After Dark by Haruki Murakami
30 May 2011 2 Comments
in 2011, Book Reviews
The midnight hour approaches in an almost empty all-night diner. Mari sips her coffee and glances up from a book as a young man, a musician, intrudes on her solitude. Both have missed the last train home. The musician has plans to rehearse with his jazz band all night, Mari is equally unconcerned and content to read, smoke and drink coffee until dawn. They realise they’ve been acquainted through Eri, Mari’s beautiful sister. The musician soon leaves with a promise to return. Shortly afterwards Mari will be interrupted a second time by a girl from the Alphaville Hotel; a Chinese prostitute has been hurt by a client, the girl has heard Mari speaks fluent Chinese and requests her help.
Meanwhile Eri is at home and sleeps a deep, heavy sleep that is ‘too perfect, too pure’ to be normal; pulse and respiration at the lowest required level. She has been in this soporific state for two months; Eri has become the classic myth – a sleeping beauty. But tonight as the digital clock displays 00:00 a faint electrical crackle is perceptible, a hint of life flickers across the TV screen, though the television’s plug has been pulled.
Murakami, acclaimed master of the surreal, returns with a stunning new novel, where the familiar can become unfamiliar after midnight, even to those that thrive in small hours. With After Dark we journey beyond the twilight. Strange nocturnal happenings, or a trick of the night?
I seem to be very good at the moment at choosing novels that are very difficult to write a proper review for, and this is definitely one of them. It was interesting, and will certainly have provided me with something to mull over and think about for many days to come, mostly to try and decipher what the events of the novel were supposed to mean – to decipher the ‘hidden meaning’ behind it all.
For me the novel read very well, and it seemed in some places to be written almost as stage directions in a script for a theatrical production. I found it especially fascinating that the reader should be directly addressed and that we should be given a place next to the narrator, so we are not seeing things through their eyes, as would be normal for such a novel, but we are drawn into the novel and are experiencing the events apparently for ourselves. This adds a slightly surreal touch to the novel that is not unpleasant.
Another truly original and unique work of art from the spectacular Haruki Murakami.
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
15 May 2011 1 Comment
in 2011, Book Reviews
As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
This is definitely one of my favourite reads of the year so far, and I can’t believe it has taken me this long to get around to reading it!
I didn’t think I would really enjoy a novel about the circus, but after a friend recommended it to me, and after reading so many good reviews, I decided to give it a go. I am so glad that I did. It was interesting, exciting and moving.
I particularly enjoyed the way the chapters changed between the present and the past with the circus.
Absolutely brilliant. A 5 star rating, well-deserved!
The Death of Bunny Monro by Nick Cave
25 Apr 2011 2 Comments
in 2011, Book Reviews
Grace Williams says it Loud by Emma Henderson
09 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2011, Book Reviews
The doctors said no more could be done and advised Grace’s parents to put her away.
On her first day at the Briar Mental Institute, Grace, aged eleven, meets Daniel.
Debonair Daniel, an epileptic who can type with his feet, sees a different Grace: someone to share secrets and canoodle with, someone to fight for.
A deeply affecting, spirit-soaring story of love against the odds.
This would really have been a 3.5 because the book did lose it’s grip on my interest in a couple of places, but I battled on, and in the end I’m glad I did. That is why I do not put it down as a 3, but rather a 4 star - because my interest was still there most of the time, and it was worth finishing it in the end.
The novel was really beautiful in places, with Grace and Daniel’s ‘romance’, which could be really quite touching. But I did also think that parts of it were a little odd, not-quite-right, and perhaps even inappropriate in places. The language in places, I found quite inappropriate, and out of place considering that that kind of crude language is not used throughout, but only in short, sharp, dribs and drabs.
I will perhaps update this review later when I have more time. But the overall impression from me is that the book is worth a read and I would recommend it to a friend, and in fact, have done so already.
Freefall by Kristen Heizmann
26 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
“When a young woman stumbles out of the Hanalei Mountains on the island of Kauai with no memory of who she is or how she got there, Cameron Pierce reluctantly agrees to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding her arrival. As pieces begin to fall into place, he suspects her injuries were no accident, but he’s far from convinced she’s an innocent victim. And there’s that nagging feeling he’s seen her somewhere before…Now known as Jade, the woman begins to recall fragments of what led her to this place, and she realizes the danger isn’t over. Jade and the cynical Hawaiian investigator attempt to reconstruct the threads of her identity, but the stakes are far higher than either expected.”
