Another dystopia. This is a really absorbing one despite very little happening. A woman staying at a friends hunting lodge in Austria finds herself alAnother dystopia. This is a really absorbing one despite very little happening. A woman staying at a friends hunting lodge in Austria finds herself alone and possibly the only human alive after an impenetrable invisible barrier (which she calls ‘the wall’) appears and everyone on the other side are dead. The book is mostly about her survival and her only companions a cow, a dog and a cat. Most of her reason for getting up each day is taking care of the animals. She muses a little bit about what has happened and makes a few expeditions into the forest to see the extent of it but mostly she goes about day to day living. It’s open to a number of interpretations; a comment on modern life and its superficiality or the isolation of humans from each other (the woman does reflect on her distant relationships with her adult children who she must assume are now dead). The novel is a first person narrative, the woman writing down her story, and it has no chapters making it almost a compulsive read. There’s also a sense of dread running through it, so I was prepared for anything. Ultimately (view spoiler)[there are no answers to what happened (hide spoiler)] making the novel one that I’ll probably be thinking about for a while....more
I enjoyed these stories of Australian life at the beach. All mostly from male points of view (and as it dates from 1984 there seems to be a bit of an I enjoyed these stories of Australian life at the beach. All mostly from male points of view (and as it dates from 1984 there seems to be a bit of an obsession with topless women at the beach), they concern family life, relationships, sex and just life in general. They are sort of interrelated with characters from the same family appearing in different stories. A quick and easy read....more
An interesting look at Zola’s exile in England 1898-99 during the Dreyfus affair. It also discusses his work and his complicated personal life during An interesting look at Zola’s exile in England 1898-99 during the Dreyfus affair. It also discusses his work and his complicated personal life during this time. It covers his return to France up until his death in 1902. I found this a good overview of this period of Zola’s life. It also includes J’accuse in the appendix. ...more
Miss Hannah Mole is an almost 40yo spinster who gets by as a companion/housekeeper. After leaving one position her rich snobby cousin gets her a job aMiss Hannah Mole is an almost 40yo spinster who gets by as a companion/housekeeper. After leaving one position her rich snobby cousin gets her a job as the Ministers housekeeper looking after him, his two daughters and a nephew. She’s forthright and intelligent, as well as positive and with a wicked sense of humour. She also has a secret in her past. The strength of this character is what makes this such an enjoyable and easy read. ...more
Recently I watched the Foundation TV series and really enjoyed it and even though I read the trilogy back in high school, I was pretty sure the TV shoRecently I watched the Foundation TV series and really enjoyed it and even though I read the trilogy back in high school, I was pretty sure the TV show was nothing like the book. Hari Seldon, psychohistory, the vault were all there but everything else seemed just about completely new (especially the genetic dynasty! I felt sure I’d remember that). Anyway so I decided to re-read the books and yep, it’s completely different. Foundation begins really well, easy to read, and I got pulled into it straight away. I only realised there were no female characters in the book until he introduced some, a nagging wife and some sort of servant, both immediately distracted by ‘feminine frippery’. Oh well, it would’ve been better with no women at all! Luckily there are female characters in the next two books that are a bit better, it’s the fifties, it’s still sexist but not as bad as the original. Foundation and Empire is in two parts, The General and The Mule. I liked The Mule better, harder to look away. For me the best of the three books is Second Foundation, I couldn’t put it down. In Part 1, the Mule is searching the galaxy for the Second Foundation and Part 2, first Foundation is searching for the second. This was a really fun revisit to books of my teenage years, I’ll have to read the other Foundation books again too. ...more
This was a quick read about a group of women living in a London hostel (the May of Teck club) in 1945 at the end of the war (in Europe). It’s mostly aThis was a quick read about a group of women living in a London hostel (the May of Teck club) in 1945 at the end of the war (in Europe). It’s mostly a light read with humour and reading it gave the impression of a noisy environment. There’s also darker undertones of war trauma and living in difficult conditions (there’s lots of swapping of food coupons and clothing coupons for favours or borrowing the one elegant evening dress). It’s so light I didn’t expect the ending but there’s also lots of questions I still have (about Nicholas for instance). I guess that makes it a good novella!...more
I really enjoyed this, a classic style murder mystery, well written and constructed. It dragged a little in places and there were some dated attitudesI really enjoyed this, a classic style murder mystery, well written and constructed. It dragged a little in places and there were some dated attitudes to women and race but mostly I thought it was a hard to put down read. I was interested in reading this after watching the TV series and discovering that Nicholas Blake is the pseudonym of Cecil Day-Lewis, poet and father of Daniel....more
