Category: Recommended books

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2009 Commonwealth Writer's Prize Recommended books

The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas

Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2009

I think that The Slap is the most male book I have ever read. If you want to gain an insight into the male mind, then this book is essential reading, but I warn you that it isn’t a pretty sight. It is packed with swear words, thoughts on sex and an obsession with ‘the male dangly bits!’ This book is the male version of ‘chick lit’ and gives an insight into a male’s view of society that is rarely talked about.

The book begins at a suburban barbecue, where a three-year-old child is running riot. The father of another child slaps the toddler, as the toddler tries to injure his son. Everyone is shocked, and the guests at the barbecue are divided between those who thought the three-year-old’s parents should have had more control over their son, and those who thought that no-one should ever slap a child, especially one who isn’t there own. The book switches between the views of several guests at the party, and I loved the way that my opinion was changed after hearing things from each new perspective.

…These kids, they’re unbelievable. It’s like the world owes them everything. They’ve been spoilt by their parents and by their teachers and by the fu**ing media to believe that they all have these rights but no responsibilities so they have no decency, no moral values whatsoever. They’re selfish, ignorant little s**ts. I can’t stand them.

The debate over parental responsibility and slapping has caused a big stir in Australia, where this book originates, but I think this book covers all angles of the subject well. The book is easy to read, fast paced and has a satisfying ending.

The graphic sex, abusive language and controversial subject means that this book isn’t for everyone, but it will generate debate and isn’t that a great thing for a book to do?

Recommended.

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Have you read this book? Were you shocked and offended?

Do you think it is right for such a graphic book to win a prestigious prize?

Categories
1980s Chick Lit Recommended books

The Fifth Child – Doris Lessing

I loved We Need to Talk About Kevin, so when Dorte suggested that The Fifth Child sounded similar, I decided to find a copy. Dorte is right, the two books both deal with a mother who is struggling to deal with ‘an unlovable child’ and I think fans of We Need to Talk About Kevin will enjoy this one too.

The Fifth Child focuses on a loving couple, Harriet and David, who buy a big house and dream of filling it with happy children. Each year they have a new child, and their dream seems to be coming true, but then everything changes when their fifth child is born. Ben is different from the beginning. She feels his violence even during the pregnancy, and when he is born he is of a completely different temperament to his older brothers and sisters. Harriet struggles to cope with his aggressive behaviour, which seems to get worse as he grows. The older children become isolated and fearful of their younger brother, and the family begins to fall apart.

The book raises many important issues, including whether ‘bad’ children are born that way, and whether it is more important to look after the four ‘good’ children, or focus your attention on the one difficult child.

I found Ben’s character a lot less believable than Kevin’s. His violence seemed a bit extreme, for example I cannot imagine any one-year-old deliberately killing animals, and found it even more implausible that she had to chase an 18-month-old for more than a mile before catching him – surely any adult can catch any child under the age of five in less than 50 metres?  

I also found the writing style a little tedious – there were no breaks in the text at all – no chapters, not even a small break between paragraphs. So, although it was only a short book (130 pages) I found it difficult to find places to stop for a short break. These are minor issues though, as this book is well worth reading.

Overall, this was a very interesting book, which would be perfect for book clubs. Recommended to anyone interested in parenting issues.

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Have you read any books by Doris Lessing?

Can you recommend any other books which focus on similar parenting issues?

Categories
2009 Recommended books

The Ghosts of Eden by Andrew Sharp

The Ghosts of Eden follows the lives of two children growing up in Uganda. Micheal is the child of missionaries and the book begins with him battling against claustrophobia on his first flight back to Uganda since he left to study medicine. He is finally distracted from his fear when the passenger in the seat next to him dies.

Zachye lives in rural Uganda where he helps his brother, Stanley, look after the family’s cattle. Zachye’s father dreams of a better life for his sons and arranges for them to be sent to school. The book touches on how the introduction of technology to the country changes their lives. Their observations of new objects were fascinating and I loved seeing them learn how to use things which we take for granted:

He could not think what was expected of him, so he took the green lump on the plate, put it to his lips and took a bite. It had the texture of the hardened fat of an animal. Dung Beetle snatched it back. ‘Are you so ignorant?’
Stanley started gagging, and spat again and again, although his dry mouth had little to spit. The food was worse than he could ever have imagined. He thought it little wonder that his ancestors had decided to take nothing but milk and blood.
‘Ha! He has eaten the soap,’ shouted a voice in the queue.  

The author, Andrew Sharp, is a medical doctor, and this shines through his writing. I love books written by doctors. Ever since I discovered Michael Crichton’s books as a teenager I have noticed that doctors seem to have an incredible gift for writing about human nature. Perhaps it is because they see so much more of it in the course of their work, or because they are more intelligent than the average person, either way the doctor’s magic is present throughout this book. It is packed with insightful observations about society and detailed medical knowledge.

The first half of the book concentrates on the lives of the two very different boys growing up in East Africa and is one of the best pieces of writing about life as a child I have seen. I was captivated by their innocent view of the world and loved their childish banter. The author perfectly captures the minds of the two boys – and to be able to do this convincingly with two completely different cultures is an outstanding achievement.

The Ghosts of Eden also reveals much about the superstitions and spirit world of the African people. Although I have read a few books which have contained this subject before (most notably Ben Okri’s Famished Road) This is the first book in which I have been made to understand their belief system and not just been confused by it.

Unfortunately, the book goes downhill a bit in the middle section. The lives of the boys as adults did not interest me anywhere near as much as that of their childhood. In fact, I didn’t like either of them very much when they meet for the first time and fall in love with the same woman. Luckily the plot held my attention and the ending was good enough to make up for the minor lapse of the middle section.

