Category: Recommended books

Categories
2008 Books for Children Recommended books

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

 

I bought this book after seeing it recommended by 3M. It is beautiful! Everything from the gold page edges, to the amazing illustrations inside, makes you want to read at this book.

 

‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ tells the story of a twelve year old boy living in the walls of a Paris railway station. His secret life is put under threat when he meets the owner of a toy shop. The mystery of Hugo’s mechanical man, a stolen key and a strange notebook are solved through both sequences of illustrations and text. The plot is quite simple, but it is such a page turner that this doesn’t matter.

 

The book is aimed at 9 – 12 year olds, but my three year old boy loves it too. He asks me to read it again and again. He’s still a bit young for the full story, but he really enjoys looking at all the pictures and listening too a more basic version of the plot. I think it will be perfect for him in a few years time.

 

If you have, or know any children, particularly ones that like mechanical things, then you should get this book for them now. If you haven’t got any children, then this book is still worth a read – the mixture of images and text will mean that you remember this book for a long time.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Categories
Orange Prize Recommended books

Purple Hibiscus – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

‘Purple Hibiscus’ started off with the disadvantage of trying to follow ‘A Fine Balance’. I started reading it on the same day I finished Mistry’s masterpiece, and my mind was still buzzing with images from his amazing book. To begin with ‘Purple Hibiscus’ seemed very simple, and flat in comparison, and I was feeling very disappointed in it. Then, about half way through the book, I started falling for it. The simplicity became the main positive, and the message came across very powerfully.

 

I loved the flawed characters in this book. I had great empathy for the main character, Kambili, as she dealt with her controlling father. The political situation in Nigeria was sensitively covered; it was not described directly, but it’s affect was clearly visible through the way it changed the lives of the family.  

 

Overall, this was a great book. Quick and easy to read; but with a vivid portrayal of African lifestyle, religion and politics.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Categories
1990s Booker Prize Recommended books

A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry

 

 

‘A Fine Balance’ was short listed for the Booker prize in 1996, and I cannot understand why it did not win this, or even ‘The Booker of Bookers’ – it is that good! 

It is hard to explain the plot, as it is so rich and complex, but basically it follows the lives of four strangers, from different sections of the Indian caste systems as they deal with life during the state of emergency in 1970’s India. The political situation is explained, so that even an outsider can understand the corruption and turmoil going on in the country. Each character is built up so well, that we feel we know them, and the surroundings are described in such a way that I imagine I’ve been there. It is not an easy read, in that many of the scenes described are disturbing, but the hardship is not dwelt upon, and it is amazing what positives can be made out of so little.  

At over 600 pages long, it is not a short book, and I was originally going to criticise it for not being a page turner. I now realise that this would be the wrong thing to do. Although it is not a fast paced book, I was gripped the whole way through. If it had been a quicker read it would have lost the rich detail I loved it for.  

This book changed the way I viewed many aspects of Indian society, particularly the street beggars, and I now have a greater understanding of life in India during the 1970s. 

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I cannot recommend it highly enough.