Currently reading
Pale Fire
Sodom and Gomorrah (In Search of Lost Time, #4)
Chronicle of the 20th Century: The Ultimate Record of Our Times
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3)
I think that this book made me very glad I persevered with this series. Unlike most I really didn't like the first. I found the second better only in that it expanded and gave some realism to some characters, but in this third volume I have some answers and that has made me happy. I've also found myself bonding with some of the people I never thought I would even like. The brutality continues in a most horrifying and surprising manner. Had this been two books ago I wouldn't have cared but Martin's writing has grown a bit tighter and he seems to write his best when his characters are at their most despicable or vulnerable. So what does this mean? It means that I have grown to like and cheer on some of the heroes and even some of the villains. If you can call them that. It's nice to see the lines blurring when we learn more about the residents of this world.I do note that Martin seems to have written himself into a corner with one of his main contenders and having her remain in one area to learn how to lead is akin to a cop out to me. I shan’t name names for those that haven't read this but those that have should understand what I mean. I also wonder if some of his other characters tangled skeins can even be unravelled. One of Jordan's problems with The Wheel of Time is the story went on far too long and became such a convoluted mess that some characters were either left hanging or became contradictory. I hope Mr. Martin avoids this pitfall and doesn't just milk the series.In the meantime I'll enjoy the heartbreaking moments as much as the briefs triumphs because I'm ready for more of this game.
I have to get one thing out of the way. The forward of this book states that Matthew Ward's translation is a more accurate version. That may well be so but I found this very stilted and with a total lack of flow that makes reading enjoyable. I may have to find a different version as that almost ruined the book for me.Now onto the book itself. The main question for me, is Meursault a sociopath? I would like to say yes but that's too easy of an answer. A lack of caring for a mother may stem from anything. I'm sure there are more than a few out there that would agree with that. He does state that he doesn't know how to feel but does that mean he can't feel? Does a lack of religious faith also equal a sociopath? To me it signifies a person that can think for themselves.Such a little book and so much packed into it. I'll be thinking on this one for a long time and I have a feeling that rereading may not make the answers any clearer but reread it I shall. Such is philosophy.
For some reason this was not assigned reading when I was in school. That might be a good thing for some people but I was one of those strange kids that loved reading assignments even if it was something I would probably never pick on my own. I also find this surprising because this book is full of the symbolism that teachers and professors love to expound on but as this isn't a book report I won't even try to cite them all. I'm not sure I could anyways.Conrad is another writer whose prose commands his stories. He uses it superbly enough that it somewhat overshadows the rampant disregard for the peoples of Africa. Most modern readers while make some exception while still being bothered by it just because the vivid imagery is so well done. Chalk it up to when it was written I guess.It wasn't till the first utterance of “The horror!” that the sense of familiarity finally gelled and I realized that Apocalypse Now must have been loosely based on this. I love coming in cold. Nothing reduces the impact of a great story like knowing what's going to happen unless that's how the story is set up and the tale is the why. I'm just disappointed that there wasn't more interaction between Marlowe and Kurtz as they are both fascinating characters and what is alluded to later as occurring has been skipped over.I wouldn't call this an easy read even though it's a very small book but it really is worth the effort.Man's dual nature. The horror, indeed.
This is not at all what I expected. I kind of feared this would a stodgy morality story and in a way it was a morality play but it was far from stodgy. I can't count the number of times it made me genuinely laugh because of the brilliant satire.Our main protagonist Julien seems to be a massive collection of contradictions. He adores Napoleon but hides that to become a member of the clergy. He disparages the rich bourgeois yet aspires to become one. He calls himself a fool and immature for getting angry at others yet he doesn't seem to have problem duelling or using his pistols on others. He's a bit of a cad but you still find yourself cheering him on.The history lessons written here were invaluable but subtle. I learned a lot more about that time period than I would have from a book solely written on the subject but without realizing it. I know that wasn't the intention of the book but it was a great by product.I was fortunate enough to have read a good translation of this which I really think makes a huge difference.
I have currently been tackling Proust's In Search of Lost Time and decided that if I really wanted to read about love's obsession I may as well go to the pinnacle of this type of literature and read Lolita . I started this with a few preconceived notions but tried to keep an open mind.How can one so loathe a character and a subject matter yet love the book? It's the writing of course. Nabokov takes a sinister and contentious subject and let's you into the mind of a man completely obsessed with what he calls nymphets but never does Nabokov make it a judgement. He let's his main character, Humbert, slowly reveal himself as what civilized people would call a monster. The person that you initially found yourself relating to becomes abhorrent to you instead.Humbert is rife with self delusion during a good majority of what he does. He sees his love reciprocated and even suggests that she had seduced him. He is relentless with his desires and while it is rape he sees it as love. So it surprised me that he did show remorse for how he had perverted his little Lolita in the end. Still, he is a monster and a murderous one at that.If you can get past your revulsion for the main topic of this novel you will discover some very powerful and wonderful writing.
