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Forty works of fiction - 2012
Comments
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Another book recommended to me on this list, The Group is a novel published in 1963 which tells the story of a group of New York women in the 1930s - largely spoilt well-off women it must be said - who are fresh out of college and who have to deal with a difficult new phase in their lives. The novel is frank about topics like sex, contraception and motherhood and caused a lot of controversy when it was first released. It was even banned in Australia.
I had mixed views on finishing this novel. On one hand I do respect the book's honesty. For example in the second chapter there is a fairly graphic depiction of sex which must have raised quite a few eyebrows at the time. I haven't read 'Fifty Shades' or any so-called 'steamy' novels so I don't know how it compares to them, but this book doesn't shirk from portraying accurate descriptions of things.
What I didn't really like about the book was the way it switched between the different characters. I've no problem with novels that do this but I felt with this one when McCarthy jumps back to previous characters, we find that a lot has happened to them in the meantime. In one instance a character is struggling in a chapter to decide whether or not to marry, then later when we switch back to this character we find out what she eventually decided to do. This type of thing irked me and made me feel I was only getting snippets of the character's lives rather than the key issues. Maybe this was the point, to just give a small taste of each woman's lifestyle, but I found it hard to relate to the characters when so much occurs to them that you don't experience with them.
Some of the male characters are a bit odd too. Ranging from the comically villainous type to the unrealistically heroic type. Maybe I'm being a bit too picky there though.
For a novel from the sixties with the themes it discusses it's impressive. On the back cover of my version there is a quote that says without The Group there would be no Sex and the City. That was almost enough to scare me away but I found the characters here more likeable.0 -
This is the second novel by McCarthy I've read, having read The Road a few months back. This story - like The Road - features another protagonist without a name, a teenager simply called 'The Kid', and details his experiences with a bloodthirsty gang of scalp hunters who create chaos near the border areas of the U.S. and Mexico.
I've seen this book being hailed as one of the best books of the 20th century and 'McCarthy's masterpiece' but I wouldn't personally subscribe to that view. On the plus side, it is clearly a very well written book. McCarthy has a knack for creating atmosphere and his use of language, though often dealing with grisly moments, is beautiful to behold. There are elements of the novel that are left to the reader to decipher and it does make you think and reflect, particularly near the end.
On the minus side of things, I just wasn't all that impressed by the bulk of the story. At times it doesn't seem to be going anywhere and it's frequently a case of lots of riding through open country, then violence, then more riding, then more violence. It felt like a bit of a slog to read at times.
Overall I'd recommend it as a book worthy of sampling, but of the two McCarthy books I've read I personally preferred The Road.0 -
Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »
This is the second novel by McCarthy I've read, having read The Road a few months back. This story - like The Road - features another protagonist without a name, a teenager simply called 'The Kid', and details his experiences with a bloodthirsty gang of scalp hunters who create chaos near the border areas of the U.S. and Mexico.
I've seen this book being hailed as one of the best books of the 20th century and 'McCarthy's masterpiece' but I wouldn't personally subscribe to that view. On the plus side, it is clearly a very well written book. McCarthy has a knack for creating atmosphere and his use of language, though often dealing with grisly moments, is beautiful to behold. There are elements of the novel that are left to the reader to decipher and it does make you think and reflect, particularly near the end.
On the minus side of things, I just wasn't all that impressed by the bulk of the story. At times it doesn't seem to be going anywhere and it's frequently a case of lots of riding through open country, then violence, then more riding, then more violence. It felt like a bit of a slog to read at times.
Overall I'd recommend it as a book worthy of sampling, but of the two McCarthy books I've read I personally preferred The Road.
I loved this book ( if one can say that of such a blood thirsty tale) and the Judge is one of the most astonishing character creations of recent decades. I read it when it first came out and have read McCarthy ever since and it convinced me he was the real deal . Great to discover someone before the hype .0 -
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Across the River and into the Trees was published in 1950 and tells the story of a 50 year-old army Colonel who reflects on his recent experiences in Venice with the young woman he loves.
I've found that a lot of critics are not so keen on this Hemingway novel. I believe the main complaints are that it's a bit soppy and that not a lot happens. I can understand the criticism but I found I liked the book.
I thought the character of the Colonel was quite endearing in spite of his gruff manner and I quite liked the way the story unfolded. It does have faults and the emotional dialogue can be heavy, but I didn't find it a whole lot different to the type of dialogue one finds in For Whom the Bell Tolls.
It's not a classic novel but I found it a nice story.0 -
The Old Man and the Sea was published in 1952 and tells the story of an old fisherman and his struggle with a massive fish on the open sea.
Unlike the last book I read, this one is one of Hemingway's most popular stories. It is a simple, beautifully written tale and though not a very long story it is one that takes you through many emotions and leaves you in full sympathy with the old man and his plight.
