Noel Griffin
Not the worst. Some interesting science but on the whole felt a little shoehorned in. Overly detailed in parts with a pretty forgettable and predictable main plot. Still moves on quick enough.
Maybe more a 3 and a half than a 4 but I enjoyed this and read it in two days. A solid debut novel with a likeable, if mostly romantic, rendition of a small rural town.
An exceptional and well overdue book. A must read for anyone concerned with how the world works and the influence of science on how we view society works.
I really liked this book. Thought the structure was very effective more so for being out of chronological order which seemed to allow for a feeling of getting more insight into the life and personality of Maggie. I found it a very moving book over all.
It's not a bad book just never really delivers on its promise. Felt there was so much more that could have been done with the premise.
Another solid story from Ken Bruen. As always an efficient well constructed story featuring one of the most accurate descriptions of an alcoholic you'll probably read about in Jack Taylor.
Loved this coming of age story set during WWII in Belfast. I laughed and came as close to shedding a tear as I have with a book.
Thought it was ok but not Claire's the strongest showing so far. Still, it hasn't put me off looking forward to reading number four.
I'm not really a short story person and this sort of reinforced it for me. I've not read any of Lucy's books and this is what i had to hand. I find them well written but somehow didn't engage as well for me. Horses for courses.
found this a pretty joyless book. While some deeply moving sections later in the book redemed it somewhat can't say I liked this book. The only message I got from it was stay away from poets. Life is too short.
I was seduced by positive reviews and overcome my suspicion to chance a read of this. Sadly, and perhaps predictably, I was not rewarded. The novelty wore off very early in the book and trudged my way to the uninteresting conclusion. Sorry Oscar should have known better. Will make it up to you but need some time to rid myself of this.
I've had this book for years after it was recommended by a friend, can't remember which one, as being very funny. Finally got round to read it one day as I was reminiscing over my time overseas. This is a hateful book which tells the apparently autobiographical story of when the author spent a year in Paris as an over paid twenty something forced to sleep with a string of beautiful young Parisian women while all the time being completely smug about how superior he was. Would rather be dragged naked through a field of broken glass than spend 5 minutes in his company. Don't know why I finished reading it. I suppose I sort of hoped that there would be some sort of moment of self-realisation at the end. It is one of the few books that found their way into a donation box this year. (with all due respect to whomever recommended it in in the first place )
V. I. Warshawski is a well established female PI. While I know that in many ways this is a send up of the genre I was a bit disappointed. Seen as one of the few feminist detective characters the rest of the women in the book were terrible characters. Maybe I just got a bad book (its only the 5th of 17) and also a bit of its time 1988.
An interesting snapshot of coming of age during the second world war. Reminded me somewhat of The Emperor of Ice Cream by Brian Moore.
Found this a disappointing read. I don't understand why female characters need to suffer abuse/rape that has no real bearing on the plot. Expected better of John Banville/Mr Black.
While angeline might have stuck a few too many ideas in her debut novel the characters have stuck with me far longer than for most of the books I read which is no mean feat. Quite enjoyed this one.
Fascinating and frustrating read. It is basically a knitting together of interviews of most of the, shamefully, small number of women who have been senior ministers or president of Ireland.
There is not a lot of analysis, it's not that kind of book, but what analysis is there is rather patchy.
Still the book vividly shows how slow the changes change in gender balance in Irish politics have begun to accelerate but also of how much is still to be done.
Required reading. While it is obviously about the English and Welsh legal system it does have much to say about the importance of a properly funded legal and justice system.
It is a long time since I properly read any poetry, which seems like some kind of secular confession. I don't know why I picked this book of all books when browsing my bookshelves this evening. Maybe the title promised some meaning, certainly not comfort, after the most recent horror of the ongoing horrors that seem to be the ongoing acceptance of things.
I think I remember who recommended her to me but that was getting on for a decade ago and I'm pretty sure at some point I have read her work before but have forgotten. I read this through in one sitting. Reading most of it aloud, joys of living alone. I found this a very powerful and emotional collection.
Letters to the Dead
...
VII
How many daughters stood alone at a grave,
and thought this of their mothers' lives?
That they were young in a country that hated a woman's body.
That they grew old in a country that hated a woman's body.
...
How many indeed and how many will continue to do so?
DNF (Spoilers).
Short as this work is I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. While I enjoyed the descriptions of Lahore and had i finished I don't think I would have had any issue with the overall criticisms of the USA that seems to have been the authors intent.
I found it hard to empathise with the construct of the protagonist being a poor rich person in Pakistan who finally manages to enter the world of the super wealthy that he feels he should have been born to when he gets a scholarship to Princeton. That being said there are plenty of books about western elites so, other than it not being the sort of theme I connect to, I don't really have any issues with that.
However, the reason I did not finish was because I could not stomach hearing any more of the sentimental retelling of a supposed love story which was in reality nothing short of an abusive relationship where he betrayed her trust and raped her. I don't really understand how Erica can be representative of USA when in the book she is a young woman recovering from the death of her childhood sweetheart who befriends the young Pakistani protagonist and sees in him the possibility of a new relationship but is abused and raped in return. Not only does the protagonist not seem to see much wrong with his actions but mopes about the place feeling sorry for himself. Not only is this deeply disturbing and misogynistic it is a complete failure of the narrative unless the author is trying to make out that ultimately the USA is the wronged party.
Even if it did work, I am pretty tired of stories where the only purpose that women serve is to use their abuse as a lens to tell a wider story.
From the reviews it seems that the author's other works are better so still willing to give one of those a go at a later time.
Came to the books after the TV show. I suppose which you prefer might depend on where you started but I think some of the changes made in the series were very much for the better. Not saying the book is bad, far from it, but think the authors having another look at it for the show enabled them to tighten up some of the ideas.
I read these as a teenager and always liked them. They are a fun mix of fantasy and science fiction. I recently stumbled upon a copy of the audio book of this and gave it a listen. While the narration is great it sadly just shows how poorly written this book is. At its heart there is a fun idea and the interplay of the characters, each of whom has a their own novel. However, Anthony doesn't have the skills to capitalise on them. Worse he's just an pervy old man who can't write a woman without telling us how amazing she looks or how ugly she is. It is just so tiresome. I did try the second book but had to stop half way through as it's even worse. I did find that he had released an 8th book much more recently but from reading the descriptions it really shows how much of a creep Piers is with an underage protagonist having sex all the way through the book. This is creepy full stop but considering the book was published in in 2007 when the writer was 73 says it all.
I suppose you could be kind and say its just a pulp novel with hero men but strangely the male protagonists are all unlikeable and far from the sharpest tools in the box. So not sure what was going on there.
