Novels
Who can recommend a really good novel to me? I've just finished Restless by William Boyd and Sovereign by C.J.Sanson, both of which were fairly gripping in terms of plot but disappointing in terms of characterisation. The book I read before those was P.G.Woodhouse's The Luck of the Bodkins which is very silly but quite funny. I suppose there's always the new H.P. to look forward to on Saturday.
posted by Whispering Walls at 2:39 pm
13 Comments:
Sorry, I don't 'do' novels but I've started an interesting factual book called 'If A Pirate I Must Be' about Bartholomew Roberts who was drafted into the merchant navy, and found himself hooked into the world of piracy.
Early days yet, but it does seem to indicate that the 'one-sided' view of the slave trade is a lot more complex, and although the pirates were rapscallions, at least they were democratic, diverse and played by some sort of 'gentleman's rules'
A bit like the Soprano family..
A full review when I've finished..
You could always read or reread the Russian classics. They are just so well written and so good.
Which is your favourite, Eurodog? When I was a teenager mine was Anna Karenina. Perhaps I should re-read it although I re-read Simone de Beauvoir's Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter recently, which I loved in my teens, and didn't enjoy it. Different things appeal at different ages, I suppose. Perhaps the mark of a great novel is timeless appeal?
The Yiddish Policeman's Club
WW - check out this story from today's Guardian...
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2129738,00.html
The author and the Austen plot that exposed publishers' pride and prejudice | News | Guardian Unlimited Books
Another 'not a novel'. I'm reading Genghis Khan by John Man ISBN 0-553-81498-2 and really enjoying it. An astonishing influence on the world for one man.
My ambition is to read War and Peace but I think I will have to wait until I get to my desert island before doing so.
I read War & Peace when I was 16 and loved the romantic part of the story but skimmed the agriculture and politics. Perhaps it's time to re-read it
At the moment I am reading "Love in the time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and really enjoying it. You might too.
Hi Mary - that's one of my favourite books
What a coincidence. What about; "A Suitable Boy" Vikram Seth or "I Capture the Castle" Dodie Smith. Why don't you add a list of your favourite books to your profile?
MMQC - didn't especially like A Suitable Boy, but Dodie Smith is pure joy.
I've always been put off by the sheer size of A Suitable Boy because I like to travel handbag on arm, book in hand. I did, however, love An Equal Music by Vikram Seth. Have you read that? I would do a book list on my blogsite and jazz the whole thing up with beautiful photographs but I simply don't have the time here in this office. One day...
Post a Comment
<< Home