50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Eight

Olive Again - Elizabeth Strout
Interwoven stories of small town life. I preferred this to the first. I think the character and the style had grown on me this time round.

The Nanny State Made Me: A Story About Britain and How to Save It - Stuart Maconie
Maconie explores the welfare state through the lens of his own 60s/70s upbringing in a northern town. He poses questions about the past and future of British society and politics.
Very readable and very recognisable. We are from roughly the same area, so I know his old stomping ground well. It's a bit rose tinted glasses in places, but raises some interesting questions.

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
I read a Dickens by choice, all by myself and it wasn't terrible. This didn't feel like Dickens at all and I quite liked it.

Perhaps Malibu Rising is what I need to get me out of my reading funk.

91 Vida by Marge Piercy
This was terrific. I am sure it was a recommendation on here - my 2022 resolution is to be better at keeping track so I can thank people properly. Vida is on the run in 80s America from the authorities as one of the few of her anti-Vietnam, anti-capitalist illegal group not in custody. The novel goes back and forth between her years as an activist and her time on the run, as she struggles with personal and political challenges. I loved this; particularly the sexual politics which I thought were incredibly well done.

92 There Are Crocodiles in the Sea by Fabio Geda
This is the story of an Afghan child making his way overground to Italy and the challenges he and other refugees face. It's a lightly fictionalised account of an actual refugee's journey. It's not an easy read though the ending is sweet - particularly hard knowing his story isn't unusual or even particularly harrowing in comparison.

93 The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
Rightly lauded for its portrayal of the inhumanity of the US prison system, but the wrong book at the wrong time for me. I can absolutely see it is accomplished and gripping but I needed fluff and it definitely wasn't that.

94 And Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
I read this years ago when it first came out and remembered it as an entertaining and quirky account of office life. It is, and cleverly done, but I forgot about the long sad interlude in the middle. So again, it wasn't the book, it was definitely me, but not one for the top ten.

95 The Long Weekend by Adrian Tinniswood
An exploration of English country house life between the wars, this looks at many different dimensions from the architecture and interior design through to the life of servants, the economic challenges and the role of Americans in keeping many of the houses from demolition and disrepair. Interesting, though I'd have liked more photos.

I read Perfume back in the late 1980's(?) I think (wow, so, so long ago)and I do remember it somewhat - so it is one of those books that makes an impression - good or bad. I thought the ending was terrible and it was a book I felt sullied by reading (like Lolita) and wished I hadn't.

Finished my first Christmassy read - A Scandinavian Christmas , a Vintage collection in a pretty and dinky little books of 16 short stories by writers for Scandinavia.

Most of them are either religious or dark, or both.

Have to say the three Hans Christian Andersen's still stand head and shoulders above the rest.

joining in on the 'Perfume' debate. Such a disappointment, such a dreadful book, absolutely no subtlety in it, obvious from the first few chapters were it was going to end. Plotting poor, characterisations weak / non-existent, writing amateurish ....

I loved Malibu Rising as well, I think I described it as 'delightful fluff'.

Thanks for flagging #thedarkisreading, @Terpsichore - I wasn't sure if I was going to reread it this year but this has pushed me over the edge

@Sadik, I can see that your current reads, or DNFs, seem a bit too much just now! I think I have the Claire North book, and I'll probably wishlist the other as it sounds interesting, but not for reading right now. I have read a couple of books this year that have made me check the publication dates.

My idea of escapism tends to be a really good crime novel.

104: Greenwitch - Susan Cooper

Book 3 in the sequence of The Dark is Rising, which brings the Drew children together with Will Stanton for the first time, as the original trio realise fully the extent of great-Uncle Merry's involvement in a world beyond their imagining.

To an extent a bit of a necessary bridging book, and Will doesn't really play much of a role in this beyond the occasional appearance, but I enjoyed the Cornish setting and the accumulating sense of the cycle building and deepening.

I also listened to the Backlisted podcast which someone upthread mentioned (sorry, I can't remember who, but thank you!) and really enjoyed hearing Susan Cooper talking about the cycle in archive interviews. I didn't realise she's lived in the US for many years and indeed was when she wrote the books. Oh, and if anyone's interested, there's an annual Twitter readalong which starts tomorrow under the hashtag #thedarkisreading, apparently

55. Wolves and Werewolves in History and Popular Culture - Shannon Scott

Was chuffed to bits when I found out a lot of Great Courses lecture series come free with Audible membership now! This one tries to cram far too many works of literature and pop culture into its 4.5 hour run time, but it’s all fascinating stuff (if you’re into history, folklore and/or the gothic genre). New to me and most interesting was the section on werewolves in medieval romances, where the werewolves are typically the good guys, courtly knights tricked into wolf form by malevolent womenfolk, who are restored to their human shape and rightful place in society at the end.

Thanks Fortuna and Remus. I will look up the British Library crimes!

121. Dull People at Christmas by Saki. I love Saki but this is not a good collection- the stories are just linked by being set around Christmas, and none of them are his best. 122 and 123) The Worst Thing about my Sister and Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson. Bit of easy reading- I like Wilson, but neither of these is as good as The Suitcase Kid. Kiss is interesting as aimed at teenagers and although I liked her Girls series, for the same she group, I didn't think the narrative voice worked here. It also very strongly felt to me like it should have been written by Anne Fine or Jean Ure, but I can't put my finger on why.
122. Charm School by Anne Fine. I love Anne Fine but this isn't one of my favourites, the language doesn't quite ring true for me, and the message is heavier handed than in Bill's New Frock. Annoyingly the library doesn't have my favourites, but I guess they are old now , like me!

