to read one of his other books and because I owned a copy of Choo Woo it was the obvious choice.

Choo Woo isn’t a happy book. It focuses on ten-year-old Natalie who is sexually abused by her mother’s new boyfriend. Her innocence was touching to read, but I found her acceptance of the situation heartbreaking. The book wasn’t sexually explicit, leaving almost everything up to your imagination, but her thoughts and actions seemed realistic and this made the book more disturbing to read.

We also see things from the point of view of Natalie’s father, who is laden with guilt for not noticing what was happening to his daughter.

I wondered how I had missed so many obvious things. I wondered what had turned my head at crucial moments when a more deliberate glance would have told me everything. I wondered where the hell my head was during that year for a thing like that to have happened right under my nose.

The simple, powerful writing was gripping throughout, but by the end I just felt deflated and sad. It came across as an accurate portrayal of an abused child, but I didn’t feel as though I’d learnt anything new.

By coincidence I have read quite a few books about child abuse recently and feel I could write a essay comparing them. Instead I’ll summarize with a little table:

  Point of View Emotion New Perspective
Room Child of Abused Bucket Loads YES!
Forgetting Zoe Abuser, Abused and Family of Abused Trace In Places
Choo Woo Abused Child and Father of Abused Lots No

Reading about any form of abuse is hard, but when it affects a child it is even worse. I think I’ll try and avoid books about the subject for a while, but I have found it interesting to compare them all.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys dark, sad stories.

Have you read any of the other books that Lloyd Jones has written?

Which was your favourite?

Lloyd Jones has a new book coming out soon.

Hand Me Down World will be released on 11th November in the UK (2nd Nov in the US).

I’m going to be giving away copies of this new book on my blog soon, so if you are interested in winning a copy keep your eyes peeled for my giveaway post.

Categories
1990s

The Sopranos – Alan Warner

The Stars in the Bright Sky was recently nominated for the Booker Prize and as I don’t like reading books out of order I decided to read The Sopranos first.

The Sopranos follows a group of teenage girls as they travel to Edinburgh for a singing competition. It was a frighteningly realistic portrayal of a group of teenage girls, but I’m not entirely convinced that I enjoyed reading it.

The book followed the girls as they embarked on a bus trip and showed their drunken exploits once they’d arrived in Edinburgh. The naivety and boastfulness of the teenagers was initially endearing, but after I’d read a few chapters of them spouting constant nonsense I began to tire of their gossiping.  There were many times when I felt like shouting SHUT UP! After about 100 pages I had to put the book down for a few days and retreat to a quieter book before I could return to their chaotic world.

She’s full of all those wee town ideas. Like ah hate to say it, you want to get out of the Port, you’re aw set up, you’ll come down here an have a great time an get your Law things, but Manda, all she really, really wants, is to get pregnant, soon as possible after leaving school, to a guy wi an okay job, he’ll be a mechanic, or forestry or out on hydro or something, cause, you ever noticed how she only goes wi guys that’re working?….Manda checks their pockets to make sure there’s no giro before anything else, wi them being so poor an that, an all she wants is a bought house up the complex, no far from her Dad, a wee boy wi a skinhead an an earring, called Shane or something, an SKY TV. That’ll be her happy.

The Sopranos was well written and the Scottish accent wasn’t too hard for me to follow, but I found it difficult to read about characters who seemed to be making such a mess of their lives. I didn’t really like any of the girls and frequently wanted to give them a good talking to, but by the end of the book I felt as though I knew each one personally. Considering the subject matter that is an impressive achievement.

I’d recommend this to anyone who’d like an insight into the lives of teenage girls, but be prepared for non-stop gossiping and a worrying level of drunken sex.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

The Sopranos is a lot of fun to read, and it has such a huge amount of heart and warmth that makes it very difficult not to fall for these characters. start narrative here

By the end of the novel, I cared about each of the Sopranos. My Novel Reviews

 …a rip-roaring load of fun to read. Fly the Falcon

I’m looking forward to reading The Stars in the Bright Sky, but I’m really hoping that the characters have matured a bit and that there is a glimmer of hope for their futures.

Have you read either of Alan Warner’s novels?

Categories
1990s Chunkster

I Know This Much is True – Wally Lamb

I Know This Much is True had been on my bookshelf (along with most of Wally Lamb’s other books!) for several years, but the fact that it is 900 pages long meant that kept getting pushed down the pile.  

