Joe_ Public wrote: » Ah, the exquisite Natasha Rostova or, to give her her modern 21st century title, Rachel from Friends
Kash wrote: » It divided me against myself! I absolutely loved parts of it; I really felt for the characters and found it disturbing in places (why I have a fondness for disturbing books is anyone's guess). However, I though it lost itself at various points and had a significant amount of pages that a better editor would have cut. I felt that having tragedy after tragedy befall poor Jude was indulgently sadistic. That said, i think the characters will stick with me.
TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: » I myself was reminded of a quote from 10 Things I Hate About You. "What is it with this chick? Has she got beer flavoured nippes?"
holy guacamole wrote: » On the subject of Jude, what did you make of his relationship with Willem and the fact they became romantically involved? I just didn't buy it. The whole notion of one's sexual preferences being completely interchangeable is a common theme throughout the book, but that seemed a step too far.
Joe_ Public wrote: » Hmmm, beer flavoured nipples. I have a feeling the idea is a lot better than the reality!
SarahBM wrote: » The First Russian book I read was the Master and Margarita, which I hate. I only read Dr Zhivago because I thought the film was wonderful, but I didn't like the book at all. It ruined the film for me. I am not a fan of long-winded ramblings. Good Luck with it!
Kash wrote: » It wasn't such a stretch for me, I felt that they had always been in love, so anticipated that early on - it was less of a relationship change than actually seeing the relationship for what it already was. I found it harder to accept that Willem didn't see how uncomfortable he was making Jude when he was so observant throughout the rest of the book.
quickbeam wrote: » I've not got a great record with Russian literature either. I absolutely hated M&M too. God, a real chore to get through. I've read Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) and The Idiot (Dostoevyski) and they were much much better than M&M but that wouldn't be hard. They still weren't really great - barely average, and for the length of them not really worth the effort. The Idiot was marginally the better of the two. I have a few others on my shelf - War & Peace and Dr. Zhivago included. I'm not rushing (or russian - geddit!!!) to read them though based on past experience.
Joe_ Public wrote: » Found this on the library shelf today and read the first chapter. Impossible to judge a book on 20 pages, but I got a distinct feeling of Franzen-lite about it, I thought some of the sentences were a bit on the clunky side. Anyway, I'll give it another couple of chapters tomorrow before deciding whether I'll wade through the whole lot. Edit: Am talking about A Little Life.
Kash wrote: » I'm glad I read it, but I won't be recommending it, if that makes sense. I've never read any Franzen, is he worth picking up?
Harry Angstrom wrote: » The old adage of everyone having a book in them is true of Franzen. The Corrections is a masterpiece. Anything he's done before or since doesn't come close.
Callan57 wrote: » Now it's on to one I've been looking forward to I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. 888 pages ... should keep me going over the weekend
Boulevardier wrote: » I am a big fan of Alan Furst, who writes dark thrillers set in wartime Europe. However his latest effort, A hero in France, was disappointing. I would have to call it an inconsequential pot-boiler.
Belle E. Flops wrote: » It's funny that a few of you are saying ye hated the Master and Margarita. I don't remember a whole lot about it but I remember enjoying it. Different strokes I suppose.
holy guacamole wrote: » Just finished 'A Little Life' by Hanya Yanahigara and find myself thoroughly conflicted. On the one hand its beautifully written and deals with horrendous topics without ever being gratuitous. But on the other it's unnecessarily lengthy (self-indulgently so), meanders in no particular direction for large periods and has a set of protagonists whose actions don't always tally up with the personalities and lives the author has presented to us. At one point, just past the halfway mark, I was beginning to think this was going to be one of my favourite books of recent years, but it tailed off badly and the end was a relief more than anything else. Would still recommend it, but with a few caveats, namely; this is a harsh book, an often distressing one, so be prepared. It's also forcibly multi-cultural and multi-representational, to the extent that it makes you wonder if the author intentionally set out to write a book which would be welcomed by left-leaning liberals - in of itself this isn't a reason to put you off reading it, but the world she creates seemed to me to be unrealistic. Lastly, the narrative; at times it is incredibly affecting and insightful, but it's also wearying and repetitive. Ultimately, like most critically-acclaimed modern-works, it's a book that will divide most ordinary readers.
minnow wrote: » Star of the Sea, Joseph O'Connor.
