February 2009
1 post
1 tag
'American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis
Well, I read it.
This post has been quite a while in the making because I just didn’t know how to express my feelings on the book. I guess I liked it, as much as one can like a book written from the perspective of a narcissistic, sociopathic serial killer with a severe sadistic streak and taste for prostitutes who serves as a cipher for the materialistic society we’ve lived in since...
January 2009
2 posts
1 tag
'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates
I’ve been meaning to read this book properly for years and never really got around to buying a copy, but, with the advent of the film adaptation here, I thought now would be the time (or rather, it gave me the impetus I needed).
RR is a great novel, but not a happy one, such is Yates’ bent I presume. There are some absolutely beautiful passages no doubt, but these are not why this...
'Looking for Alaska' by John Green
Having followed John Green’s video blog with his brother Hank for several months, I became intrigued by John’s career in writing Young Adult literature. Fortunately for Christmas, a friend bought me his first novel ‘Looking for Alaska’. Not knowing anything about the plot I delved right in. It chronicles the goings on with a 17 year old boy Miles at boarding school before...
December 2008
2 posts
Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson
Well I finished, (started and finished) the book in under two hours which isn’t bad going since I’ve not read anything for pleasure since the middle of the summer (Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood). As for what I thought of it? I liked it. Much more than I thought I would.
I love the way Winterson writes, which is something of growing importance when it comes to my relationship with...
““The door was open. True, she didn’t exactly open it herself. Her...”
– Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson
June 2008
3 posts
The Gathering by Anne Enright
If I be not mistaken, this is the book that won the 2007 Man Booker prize. I remember reading a short story by her in the Guardian after her win and really liking her turn of phrase. I’ve been looking for a cheap copy of the book ever since.
Whilst the book was often described by the prize judges as ‘depressing’ or ‘gloomy’ (or at least those that I read), I actually...
"I cursed myself for being surprised, that this...
I have blogs all over the place because the internet is an exciting place that confuses me. Anyway, I figure this could be the online version of my ‘Book book’ wherein I’ll write up my reviews of the books I read. I figure I can also once in a while post a mix or two because crossposting is fun!
“There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops,...”
– Doris Lessing in her 1971 preface to The Golden Notebook