Wherein we learn all 21 chapters and not just the 20 from the movie and the early American edition of the book. After reading this I really can't understand why it was left out as it really is the summation of the book and it's theme. Man is not man without choice and self will. Man also can outgrow idiotic and pubescent aggression. Even the worst reprobates.This is where I'll say I'm glad I watched the movie first but not because it was better, it wasn't, but because I had a much easier time translating “Nadsat” as I was reading. This work would be a lot less interesting without the slang or the violence but be forewarned that this book is disturbing on a lot of levels.I also loved learning in the introduction that it was Burgess' least favourite work. I'll have to say I disagree, at least until I read his other books.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
This is actually a reread but I never listed it among the read because I think I gave it short shrift the first time around. It was one of the earlier books I read when I was still too enamoured with Heinlein and Asimov to give much serious thought to it.I had to check the cover once in awhile to remind me who authored this book because it kept reading like a PKD work. I have to wonder if they didn't influence each other. Their humour is so similar but not their take on a higher power. This reeks of Catholic dogma. Especially a scene near the end of the book.We are doomed to keep repeating history and religion or a belief in God obviously doesn't change that. The monks continue to believe that what they do will change things and in the end it changes nothing. Man keeps up his cycle of self destruction for endless millennia. That the church survives the entire time was no surprise to me.I think I gleaned a lot more with this reading and even like and understand the book a lot more but it won't go on my favourite shelf in any millennium. For it's time it would have been a powerful book but I think a lot of authors have been lecturing us about our suicidal tendencies without having to use religion for good or evil.
I think what starts to get to me is the unrelenting brutality in these books from both the characters and the author yet I found myself warming to this volume a little more than the first. I have to wonder if it's the more fleshed out characters or the fact I'm also starting to watch the series which seems to burr some of the edges off of the sharper nastier characters. I also note that a lot of the women seem to come into more of their own. While they are still treated as mostly chattel and possessions, a few of them are showing their strength and abilities. Brienne has won a small place in a man's world and Daenerys is so single minded that she accomplishes each step she sets out to do. A trio of real dragons certainly doesn't hurt her stature any either! I'm glad to see some truly strong women and not just the bitch on wheels known as Cercei.While I appreciate the depth added to the people that live in this world it still felt like just a set up for more action with nothing really resolute other than death and destruction. I'll admit it has hooked me into reading the next but I really can only give this a 3.5 which I'll round down to a 3.
I really needed a new fantasy author I could sink my teeth into (figuratively!) and I think I've found him. Miéville takes the odd elements that you would find in the minds of authors like Barker or Powers and gives them a fresh but interesting and sometimes macabre twist. This is one of the few books I made copious notes about so I had a good basis for my review and because some of it was just so damn remarkable.New Crobuzon reminds me a little of Gormenghast in that he city is as much an entity as the beings that populate it. And what beings they are! I know most come from mythology but Miéville's take on them is what makes them come alive. As fantastic as they are there was not one character that I couldn't relate to, even if it was to actively dislike them. That makes me happy because I sometimes grow tired of perfect heroes and Isaac is pretty much imperfect. It's also refreshing to not have every detail explained or neatly tied up. The mystery of the giant ribs leaves a lot for my own imaginings. I'll mention the ending here as well. No spoilers, it's just not one you would expect.I'm still going to insist this is as much horror and science fiction in nature as it is fantasy but that's in hope it will draw in people that read this book because of these genres. There are times I felt the book could have been a little shorter and hence the four and not five stars but for me it was so close that I'm at least wishing for my half stars again.
Orlando: A Biography (Penguin Modern Classics)
While I adore serious works I return to humour and light fantasy a lot. It helps to cleanse my mind in between works and just have a bit of light entertainment. So was I ever surprised to find that Ms Woolf wrote something I could giggle at. (I'm not really prone to giggling but this was about as close as I come). The bonus is I knew nothing about the book so it was a very pleasant surprise. I suggest you skip the rest of this review if you want the same revelation for yourself.The subject matter could have been dealt with gravity, especially as this could considered an early work about transgender, but instead it's told as a biography that is really a whimsical fantasy or a political satire. Confused yet? You won't be if you read this. Woolf helps you suspend disbelief at every turn as you really aren't sure how far along the time line you've travelled until you realize it's no longer Elizabethan England and you've moved into an entirely different century. My only complaint being that she really didn't give enough detail to the eras between Elizabethanand the Twentieth. I highly recommend this for anyone who really is afraid of Virginia Woolf.
