Apparently, the first novel published by an Afghani writer. Short sharp sentences, which I didn’t mind.
It's a bit of a sob story, and telegraphed throughout the novel so there are no surprises.
Assef character shown as the child bully who grows up to be the Taliban bully is rather contrived, though Hassan ins a nicely drawn character. Over done on the Shorab story.
I felt that the narrator was not a nice character who tries to redeem himself, however he was only a child when he did those things so a little hard on himself…….
It's an Interesting insight into 70’s Afghanistan and the flight to Pakistan was interesting. Not a great story, but I have read worse.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The SecretLife of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Reading it soon after Lord of the Rings and Cryptonomicon I found it a little too light and easy.
The idyllic setting that Lily finds herself in rang a little bit untrue to me. I really don’t think a runaway would have been taken in like that but then she did look like Deborah and August recognized her I guess.
I felt anxious reading it as I thought that something awful was going to happen to Zach at some stage.
The backdrop of the bee keeping was interesting though and so was their religious praise of Mary of the Chains.
It wasn’t a bad book, it’s a kind of feel good book even though it doesn’t have the classic happy ending but I think if I was going to read about black civil rights and coloured people were treated I would turn to To Kill a Mockingbird every time.
The idyllic setting that Lily finds herself in rang a little bit untrue to me. I really don’t think a runaway would have been taken in like that but then she did look like Deborah and August recognized her I guess.
I felt anxious reading it as I thought that something awful was going to happen to Zach at some stage.
The backdrop of the bee keeping was interesting though and so was their religious praise of Mary of the Chains.
It wasn’t a bad book, it’s a kind of feel good book even though it doesn’t have the classic happy ending but I think if I was going to read about black civil rights and coloured people were treated I would turn to To Kill a Mockingbird every time.
Identity - Milan Kundera
From the beginnings of mistaken identity we follow the story of two lovers and the game that is played out between them which spirals out of control, ending with the girl trying to escape from an orgy in London where her lover has been sleeping on the streets trying to find her.
I knew that the ending sequence must have been fantasy or dreamlike as how could her lover just board a train to the UK without a passport. That really bothered me.
Kundera’s characters always seem to have liberal sex lives, whether that is an Eastern European standard or just his male fantasies…… not sure! It was an intriguing read but too short to be called a novel and not really sure what the message was. Maybe how important communication should be between two people? Though the other two novels I’ve read seem to have this theme also. He sets up a scenario whereby you understand the reason for the characters action, and then you see it from the other characters point of view and how they have misconstrued the action, therefore by lack of actual communication the outcome is quite comical but in this case rather dark.
I knew that the ending sequence must have been fantasy or dreamlike as how could her lover just board a train to the UK without a passport. That really bothered me.
Kundera’s characters always seem to have liberal sex lives, whether that is an Eastern European standard or just his male fantasies…… not sure! It was an intriguing read but too short to be called a novel and not really sure what the message was. Maybe how important communication should be between two people? Though the other two novels I’ve read seem to have this theme also. He sets up a scenario whereby you understand the reason for the characters action, and then you see it from the other characters point of view and how they have misconstrued the action, therefore by lack of actual communication the outcome is quite comical but in this case rather dark.
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
Initially I was bored by the opening 100 pages, not understanding the reason for the in depth ‘love story’. But, you need this as a backfrop to show how the war changed Stephen Wraysford from a sensual man to someone hard and vacant. I would however liked to have read this in exposition, though with chapters set in the 1970’s this could possibly have led to confusion going forwards and backwards in tme.
I have been to Normandy and the beaches, and also visited a graveyard in Rouen when I was 15 as part of my history studies. I was not old enough to appreciated I was I was experiencing. There were still tanks half buried near Pegasus Bridge, we found nails stamped with ‘Bremen’ on the beaches, and areas were still cordoned off for fear of land mines. Reading this novel brought it all back.
The character of Elizabeth who I did not want to read about at first did actually make the story more interesting. The reference to the german belt buckle falling out from of the pile of papers she had got from the attic and then to follow the story through to how it found it’s way to Stephens possessions was very good.
Elizabeth packing up the cake and whisky for Brennan in the home – akin to packing up a food parcel for a man at the front.
The conditions the men at the front had to endure was horrendous. These are men who are fighting for England but have hardly any nourishing food, tea is carried in petrol cans and they are covered in lice. Just appalling.
