Persephone Reading Week #2

Claire & Verity are hosting Persephone Reading Week#2 this week (yep, am a day late with my post). I missed out on this last year, but was quite looking forward to reading a couple of Persephone books this year. In fact, I'd even picked out a couple of books and kept it aside for this week.

I'm not going to commit to anything, but I do want to read both of them this week. If not both, definitely the one.

Look forward to all the Persephone-related posts in the blog'o'sphere, and adding some more books to my to-be-read collection.

Are you joining in in Persephone Reading Week#2? What are your reading plans?

Angela Carter - Shadow Dance

Angela Carter's debut book, Shadow Dance, is the fifth book by her that I've read, and it's as bizarre as the previous three. Due to a million other things, I wasn't able to get my thoughts out on this sooner, which is a pity, as I wanted it to tie in with Claire's Angela Carter  Month, which I have mentioned before. Oh well, better late than never, I guess. Shadow Dance is set in London in the 1960s (similar to Several Perceptions), and it focuses on the darker side of London, with unlikeable characters taking centerstage. The opening chapter of the book itself dove straight into the story: the return of a young beautiful girl who was raped and had her face knifed (and subsequently scarred for life) by the idiosyncratic Honeybuzzard.

However, neither the girl (Ghislaine) nor Honey are the protagonists of the book - at least, neither of them seem to be the protagonists to me. Yes, the book does revolve around them, but it's through the eyes of Morris - a weak indecisive character, who runs an antique shop with Honey.

Morris had slept with Ghislaine, despite being married, and spends most of the book trying to avoid her, as she returns to reality, after spending a fair bit of time at the hospital. Her return affects a fair few people, who frequented the same bar as her. It also affects the wives of the many people who slept with her.

Honeybuzzard is away when Ghislaine returns, and when he makes an appearance in the book, it's with a new lover in tow: Emily. Emily doesn't know Honey (or Morris) very well, but she does cook for them and help them keep the store. A mysterious character, obsessed with cleanliness, Emily rarely smiles and remains a figure of much contemplation.

As the many characters in the book come together, so the story evolves, and keeps the reader turning page after page, delighting in the beautiful, yet macabre, writing.

He lived in a state of guilty fear, starting at sudden noises, frightened of shadows. He was tormented by a recurrent dream, a mutation of the nightmare of the first night. /he dreamed he was cutting Ghislaine's face with a kitchen knife. The knife was blunt and kept slipping. Her head came off in his hands, after a while, and he cut her into a turnip lantern, put a candle inside and lit it through her freshly carved mouth.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, which is an incredibly strong debut. I find it takes a special kind of talent for the writer to write a book, where none of the characters are really likeable, and yet, the story is completely captivating. One keeps hoping that one of the characters will redeem themselves, and one keeps wondering how much worse a character can get. It's a fascinating glimpse into people, their personalities and how they live with themselves, just to get by.

I do wonder though, how I'd read this book, if it was my first Carter. Would I enjoy it as much as I did, or would it be way too disturbing?

Terry Pratchett - Nation

Don't you love Terry Pratchett books? I do, despite never having read any in my teenage years, and Nation, a non-Discworld story, is no exception. Set in an alternate universe (or a parallel universe, if you like), this is the story of a young boy (Mau) whose homecoming has been ruined by a massive tidal wave, which has completely destroyed his village. There are no survivors, but him; and then he meets another survivor - from a shipwreck. Daphne, a posh British girl, with some royal blood, who doesn't speak the same language as Mau, nor is she accustomed to his kind of lifestyle. As they try getting acquainted with one another, Pratchett exploits the humour surrounding language and cultural differences, keeping the reader thoroughly entertained; be it Daphne cooking for him, or him not realising what pointing a gun at him meant; be it the importance of trousers or the lack of clothes altogether.

As more people seek refuge in the 'Nation', the tone of the book changes. The humour remains, but the book takes a more philosophical turn, exploring ideas of nontheism, as Mau's faith gradually evolves - from hating the gods for taking away the Nation to figuring out the importance of belief. As the two children grow up gradually, the nature of responsibilities they take on, for both - themselves and the people on the island - increases. Mau leads the people as they look for answers, while Daphne learns about breastfeeding, child-bearing and looking after the children of the other women on the island.

I did enjoy this book, despite the last chapter tying things up all too neatly. At the same time, it's important to remember that this is a young adult book, so that should not be surprising.

Angela Carter - The Bloody Chamber

Claire sent me a copy of The Bloody Chamber last month, and I resisted opening it 'til the Angela Carter month kicked off. My previous experience with Angela Carter's short stories collection wasn't great, so despite the great things I've read about this collection, I was ever so slightly ambivalent about it. Nonetheless, my fears (if I may call the ambivalence so) were quickly allayed as I lost myself in the title story, The Bloody Chamber - a story that starts in an almost "happily-ever-after" fairytale-esque manner. Yet, a combination of the title and familiarity with Angela Carter's writing was reason enough to believe that the story would take a gothic turn. And so it did. I couldn't peel my eyes away from the story for even a second though, and it was enough to believe that this collection of short stories would be more enjoyable, less random.

