50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Eight

I think I've given up on The Romanovs. I am not disciplined to read two books simultaneously (e.g. fiction/non-fiction) and I've lost interest a bit. I've got as far as Alexander I. The problem is there are too many other more interesting books on my TBR pile!

63. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshid Hamid.

Delightful short novel with lots of underlying symbolism (most of which I wasn't perceptive to see until I read some reviews ). I read this yesterday and was impressed how the story flowed easily and kept me gripped until the end.

Summary from GR: "Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite "valuation" firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his infatuation with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore. But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez’s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love."

101. 84 Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff
     I was a bit meh about this, but it was a quick and pleasant read. Much reviewed on here. I was just launching into the sequel where she visits London when I realised some cheeky person had reserved it so had to rush it back to the public library asap.

102. White Fang – Jack London
     The classic story of the trials of White Fang, part-wolf/part-dog and his life at the hands of Native Americans and Alaskan settlers. A lot of distressing cruelty but a satisfying ending redeems all.

103. Autumn – Ali Smith
     One of my favourite books of the year so far. It’s really about being lost in a post-Brixit world, the main character is as lost as the country. I loved the writing, the way she plays with words, repeats phrases, adds rhymes and generally messes about with language. I think this is probably a marmite book - it's love or hate but I loved it. There’s not much plot either but a lot of frustration and amusement about using the Check and Send service in the post-office (been there).

104. Dracula’s Brood: Neglected Vampire Classics – Richard Dalby
     Dracula’s Brood was very good too – a range of vampirism-related stories from some well-known (Conan Doyle) and much lesser-known authors. At least three stories were about blood-sucking trees and plants! Blood sucking fun all round.

I have My Absolute Darling on my tbr list so I will be interested to hear if it lives up to the (massive) hype.

Remus I think you are being very unfair to the Rev. If I was building a church on a hostile planet, wrestling with religious ethics and the linguistic gymnastics required to communicate with foetus-headed aliens, suffering from chronic constipation and chapped lips and my spouse was living on a failing earth a shed load of light years away then I think I would be entitled to a bit of personal private me time.

Has anyone watched the Amazon pilot episode (called Oasis instead of The Book of Strange New Things)? It was shite. I hope it doesn't get green lighted. No one had a wank (although there was some interpretive modern dance which is almost the same thing) so that's something I suppose.

Thanks guys It goes on the ever growing tbr pile!

It must be nearly a decade since I read The Crimson Petal and The White. I remember liking it a lot on the whole but would agree the beginning of the book was stronger than the end of the book.

68. The Talisman by Jonathan Aycliffe

A mysterious statue is unearthed in the ruins of ancient Babylon during an archeological dig, and brought to London. Once in London, it starts exerting a sinister Satanic influence.
It’s okay but another one where the start of the book is stronger than the ending.

Agreed!

It is brilliant, Desdemona. Better than The Stand IMVHO.

Desdemona - If you like The Stand, I'm pretty sure you'll like It too, and the film is great.

Crimson Petal so very, very boring.

Scribbly - not the wanking vicar again! All he does is wank, or think about wanking, or eat or think about eating. Or eat, whilst thinking about wanking. Or wank, whilst thinking about eating. or something...

Chessie - Glad you enjoyed Decline and Fall. I think it's a masterpiece!

21. Stephen King’s The Stand. I first read this around 35 years ago, when it made a big impression on me being the first literary vision of the ‘end of the world as we know it’ I’d come across. Second time around, following hot on the heels of reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, The Stand seems almost quaint in its post apocalyptic vision. There are two cohesive settlements led by supernatural figureheads, one ostensibly good and the other evil and bent on destruction, but both struggling to rebuild a version of society and ‘get the lights back on’. This plague destroyed world is a land of plenty, wildlife is abundant and no one goes hungry or thirsty. Don’t want to wash your clothes? Just pick some more up in one of the well stocked stores. The struggle to rebuild communities is interspersed with supernatural and religious mumbo jumbo. The nearest King comes to the man made horrors of McCarthy is the description of ‘the zoo’, a group heading to the ‘evil’ Las Vegas settlement centred around Randall Flagg; the devil incarnate. But I won’t elaborate any further to avoid spoilers. I decided to re-read The Stand because it featured heavily in a ‘best book ever read’ thread, which made me re-evaluate my view of King as the literary equivalent of the blockbuster movie; fun but ultimately unsubstantial. He was an author I read in my youth and have not returned to since. However The Stand proved to be a rollicking good read. The description of the spread of the weaponised pandemic that all but wipes out mankind remains chilling in its believability, and the large cast of characters we are introduced to struggling in the aftermath were well drawn. The book I read as a teenager was 400 pages shorter than this Kindle edition, King reluctantly edited his manuscript at the behest of the accounting department to a achieve a sub £7 price point on the paperback when it was published in 1980. At times this brick of a book did feel a little bloated and even a little repetitive, particularly where Mother Abigail was concerned, but all in all a definite page turner. I will definitely read some of the King books I’m less familiar with. Maybe It, if I’m feeling brave, before the film comes out on Sky.

Thanks Best and Cote. The writing style at the beginning is really intriguing and if it wasn't for the idiotic narration on the audiobook I think I would have stuck with it for a good while longer.
That's interesting that you both say it disappoints at the end. For such a long book that's a pretty poor return for all the hours invested reading it. I've just read something very similar on a GoodReads review so will give it a miss for the time being. I've got Under the Skin by him sitting on my TBR shelf which at 296 pages is a considerably shorter reading commitment.