I have thought long and hard about this review and the last thing I want to do is damn this work with faint praise. So I'll make a few observations instead.Obsession continues to be the mainstay of in this volume The first half of the book is the Narrator with his obsession with Gilberte which is unremitted and Swann with being an incessant name dropper and having a place in society. Odette seems more content with her place in it for now.For a country that went through a painful revolution to equalize society it almost seems it was a failure when so many are worried about about everyone's position. Here's where I think this story really begins to shine. While the Narrator observes this going on all around him it takes a back seat to his new interest Albertine which consumes the second half of the book. He sometimes makes scathing and unflattering comments on who and what surrounds him but with a fresh and not a jaded view as many of his contemporaries. This being done with Proust's deft hand at feelings and descriptions. We never have to worry about character development with his writing. It's a natural flow.I'm anticipating more great inner visuals and passages that continue descriptive contemplation and observation as the Narrator matures, in himself, his surroundings and in his relations to others. One of my favourites being his description of Rivebelle.
You can see that Horselover Fat is based on PKD himself within the first few lines which gave me a lot of hope for this book as he did some of his best writing when he was out of his head. I can pretty much say I was let down. I don't mind a difficult read but this was painful at times and there were parts of PKD's psyche I really didn't want to see. I'm also not always enamoured of author's spiritual journeys disguised as something else even if the journey is into madness. Despite this he can still write and write well. He draws his characters well with his prose and at times is still able to build the tension he could easily master in his older works. It just didn't help save this in my opinion.I'll read the other three in the trilogy eventually as I've wanted to read all his works good or bad but I think that will be in a distant future.
Bluebeard
I would call this the most mature of any of Vonnegut's books that I have read so far. I know that Vonnegut began his novel writing close to the age of 30 which is considered an adult but his work still lacked maturity. Which can be a good thing as his earlier works were meant to be biting satire and not high literature. Bluebeard is more melancholy and less slapstick than Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions which he is more renowned for. It has a more subtle humour that lends itself to better storytelling. This perspective and style work really well when looking at life through art. I felt I was looking into Vonnegut's heart and mind as I read each page. The medium is different but the message is the same. This really make's McLuhan's the medium is the message resonate with me. That's not to say he doesn't take the occasional bite out of how we view the art world. He does, and with relish.I think I've found a new favourite by Mr. Vonnegut and one I would rather use to introduce people to the real brilliance of his writing.
To the Lighthouse
I'm truly glad I put off reading any of Virginia Woolf's books until later in my life. I really don't think I could have appreciated this as much when I was younger. It's funny how I find Henry James and James Fenimore Cooper's descriptiveness tiresome but find it a stunning work of prose with Ms. Woolf. Her words had me feeling like I was living in one of Monet's seascapes.I won't say that this work was life changing for me but maybe it was mind changing. I've always loved good character interaction stories (It's why I love a lot of Japanese Literature) and this story is all that and more.I'm not ready to call Ms. Woolf a favourite author until I've read more by her. I liked but did not truly love this work. I just wish I had picked Mrs. Dalloway as my first foray into the mind of Virginia Woolf.
As just about everyone that admires this work has praised it far better than I ever can I will only say this.If you are a reader that skim reads then don't even bother with this as you will get nothing out of it. Each sentence and description must be read in full to appreciate Proust. (I wish I could read it in French).If you don't want to think even a little bit then again, don't bother. This book makes you think. Well maybe it doesn't make you but it highly encourages it.If you like stories about love and obsession then DO read this book.If you are scared of reading this work then DON'T be. It's far more accessible than you think.If you think this is only for snobs. It isn't. Only a love of good writing is required.
A lightweight as far as thrillers go but it is one of the earliest so that does count for something. I can't say any of it really surprised me but I did feel I was being pulled along on an adventure.What I did appreciate about this book was the glimpse into the politics that surrounded the first World War from an espionage perspective. I would recommend reading this from that alone.I enjoyed this but not enough to seek out more adventures of Mr. Hannay. As for the movie I think I'm an odd duck as I've never much cared for most of Mr. Hitchcock's so I'll give that a miss as well.