I finally decided that it had sat there for too long and so made the effort to start it. I am really pleased that I did as it is a fantastic book.

I Know This Much is True follows Dominick, one half of a pair of twins growing up in a small town in Connecticut. Dominick’s twin brother, Thomas, develops paranoid schizophrenia and we see how this affects Dominick’s life.

It seems strange to sum up a 900 page book in so few words, but the plot is quite simple. Instead of a complex plot we get a complete insight into how Dominick’s thoughts and feelings change throughout his life. We see him struggle to juggle love for his brother with frustration and guilt and by the end of the book I felt as though I could predict his actions. I don’t think I’ve ever known a character in literature so well.

The book gripped me from the very start. Dominick’s complex relationships and inner thoughts touched my heart.

All my life, I had imagined the scenario in which my father would, at last, reveal himself to me. As a kid, I’d cooked up cowboy dads, pilot fathers who made emergency landings on Hollyhock Avenue, hopped from their planes, and rescued us from Ray. Later, I had cast gym teachers, the man who owned the hobby shop downtown, and even benign Mr. Anthony across the street as potential fathers: the real thing, as opposed to the intruder who had married my mother and installed himself at our house to make us miserable.

It took me over a month to finish the book, but it never dragged. My only complaint was that the story-within-a-story didn’t really work for me. I loved Dominick’s voice so much that any deviation had me itching to get back to his narrative.

Many people moan that the ending was too neat, but I loved the way everything was resolved.  It would seem strange to learn so much about one person and then not know what happened to them.

Overall I thought that this was a moving insight into the way mental illness affects the family of the sufferer. Highly recommended.

Thoughts of other bloggers:

It’s a complex, deep, and moving book that you won’t soon forget. Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?

But most of all, just too many awful things happen to Dominick that it stops being believable…. Regular Rumination

…. requires patience to wade through, but is well worth the journey. Caribous Mom

Did you enjoy I Know This Much is True?

Which Wally Lamb book do you recommend I read next?

Categories
1990s Fantasy

The Prestige – Christopher Priest

I am really pleased that I asked for literary science fiction recommendations as I don’t think I’d ever have found this book otherwise. I’m not convinced that The Prestige is literary or science fiction, but it is a fantastic read!

The Prestige follows two Victorian magicians who are battling to out-perform each other. The pair get locked in an increasingly bitter rivalry that leads them to commit acts so dark and secretive that their actions go on to affect several generations of their families.

Audiences know well that a magician will practice his illusions for years, and will rehearse each performance carefully, but few realise the extent of the prestigitator’s wish to deceive, the way in which the apparent defiance of normal laws becomes an obsession which governs every moment of his life.

I loved learning about the world of a stage magician – everything from how the magic tricks worked to their back stage life fascinated me.

It has been a long time since I last read a book so gripping that I walked around the house reading it; taking it to the kitchen as I couldn’t even bear to part with the story for the few minutes it takes to make a cup of coffee. Many of you will groan if I say this book reminded me of the Fingersmith, but I’m afraid it is the only book that I can compare it to. The Prestige is packed with Victorian atmosphere and has twists and turns equal to those in the masterpiece that is the Fingersmith.

The Prestige is written from the perspective of the two magicians and their grandchildren. It flips backwards and forwards in time, slowly revealing the truth about what went on. I loved the way all the characters drew slightly different conclusions from the same situation. Their subsequent thoughts and actions made so much sense once you’d seen things from their perspective. It was all just so cleverly done that I am still in awe of it.

The Prestige could fit into the science fiction/fantasy genre, but please don’t be put off by this. It would spoil the book if I let you know what happened, but the plot is written so convincingly that you feel as though it could have occurred. It isn’t much stranger than Gothic tales like The Seance or Her Fearful Symmetry.

I’m giving this book 5 stars, not because it is the best written book in the world (it isn’t), but because it is one of the most entertaining. The Prestige has become one of my top 20 books of all time. I’m sure you’ll soon be bored of me recommending it at every opportunity, so you might as well give in and get a copy now. 😆  

I am really excited to learn that Christopher Priest has written a lot of books and a few of them look as though they could be just as good.

This interview with Christopher Priest has made them sound even more appealing!

Have you read anything written by Christopher Priest?

