I have been a very negligent 50-booker of late and fallen hopelessly behind with my reviews! Here are the latest ones.
53. How Much of These Hills is Gold – C Pam Zhang
Western with a contemporary twist. Two young orphans of Chinese heritage struggle to find their way on the western frontier of 1880’s America.
I started this with trepidation after finding the first few chapters rather self-conscious and over written. However, it picked up midway through as the story tracks back in time to the events leading up to their parents’ demise and I really started to enjoy it. This section was grittier and felt more natural.
Unfortunately towards the end of the book the self-consciously artistic style returned and I lost interest slightly, which was a shame as I thought the middle section was genuinely gripping.
Content wise, I found this book very ambitious in scope but not wholly successful. There was a good story in there fighting to get out from underneath a number of unnecessary sub-plots. Ultimately this had the potential for greatness. Unfortunately, the final novel was inconsistent, felt cluttered and needed more ruthless editing. Nevertheless, I would probably give her next book a try.
54. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
I re-read this as Y8 DD has been studying it at school and I wanted to discuss it with her. I remember reading it at school at about the same age, so it was interesting to re-visit this as an adult.
In contrast to How Much of these Hills is Gold, this was a master class in the power of simplicity. A small cast of well-drawn characters explore some very big themes. I got a bit annoyed with Steinbeck for the two dimensional woman as plot device but that aside, this most definitely deserves it’s status as a classic. The ending pulls no punches and moved me just as much as it did my 13 year old self.
55. Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me – Kate Clanchy
I think this has been a big hit on the thread and I too loved it. As the Mother of a Y8 student at a London comprehensive this was a fascinating insight into school life.
I’ve been so impressed with the care and compassion demonstrated by all the teaching staff at DD’s school during the lockdown and how hard they have worked to maintain some semblance of normality since September. This was such an uplifting read; exactly the right book at the right time. I listened to this on audible and the author narrated the work beautifully. Recommended.
56. Human Acts – Han Kang
In contrast to the Kate Clanchy book above, this was probably the wrong book at the wrong time. Life has felt rather demanding and bleak over the last few weeks and I probably needed some uplifting escapism, not a very serious and thoughtful book about a student uprising in 1980’s South Korea. But this was the book selected for my book group for October, so I pressed on regardless.
I certainly admired the writing which was beautifully spare and matter of fact. However, the subject matter was so bleak and unremitting that this was a hard read and I often had to steal myself to come back to this one. It took me an age to read.
The description of the violence perpetrated on the students is explicit and upsetting. Each of the seven chapters is narrated by a different protagonist; this device coupled with the cool, detached style made it difficult for me to connect with the book emotionally. I can see why the writer chose this approach but it made for a challenging reading experience. Ultimately, I don’t think my head was really in the right place to appreciate this novel.
I'm now going to catch up on the rest of the thread 