The polished hoe by Austin Clarke

I’m unsure how to begin my review of Austin Clarke’s The polished hoe. The story is set in the West Indies, which is what attracted me to it in the first place. However, the plot is told entirely through dialogue so it is the kind of book you have to read quickly so as not to forget where you left off, since it is more or less one continuous scene.  I found some of the dialogue at times intense and at others monotonous. To be honest I thought the method of presentation did not allow much character development for some of the other characters.

My rating: 3/5

Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas

Dead Europe, by Christos Tsiolkas, was not what I’d expected at all. It started out well, but became quite twisted as it moved along. Nevertheless I couldn’t stop reading it. While I can’t claim to love this novel, I was impressed with Tsiolkas’ style and no-nonsense approach to the topic. The characters are tangible with real flaws, however uncomfortable they might make us feel. This book is not for the feint-hearted.

My rating 3/5 stars

Thoughts on A thousand splendid suns

Having recently read Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent I thought I’d follow it with Khalid Hosseini’s A thousand splendid suns. Last year I’d read and enjoyed The bookseller of Kabul (Åsne Seierstad), also about Afghanistan. I enjoy books about the Middle East, particularly Islam, and that span generations and Hosseini does a wonderful job of merging the stories, but overall I was not impressed with the story. It’s a good read if you want more insight into life in Afghanistan.

My rating: 3/5

A reading diary by Alberto Manguel

I will sleep one night in the library to make the space truly mine. C. says that this is equivalent to a dog peeing in the corner – From A reading diary, Alberto Manguel

I read Albeto Manguel’s The library at night, which inspired me to get A reading diary. After reading the first few pages I realised I’d read them in reverse – Manguel’s library was brand new as he was writing A reading diary, whereas it was established during the writing of The library at night. That didn’t change the pleasure I got in reading more of his reading notes. I love the way Manguel writes, but the reading diary was especially intimate and full of insight. A reading diary reflects more than Manguel’s love of books and of reading, it reflects his love of humanity and of life.

My rating: 5/5

Thoughts on The red tent by Anita Diamant

The red tent

I enjoyed the pacing of events in The Red Tent, loved the dynamics between the women and read the book quickly. But . . . when I finally put the book down, I was not satisfied. I wanted to love Anita Diamant’s best seller, and for the first half of the book I thought I might, but the prose became monotnous and the plot predictable. I felt that the author oversimplifed the relationships between men and women, almost villifying men in general for the sake of the plot.  The pacing in the second half of the book became inconsistent and confusing and I found myself questioning Dinah’s emotional reactions and sudden impulsiveness. Nevertheless, it can’t have been an easy undertaking, and Diamant’s mastery of characterisation is evident throughout the first half of the book. Despite my whinging I’m glad to have read a historical novel with a biblical flavour.

My rating 3/5

Celebrated Women Travelers of the 19th c

Celebrated women travelers

Celebrated Women Travelers of the Nineteenth Century (1903), William Henry Davenport Adams

Instead of writing a review I will include two paragraphs from two nineteenth century women travel writers and let them speak for themselves.

What happiness it is to escape from the prosaic details of every-day life, from social obligations, from the dull routine of habit, to take one’s flight towards the almost unknown shores of the Caspian ! It is strange, but it proves that my vocation is that of tourist, that what would daunt the majority of women is really what charms me most in the forecast of this journey. Madame Hommaire de Hell

The sea, bristling with jagged sheets of ice, clangs and clatters noisily; the lofty littoral peaks glide down to the shore, fall away, and plunge into the gulf of waters with an awful crash. The mountains are rent and  splintered ; the waves dash furiously against the granite capes; the icebergs, as they shiver into pieces, give vent to sharp reports like the rattle of musketry; the wind with a hoarse roar, scatters tornadoes of snow abroad . . . It is terrible, it is magnificent ; one seems to hear the chorus of the abysses of the old world preluding a new chaos. Never before has one seen or heard anything comparable to that which one sees and hears there; one has conceived of nothing like it, even in one’s dreams! It belongs at once to the fantastic and to the real: it disconcerts the memory, dazes the mind, and fills it with an indescribable sense of awe and admiration. Madame Leonie D’Aunet

Read June 2009

I went shopping yesterday and I bought:

A reading diary by Alberto Manguel

A thousand splendid suns by Khalid Hosseini

Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

Nonzero by Robert Wright

Sync by Steven Strogatz

Unaccustomed earth by Jumpa Lahiri

Everything is illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

I have mixed feelings about Jonathan Safran Foer’s debut novel Everything is illuminated. As a novel that has won several literary awards and made it to the best seller lists I felt I should give it my full attention and read it to the last word. I enjoyed the interwoven stories, but the characters left me feeling irritated. The only one I liked was the grandfather of Alex, the malapropist Ukrainian interpreter. I was particularly irritated by the dialogue that seemed to run on out of control . But the story was so cleverly conceived that I persevered. I feel like a bit of a literary heathen for not loving Everything is illuminated.

Soul mountain by Gao Xingjian

Gao Xingjian’s Soul Mountain is an intimately told story of one man’s journey through the mountains of remotest China in search of self. When I first picked up the book I was excited – the book is not a tradtional work of fiction, and being a Nobel prize winning tome it was sure to be rewarding. Yet I struggledwith this novel. By page 300 I was desperate to reach the end and I’m afraid I sped read the last third, since I very rarely abandon books. I did enjoy Gao Xingjian’s unique voice and especially the first person perspective whenever it appeared, but I found the alternating second person perspective interruptive and somewhat unsettling. In the end I was left feeling unsatisfied and I didn’t care too much about the characters – there was no incentive to keep reading. I was also disappointed by the lack of plot. I suspect the book would be a legendary read in its original language.

At home with books

At home with books, Estelle Ellis

At home with Books: How booklovers live with and care for their libraries, Estelle Ellis, Caroline Seebohm, Christopher Simon Sykes, Thames & Hudson

This book was made for bibliophiles. At home with books takes the reader on an intimate tour into the private libraries of book collectors. Each library has been beautifully photographed with well crafted profiles of the personalities and their literary spaces. Each time I pick up the book I get lost in the libraries. I hope that when I’m old my house will be made of books.

My Rating: 5/5