Category: 2009

Categories
2009 Booker Prize Recommended books

The Glass Room – Simon Mawer

 Long listed for the Booker Prize 2009

The Booker long list has rewarded me with another great book that I would never normally have picked up. The Glass Room has an unusual concept, in that the book is based upon a building rather than a person.

Built on a hillside from glass and steel in the 1930s, the building is famous in it’s small Czech town. The book follows the construction of the The Glass Room, followed by the history of it’s occupants over several decades.

I have to admit that the first few chapters would have normally been enough to return this book to the library. I have no real interest in architecture, so the descriptions of the design and construction of the building, although clearly well written and researched, did not hold my attention. Luckily I persevered, and once the Glass Room was complete, the plot concentrated on Viktor and Liesel Landauer, the rich couple who commissioned the building. The dream life in their beautiful new home is short lived as the threat of war looms closer. Viktor is a Jew, so although I don’t want to give anything a way, you can imagine that his life is going to be difficult.

Over the years, the building has many different uses and it was fascinating to see how things changed. This book does concentrate on the war years and so many of the scenes were disturbing.

How do you dismember a body? There are two fundamentally different approaches – that of the surgeon and that of the mad axeman. The one is cool and calculating and progressive, with the application of bone-saw, scalpel and shears. The other is a frenzy of hacking and tearing, with blood everywhere and the taste of iron in the mouth. But whichever way you do it the result is the same – dismemberment.  

The quote actually describes the break up of Czechoslovakia, but I thought it was a good example of the descriptive nature of the book. It is quite depressing in places, so is the sort of thing you should only read when you are in the right mood.

I loved the writing. It flowed beautifully, but also contained many great observations:

Ever since Man came out of the cave he has been building caves around him.

Overall I found this to be an engaing, well plotted book, with great characters and a lovely ending. The originality and quality of the writing mean that I am sure this book will make the Booker short list.

Recommended.

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I had not heard of Simon Mawer before, but he has written quite a few books.

Have you read any of them? Which ones do you recommend?

Categories
2009 Booker Prize

Not Untrue and Not Unkind – Ed O’Loughlin

 Long listed for the Booker Prize 2009

Not Untrue and Not Unkind follows a group of foreign correspondents covering breaking news stories in Africa. Their work is dangerous, but brings a camaraderie not normally seen between people with such different personalities.

This is a very good book and I can see why it made it on to the Booker long list. The writing is vivid, shocking at times, but always clear and easy to follow. It lost some momentum towards the middle, but picked up again after a few chapters.

The subject matter of the book means that some scenes are disturbing to read. The contrast between the African people and the reporters, who only glimpse the horrors before heading back to their posh hotels, emphasizes the differences between the two groups.

The plot was straight forward, but while it was an interesting insight into the life of a reporter, it didn’t have that special spark I’m looking for in a book. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters and often felt detached from the horrors I was reading about.

Recommended to anyone considering becoming a war correspondent, and fans of Kate Adie’s books, but it isn’t really my sort of thing.

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Do you enjoy books written by war correspondents?

Was this book one of your favourites from the Booker list this year?

Categories
2009 Booker Prize Historical Fiction

The Quickening Maze – Adam Foulds

 Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2009

The Quickening Maze was shortlisted for the Booker prize on Tuesday, and having read the entire longlist this year I have to say I was very surprised to see it there. I can only assume that this book improves on re-reading – it’s poetic words making much more sense second time round.

The book is set the mid 19th century and centres on a mental asylum in Epping Forest. The two poets, John Clare and Alfred Tennyson, have a strong presence in the book and the historical details of their lives are described as accurately as possible.

I was really looking forward to reading it as I used to live very close to Epping Forest, enjoy historical fiction and find madness a great addition to any story! Unfortunately I was a little bit disappointed, as although the writing was beautiful and individual scenes were captivating, the book failed to fully engage me. The plot had no real forward momentum and the interesting episodes in the book didn’t feel entirely linked.

The large number of characters added to my sense of confusion, perhaps they emphasised the madness present in the mental asylum, but there were so many people fighting for my attention that in the end they just washed past me.

The author is a talented poet, but I’m afraid I’m not a big fan of poetry and so I think much of the beauty of this book was lost on me – it was too quiet.

The wind separated into thumps, into wing beats. An angel. An angel sat there in front of her. Tears fell like petals from her face. It stopped in front of her. Settling, it’s wings made a chittering sound. It paced back and forth, a strange, soft, curving walk that was almost like dancing.

