Belated Blogoversary

I've had about a dozen false starts writing this post, so I’m super late with it, but that silly thing called “life” got in my way again. Anyway, this is my belated six-month blogoversary post! Yay! To start out, congratulations to the anonymous winner of the comment contest whose favourite books are the Charlaine Harris “Sookie Stackhouse” series – you’ve won a hard cover copy of J.G. Farrell’s “Troubles” & “The Siege of Krishnapur”! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

I had intended to give you a recap of the titles I've already read, but every time I started thinking about a book I didn't enjoy, I got frustrated and discouraged. So I've given up on that idea. Instead I'm going to list my top 5 favourite titles, so far, and why I think you should read them.

5) The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch (1978)
A surreal novel about lost love and obsession, I really enjoyed the paranoia and suspense of this character driven novel.

4) Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner (1984)
A bittersweet drama, this one is about not "settling" in love and becoming independently happy.

3) Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally (1981)
Based on a true story, this haunting novel about risking everything to do the right thing is truly a masterpiece of humanity.

2) The Bone People by Keri Hulme (1985)
If you want a novel that will make you look at the world differently, this one could be what your looking for. It's an emotionally difficult read dealing with abuse, but also about the different kinds of love in the world. It's a really brilliant novel.

1) Troubles by J.G. Farrell (Lost Man Booker Prize)
The first book in Farrell's "Empire Trilogy", this is a humorous drama set in Ireland. I loved the style of this novel. The narrative is interspersed with 'news reports' which emphasize the distance between the characters and the action of the revolution. I can't wait to reread this one!

I’m about ¾ through Peter Carey’s “Oscar and Lucinda” and ‘God-willing and the creek don’t rise’ I should be finished it and have a new post up for you by Monday. I am enjoying this novel, it's a bit silly but endearingly so. I'm getting a bit anxious that it will have a 'literary' conclusion rather than a happy one (oops, are my genre prejudices showing?) but hope springs eternal. Depending on the conclusion, this novel may worm it's way onto my top five list - the protagonists are so charmingly odd, I find myself grinning like a loon on the bus and reading while I walk. They are adorable, I really can't help rooting for them to have a lovely story book ending! Please, Mr Carey, don't break my heart on this one!!

I also thought I'd share a picture of my book list. Some days I feel like this sheet of paper is the only thing keeping me sane!




Happy Reading!

My New Favourite Booker

Honestly, I meandered my way through Keri Hulme's "The Bone People" over the past eleven days, not even trying to finish it 'on time'. It was simply that exquisite.
Delicious.
Heart-breaking.
Superb.
I didn't want to let go of these characters, and now that I've finished the book I want to start it again. It's my new favourite Booker book, and it's probably broken into my all-time top ten list, as well. Except that I don't actually have such a list, so please don't ask for the other titles!

This novel centers around three deeply damaged people, a Maori widower trying to raise his mute foster son and an artistic hermit who has lost her muse, delving into what makes a family and what love is. There are lots of really tough issues, such as child abuse, alcoholism, death, spirituality, and sexuality, but it is devoid of the usual preachy tone that comes with such heavy fare. Nothing is really black and white, but they seem to have a live and let live mentality. The child abuse is slightly more contentious, but it's very much a 'none of my business'-type attitude, which I did find difficult to read. If you are deeply sensitive to these matters, you may not enjoy this book. I was able to compartmentalize, saying to myself, "it's just fiction". That may not work for you, so please consider yourself warned.

Hulme's writing is divine. She is a poet, and it absolutely comes through in this novel. There is an obvious love for words and also rhythm, and the overall flow of the prose is hypnotic. In the introduction she speaks about the manuscript being rejected by publishers who wanted to edit her word use, and I'm so glad she was able to find one who would print it as written. It is a work of art, in the best possible way! I loved that she used so much Maori language, and it's fantastic that there is a Maori phrase section at the end of the text! I wish all the Booker prize winners that utilize languages other than English in their text were so thoughtful - after all, it's a prize for novels written in English. I wish she were a more prolific writer, and I'm trying to get my hands on some of her other work, but so far with very little luck.

Anyway, I don't want to spoil the beauty of the story in case you decide to read it, so there isn't much I can say about the novel other than I found it deeply engaging, and I loved it. It has thrown a wrench into my contest plans, however! I intended to give a hardcover copy of my favourite Booker book from the first 6 months of my reading to the winner of my draw next month, and I was 98% certain that book would be J.G. Farrell's "Troubles" - which is being released in a special edition with "The Siege of Krishnapur". Now, the prize may have to be "The Bone People"! By the way, if you haven't entered yet, there's still plenty of time to get in the draw. Just leave a comment telling me what your favourite book is and why you love it, and I'll enter you in the draw.

My next Booker book is "The Old Devils" by Kingsley Amis, who I've heard is quite an entertaining author, so I'm excited to start that one this evening.

Happy reading!

Stay On Target, Stay On Target!

'The Siege of Krishnapur' was much darker, and far more intense than I had anticipated. It was still full of comic moments but it is more a gallows humour than the light social wit that I was expecting. That having been said, I still really enjoyed this novel. I don't feel the need to own a copy, but I would read it again and I feel safe recommending it to other readers.