The other stories followed suit; re-vamped fairy tales, re-invented characters, but these stories aren't just re-told in a different voice. That would be the most unfair assessment of all. These stories are original, picking up on some of the latent themes prevalent in the classic fairytales we've known and loved, and improvising on them to create dark depraved tales which delighted and shocked me.

Beauty and the Beast is one of the stories that make an appearance in this collection, and despite being a big fan of the original (who didn't love the Disney movie?), I was thoroughly wowed by Carter's more adult version. Abundant with vice and a hint of sexuality, the re-working of this story seemed almost real, while simultaneously being totally fantastical.

While I did love most of the stories in this collection, a couple did leave me feeling indifferent. Puss in Boots was one of them, and annoyingly enough, I can't really pinpoint what I didn't really enjoy about it. It just didn't grab me like the others did. Is that good enough a reason? I don't know, but, it's all I've got.

It's a provocative gothic collection, surreal as always (and these are fairy tales, so the surrealism element automatically gets incremented), but totally captivating. I recommend it highly, simply because it takes the safe happy world of fairy tales, and turns it upside down, while teasing you and making you beg for more; be it the re-working of Sleeping Beauty, or the overhauling of Red Riding Hood.

Again, thanks Claire for the giveaway. I'm really happy I won! :)

Have you read any gothic fairy tales? Which ones would you recommend?

PS: I recently finished The Book Of Lost Things which also has fairy-tales twisted and re-told in the narrative. I was very impressed by it as well, and despite Connolly being no Angela Carter, I thoroughly loved it, so it's something else I'd rate quite highly.

When Spring Began

I've been AWOL last few weeks, as I've been moving house, and working overtime! Not the best combination. The new place still doesn't have internet, but, thank god for tethering. I apologise for disappearing into thin air, but hopefully, I'm back! I've got two books still to review, from my reading in March, plus I just finished The Bloody Chamber so, lots to catch up on! March wasn't a great reading month for me, so I'd ideally like to finish last month's book stack this month. Not counting on it though, as I'll be travelling for about ten days in ten days time (seriously!), and work's just piling on as well.

Also, Claire's hosting the Angela Carter month this month, so, I'd recommend stopping by there irrespective of whether you're an Angela Carter newbie, or a fan. As already said, I've just finished The Bloody Chamber, and I'll be penning down my thoughts on the book tonight.

I plan to read a couple of more Carters this month, with Shadow Dance and The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman being the most likely. I'm really looking forward to reading them, as well as seeing what everyone else is reading, and how they're getting on with her works.

Finally, it would be almost rude to talk about moving home, and not sharing pics of my new work area and bookshelf. The bookshelf's already overflowing, but I absolutely love it. And I adore my new workspace as well. It's still missing my big screen, which is still at my old place, but I don't have the guts to attempt getting it on the tube, so, going to have to find someone willing to make the trek and give me a hand.

Spent all day yesterday building my favourite part of the room, and I am pleased with the results, so here goes...

Moving house is annoying, but, when the end result looks like that, there's some gratification. Don't you think so?

Also, what do you have planned for April, when spring's 'round the corner, and hopefully, we'll be able to put away our overcoats for the next six months? Can't wait!

José Saramago - Death At Intervals

Death At Intervals (also published as Death With Interruptions) is an extremely surreal book by the Nobel Laureate, José Saramago. In a country (not necessarily futuristic), people have stopped dying one new year's day, in spite of illness, accidents and life in general. The different strata of society react differently: people are initially joyous as they contemplate immortality; the religious people and the philosophers try debating it out - without death, what is the point of religion - and, the politicians, who try and figure out the socio-economic repercussions.

However, the implications of immortality are far severe than people initially realised, and while they resort to euthanasia, and taking relatives outside the country, in order to die a natural death, a new criminal organisation, the maphia, come into action, who provide the services of ensuring old, ill and suffering family members die.

The maphia would not be what it is had it failed to find a solution to the problem. It really is a shame, if you will allow us a brief aside, that the brilliant intellects leading these criminal organisations should have departed from the strait and narrow path of respect for the law and disobeyed the wise biblical precept that urges us to earn our daily bread by the sweat of our brow, but facts are facts, and while repeating adamastor's sad words, ah, but my heart is sick to tell the tale, we will set down here the distressing news of the trick deployed by the maphia to get round a difficulty which was, to all appearances, insoluble.

While the first half of this book asks the important philosophical questions about the importance of death, and debates euthanasia, the second half of the book has the anthropomorphic death herself as the narrator. The significance of "death" signing off with a "d" instead of "D" is also discussed, when she (yes, death is anthropomorphised as a female) sends a letter to a newspaper editor, where she says Death is far scarier and omniscient than she, herself.