The chapter where they had to go over the top was very hard to read. The knowledge that the men were basically waiting for the hour of their death, shaking hands and clapping shoulders, basically to say goodbye. These were men who just had regular jobsin the uk, what a way to end your life….. to have to go over knowingly facing gun fire. Those that did get through only find that the wire had not been cut even though they had been told that it would be.
Some observations for discussion:
Jack Firebrace probably a good characterisatin of the average soldier, although older than many. Wife and child at home, son gets sick but he’s not allowed to go on leave to see him.
Weir – when he goes back on leave to see his parents, there’s no real joy that he has come home. It’s like life goes on and nothing has changed. He wants to talk about the horrors of war but his parents aren’t interested. How can you really understand if you have not seen it first hand? You would not have any comprehension.
When Stephen Wraysford goes back and goes to the tailor’s to buy some shirts, the tailor is uncomfortable that he’s in there. Who is he fighting the war for?
Ellis studied the effects of shell blast in training but what he had not seen though was the explosive effect on soft tissue.
Given a brief glimpse of the German viewpoint towards the end. They are just sons and brothers too. Would they have let Stephen go even if the war had not ended?
But, what happened to Stuart who proposed to Elizabeth? What was the point of that character?
They have seen human beings do things you never would have thought a human being could do and more.
There were some great lines:
German uniform (Feldgrau): colour of his darkest dreams
Dead body: green butter (of his skin) – yuk
I wasn't too keen on the ending, but it was a nice touch with the name. Stephen it seems is ultimately destroyed by love and the war.
I have been to Normandy and the beaches, and also visited a graveyard in Rouen when I was 15 as part of my history studies. I was not old enough to appreciated I was I was experiencing. There were still tanks half buried near Pegasus Bridge, we found nails stamped with ‘Bremen’ on the beaches, and areas were still cordoned off for fear of land mines. Reading this novel brought it all back.
The character of Elizabeth who I did not want to read about at first did actually make the story more interesting. The reference to the german belt buckle falling out from of the pile of papers she had got from the attic and then to follow the story through to how it found it’s way to Stephens possessions was very good.
Elizabeth packing up the cake and whisky for Brennan in the home – akin to packing up a food parcel for a man at the front.
The conditions the men at the front had to endure was horrendous. These are men who are fighting for England but have hardly any nourishing food, tea is carried in petrol cans and they are covered in lice. Just appalling.
The chapter where they had to go over the top was very hard to read. The knowledge that the men were basically waiting for the hour of their death, shaking hands and clapping shoulders, basically to say goodbye. These were men who just had regular jobsin the uk, what a way to end your life….. to have to go over knowingly facing gun fire. Those that did get through only find that the wire had not been cut even though they had been told that it would be.
Some observations for discussion:
Jack Firebrace probably a good characterisatin of the average soldier, although older than many. Wife and child at home, son gets sick but he’s not allowed to go on leave to see him.
Weir – when he goes back on leave to see his parents, there’s no real joy that he has come home. It’s like life goes on and nothing has changed. He wants to talk about the horrors of war but his parents aren’t interested. How can you really understand if you have not seen it first hand? You would not have any comprehension.
When Stephen Wraysford goes back and goes to the tailor’s to buy some shirts, the tailor is uncomfortable that he’s in there. Who is he fighting the war for?
Ellis studied the effects of shell blast in training but what he had not seen though was the explosive effect on soft tissue.
Given a brief glimpse of the German viewpoint towards the end. They are just sons and brothers too. Would they have let Stephen go even if the war had not ended?
But, what happened to Stuart who proposed to Elizabeth? What was the point of that character?
They have seen human beings do things you never would have thought a human being could do and more.
There were some great lines:
German uniform (Feldgrau): colour of his darkest dreams
Dead body: green butter (of his skin) – yuk
I wasn't too keen on the ending, but it was a nice touch with the name. Stephen it seems is ultimately destroyed by love and the war.
The Painted Veil - W Somerset Maugham
A story of love, forgiveness and the desire to be a better person. The movie did not do it justice. I loved Kitty's inner dialogue, it is absolutely how a woman would think.
Illywhacker - Peter Carey
Unable to rate, it was well written with interesting characters but I could not relate to it at all.
The Influence - Ramsey Campbell
Very disappointing, as I generally enjoy Campbell’s books. The story itself isn’t too bad, but the delivery was very amateur.
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