Three stories of obsession and obsessive love. Sarrasine : a young French sculptor in Italy falls in love with an opera singer The Unknown Masterpiece :Three stories of obsession and obsessive love. Sarrasine : a young French sculptor in Italy falls in love with an opera singer The Unknown Masterpiece : the master painter obsessed with creating the perfect painting The Girl with the Golden Eyes : fop falls for the mysterious girl of the title. This story begins with four pages or so of Balzac describing all the classes of Paris and their obsessions with gold and pleasure....more
There are three strands to this book almost on every page. Firstly, essays on various topics by an elderly author, initials JC. In the middle the authThere are three strands to this book almost on every page. Firstly, essays on various topics by an elderly author, initials JC. In the middle the authors reflections on the interactions with Anya, a sexy young woman who lives in the same building. He gets her to be a kind of secretary for him, typing up the essays. And the third section is Anya’s thoughts on both the author and her relationship with Alan, the man she lives with (a totally unlikeable man). Published in 2007, much of the politics are of the time, the war on terror, Guantanamo bay, Australia’s treatment of refugees, Howard, Blair, Bush etc but as I was reading I found it quite an interesting look back at those years, and really it’d be great to have a follow up to see where Coetzee’s thoughts are now. There’s more than just politics, thoughts on nature, religion, ageing, the afterlife, writing, art, music, and so on. I enjoyed the interplay between the three strands and wondered how much the author in the book is the same as Coetzee himself. ...more
I really enjoyed this unusual retelling of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. It’s told from the point of view of all the surrounding characters not Gregor, incluI really enjoyed this unusual retelling of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. It’s told from the point of view of all the surrounding characters not Gregor, including his parents and sister and the servants. There’s also a current character reading the book for a book club. Short chapters, different perspectives and styles, it also adds an older brother who was The Hunger Artist....more
Great writing and hard to put down. Nature and spirits, innocence and sacrifice, lots of ravens. A young Native American becomes the Soul Catcher afteGreat writing and hard to put down. Nature and spirits, innocence and sacrifice, lots of ravens. A young Native American becomes the Soul Catcher after his sister is gang raped and then suicides. He kidnaps an innocent, a 13yo boy to sacrifice as statement for all the innocent indigenous lives taken. The book follows their journey through the wilderness. ...more
Such a brilliant book. Set in Ireland during the economic crash each chapter is told in the first person from the point of view of a different charactSuch a brilliant book. Set in Ireland during the economic crash each chapter is told in the first person from the point of view of a different character. Each characters inner thoughts are revealed and in this way a story is told of a community, of family members, of mental illness, of desperation, of hardship, of job losses, of disappointment, of love and humour and so much more. A really impressive read....more
I’ve decided to put this one down after getting about halfway. While I was kinda enjoying the story of Mr Ryder arriving in a town where he clearly doI’ve decided to put this one down after getting about halfway. While I was kinda enjoying the story of Mr Ryder arriving in a town where he clearly doesn’t remember people and things he should remember, missing appointments and moving from one strange encounter to another. It’s a bit Kafkaesque and dreamlike but I found that I just couldn’t get the enthusiasm up to read more of it (not another 250 pages anyway). ...more
One of Tim Winton’s early novels that I hadn’t read before. It’s of course well written and told from the point of view of 12yo Ort Flack who lives inOne of Tim Winton’s early novels that I hadn’t read before. It’s of course well written and told from the point of view of 12yo Ort Flack who lives in the bush with his parents, teenage sister and grandmother with dementia. His father has a car accident and after he wakes from a coma he is returned home but unable to do anything for himself. That’s when a man called Henry arrives on the doorstep and offers to help. The story turns a bit spiritual and Ort is looking for meaning in the world so it’s understandable that he wants to believe in something. The ending is quite abrupt and for me not unexpected. Not everything is explained and not all ends tied up but it does work for the most part although one wonders why Ort’s mother ever let Henry in the house to start with. ...more
Rosamund Stacey gets pregnant after having sex just the once and decides to keep her baby. This book is from 1965 so there’s lots of interesting sociaRosamund Stacey gets pregnant after having sex just the once and decides to keep her baby. This book is from 1965 so there’s lots of interesting social observations and I found it a mostly enjoyable read. It didn’t really work for me though because clearly if you wanted to be an independent woman at this time it helps to be middle to upper middle class living in your parents posh flat that you don’t have to pay rent for and work in academia so you can work from home and be able to afford a nanny and have mostly an eccentric group of friends who don’t look down their noses at you. (Rosamund also admits that if she was in any other social class she wouldn’t have made the same choices). She also has a really healthy pregnancy and easy birth, she doesn’t get pregnancy brain fog and continues to write her thesis so for me it lacked a basis in reality. The blurb suggests that this is a feminist classic but really that’s if feminism is only for nice middle class women....more
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