I am deeply impressed by how alive Farrell's characters were in this novel. The character arcs were fascinating, although I would have liked to have been returned to the view point of one of the ladies towards the end of the novel, as they were primarily observed during the closing chapters. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but I was very impressed with how the three main ladies managed under the circumstances. Farrell had a very astute view of women, and his female characters all feel very True, which is fantastic. The jealousy, vanity and pettiness of a group of women is all there, but also the tenderness, insecurity and ultimate strength of women really shines through. I just would have liked to have spent some time 'with them' during the darkest moments of the story.

The debates over religion, philosophy, politics, science and medicine were also fascinating. We debate many of the same subjects now, although the exact questions and issues may have changed, and I found the arguments alluded to today's debates. I had to frequently remind myself that the novel was written nearly forty years ago, and the actual topics being debated were contentious over one hundred and fifty years ago - it's shocking how fresh they seem! For all our technology, I guess we haven't really advanced much at all.

I suppose the most chilling part of Farrell's writing is the fact that it is based, in large part, on fact. 'Troubles', with all it's distanced and imaginary violence, felt almost farcical but 'Siege of Krishnapur' was quite blunt and even horrific. I'm curious to read some of the factual documents cited in the afterword, but I'm concerned that they may be even more graphic. Perhaps the Victorian sensibilities of the authors kept them more palatable, but I rather doubt it.

Anyway, tomorrow I start a new book! Always a good day! I took another look at my calendar tonight and given my initial estimate of eight days per book, with today being Day 33, I'm only one day behind. I keep telling myself as long as I'm finished the last book by September 11th 2012 "it's a win!" but I still hope I can finish the next book a couple days early to get back on course!

Just A Shorty

Day 28 - 153 pages into book 4, "The Siege of Krishnapur". Feeling a little guilty for not posting recently, so I figured I'd fire off a quick one before settling in to read for the night!

I'm enjoying this novel almost as much as I thought I would. It's very much like "Troubles" but a slightly more difficult read for me, mainly because I'm not familiar with some of the Indian phrases. But I'm managing. I'm not finding it as witty as "Troubles" was either, however I suspect that's due to the slightly darker subject matter. While it's true that both novels deal with a small group of British 'colonists' living under the threat of a 'native uprising' while trying to maintain appearances and uphold their British moral superiority (ha! Haha!) the actual threat is much more Real in this novel than it was in the situation in "Troubles". In that novel, the violence was usually a few steps removed and sometimes just the result of over-active imaginations, but here there is actual blood in the drawing room (that's a bit of a lie, but I'm trying to avoid any Spoilers!) so the humour of the situation is slightly lessened.

Other interesting similarities between the two novels include main characters being referred to by title rather than name, the location (country and building) as a rich character in their own right, and to a certain extent the portrayal of the female characters. At first, I admit, I was slightly disappointed by these similarities, especially since "Troubles" struck me as such a unique story. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised since these are the first two novels of Farrell's so-called 'Empire Trilogy' which implies a certain amount of continuity, and now that I'm nearly half-way through I don't even mind it anymore. The writing is top notch, and the setting and action are sufficiently different that it is a highly entertaining read.

Speaking of which, this was meant to be a short post. Thank you for reading, I'm off to do the same!

Second Book Completed, Book Skipped, Book Commenced

I finished reading 'Troubles' at 11:45 last night - talk about cutting it close! For reasons which had nothing to do with the book, I had a difficult time maintaining a reading schedule this week, resulting in a 'mad sprint' to read over 200 pages in the last day and a half. Hardly fair to the novel, which was Fantastic and deserves to be savored! I don't usually re-read books, but I can tell you that I will most definitely be revisiting the Majestic!

For me, this novel was everything that a great piece of 'literature' should be, with the added attractions of being funny and set in Ireland. I enjoyed the lyrical phrasing and the 'news paper' breaks, which provided a broader view of the situation. I enjoyed rooting for the Major to win the girl. In fact, I loved all the characters.

I particularly liked the parallels of the Majestic and the country both crumbling around their respective residents. There were problems when the Spencers/British took over, but rather than working to correct these problems they just went along their merry way, until the situation was so far gone there was no help for it. It was a beautifully rendered allegory that brought depth to the story without overburdening it.

Most importantly, though, I enjoyed reexamining my own opinions of the Troubles, particularly in the context of post-WWI Britain. I've never given much thought to how it must have been for a veteran of the Great War to find himself caught in such an intangible civil war. It's really quite horrific. I still firmly side with the "Shinners" but it has given me a broader view of the social ramifications of the 'war'. I've usually thought of the conflict in terms of Sinn Fein/IRA versus the Black and Tans, but of course each side also had civilians. While it is easy for me to see the side of the Irish, I appreciate the viewpoint of the colonizing British a bit more now.

Anyhow, I absolutely loved, and I would most definitely recommend, J.G. Farrell's "Troubles" - and I'm looking forward to reading the second book of his so-called 'Empire Trilogy' in a couple of weeks!

