by Jeet Thayil
This book is based in Bombay in the 80's and 90's and looks at the world of drugs and brothels and lowlifes through the eyes of an opium addict and some rather unattractive characters who I fould myself getting drawn to as the book progressed.
The lives of Rashid, the owner of the opium den and Dimple a very attractive eunuch, who moves from the brothel to the opium den, gradually disintegrate through their opium use and the influx of new drugs onto the market.
It is a book that could do with a glossary as many of the terms went over my head but I did find it moving and strangely engaging 5/10
Monday, August 27, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Skios
by Michael Frayn
This is a very easy read. It is also very amusing, and farce par excellence.
Dr. Norman Wilfred arrives on a Greek island to give an important lecture to a gathering of the rich and famous. Arriving at the same time is the rakish Oliver Fox. With a mix up over a suitcase and an innocent smile, a whole train of mistaken identity and mayhem ensues.
Michael Frayn seems able to take things to where they cannot get worse and then makes them worse in an almost plausible way.
Even when the end looms and you feel that you must be let down, a piece of nimble linguistic footwork brings things to an enjoyable, if improbable ending.
I read it in a weekend during two train journeys and it almost demands to be read in a short time frame. On the beach maybe-but do check your suitcase labels! 9/10
This is a very easy read. It is also very amusing, and farce par excellence.
Dr. Norman Wilfred arrives on a Greek island to give an important lecture to a gathering of the rich and famous. Arriving at the same time is the rakish Oliver Fox. With a mix up over a suitcase and an innocent smile, a whole train of mistaken identity and mayhem ensues.
Michael Frayn seems able to take things to where they cannot get worse and then makes them worse in an almost plausible way.
Even when the end looms and you feel that you must be let down, a piece of nimble linguistic footwork brings things to an enjoyable, if improbable ending.
I read it in a weekend during two train journeys and it almost demands to be read in a short time frame. On the beach maybe-but do check your suitcase labels! 9/10
Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady
by Florence King
This is a memoir of Florence Kink's early life. It is very funny in places and sad in others. Some of the American references were lost on me but it did not distract from the enjoyment.
Despite the wacky family she came from-and which of us have families that our nnot weird in the eyes of others-it left me feeling that this was a tribute to her family and the values they instilled in her.
Her descriptions of her sexual awakening and adventures are not for the sqeamish but she manages to handle them with humour, and deals with loss in a way that can only induce empathy. 8/10
This is a memoir of Florence Kink's early life. It is very funny in places and sad in others. Some of the American references were lost on me but it did not distract from the enjoyment.
Despite the wacky family she came from-and which of us have families that our nnot weird in the eyes of others-it left me feeling that this was a tribute to her family and the values they instilled in her.
Her descriptions of her sexual awakening and adventures are not for the sqeamish but she manages to handle them with humour, and deals with loss in a way that can only induce empathy. 8/10
Monday, August 13, 2012
Lourdes
by Emile Zola
A bit of a mixed bag. Zola deals well with the crisis of faith experienced by the hero Pierre, and despite his personal views, lays out the conflicts between faith and rationalism in a realistic way. However, he also wants to tell us the story of Bernadette and point out the problems of Lourdes as an institution. In fact he wants to do a lot of things and in my view spends too long doing them such that it becomes in part repetitive.
There are a host of characters in the book but I could only engage with Pierre and Marie and her father. The other characters were either too similar or too vague to find that interesting. Like all Zola the naturalism is outstanding and the descriptions of some of the sick can induce nausea, but the detail of the train journey was fascinating as was the description of Lourdes itself. However, not one of his best 5/10
A bit of a mixed bag. Zola deals well with the crisis of faith experienced by the hero Pierre, and despite his personal views, lays out the conflicts between faith and rationalism in a realistic way. However, he also wants to tell us the story of Bernadette and point out the problems of Lourdes as an institution. In fact he wants to do a lot of things and in my view spends too long doing them such that it becomes in part repetitive.
There are a host of characters in the book but I could only engage with Pierre and Marie and her father. The other characters were either too similar or too vague to find that interesting. Like all Zola the naturalism is outstanding and the descriptions of some of the sick can induce nausea, but the detail of the train journey was fascinating as was the description of Lourdes itself. However, not one of his best 5/10
Saturday, August 11, 2012
New Finnish Grammar
by Diego Marani
This is a strange, fascinating tale set in the second world war about a man who is suffering from amnesia. The doctor who first treats him patches together various evidence suggesting he is from Finland and sends him to be cared for by a friend in Helsinki. The friend never appears and this story evolves as our central character tries to pick up the pieces of a lost life and lost language. It is beautifully written/translated and I only found a problem with the ending where it felt as though the author had realised a deadline was looming and pushed the resolution of the story into as short an ending as possible.
It is at times sad, at times amusing but always engaging 8/10
This is a strange, fascinating tale set in the second world war about a man who is suffering from amnesia. The doctor who first treats him patches together various evidence suggesting he is from Finland and sends him to be cared for by a friend in Helsinki. The friend never appears and this story evolves as our central character tries to pick up the pieces of a lost life and lost language. It is beautifully written/translated and I only found a problem with the ending where it felt as though the author had realised a deadline was looming and pushed the resolution of the story into as short an ending as possible.
It is at times sad, at times amusing but always engaging 8/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)