50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Two

15. Dark Light by Jodi Taylor

The sequel to White Silence which I read upthread. This was bonkers but I still liked it. This is her supernatural series so it’s a bit different to St Mary’s but you can recognise Taylor’s writing style. The plot felt a bit disjointed but if you just go along with it, it’s good fun.

Mack Circe is wonderful and I think you will really enjoy it. I really wouldn't bother with A Thousand Ships especially if you have already read Song of Achilles or Silence of the Girls as it doesn't do anything different to either of those only a lot worse.

Oh dear, I've got Circe (unread) on my Kindle and A Thousand Ships as a library reservation (available from 20 February, unless all the people before me in the queue return it in disgust after 1 day). This discussion isn't doing much to validate my choices .

Sorry, need to go to sleep - the first Theseus one is The King Must Die.

Cote - Mary Renault was a woman but she tended to write from the perspective of male (often gay) protagonists, and many early readers were convinced she must have been a man to write such things. So her books set in Ancient Greece definitely aren't women's 'feelings' books. In fact the two about Theseus (starting with Bull from the Sea) demythologise the story, setting it firmly in a Bronze Age world without supernatural elements. The characters obviously believe in the gods, but they aren't present as actors in the narrative. Theseus is a womanising agent of the patriarchy (although also manages to be likeable) - and we see the story entirely from his POV.

Just finished 1. The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K Dick which I found ended very abruptly. This is the second of his books I've read recently, and I felt the same way about the other! Fantastically written, a bit of a mental workout but I'm glad I read it. I don't think I'll be reading any more of his for a while..

Oh god a marmite book I don't normally do books that win prizes. That normally puts me off guess I will get to it one day.. Don't feel like I have to rush now if it's going to be a read that takes time. Not in the right frame of mind for that just now.

How does your divinity feel?
Am I the only one whose mind slid completely into the gutter here?

Matilda2013 - I liked the god of small things but it is such an atmosphere heavy book so I has to read it quite slowly, found it rewarding though

"I'm still wondering what on earth Cote was thinking reading Circe though. Recipe for disaster!"

I am happy to have entertained so many people tonight

@Matilda2013

I read A God Of Small Things around the time it won the Booker.

I remember very little about it except there were I think, twins, and I was about 17, found it a trudge, and felt like I was only reading it because it had won a prize and I was still very much learning about adult novels at that stage and it just made me feel a bit thick that I didn't "get it" or "rate it"

Little did I know that this would begin a lifelong Love/Hate with The Booker Prize

I'm still wondering what on earth Cote was thinking reading Circe though. Recipe for disaster!

Matilda2013 I loved The God of Small Things although I think it can be a bit marmite.

Even worse was the many cringetastic paragraphs such as:

how does your divinity feel? ‘What do you mean?’ I said. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘let me tell you how mine feels. Like a column of water that pours ceaselessly over itself, and is clear down to its rocks. Now, you.’ I tried answers: like breezes on a crag. Like a gull, screaming from its nest.

Cote - thankfully all of the sex I've ever had, apart from one very drunken episode as a student, has been much more fun than Circe.

All I can actually remember happening in Circe was that we were told how beautiful she was three trillion times in the first three pages.

Remus - re "I gave up on it after a few pages for being dull as fuck."

We rarely like the same book but it is fascinating how we hate the same books with comparable venom

I agree with you re "dull as fuck", except that the human race would have died out within a generation or two if sex was this dull.

What is truly fantastic though is Emily Wilson's translation of the The Odyssey. Highly recommended!

Magimedi, I'm so sorry for your loss, and all my sympathy to you too, FiveGoMad.

I liked Song of Achilles, but I thought Circe was even better: richer and more complex. If you are into Greek myth, it's impressive to see how Miller weaves different myths together and fleshes out the characters. I was amused by Circe as a single mum (hope that's not too much of a spoiler!); even goddesses have a hard time on their own with a crying baby!

I also liked Barker's Silence of the Girls. Natalie Haynes' A Thousand Ships left me cold though. I just didn't think it was very well written, or offered much of a fresh perspective on the myths. It felt too workmanlike to me.

"If you haven't read Mary Renault's Greek novels Cote you might enjoy them rather more"

Thanks for the recommendation but I've had enough Greek mythology feeeellliiiinnnnggssss to last me a lifetime

"Never fancied Circe. I'm not quite sure why you read it Cote"

Because it was 99p on the Kindle and because there were so many glowing reviews on 50-Book threads.

I would have stayed away, if not for the memory of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - a wonderful book which was also magicky and written by a female author. I thought I would give Circe a chance, given how much people loved it on these threads.

Oh dear Cote, I had Circe on my TBR list, I'm debating if it's worth my time now.
I enjoyed Song of Achilles

Re comfort reading Harry Potter or Bill Bryson does it for me.

Best - we'll probably both have nightmares tonight now. I find myself feeling really embarrassed for her. Will never read another of hers.

Oh god, the sex in Pat Barker. Thanks for reminding me Remus. Otherwise, good.

Retreated into Bill Bryson again having read

House of Glass - Hadley Freeman - been reviewed on here often but sad story of how her Jewish family escaped persecution in Poland only to face it again in Paris in the Second World War.

The Chalet - Catherine Cooper Okayish thriller set in a chalet. 20 years after two skiers go missing, a body is found. Have to admit to skim reading bits as it got a bit boring.

A Good Catch - Fern Briiton romance set in Cornwall. Not for me. Plot was obvious, characters one dimensional and again I skimmed much of it.

to those that need them today.
And thank you to @southeastdweller for the new thread.

Currently reading The Push - Ashley Audrain which I was really looking forward to. However, I've seen rave reviews for The Last Thing to Burn - Will Dean and my delivery came sooner than expected so I do have half an eye on that for the next read

Also looking for some opinions. My boss at work bought me The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy for Christmas. Did people enjoy this? Love it, hate it, think I should 100% read? I'm not sure and I'm also not used to people buying me books I haven't suggested.

Thanks for the second new thread @southeastdweller blimey this thread moves quickly, I’ve still to catch up with the last thread.
3) My Darling by Amanda Robson, read by Laura Costello and Matt Addis
Well first of all the narration was good and I praise Laura Costello as I genuinely thought there were two lady narrators until I just checked now.
This was an audiobook and published in August 2020.
This is a domestic thriller. Jade and Tomas have just moved in next door to Emma. Jade is very paranoid and starts to think that Emma is having an affair with her husband. Jade is a retired forensic pathologist and Tomas is a hedge fund investor. Tomas loves his wife Jade even with all her accusations, and there have been numerous accusations in the past. Jade has mental health issues. Emma is a successful dentist with her own practise and is dating Alastair who is a forensic pathologist. It all takes a very dark turn of events in true thriller style with twists and turns. However what irritated me was the choice smattering of a certain couple of words that Jade is nicknamed throughout the first half of this book. I don’t think it added anything at all to the writing. If you have listened to this/read this you will know what I mean. The beginning of the book had me and did hook me in and started with promise. However for a good chunk of the book I started getting bored by it but then towards the end it really picked up pace. All in all I felt flat at the ending, not totally disappointed but not happy either. I think this is because I wanted a different ending and had thought of a good one so it was not what I wanted it to be. I also wanted to know more about Jade. I have a few questions and they weren’t answered. I was going to give a 4/5 but it’s a 3/5 from me instead.