They Do This Every Year?

I finished reading Ben Okri's "The Famished Road" on Friday (that was July 27th) having taken 37 days - a new record! Not the sort of record I've been hoping for, but a record nonetheless.  It was a really interesting read, an absolute feast of words and imagery.  I enjoyed it.  It's a story about a 'spirit child' who chooses to live rather than return to the spirit land, and the story is filled with his wanderings and various attempted abductions by spirits trying to return him to the spirit land.  It's a bit random, and the time line is difficult to follow, but it was a fun novel.

I'm a bit concerned with one of review quotes on the back of my copy.  Philip Howard of 'The Times' says "the message is universal" and to be honest, I'm just not sure what that message is! Another of the quotes, Jenny Turner of 'New Statesmen & Society', says "Overwhelming.... just buy it for it's beauty"! I think perhaps she didn't get the universal message either, and just enjoyed it for the delicious wonder of the language.  Sometimes a beautiful novel can just be a beautiful novel, right? I think I'll probably read it again though, just to be sure!

I'm already halfway into my next read, Michael Ondaatje's "The English Patient", and I'm sure if I can convince myself not to watch four-hours of Olympic coverage after work again (Go Team Canada!) I'll be able to finish it tomorrow. Of course, I'm also knitting a lovely new shawl (Memoria by Oblivious Knits, in 'Silver Lining' from the lovely & local Dragonfly Dyewerx, for those curious) so that's a bit distracting as well.  But I am impressed with the novel so far.  It's living up to my expectations of it anyhow!

It needs to be said - yes, there is no way I'm going to make my goal of reading all the Man Booker prize winners in 12 months. I have 22 books left to read, and only 42 days. If I were only reading books I absolutely loved, and not working full-time, or watching Olympics/any TV, or knitting, or sleeping, I would say 'Sure, I can make that!' but, sadly or not, I must also live outside the pages. I am not going to give up entirely, I will continue to read only the Booker books until I catch up, which means I will be doing this for the rest of my life. Did you know they do this every year?! ;)

There are a few really interesting looking titles on the 2012 long list! It will be interesting to see what happens this year, since only one of the authors is of the 'old guard' and the rest are all first-time nominees. I'm a bit cynical, though, so I admit I will be disappointed but unsurprised if Hilary Mantel's sequel to her 2010 Man Booker prize winning novel "Wolf Hall", "Bring Up The Bodies", wins - even though I've heard great things about "Wolf Hall', and I'm sure the new novel is wonderful too! It would be fantastic to see a new winner. I was a bit disappointed that Patrick Dewitt's "The Sisters Brothers" didn't win last year, since I've heard nothing but good things about it.  I had hoped that I would be finished with the past winners in time to at least read this years short-list before the prize is awarded, but again, so not going to happen.  Regardless, it will be interesting to see who wins!

Happy Reading!

Better Late Than Never?

Wow. I'm sorry it's been such a ridiculously long time since my last post. My vacation in Ireland was fantastic! I always love it there but it's extra special when you get to share the experience with friends you love. Most of the month since I got back has been dedicated to finishing the Anna shawl KAL which was hosted over at http://www.ridiculousknits.blogspot.ca/ - it was a challenge for me, but a gorgeous knit and I had a lot of fun with it. This is it, blocking on my bed, looking way too gorgeous to be accused of sucking away 6 weeks of my reading life. 

As for my Man Booker challenge, well, it hasn't been going so great! I managed to read one novel during my holiday, Stanley Middleton's "Holiday", which was really no holiday. Irony, yes? This novel would probably have been quite sad and even a bit depressing if I had felt enough of a connection with it to care even a little bit about the characters, but I didn't. The protagonist walks out of his marriage but has no place to go, so takes a holiday at the resort town his family visited when he was a child. While there he reminisces about his father and the relationship he will never have with his own son, while dealing with his in-laws attempts to reconcile him with his wife. It's really a novel about grief and how we process it in different ways, told in a series of flashbacks, but because the main character is in such a numb, dissociative state of mind I found it really difficult to connect with him.