For now, continuing with my reading list, I had to skip ahead chronologically again, having been unable to lay my hands on a complete copy of V.S. Naipaul's short story collection, "In A Free State". All I could locate was a volume of "Selected Short Stories" which only contained part of the collection, which is no good to me. I will, of course, come back to it as soon as possible. In the meantime I have moved on, so my third book is "G." by John Berger. I am not previously familiar with this title, so I'm looking forward to it. Read on!

Fickle and Mathematically Challenged

Books I Wanted To Read Today:

Ghost Story, by Jim Butcher

Daniel O'Thunder, by Ian Weir

Round Heeled Woman, by Jane Juksa

First You Build A Cloud, by K.C. Cole

Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker in Training, by Tom Jokinen

A Nomad of the Time Stream, by Michael Moorcock

Dead Iron, by Devon Monk

Johannes Cabal the Detective, by Jonathan L. Howard

Benighted, by Kit Whitfield

Hounded, by Kevin Hearne


Books I Read Today:

Troubles, by J.G. Farrell

I knew this would happen, but I'd hoped to make it more than ten days! This in no way means that I am not enjoying 'Troubles' - I am!! Loving it! Reminds me a bit of Monty Python, sometimes! - it just means that I am a fickle reader. Probably a fickle person in general. The important thing is I successfully resisted the temptation to read a non-Booker. Even though, technically, I started reading Ghost Story before I started my Booker challenge, so I should really finish it. But then, I'd be finished it, and I would be sad.

I was feeling very pleased with myself on Sunday, being ahead of schedule and all. The reality is, Elected Member may have been one of the easiest books I've ever read. And I like 'cozy' mysteries! Now, I have only four days left to finish 'Troubles' and I'm not yet a third of the way through it. Two of those are work days. I admit, I'm feeling a touch of nerves. Goodness help me when hockey, knitting club, and all the good tv series start up over the next month! What on earth possessed me? How will I manage to focus with so much delicious entertainment tempting me?

I've been thinking that audio books may hold the answer. I always feel like I'm "cheating" when I listen to an audio book, but it would allow me to use my knitting time to sneak in extra stories. I wouldn't lose any of my valuable reading time (I'm looking at you, T.V.! No, wait... that's the problem!) but I would still get to, well, Cheat. No decision yet, but I will keep you posted.

Before I forget, I wanted to apologize. It seems that I am terrible with numbers, and I've had to go back and correct a couple of my previous posts. Not sure if you noticed, but I counted the days wrong on one post and got the year of 'Troubles' wrong in my last post. Yeesh, you'd think I failed tenth grade math. Twice. Anyhow, I'll try to proofread more carefully in the future. Wish me luck on That!

'Troubles' is keeping me very entertained, at the moment. I never thought it would be so funny! I've laughed aloud more than a few times, and I've read bits out loud to share the funny bits too. The Major has a habit of commenting how "Irish" things are whenever it gets a bit mad or daft, and that makes me laugh every time. Of course, it's also dealing with rather serious matters and I find I spend a lot of time thinking about the politics of Mr Farrell (and the Major!). The Troubles (historically speaking) are very much Catholic Irish versus Protestant English, and Farrell makes that very clear. But the Major seems weary of strife, and even indifferent to the struggles going on around him, completely worn out from the "Great War". The only emotion he seems to have toward the whole affair is disgust. Despite that, my overall impression is of support for the Sinn Fein. Maybe that says more about my politics than the book, time will tell.

I am excited that this is the first in Farrell's Empire series - and the second of the series won the Booker prize as well, so I get to read that in a few weeks! I'll have to wait until next September to read the third, though. Or more likely April 2013, the way my reading list is growing!

So Far, So Good

Day 9, Book 2! I'm on schedule and I'm loving the new book! In trying to continue chronologically, my next book is 'Troubles' by J.G. Farrell, the winner of the Lost Man Booker Prize for a book written in 1970 but awarded in 2010. This was due to a change in the awarding process that meant an entire years' worth of work was excluded for the prize in 1970. The whole affair is detailed on the Man Booker website, for which there is a link in my first post.

I started reading the book yesterday, and actually got so absorbed in it that I didn't put it down until after midnight! Farrell's prose is flowery and lyrical, funny and heart wrenching, and I really love it! I thought I might enjoy this book, simply because it is set in Ireland, and I love most things Irish. But I hadn't expected to be so swept up by the writing! I was even a little concerned when I noticed there were no chapter breaks, as I like having a structure for my reading. It stops me from reading until past midnight! Oh well.

'Troubles' is set in 1919, and starts out with Major Archer coming to Ireland to claim the fiancé he only vaguely remembers meeting some years ago while on leave. They have written to each other during the war, but their meeting is that of two strangers. It reminds me rather forcibly of a modern Internet couple meeting for the first time - the emotions one conjures up for the imagined person to whom you are writing have no basis in reality. No one is exactly how they portray themselves to be in writing, for better or for worse!

The Major is also recovering from "shell shock", and in an Ireland of 1919 I'm certain that will have repercussions. I think a certain level of familiarity with Irish history is probably necessary to fully understand this book, but there is enough supplementary information in the text that you can probably get along without it.

For now, enough writing! I have a book to read!!