I wanted to approach this book with an open mind (having never read any Christian Fiction before), but I will admit that although I had my intentions, I was still sceptical. However, before I knew it I’d passed page 100 and found myself fully involved with the story. I found the characters mostly amiable, and I found them convincing enough to want things to work out at the end. Although too idealistic in some ways, I enjoyed Gentry and Cameron’s relationship and found it to be convincing most of the time; it even managed to give me goosebumps near the end of the novel.
Although the Christian theme is something that I am unfamiliar with, and although I do not share the religious views of the author, I didn’t find the religious theme to be too overwhelming and was still able to enjoy the story.
I’m not sure I would read anything else by this author, but I did enjoy Freefall and would recommend it to a friend.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
17 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
“In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewered version of contemporary England. Narrated by Kathy, now 31, “Never Let Me Go” hauntingly dramatises her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world. A story of love, friendship and memory, “Never Let Me Go” is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life.”
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a beautifully moving and captivating novel that truly allows the reader to consider what it means to be human.
The novel’s main character, Kathy (now 31), is the readers’ guide through this dark and terrifying alternate England, allowing one into her mind and displaying her most intimate thoughts and emotions as she reminisces about her abnormal childhood and the events that followed.
As the reader watches the events of Kathy’s life unfold through her eyes, one slowly begins to see the horrific truth behind these events, and to see their dreadful purpose.
Ishiguro slowly and subtly reveals the depth of horror within the plot through beautifully composed chapters, following the thoughts and experiences of innocent and unfortunate Kathy and her friends.
Kathy, Tommy and Ruth are elegantly constructed characters who become so real and human to the reader, that they continue the flawless poignancy of the novel with seeming ease.
A gripping read from the first page to the very last; this novel will stay with me for a very long time!
The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale
03 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
“Brought up in rural Sussex, seventeen-year-old Agnes Trussel is carrying an unwanted child. Taking advantage of the death of her elderly neighbour, Agnes steals her savings and runs away to London. On her way she encounters the intriguing Lettice Talbot who promises that she will help Agnes upon their arrival. But Agnes soon becomes lost in the dark, labyrinthine city. She ends up at the household of John Blacklock, laconic firework-maker, becoming his first female assistant.
The months pass and it becomes increasingly difficult for Agnes to conceal her secret. Soon she meets Cornelius Soul, seller of gunpowder, and hatches a plan which could save her from ruin. Yet why does John Blacklock so vehemently disapprove of Mr Soul? And what exactly is he keeping from her? Could the housekeeper, Mrs Blight, with her thirst for accounts of hangings, suspect her crime or condition?”
Jane Borodale is definitely an author to be looking out for in the future. The Book of Fires is her debut novel, which follows the story of Agnes Trussel, a Seventeen-year-old girl from rural Sussex, who at the beginning of the novel finds herself in the family way and leaves her home for London to spare her family the shame of her condition.
Upon moving to London she finds herself suddenly in the employment of John Blackstock, a pioneering pyrotechnist, making and experimenting with fireworks.
I found Agnes to be a very likeable character, and found it easy to sympathise with her throughout the novel. When her relationship with John Blackstock slowly begins to deepen, you find yourself hoping even more that things will go right for Agnes, and that their relationship will fully develop.
Although Agnes’ circumstances do not change as she had hoped them to, and she suffers great sadness towards the end of the novel, the final chapters are far from dissatisfying; one could even call them heart-warming.
The written style of the novel was beautiful, and could even be described as quite poetic in places. Borodale uses a lot of symbolic language, particularly when describing death and life. She often describes natural scenes at length, focusing particularly on new, fresh life, which becomes very symbolic of Agnes’ developing pregnancy. This is then contrasted with the rot and death that surrounds her, beginning with the discovery of the dead Mrs Mellin, and then with her surrounds as she arrives in London; a beautiful contrast to her descriptions of life and symbolism of pregnancy, perhaps suggesting the fragility of life.