On the flight home I started reading David Storey's "Saville" - an absolute brick of a coming of age novel. If I'd been reading a physical book rather than an eBook I'm certain I would have found it's size quite daunting. It's a semi-autobiographical novel about the son of a coal miner growing up during WWII in a small village in England, dealing with his family's pressure to make the most  of the opportunities he has been given and his own desires to be a poet, and it's very beautifully phrased.  Unfortunately it seemed like nothing actually happened in the story, other than his growing up.  There were lots of opportunities within the story for a little added plot but... nothing happened.  I enjoyed the novel, but I was disappointed with that.

Now I'm reading Ben Okri's "The Famished Road" - I'm only about a fifth of the way into it, but it feels a bit like a cross between Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" (the way I would've loved for it to be written, really fantastic!) and "Saville" - a young boy growing up in a magical world within our own.  Only, kind of not quite.  Time will tell if I love it or not, but hopefully not too much time.  My goal is to be finished it by Monday.  There are lots of interesting looking books coming up on the list, and I want to get to them!!

Happy reading!

Insert Clever Title Here

So, I finished "Possession: A Romance" by A.S. Byatt yesterday, and I really enjoyed the last 40% of it. I liked it enough that I will probably read it again, as well as check out some of her other novels. It took me 29 days to read, but I have been getting ready for my vacation, and watching the NHL playoffs (hockey everynight? Yes, please!) so it probably took me longer than it should have. Also, big thanks to my Kobo for making me think of a book in terms of percentages! That's not weird at all.

It took me a really long time to get into this novel, mainly because the structure really broke up the tension and made it difficult for me to actually care about the characters. There are 150 pages of Victorian correspondence beginning about a quarter into the book, which brings the 20th century plot to a stand still. I feel that the set-up could have been shortened by as much as 200 pages to increase the drama of the story. It's all beautifully written, and the faux-Victorian style even started to grow on me, but when you don't care about the story that matters less.

Having said all that, the end of the novel was really engaging! I got right into it - mystery! Romance! Tension galore! - and I actually hated having to put it down. It stills irks me that the story took so long to become engaging, though.

I'm on vacation for the next two weeks, but I'm taking three Booker books with me to try and catch up (haha) with my reading. I'm going back chronologically to some I skipped earlier. I'm starting with Stanley Middleton's "Holiday" on the plane tonight, and I'm also taking V.S. Naipaul's "In A Free State" and David Storey's "Saville". I may or may not have time to blog during my vacation, but I absolutely will when I get home!

Happy Reading!!

Where Have All The Fun Books Gone?

Ok, so I'm still alive, still reading, just not blogging much lately.  I apologize for that, and I really am honestly going to work at getting back into a rhythm of posting more frequently.  I've been craving a really fun book, something with magic and demons and romance... I don't think I'm going to find that in the Man Booker Prize list, and that's a bit depressing.  I'm trying to accept that if I want to read anything 'fun' before September I'm really going to have to read faster!

I finished reading Kazuo Ishiguro's "The Remains of the Day" on April 18th - another book that took me longer than strictly necessary, 14 days in total.  I found the novel a bit boring, to be completely honest, the sort I had to really work at wanting to read. It isn't badly written, by any means - it's quite beautiful, actually. I simply wasn't engaged by the narration. It's written as memoir posing as a travel log - the elderly butler of an English house is given a short vacation, during which he drives across Britain to reconnect with a former employee of the house in hopes of winning her back.  There were aspects of Stevens, the narrator, which I identify with, such as his difficulty with "banter" or small talk, and the idea of a professional persona that doesn't really reflect one's true self - the 'work appropriate' self. The problem for me, with the narrator speaking in this professional voice, is that I could only speculate as to what the character truly felt and thought.  I get that that was the intention, I just didn't like it.  I will probably try another Ishiguro novel in the future, because I didn't dislike the novel, I just didn't love it either.