I’ll be the voice of doom again re the verbose and utterly pointless rubbish that was Crimson Petal and the White. Here’s my review, from back in 2014:

CoteDAzur

59. The Crimson Petal And The White - Michel Faber

This book started out really well, with original and spirited narration and fine detail about Victorian-era London, focusing on a young intellectual prostitute called Sugar. It was so promising in the beginning that I kept on reading it & hoping that something interesting would happen, even after it went downhill and died a long slow death between pages 100 and 500 or so.

I know that this book has its fans on here and I was going to hold back in my criticism for that reason, but I feel that people have a right to know just how terrible it is. The original writing style that makes the first chapter so interesting disappears into thin air shortly thereafter. The so-called intellectual prostitute (well, she can hold a conversation with men and is writing a book about a female serial killer when the reader first meets her) quickly becomes a dull, boring servant. Gives up on the book she is writing, and judging by the evidence, on all efforts to influence her fate one way or another. Becomes a helpless puppy craving her man's affection, whereas she was previously capable of discretely manipulating him for her own purposes.

894 pages of this drivel on domestic boredom, and you don't even get a story with any sort of plot Well, at least the non-existent story sort of prepares you for the shockingly inept "ending" which was so NOT an ending that I was puzzled when I turned the page and didn't find anything there.

Gah. I can go on but you get the message. I'm actually feeling pretty pissed off about having spent two weeks on this and can safely say that I will not be touching another Michel Faber book ever again.

“Rather glad I don't have to hear the word Breach! again. The City and the City is probably best not listened to when unwell, lying sweatily in bed and likely to drop off to sleep regularly throughout the proceedings. No idea what the hell happened apart from Breach! Breach!”

I read that book while perfectly well and still have no idea what was supposed up have happened. Nothing , probably.

Scribbly, Crimson Petal is one of those books that starts well then disappoints so you have probably had the best bit.

Gave up listening to The Crimson Petal And The White after a commute to work and back. 41 hours of that narration style. No thanks.

Should I read it instead? Loved the wanking vicar who really didn't do that much wanking actually The Book of Strange New Things. Will I love this too?

152, 153 and 154: You Are Dead, Dead Simple and Dead Man’s Grip by Peter James

Three books from the series about the detective Roy Grace. I do find these gripping, but James does come up with some horrible things for people to do to each other!

155. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

A reread for the first in the St Mary’s series. Listened to this on audiobook. Love this series so nice to go back to the beginning again.

156. Decline And Fall by Evelyn Waugh

I really enjoyed this social satire novel. I bought it following the TV adaptation earlier this year which I also enjoyed. I did wonder why Pennyfeather was so accepting of all the things that happened to him though!

93 NonViolent Communication: A Language for Life by Marshall B Rosenberg
Explanation of the basic principles behind NVC, and how to integrate them into everyday life. I reviewed another NVC book upthread - reading that made me want to re-read this one. I find lots of things about NVC useful - as much for understanding and examining my own motivations & needs as for communicating with others. I also find NVC really helpful in relating to my teenager - for me it's kind of the theoretical backdrop to books like 'How to Talk . . .' if that makes sense.

I thought the ending was simply a tool for MA to get her, "All men are bastards and must be punished" line across for the zillionth time.

Just finished Ann Leckie's Provenance, which I bought a while back but have been saving.

Firstly, I'll say that if the pronouns in Ancillary Justice annoyed the fuck out of you, then don't pick this one up. Leckie makes frequent use of em, eir as pronouns for some of the characters - it's not a critical bit of the story but seems to be background worldbuilding, and for me it worked well and rapidly receded into the background.

Provenance is a standalone novel set in the same universe as Ancillary Justice, but well away from the Raadchai part of it - events in the previous books are tangentially referred to. Similarly strong world building - we see more of different worlds & species and they are well portrayed with obviously different cultural expectations & motives playing a part in the plot. Leckie, as in the Ancillary books, doesn't spell stuff out but reveals things like social status/structure etc through the interactions between characters.

Ingray Aughskold is the protagonist, and the book follows her viewpoint exclusively. It starts with her in the middle of a risky plan to impress her powerful foster mother, in the rather desperate hope that it will encourage her to choose Ingray as her heir instead of Ingray's brother.

Instead, things rapidly go off the rails and it becomes clear that Ingray hasn't really thought very far ahead and is soon caught up in the middle of a murder investigation with political ramifications well beyond her home planet, still hoping to please her foster mother somehow.

The ending is a let down. A complete cop out after you've read so much to get there. It's a long book.

I can only hope the real Grace had it better.

I was really cross with the ending of Alias Grace.

46. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood based on the true story of Grace Marks, a 16-year-old girl convicted of the murder of her employer and his mistress in 1843 in Canada. Claiming not to remember anything, Grace is spared the noose but moved between prisons and mental asylums until a reform group take up her case. They engage a young doctor of psychology to try and ascertain her mental state and whether she is guilty or innocent .

It looks at gender, class and social order at a time of political upheaval. This is well written, but sometimes long-winded. I did enjoy it, but it didn't shake me in the way that A Handmaid's Tale did. Atwood is such a diverse author and far from a one trick pony, but I think Handmaid set the bar so high I will always be left wanting something more from the rest of her work.

Sparrow that Dave Gorman book sounds a perfect stocking filler for DH. We have a bit of a board game passion so that's right up his street.

Thanks Tarahumara!
I'm not sure about My Absolute Darling, it's been a bit gratuitous in just the first chapter.....anybody else read it and have any advice about whether I ought to persevere?