ORLANDO: A BIOGRAPHY
BY VIRGINIA WOOLF
RATING 5/5
This is now one of my favourite books. I didn’t think Woolf had it in her to be so funny; perhaps it shows my dire need to read more of her books before I jump to my silly conclusions. Anyway, loved it loved it loved it!
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
BY ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
RATING 4/5
I’ll never forsake my partiality towards Dr. Watson. He’s such a perfect foil for the somewhat imposing Holmes. The thought of a creature like the giant hound bounding after you across the creepy moor is terrifying.
THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH
BY LEO TOLSTOY
RATING 4/5
Ivan doesn’t want to die, but he is dying. He hates it; his wife thinks it’s a bother; his doctors are complacent. This little book is searingly honest, uncompromising and it unnerved me. I wonder how my death will be like, but more importantly, I wonder if I’ll suffer long before expiring…
THE MASTER AND MARGARITA
BY MIKHAIL BULGAKOV
RATING 5/5
Its pages are spilling over with the wildest characters and some of the most surreal scenarios that make you dizzy. You can call this a supernatural love story or a fantasy novel that is relentlessly entertaining.
BARRY TROTTER AND THE UNNECESSARY SEQUEL
BY MICHAEL GERBER
RATING 2.5/5
Good, mindless fun, just like the Potter books. But those can get a bit tedious. Mumblemumble aka Bumbledore is the arch villain! Huzzah!
MIMUS
BY LILLI THAL
RATING 3/5
Ah… reading this is like easing yourself into a warm bath on a cold, rainy day. I miss reading such old-fashioned young people’s fiction.
GIGI AND THE CAT
BY COLETTE
RATING 4/5
Colette’s rather astute, lush storytelling skills are apparent in this collection.
GIGI: I think the movie was just a little moralistic in its treatment of Gigi and her relations. The book on the other hand is rather abrupt. She is a mere shadow of a character.
THE CAT: This is a quiet portrayal of domestic jealousies and about a petulant young man who refuses to grow up, has an unhealthy attachment to his cat and is quite the solitary beast himself.
CAPTAIN ALATRISTE
BY ARTURO PEREZ-REVERTE
RATING 2/5
I find the characters are like-able but not entirely original. Readers exhausted by such character sketches in similar genres will be, well, exhausted yet again. Notwithstanding the well written duelling scenes, I thought the narrative was patchy. An indifferent book.
THE BOOK OF PROPER NAMES
BY AMELIE NOTHOMB
RATING 1.5/5
I hate the stupid incongruous ending. I think this book will be well received by teens. It is a bildungsroman novel with themes of anorexia, being a hidden genius, etc., that have popular appeal for the hormonal young person I think.
IN A GERMAN PENSION
BY KATHERINE MANSFIELD
RATING 3.5/5
This is my first time reading Mansfield. She is a thoroughly modern voice. I think her muted antagonism towards the German people shouldn’t be taken too seriously – it’s written a few years before WWI broke out. Her wit is somewhat caustic, especially where men and German table manners are concerned.
BORGES AND THE ETERNAL ORANG-UTANS
BY LUIS VERISSIMO
RATING 3.5/5
A quiet scholar attends an Edgar Allan Poe seminar and ends up trying to solve a very cryptic murder. His idol, Borges the literary giant, lends a hand as well. If you are familiar with Poe, Lovecraft and of course Borges, you’ll find much to enjoy here. An intelligent book.
TOLKIEN’S GOWN AND OTHER STORIES OF FAMOUS AUTHORS AND RARE BOOKS
BY RICK GEKOSKI
RATING 2.5/5
This is the sort of book that you might find at the dentist’s for example. You can read it while waiting for your turn. Filled with quite interesting facts about book collecting and the personality types that you find in this trade. Also included are certain happy observations about authors.
HER HUSBAND
BY DIANE MIDDLEBROOK
RATING 3/5
This is my first time reading a biography of Plath and Hughes. I’m not certain I dislike Hughes less now that this “portrait of a marriage” tries to get his point through. It’s eerie. Plath’s entire literary life was edited by her apologetic husband. I bet she turned over in her grave countless times.
LOLITA
BY VLADIMIR NABOKOV
RATING 4/5
Before reading this book, I had the impression that it was all about paedophilia. It’s more complex than that, as I’ve discovered. It’s a novel that is ambiguous, chilling, hilarious, ridiculous, tragic, lyrical. I find it hard to like any character, but Humbert Humbert is perhaps somone I wouldn’t mind having a conversation with. Do I pity him? I don’t know. Is Lolita an angel? No. I dislike her more than the others.
PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER
BY PATRICK SUSKIND
RATING 4/5
A salacious little tale. I was repulsed but drawn in by the mad abandon of debaucheries of the mind and body. Part three of the book throws you off balance very suddenly. Munificent hysteria. I could only start in disbelief.
LYRA’S OXFORD
BY PHILIP PULLMAN
RATING 2.5/5
Pullman gives famished readers of HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy a little red book to stuff themselves on. Not sure if it works seeing that it’s barely a book. 40 odd pages of another adventure with lying little Lyra and Pantalaimon. Personally, I’m reading it because I read the trilogy and didn’t want to miss anything. I’m not a great fan of young people transmogrifying into lovebirds – which is exactly what goes on in THE AMBER SPYGLASS. I retched for weeks on end. No Will in sight here. Phew.
ARTHUR & GEORGE
BY JULIAN BARNES
RATING 5/5
This is not a perfect novel, yet I want to worship Julian Barnes as it comes pretty close to being so. It is a magnificent book; well written, smoothly flowing to a conclusion that produced a sensation of utter satisfaction. I must try to read Banville’s Booker winner to see why Julian didn’t win.
TITUS GROAN
BY MERVYN PEAKE
RATING 5/5
Phantasmagoric tour de force. Decaying earls, catatonic countesses, ancient manservants – and the schemeing villain in the shadows. Bloody brilliant!
ESPRESSO TALES
BY ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH
RATING 3/5
Somewhat better than its predecessor. Characters undergo cathartic change. Poetic justice is suitably meted out to the 2 indefatigable “villains” of this gentle piece. Comfy light reading.
PASSIONATE MINDS
BY DAVID BODANIS
RATING 3/5
Another woman overshadowed by her powerfully popular male lover. It’s awful. She translated the very reticent Newton’s PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA which led to a wider understanding of his discoveries. She was years ahead in discovering the nature of different coloured lights. And yet, her name means nothing to most of us. As for Bodanis, I think he immures his otherwise creditable book with a too casual diction.
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