I'm already eleven chapters into the next novel, A.S. Byatt's "Possession: A Romance" - it's pretty interesting so far, although some of the language choices in the faux-19th century poetry are a bit obscure for me.  The 20th century portion of the story, which involves a pair of scholars discovering and researching the letters of a pair of 19th century poets, feels a bit forced - it seems to me that the story was just a delivery method for the poetry.  I haven't read anything else by Byatt and I'm not even half-way through this novel so I may be way off-base on this, but that's how it's reading to me right now.  I'm hoping the 20th century plot line doesn't turn out as predictably as is seems, but I feel confident that the 19th century plot has some surprises in store.

Happy reading!

A Couple of Cute Oddballs

I finished reading "Oscar and Lucinda" by Peter Carey on the bus Wednesday night, having taken 29 days to read it, a new all-time low! I think its safe to say my 'schedule' is shot, although I do intend to keep trying. Who knows, some of the upcoming novels are quite short, I may be able to finish on time!

I really enjoyed this novel, and I thought for a while that it may be in my 'Top 5' favourite titles, however I did find the conclusion emotionally unsatisfying. It worked well in the context of the story, but I am a romantic so I wish it had ended differently. Other than that it is a very entertaining, well-written story. Plus, the chapters are ridiculously short, which is perfect for bus reading!

This novel tells the story of the two eponymous characters, who are both gamblers and oddities in their Victorian world. Oscar, who is obsessive, seems unaware of his own absurdity, while Lucinda, who is compulsive, dwells on her inability to fit in. They are two of a kind, and when they finally meet (half-way through the novel!) it's literary magic. I could not stop grinning as they stumble through their unusual courtship! I would class this novel as a tragic-comedy, but the romantic story-line is very sweet and engaging. I probably would have loved this story even more if Carey had spent more time on the two characters together, as it is really only a brief part of the overall narrative.

Although I didn't like the ending (it's really the only thing keeping this book from being one of my favourites) I have to admit that it was inevitable, if you look at the entire story as being an allegory for Australia. Without spoilers, it is a nation where the native population have been robbed by the immigrant population, particularly of land, but also of dignity. It that sense, it's a perfect way to end the novel. I didn't like it, but it works.

Moving on, my next read is Kazuo Ishiguro's "The Remains of the Day" which I've already started reading. I've heard that this is a great novel, which from my experience means I may hate it. I didn't really know what to expect, but I certainly wasn't expecting the narrator to be a British butler. Blame my internal prejudices, but based on the author's name I thought it might be set in Japan. That'll teach me for presuming! So far I'm enjoying it, but I'm only about 50 pages in.

Happy reading!

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!

A Mosquito Coil By Any Other Name?

I finished reading Penelope Lively's "Moon Tiger" last night, which took a bit longer than I'd hoped but only because I spent most of the past week knitting. It wasn't lost time, a struggle to read, boredom, or anything else nefarious. It was just time spent on a cuter, and currently more important, project. My life outside of reading could fill another blog, or three, but "let's not go there"!

Anyway, the book! I have no strong feelings about this novel. I don't love it, I don't hate it, it was just a week of reading. The characters are interesting, the situations are intriguing, the tone and pacing are good. This novel is about Claudia, a writer of popular history books, writing a history of the world and herself during her final days. It's an interesting device, however the breadth of the story meant that the depth was limited. That may be a reflection of the idea of 'history', though, in which you usually only see the broad sweeps, harldy ever the minutiae. In this case it just meant that I never really developed an emotional attatchment to the story.

My only real issue with the novel was its tendency to be predictable. I kept waiting to be surprised by this novel, but was only really suprised in the second last chapter, and if I had been a bit more emotionally involved I probably wouldn't have even been surprised by that as there were plenty of hints that it was coming. Also, I found the late addition of a character unneccessary, and his relationship with Claudia seemed out of character for her. I'm still a bit puzzled by his inclusion in the story - perhaps he was just intended to add more to the humanity of history, I'm not sure. It was a bit strange, though.

I'm adding Moon Tiger to my "re-read" pile, and hopefully I'll find more of a connection with more familiarity. For now I'll be moving on to the first of Peter Carey's Booker prize winning novels, "Oscar and Lucinda", which sounds like it should be fun.

There's still a week to be entered in my draw to win a book - just comment on the blog and tell me your favourite book and why you love it!

Happy reading!