I think it might have been your review that sent me looking for it eine.
It absolutely hit the spot for me :)

I think I'm going to DNF the two other novels I've got on the go as being Just Too Much Right Now
Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker gets 10 out of 10 for prescience to the extent I thought it was a lockdown novel (it was actually published in 2019). It's set in a future where a combination of terrorism and a pandemic have left the US in a state of permanent lockdown with gatherings of over 30 people forbidden, intercity buses divided into family pods with floor to ceiling screens, and almost all social and work activity conducted through virtual reality 'hoodies' run by an Amazon-style monopoly corporation. 20 something Rosemary - too young to remember much about the Before - encounters Luce, one-time rock star and now organiser of underground gigs. Perfectly good novel but not for right now!
I also picked up 84K by Claire North in the library, yet more dystopia, yet again everything run by an Amazon-alike, including the penal system which has been reinvented as a route into indentured servitude. Also fine, also not for me right now. Fluffy recommendations much welcomed!

I liked it too @Sadik

118. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid Glamorous surf family the Rivas are hosting their annual star studded party, by the end of which Nina Riva's clifftop mansion will go up in flames. The book moves back & forth between an hour-by-hour account of the day of the party, and the early years of the siblings lives. I saw this was a DNF for Desdemona upthread, but I really enjoyed it as a fun very unseasonal light read. With everything going on in the world, celebrities, sunshine and surfing absolutely hit the spot.

53 The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

To add to the many reviews of this perfect Christmas book. I never read this as a child but wish I had. I've told all the DC they need to read it, it has such a lovely blend of the everyday and the magical. Loved it.

Remus - It's a Christmas miracle

I loved Perfume
Yes, it was horrible and the protagonist irredeemably awful, but so beautifully and evocatively written. For me this is one of those rare books with the power to remain in one's consciousness long after reading.

FWIW I Don't require a character to be likeable to enjoy their story in a piece of fiction!

@JaninaDuszejko He made me want to read all but the Ferrante (I have tried). I got really excited when he went to Chateau d'If. I loved every single minute of The Count of Monte Christo. I'm also slowly working my way through D'Artagnan Romances which are delightfully bonkers.

I never had any desire to read Perfume, and Richard E Grant didn't convince me (although he did make me want to read Dumas) but this thread is making me want to have an opinion.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I felt the same way about the Patricia Lockwood. I could see what she was trying to do and why the Booker judges liked it but for me it didn't quite work. Maybe I don't spend enough time on Twitter to really get it.

Perfume on the other hand, I loved. In fact I may have to reread.

Do any of the British Library crimes appeal?

Oh Tanaqui that sucks.

Chouette - Claire Oshetsky
When Tiny gives birth to a broken owl-baby, her relationship with her husband changes while she fights for her broken daughter to be herself despite being different and no matter how much it upsets others around them.

This is one of the strangest books I have ever read and yet it was oddly compelling. It explores being a mother despite the many difficulties that are thrown in the way. There are moments of humour and some beautiful writing.

April in Spain - John Banville
Falling into two different series, the author takes two previous characters to Spain. The first to arrive, a pathologist, recognises a face from the past who he thought had been murdered. A call back to Ireland brings a police detective to look into things with a hitman hot on his heels as rumours spread that the previously believed dead woman might be living another life.

This has some beautiful writing and long descriptive passages but is v-e-r-y slow burning. It felt like far too many words, but not enough plot. It felt bit of a cross between Nothing but Blue Sky and Night Boat to Tangiers but could be the Irish connection, or even the narrator. I'm not sure it worked for me overall. I loved Snow by the same author which I read earlier this year, but this didn't live up to that.

I LOVED Perfume.
Cote - this must make at least 5 novels that we agree on! :)

I love it when people totally disagree! And how one person's beautifully written is another's smug prose! It's like skinny jeans on style and beauty 🤣. How lucky we are to live in a world of such diversity.
120) 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie. A lovely Marple, which I may have read already this year, but I have covid, and now can't get back to England to see my son for Christmas, so feel appallingly sorry for myself. Any more cosy crime novel (ideally with searing insight into people's fallibilites and idiosyncrasies) recommendations gratefully received!

Sadik, interesting review of Burkeman. I'm envious of you as it sounds like you have a really good work/life balance. Time management is something I myself have never got on top of, so maybe his book would be good for me.

Perfume is clearly a marmite book, ha. I tried to read it years ago as a friend whose opinion I respect told me it was one of the best books he had ever read. But it was a DNF for me, I don't recall exactly why but my reaction was strong enough for me not to have any desire to give it another try.

How boring the world would be if we all loved the same books.

That person clearly has no taste

Otherwise, I would like to think that most of us do not read books because they are "pleasant", and will not be surprised when a fantasy story about someone with an extrasensory (suprasenory?) talent that doesn't exist isn't terribly realistic.

Again, some people don't know what they are missing when they insist that books be "pleasant and their characters "likable".