 

I also watched the DVD as part of C.B. James’ Read The Book, See the Movie Challenge

Prestige DVD

The Prestige DVD is also very good, but the story is much simpler. Many of the twists and turns had been edited out, meaning that the book was far better than the film.

I admit that the film confused me a lot at first, although this was probably because the actors looked nothing like the images of the characters I’d built up in my head (and I am notoriously bad at recognising faces!).

The plot was also a bit different, so it was satisfying to watch straight after reading the book. I was never quite sure which bits would stay true to the book and which would take a whole new direction.

It was interesting to see the magic tricks performed on stage, but I have to admit that they were a bit disappointing. The book had conjured up fantastic images of amazing tricks, but the footage revealed the cheesy old magic that I’ve seen many times before.

I’d also warn all bird lovers to take care when watching this film – I was a bit distressed to learn the truth behind some of the bird tricks.

I’d recommend the film, but the book is far better, so I encourage you to read that first.

Have you watched The Prestige?

Categories
1990s Booker Prize

Disgrace – J.M. Coetzee

 Winner of the 1999 Booker Prize

I had always assumed that Coetzee wrote complex books, which were difficult to read. This idea was confirmed when I attempted to read Summertime last year. I am trying to read all the Booker winners and so decided to get through Disgrace before it intimidated me any more. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Disgrace is a fantastic book, which is easy to read yet tackles many thought provoking issues.

Disgrace is set in South Africa and centres on a professor of Romantic poetry who is forced to resign from his position after he is discovered having an affair with a student. With nothing to keep him in the city he retreats to his daughter’s small farm, where they become the victims of a brutal attack.

I was surprised by how modern and readable the book was. I had the idea that Coetzee wrote pretentious, poetic prose, but this was the opposite. The writing was clean and simple, with no flowery descriptions. It was this simplicity that gave power to the words, drawing me into the disturbing life of South Africans struggling to adapt to their changing society.

I was gripped from beginning to end, reading the book in just two sittings. The title is very appropriate, as the book deals with one disgraceful issue after another. I was impressed by the way layers of symbolism were woven into the seemingly simple story. The fact that the book can be taken at face value, or studied to reveal more complex themes, means that this is the perfect introduction to literary fiction.

Disgrace is a worthy winner of the Booker prize and I highly recommend it.

 

 

Did you enjoy Disgrace?

Are any of Coetzee’s other books written in the same simple writing style?

Categories
1990s Books in Translation Chunkster

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami

Translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin

I have enjoyed many Murakami books in the past, but for some reason I’d avoiding reading this, often described as his most famous book. I felt as though I was saving it as a special treat and built up my expectations accordingly. Unfortunately it was nothing like I expected it to be, and in the end I was quite disappointed by it.

The first half of the book was fantastic. I think the word ‘mesmorised’ is the only way I can describe it. I was glued to every word, unable to read quickly, savouring the simple story of a man struggling to find satisfaction in his life. The central character, Toru, has quit his job and so is spending much of his time alone. He starts to receive strange phone calls, his cat disappears and he is then visited by a series of fabulous characters. The stories told by each of these visitors were fantastic. I was particularly gripped by the story of the soldier and his journey into enemy territory. The story of his capture and torture was a bit gruesome in places, but it was so powerful that I think I’ll always remember it.

In the second half of the book it started to go weird, but (and this might sound strange) it wasn’t weird enough for me. It was teetering on the fine line between reality and the bizarre, but didn’t cross it. I felt that the surreal twist in the story was unnecessary and that the book would have benefited from being grounded in reality. The perfectly constructed stories of the first half were ruined by the ambiguous and unrealistic occurrences at the end. The characters introduced later in the book (Cinnamon, Nutmeg etc) failed to engage me and I don’t think I really understood their presence in the novel.

The ending was even more disappointing. The book just seemed to peter out, leaving almost all the ends untied. I was left feeling frustrated and confused, with more questions than answers. The last third of the book really dragged as there was no forward momentum and I felt as though I was wading through random, meaningless paragraphs.

Overall I’m afraid that there were too many negatives for me to be able to recommend this book. If you’re after a fantastic Murakami then I suggest you try Kafka on the Shore.

stars3h

Did you enjoy The Wind-up Bird Chronicle?

What did you think of the ending?

Have you thought about sitting in the bottom of a well?!

Why did Murakami write this book? Can you see a point to it?