OCTOBER 2013

The Goldfinch ~ Donna Tartt

*** LIKE ***

Long awaited but long winded

Not all that cohesive

The bottom lone for me was a definite "Meh".  I thought it too long, unnecessarily so.  

I really (truly!) love a slow reveal, not much has to happen to keep me happy (Secret History is right up there on my Favourites List) but this meandered, and, at times, it seems to lose the thread of where it was headed.  By the end it was sermonising and philosophising page after page.  A good edit would have done wonders.

 Some parts were good, some were laboured.  Some characters were vivid (would have loved more Hobie), others cliched, other characters struck me as convenient pop ups (Tom and Pippa).  Theo, the main character, wavered inconsistently between boring and stupid. 

I did not take to Boris and didn't find him believable.  He stayed on the page as a larger than life caricature even though he was fleshed out, copiously, in print.  A good "for example" would be that we are told he talks with an Australian accent ( Kindle  'Loc 4070')- but why are we told this? what evidence is there that he does?  Nothing remotely Australian ever crosses his lips in way of an accent (and just a few possible examples of Oz vernacular ... "dunno"?).  I couldn't wait for the Las Vegas section to finish (so much repeated behaviour)... but Boris made a reappearance for the convoluted, improbable finish.

Night Film ~ Marisha Pessl

**** RECOMMEND ****

Edgy writing = On edge reading

Book Noir : the mean streets

This was a mysterious, moody suspense novel that was creepy and compelling.  Maybe what made it stand out so much was its creative approach with its mixed media inserts (that created a bit of a problem on the Kindle).  Rather than gimmicky, I found them tantalising, with the multi-media making and already creative story even more multi-dimentional.

The plot was deep and dark and had you second guessing what you knew, what was happening, what would happen.  It was a mesmerising page turner, continuously intriguing and sinuous in plotline.  I didn't even mind the end (rational? mystical? you choose!). 

Stormy Weather ~ Carl Hiaasen

**** RECOMMEND ****

As barbed as a fishing hook

Larger than life

sarcastic, caustic, satirical, witty, wry, the work of a twisted mind

The Night Guest ~ Fiona McFarlane

** OK **

The Rosie Project ~ Graeme Simsion

*** LIKE ***

The Lowland ~ Jhumpa Lahiri

*** LIKE ***

Shortlisted : National Book Award 2013 
Shortlisted : Booker Prize 2013 
Tournament of Books : 2014