This is one of my favourites by Hemingway and one I highly recommend.0 -
I had not planned on reading more Agatha Christie works but I was given this as a gift. It turned out to be a fun read.
The story centres around ten people, who have in the past been involved in the deaths of others, being lured to an island by a mysterious stranger. You can imagine what happens to them when they get there.
I felt it was a bit tough to get into at the beginning. You are bombarded with a lot of characters. I thought it got better though and while it does get a bit silly at times, it's still an enjoyable read.0 -
This is a story set via flashback in the 1920s about a young undergraduate who befriends a wealthy, well-off young aristocrat who takes him to his family home, Brideshead, and introduces him to the rest of his family, who will come to play a big part in his life.
I knew Brideshead Revisited was a widely acclaimed novel and I did enjoy it. For those looking for an exciting read they might want to look elsewhere; this is a fairly easygoing story about love with an undercurrent of religion involved.
I was impressed by the way Waugh was able to weave the various strands of the story together in a way that came across believable. I was slightly concerned the romantic element wouldn't work but I thought it was well handled. A recommended read.0 -
Archangel is a story about a historian of Russian history named Kelso who meets a man who claims to have been present when Stalin died and claims that a very important item belonging to Stalin was taken from him at the time. This leads the historian on a chase to find this item and get to the heart of the mystery.
My thoughts on this story would be...take an interesting concept and two of the most annoying characters you could ever encounter in a novel and throw them together and you'll get an idea of what to expect here.
On the positive side, some of the descriptive elements are good and the story was intriguing enough to make me want to finish it.
On the negative side however, it is quite predictable at times and gets pretty silly at certain points. My main issue though was I really didn't like the two characters who make up the bulk of the story and I really didn't care what happened to them. In the case of Kelso, it felt to me like this character was an example of an author who has fallen for his own creation and expects the reader to feel the same way. Instead, he comes across as contrived and irritating. He's a historian who is a real ladies man - because that's what the ladies all love right? - he drinks heavily, he breaks all the rules like the time he leaves a rival's conference speech early, he is a real loose cannon yadda yadda yadda. His partner in the story felt even more annoying.
I can't recommend this novel for the above reasons.0 -
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I finish off my reading log for 2012 with one of the most famous works of literary fiction - George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. It tells the story of Winston Smith's struggle to come to terms with the dystopian society of Oceania where, as the posters proclaim, 'BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU'.
I thought this was a fantastic read. While reading I was reminded of Brave New World, which I read earlier in this log, but if pushed I think I would say I found this novel more satisfying. I liked Winston Smith as a protagonist and the themes touched upon remain very relevant in this day and age. One thing that surprised me was how beautifully written the book was.
It's a critically acclaimed work and well worth reading if you've never experienced it.0 -
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Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »
What a struggle. And I don't mean with Ahab and the whale ; I mean trying to finish the novel.
This is certainly a classic, iconic tale and I think the concept behind the story is wonderful: obsessive captain tries to hunt down the elusive, near-mythical white whale that once took his leg.
The problem, sadly, lies in the fact that the novel is way too long-winded and at times detracts from the story altogether which, for myself and I imagine many others, was what was most interesting and compelling. By all means give me chapters exploring the character's motivations and the turmoil on the ship; don't give me whole chapters devoted to the anatomy of the whale, a chapter exploring the tale of Jonah in the Bible, the mechanics of various parts of the ship etc. It was very frustrating to me to have to deal with all these various tangents.
Aside from that obvious issue, I also found that the dialogue was tiresome. It's like Shakespeare meets Blackbeard at points. Many characters seem quite wooden and one-dimensional too. The red indian, the 'negro savage', Ahab the greedy, doubloon-peddling capitalist and so on. I get that there are themes exploring the America of the time at work here but they could have been explored with a bit more attention and care in my opinion.
I'm sure the novel will have its fans and many will point to the themes at the heart of the novel as being of great significance. They may be, but the novel is very unsatisfying at several points.
The novel however is not without merit. The actual chase of the whale is compelling. If the novel had centred on this more and cut out a lof of the technical aspects I would have rated it a lot higher. It feels like the novel finishes very strongly. There is a chapter called 'The Symphony' near the end which I found particularly touching. The climax to the story is also interesting.
I would say the actual iconic aspect - the idea of the white whale roaming the seas and the desperate hunt to catch him - I suspect this is what has helped the story endure in the public mindset most of all. To use an apt metaphor, the idea itself is the hook ; the bait.
I wouldn't recommend the novel though unless one has a desire to experience Melville's actual take on the story.
Afraid never managed to finish is as though, at the times anyway a few years back now, I thought there was definitely a very great novel in there, the anatomy of a whale stuff destroyed it for as a work of art and enjoyable read. Huge shame for me as I genuinely thought the novel that Melville managed to sabotage would otherwise have been superb.0 -
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