This is a weird one. I tend to enjoy Agatha Christie's lesser known detectives a lot, if only because they get to do things she, for whatever reason, This is a weird one. I tend to enjoy Agatha Christie's lesser known detectives a lot, if only because they get to do things she, for whatever reason, didn't think appropriate for Marple and Poirot, but Mr Quin (the nearest she comes to a magic detective) just doesn't quite work. The idea of a character whose mere presence means things are going to happen is charming enough, but the execution falters terribly.
(Also, it feels unnecessary to mention the ridiculousness of naming a character 'Harley Quin' but honestly...)...more
It's redundant to say I adore this book. Hopeful and human and (somewhat robbed of immediacy by format) so much a love letter to just plain getting thIt's redundant to say I adore this book. Hopeful and human and (somewhat robbed of immediacy by format) so much a love letter to just plain getting the job done.
Mark is charming and clever and a joy to spend time with and watching him methodically solve first one problem then another then another and so on was made so compelling by his easy going humour it became far too easy to ignore how much of what he was saying was going in one ear and out the other. The NASA staff, likewise, were far more enjoyable to spend time with than I expected, and I found myself eagerly awaiting their next appearance.
Brilliant from beginning to end. Will definitely reread....more
There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said a thousand times before. Vibrant and fun and well worth reading (just be sure to dispel the idea that There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said a thousand times before. Vibrant and fun and well worth reading (just be sure to dispel the idea that you're supposed to particularly like any of the characters)....more
A pleasant and unaffected book about three highly pretentious and occasionally unpleasant characters. (view spoiler)[Enjoyable for at least 90% of theA pleasant and unaffected book about three highly pretentious and occasionally unpleasant characters. (view spoiler)[Enjoyable for at least 90% of the narrative, but I turned the last page disappointed (hide spoiler)]. ...more
The best word I have for this book is 'pleasant'. The characters are all at least somewhat human (I particularly likedMy November 2016 book club book.
The best word I have for this book is 'pleasant'. The characters are all at least somewhat human (I particularly liked relationship between Alex, Daisy, and Benjy), the writing style (if occasionally confusing) felt appropriate. (view spoiler)[I really enjoyed finding a 'coming out' narrative that (a.) focused on a religious teenage girl, and (b.) was far more about wanting both acceptance and occasion from her family than it was about entering into a relationship. (hide spoiler)] Boiled down, the narrative is essentially 'put your characters in a room together and let them talk' and that doesn't strike me as a bad thing.
There's nothing, to my eye, unforgivably wrong with the book, but it was easy to walk away from and difficult to feel excitement for. A bit like hearing other people's holiday stories.
I had similar problems with this that I did with the last Murakami I read but I think his style translates better to short stories than to longer noveI had similar problems with this that I did with the last Murakami I read but I think his style translates better to short stories than to longer novels. I particularly enjoyed 'Landscape with Flatiron' and 'Super-Frog Saves Tokyo'. ...more
A lot of different shades of magic pressed together into one remarkable book. I particularly enjoyed 'Chivalry', 'We Can Get Them For You Wholesale', A lot of different shades of magic pressed together into one remarkable book. I particularly enjoyed 'Chivalry', 'We Can Get Them For You Wholesale', and 'Murder Mysteries'. ...more
It feels reductive to say I adored this book. I found it funny and fascinating and entirely magic, the complicated and endlessly repetitive family treIt feels reductive to say I adored this book. I found it funny and fascinating and entirely magic, the complicated and endlessly repetitive family tree (which in any other book would have bored me to tears) was an absolute joy to follow (view spoiler)[and on the few occasions I did find myself confused about what had happened to this or that Aureliano or José Arcadio they would return (seemingly by magic) to the forefront of the narrative within a few pages (hide spoiler)].
I loved this book. I can not wait to read more of Márquez's work. ...more
From the first phone call in City of Glass it was clear this book had no interest in 'standard operating procedure', and by the time The Locked Room dFrom the first phone call in City of Glass it was clear this book had no interest in 'standard operating procedure', and by the time The Locked Room drew to a close it was clear that this can only be classed as a unique and ambitious work of genius.
An experience both utterly bizarre and entirely brilliant. ...more
I went into this expecting (for lack of a better phrase) an education book and found something completely different. InMy October 2016 book club book.
I went into this expecting (for lack of a better phrase) an education book and found something completely different. Innately funny and entirely human, this was a joy to read and an utterly original experience.
An easy read about a difficult subject.
(And god bless Steven Amsterdam for answering, when asked why he chose to make his main character gay, "Why not?") ...more
While I adored Donna Tartt's other works, I found both of them to be depressingly male. This one, however, morI really wish this book had been better.
While I adored Donna Tartt's other works, I found both of them to be depressingly male. This one, however, more than balanced the scales with the fascinatingly varied Cleve family. Harriet and Allison are easy favourites, starkly different in look, manner, and their relationship to the past. And while their mother, Charlotte, never rises to her full potential within the narrative, the eldest generation of Cleve women are charming, interesting, and fascinating to watch in action. (Oh - what I wouldn't give for a fanbase as devoted to this family as they are to Richard and Theo and their compatriots).
On the other hand, this book just doesn't flow as well as Tartt's other writing. It lags in places, and I can more than understand the disappointment of anyone who went into this expecting the murder mystery seemingly set up in the first chapter. It's also a little difficult, in places, to accept the racism inherent to the setting from a white author who never gives the other half of the cast the right to rebutal.
Not a bad book necessarily, but one that's a little harder to love than it should be....more
I'm bad at dystopia. I find it hard to engage with and difficult to enjoy. And I've never really regretted that untilMy September 2016 book club book.
I'm bad at dystopia. I find it hard to engage with and difficult to enjoy. And I've never really regretted that until now. I had the immense pleasure of speaking to Briohny Doyle in September and found her knowledge of disaster movies and their purpose fascinating.
I'm sure that knowledge and depth is in this novel, but I am certainly the wrong person to tease it out....more
Loading...