A stunningly beautiful debut novel, I look forward to reading more from Jane Borodale in the future!
A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly
22 Jul 2010 1 Comment
“When mattie Gokey is given a bundle of letters to burn she fully intends to execute the wishes of the giver, Grace Brown. When Grace Brown is found drowned the next day in Big Moose Lake, Mattie finds that it is not as easy to burn those letters as she had thought. And, as she reads, a riveting story emerges – not only Grace Brown’s story but also Mattie’s hopes and ambitions for the future and her relationships with her friends and family. Published to widespread acclaim this wonderful novel, part murder mystery and part coming-of-age story, is an astounding and accomplished piece of literature. The reviews say it all.”
What a fantastically appropriate novel for a lover of the written word!
Mattie is the perfect narrator for the novel, and I found her to be a very likeable character. She provides the reader with her inner-monologues, truly allowing one into her mind and putting such raw emotions on display that one cannot help but only agree and sympathise with her. A character that worked well alongside Mattie was her teacher, Miss Wilcox. When the reader discovers that she is in fact a highly controversial poet on the run from her abusive and restrictive husband, this gives Mattie further inspiration and incentive to fulfil her dream to become a writer.
However, Donnelly’s greatest achievement with this novel is in her descriptions. She writes Mattie’s observations in such a beautiful and poetic manner, that the reader is immediately captivated in her world; a world that becomes so fantastically real.
Fantastic, wonderful, elegant and poetic; a novel not to be missed.
No Way Out by David Kessler
14 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
“No witness. No alibi. No way out…
When 19 year old Bethel Newton accuses Elias Claymore of raping her, America is deeply divided on the issue. In his youth, Claymore was a Black power militant, as well as a convicted rapist and escaped convict. But after undergoing a Pauline conversion, he came back to America as a born again Christian to serve out his sentence and reinvented himself as a respectable, neoconservative TV talkshow host.
In the face of the new serious charge, Claymore turns to his friend Alex Sedaka for help. Alex is persuaded to share the defence with a law firm appointed by Claymore’s insurers and finds himself working with Andromeda (“Andi”) Phoenix, whose lesbian lover Gene works at a rape crisis centre.
But when Andi makes an issue of the under-representation of African-Americans on the jury, she starts receiving anonymous threats. Meanwhile Alex finds holes in the prosecution case, such as the victim’s description of the attacker as well as her own past. But he hits a major obstacle when he comes up against the DNA evidence.
Over the course of the trial, Alex must battle his way through jury tampering and a malicious computer hacker to find out who is telling the truth. And while all this is going on, Alex’s on-ex-girlfriend, TV reporter Martine Yin, is covering the case. But is she getting too close and putting herself in danger?”
‘No Way Out’ follows the lives of multiple characters as they come together in defence of previous convicted criminal, but born- again Christian, Elias Claymore.
When I began reading, I was immediately transported into the novel and firmly gripped by an exciting plot and believable, amiable characters – I did not want to put the book down.
The chapters are split into dates and times, while also alternating between characters, which gives the novel a very realistic feeling. The characters were also fantastic. I loved Alex Sedaka right from the beginning; he held the same charm and appeal as Kate Atkinson’s leading character, Jackson Brodie; the strong-minded, caring and protective character with a real sense of justice. I also sympathised immediately with Elias Claymore. I was convinced from the beginning that he was the innocent party, and despite his cruel and reckless past, I instantly liked him. In contrast to this, Bethel Newton, the young girl accusing Claymore of raping her, was a character that I sympathised with in the beginning, but grew to dislike her throughout the course of the novel.
Conversely to this, as the reader is bought more deeply into the plot and the trial, I found myself becoming a little bored at times. This was not due to any fault in the story, but more to do with the depth in which the DNA evidence was described. While it is obvious that David Kessler has researched the topics in his novel well, I found myself skipping paragraphs at a time when explaining the more complicated aspects of the DNA evidence, simply because parts of it were out of my understanding.
However, the ending to the novel was mostly excellent; full of action, danger and plenty of plot twists to keep the reader full of suspense right until the final word. Although a couple of the plot twists were a little predictable, most were not, and this provided the novel with a very exciting ending.
No Way Out is an excellent read, and I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future.