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to read about African culture, without battling with symbolism or the endless horrors of war. It is a beautifully written story, and I think it has just become my favourite book with an African setting.

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What is your favourite book set in Africa?

Have you noticed that doctors make great authors?

Categories
Historical Fiction Other Recommended books Weekly Geeks

Weekly Geeks: 2009-22, Catching Up On Reviews

This week’s task is to catch up on reviews for books you’ve completed, but not yet reviewed. I’m all up to date with my reviews, as I like to complete them before starting on the next book.

So I thought I’d use this week’s task as an oppurtunity to review one of my favourite books from my pre-blogging days:


Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel

The Clan of the Cave Bear is the start of Jean M Auel’s epic Earth’s Children series. The story takes place roughly 35,000 years ago, and  follows Ayla, a young cro-magnon girl adopted by a neanderthal clan after she is orphaned. 

I have also read the sequel: Plains of Passage

I haven’t read the rest of the series yet, as I didn’t want to start reviewing books mid-series in my early blogging days, but once I’ve reviewed these two books I will hopefully be able to start reading the rest of the series soon.

The idea of this week’s task is to get you to ask questions about these books, and the I will compile the answers to form a review.

So, what would you like to know about these books?
Have you read them?

Please ask any questions you can think of, and I will do my best to answer them.

Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation Recommended books Thriller

Out – Natsuo Kirino

 Translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder

A few weeks ago I raved about how Sophie Hannah’s Little Face was the best thriller I have ever read – not any more – Out has leapfrogged way past her, straight into my all time top ten books.

As with Little Face, Out isn’t the normal whodunit mystery. We witness the murder very early on, and so the main question for the rest of the book is: Will they get caught?

Yoyoi is a young mother struggling to raise her two young children, and is suffering at the hands of her abusive husband. One night it all becomes too much for her to deal with, and so she murders her husband. She confides in her colleague, Masako, who agrees to help her dispose of the body. With the help of her co-workers Masako dismembers the body and hides the gruesome bits around the city. Unfortunately, some body parts are discovered and the police start asking questions. The plot becomes more complex, as loan sharks become involved, and the prime police suspect tries to find out the truth behind the crime he is innocent of committing

It is really hard to convey just how good this book is. It isn’t just that it is a cleverly plotted, perfectly paced book which is packed with complex characters and boasts a perfect ending. This book really makes you think. What would you do to protect a friend? If you were struggling financially – would you do anything to help your family? This book was so thought provoking that it became the focus of the majority of conversations I had with family and friends this week.

Out isn’t for the squeamish, as there are graphic descriptions of dismemberment and violent rape, but these images were important for conveying the situations that these Japanese women had to deal with. The vivid images I have of this book will stay with me for a very long time.

The only complaint I have is that there were a few minor translation problems. There was the odd sentance that didn’t flow properly, and a few uniquely Japanese things, which were translated in such a way that it lost some of the atmosphere for me. The recurring one being the boxed lunch, which doesn’t exist in the western world. I would much preferred it to be called by it’s Japanese name: the bento box,  as ‘boxed lunch’ doesn’t really bring across the same distinctly Japanese images it should do.

These are very minor issues though, and overall I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Cancel your order for Wilderness, and buy this instead!

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Thank you so much to Melody for recommending this to me. I will be paying much more interest to her recommendations in the future.

What is the best thriller you have ever read?
Have you read any books by Natsuo Kirino?
Are any of the others as good as this one?

but most importantly….would you help your best friend hide her dead husband?!!

Categories
2009 Orange Prize Recommended books

The Wilderness – Samantha Harvey

Short listed for the Orange Prize 2009

The Wilderness is written through the eyes of someone with Alzheimer’s disease. I shouldn’t like this book, as on the surface the plot is identical to Gilead – old man looking back at his life in snippets, revealing the wisdom he has learnt, but this book is in a league above Gilead. It captured my heart from the very first sentence:

In amongst a sea of events and names that have been forgotten, there are a number of episodes that float with stiking buoyancy to the surface.

When reading a book I note down quotes which may be suitable for my review. After noting down five different quotes within the first few pages I realised this was an exceptional book, and the bar for quote-quality was raised significantly higher!

This book is heart-breakingly sad. The central character is Jake, an Alzheimer’s sufferer, who is struggling to remember the details of his life. He can remember certain things as vivdly as when he was there, but others things, especially those that have happened recently are very elusive. As the book progresses his condition deteriorates, and even the most important things in his life fail to come to him:

She sits at the kitchen table beating eggs. Embarrassing, but he cannot remember her name. So desperately embarrassing because he sleeps with her, he knows her, she is not a stranger.

The Wilderness really opened my eyes to the suffering of old people. They are subjected to embarrassing situations as their bodies begin to fail them, but their minds are just as alert  as they were when they were younger. I think one of the reasons that this affected me so much is that this situation is almost certainly going to happen to me, and everyone else I know. This isn’t about the suffering of war, which however shocking, is unlikely to directly affect me. Old age and it’s degrading loss of dignity is going to happen, and this realisation hit me with a shocking intensity.

I’m not sure I want to recommend this book to you, as it is so heart-breaking that it will proably make you cry. I was unsure if I could give my highest rating to a book which I struggle to recommend to people, but in the end the power of this book cannot be ignored. I couldn’t find any faults with it. It gripped me from beginning to end, and left me a changed person. My money for the Orange Prize 2009 is on this book.

Highly recommended.

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Who do you think will win the Orange Prize 2009?

Have you read this book? Did it change your opinion of the elderly?

Do you recommend depressing books to other people?