The book was well researched and I loved some of the snippets of historical information. The desire to bury everyone in consecrated ground, leading to sneaking a dead baby into the coffin of a rich gentleman was one such revelation for me. I also loved the descriptions of the forest. The trees seemed to play a more important part in the book than the people.

There was a lot to like in The Quickening Maze, but it didn’t really work as a novel first time round – perhaps a second reading would reveal many more of the subtle layers.

Recommended to poetry lovers or anyone who enjoys quiet pieces of historical fiction.

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Categories
2009

Far North – Marcel Theroux

Paperchase was one of my favourite reads of 2008 and so I have been on the library waiting list for Marcel Theroux’s latest book from the moment I discovered it had been printed.

Far North is set in the near future, in a post-apocalyptic world. The central character, Makepeace, lives in a dying town in Siberia. Struggling against the cold and isolation she fights for survival, but without law and order she lives in constant fear.

I loved the way in which the world we live now was discussed. Stories of flags on the moon and cities of glass were passed around like unbelievable fairy tales. The people left fighting for survival struggled to imagine a world of luxury and plenty. This book gave a strong reminder to be grateful for everything we have now and how easily it could all be taken away.

I told him that from what I had observed, it only took three days before desperation and hunger overturned all civilized instinct in a person. He smiled and said I had a bleak view of human nature, and that in his experience, it was nearer to four days. 

Marcel Theroux is an amazing story teller; all the characters were strong, believable individuals and the plot was compelling. Unfortunately, the book was quite depressing throughout; any hope seemed to be squashed as soon as it appeared. It wasn’t a tear-jerker – just a depressing view of a possible future for the human race.

Recommended for the thought-provoking story, but don’t read it if you are feeling a bit down.

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Categories
2009 Booker Prize Memoirs

Me Cheeta – James Lever

 Long listed for the Booker Prize 2009

This book caused quite a stir as soon as it was discovered on the Booker long list. It is a spoof memoir of the chimp who starred alongside Tarzan during the golden age of Hollywood. It has been described as:

…the finest Hollywood memoir ever written. Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

but it’s inclusion on the Booker long list has divided people. I was immediately intrigued, although was unsure which side of the fence I’d fall with this book.

Unfortunately it quickly became obvious that this book wasn’t for me. I am not a fan of actor memoirs, do not pay much attention to what goes on in Hollywood and do not share the same sense of humour as the author. This book is well written, and it is a very clever idea, but without being able to appreciate the satire, this book was lost on me.

The coarse language will also offend a few people, but I can see why it was present. The chimp was anthropomorphised more than I would have liked. I think I would have found a book written from the point of view of real chimp (as opposed to one which sounded like a Hollywood actor) far more interesting.

I’d never liked the goddamm English anyway, with their razor-wire elocution, their total lack of humour and their godawful pedantic spelling.

I lost interest in this book quite quickly and began to skim read after about 50 pages. The book did draw me back in occasionally, but not enough to persuade me to read it all.

If you are a fan of Hollywood memoirs then you will probably enjoy this book, but it wasn’t for me.

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What did you think about this book’s inclusion on the Booker long list?

Are you tempted to read it?

Categories
2008 2009 Orange Prize

The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam – Lauren Liebenberg

 Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers 2008.

I picked up this book purely based on the great title, and only later noticed that it had been shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers 2008.

The book is set on a remote farm in Rhodesia, and is narrated by Nyree, an eight-year-old girl. Nyree and her younger sister, Cia, are left to roam inside the farm’s large fences, and together they discover the sights and sounds of Africa. The girls know little about the world on the other side of the fence until their orphaned cousin, Ronin, arrives and their world is changed forever.

The book is simply written and is very short, so I read it in one evening. It flows along quickly, but the lack of depth, or perhaps the fact that my own childhood was so different to theirs, meant I didn’t fully engage with the story. The book is clearly well researched, but I felt like I was being fed one African cliche after another, which is a shame as the author clearly knew Rhodesia well.

The ending was so sad, but seemed pointless. I don’t know why the book needed such a tragic ending and felt as though I was being depressed just for the sake of it.

Great title, but I’m afraid it wasn’t for me.

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This has to be one of my favourite book titles.

Have you spotted a really good title?

Did it persuade you to read the book?