Just let me finish this chapter...

HalloweenJack

Brighton Rock

This started off very well but the pace slowed down quite a bit after the initial burst. There is a sense of inevitability about the story; early on, you know how its going to end, it's just a matter of what route the author takes to get us there. That said, this technique does increase the suspense at certain stages and made me eager to keep going, especially towards the end.

I found the overarching theme (good triumphing over evil) to be somewhat naive. It doesn't come about because of some super-natural force, more because of character's having a guilty conscience.

There is a decent flow to it and, at times, the pages flew by. Some of the writing can be quite delicate and Greene offers some beautiful imagery and there some quite unique similes to appreciate. I would criticise the amount of time he spends in his character's heads. At times, there is simply too much detail given about the characters' thoughts and you can see how they are going to act in the remainder of the book.

HalloweenJack

It'll be a while before I'm posting again as I've got into Life and Fate by Valeri Grossman. All 1100 pages of it... I hope to finish it by the end of the year but I've only read a 100 pages in the week since I started.

It will be no. 46 if I finish it. I'm happy with that number as there's a few there that I've struggled with.

My most recommended from 2023 would be The Bluest Eye, Seven Moons, American Pastoral, Here Are The Young Men and This is How You Lose Her. These are certainly the most accessible and easier to read ones.

Independent People was also quite impressive but it takes a bit of effort. I'd say similar about The Dream of the Celt.

I don't have any regrets but I wouldn't be in a rush to read Tom Sharpe again.

HalloweenJack

Two and a half months later...

Life and Fate was an interesting read about a topic that I'm quite interested in.

But it was not an easy one. Lots of short chapters then the odd longer one. The story jumps between characters at odd times. The story is about the battle of Stalingrad but there are parts that are like encyclopedia articles or newspaper reports from the future looking back at it (the author was a war correspondent). I don't think it's entirely linear and at 1100 pages, it was tough to get into a decent rhythm.

The Christmas period didn't help and I had a few other things going on but I didn't expect it to take me this long to get through it so I need something lighter to get back into the swing of things.

Everlong1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120743527#Comment_120743527

Ever see the movie adaptation with Richard Burton as the lead? Great film, shot mostly in Dublin I believe. (Says a lot about Dublin in times past that it could stand in for cold war East Berlin!).

HalloweenJack

The Last Colony by Phillippe Sands

A factual account of how the natives of an island in the Indian Ocean were removed by the British to make way for an American air base in the 1960s. Written by a lawyer who has brought the case all the way to the Hague. Very well researched and presents a good argument of how poorly treated the natives have been and how appallingly and hypocritically the British have behaved.

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

I always look to read the Booker Prize winner and this was a good one. Its a timely read and is very much a character study as opposed to going into great detail about the overall plot. Its a carefully constructed story, like a wall being built one brick at a time. There comes a moment about halfway through where it feels like there's a sudden shift in the main character's study but you actually realise its been carefully building up all along. There is some incredible writing in this, I especially enjoy how he often uses nouns as verbs, making the sentences far more direct and providing a more accessible image.

Onto the Plague by Albert Camus now, though I'm not so sure if its the right book for me at the moment as I've been quite philosophical lately.

HalloweenJack

The Plague by Albert Camus.

This shouldn't have taken me so long but my mind's been elsewhere lately and I'm just not reading as much as I'd like to.

Honestly, my reading was very stop-start that I can't give a faithful review as I'd put it down for days at a time and pick it up again with no idea who the characters were.

I did highlight a few insightful passages and I have another Camus book lying around that intrigues me but I couldn't confidently state how good this book was.

I agreed with the overall helpless outlook of it and perhaps that's why I'm struggling to enjoy reading lately.