She changes tactics, from ensuring no one dies to sending a letter to the victim a week prior to his death, so that he has sufficient time to wrap up his affairs. Of course, when it comes to death, a heads up might not be the best way forward....

I can't say I enjoyed the book despite its interesting premise though. It's not that I didn't enjoy it - I just found the writing really difficult to read at times (above quote withstanding). The punctuation is random, and even long conversations lacked quotations, so much so that I had to go back and re-read chunks to figure out the flow of the conversation.

Don't get me wrong - it is a fantastic book with captivating debates on politics, religion and economics, and I think it's one of those that would definitely be worth a re-read.

Have you read this book by Saramago? Or, any others? How do they compare? I think I'd like to try Blindness next....

Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex

I was born twice: first as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974. So opens Eugenides' epic novel, Middlesex. Calliope "Cal" Stephanides was declared a girl when she came into this world, against the odds. Her grandmother's spoon (which had successfully predicted the sex of previous unborn children) had swung indicating a son would be born, but, Calliope's father begged to differ saying, "it's science" - well, maybe so, but, fourteen years later (despite being raised as a girl), the Stephanides family learnt that "Cal" had a 5-alpha reductase deficiency, which resulted in the doctor figuring a girl had been born, not a boy.

Narrated by Calliope (and then Cal), this novel isn't just about the experience as a hermaphrodite. In fact, the narrator goes back three generations, where the ancestors were fleeing Greece during the Greek-Turk wars in the 1920s. Time moves on to World War II, the Depression, the race riots in Detroit, Detroit and the assembly line and finally, the present. The story adapts and evolves with each historical event, and its significance in the life of Cal and his ancestors.

This book is quite a chunkster at over 520 pages long, and while the gist seems to suggest its predominant focus is Cal's identity crisis, more than half the book focuses on the history and how the relationships through time have resulted in the present. There are incestuous relationships, the whole talk of what is acceptable and what should be avoidable, the "woman's" role vs. the "man's" and the filial and parental devotion that runs through the book, making it interesting and captivating.

The writing style is slightly bizarre, switching between third and first person, almost as though there's two streams of consciousness. But then again, that's one of the things I do love about Eugenides' writing (think The Virgin Suicides and the collective "we" narrator). The book is interesting, and despite being fairly long, it doesn't drag on or feel as though it's missed the final edit. It's humorous, witty and perceptive, with the scope of its narrative being ambitious, and in my opinion, Eugenides does a wonderful job of pulling it off.

This is the first book that I've read, where the central character is a hermaphrodite. It's also the first book I've read which deals with the Greek-Turk wars. However, I have read a fair few books around the whole immigration malarky, and this does manage to not be stereotypical.

Are there any other books you'd recommend which talks of the Greek-Turk history? How about books belonging to the "LGBT" category?

Monday Meanderings

I've had a slow reading week! Still got hundred odd pages of Middlesex to finish - yes, I know I've been reading it forever, but, I've been busy, and driving up to Manchester midweek for the game didn't really help! Not that I'm complaining... what a cracking game that was! Anyway, I had an amazing present waiting for me when I got home from Manchester from Claire @ Paperback Reader: Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. It's a collection of short stories I've wanted to read for some time, and I fully intend to lose myself in the anthology next month, as Claire hosts the Angela Carter Month. Thanks very much, Claire. Love it - cover and the lovely note that goes with it. :)

As per usual, the books on my shelf increase at a faster pace than I can knock them off. Over the past couple of weeks, a bunch have found themselves sitting pretty on my bookshelf, and I really need to do something about the exponential rate at which the books seem to be growing. I'm going to impose a book-buying ban on myself until I read at least another eighteen books. No temptation, no comfort-book buying, no nothing. Rap my knuckles and tell me off, please! Or, just confiscate my credit card. Luckily (!), I'm not a member of any library, so at least that's not an added distraction. I'm clutching at straws now...

I am actually really excited about Tim, as I read The Thornbirds when I was a teenager, and absolutely loved it. Haven't read a Colleen McCullough since, and I think that's a shame.

Also, it's been over a year and a half since I read anything by Ian McEwan, despite going through a phase where I read six of his books in a month, so I just couldn't turn my back on The Child In Time.

Heliopolis was on the Booker Longlist last year, and at the time, it was a toss up between it and How To Paint A Dead Man for me. I figured Heliopolis would eventually fall off the radar, but I remembered the glowing reviews... I blame you guys!

Finally, there's Suite Francaise, which a friend lent me, praising it immensely. It's on the Waterstones Books Of The Decade as well, so, what are the odds of me going wrong with this one? Slim......

So, have you read any of the above? Comments?

And any new books find their way miraculously on your shelves recently? Do share... god knows, I could do with the solidarity!

What Is It About That Author?

This week's Weekly Geeks asks:

• Tell your readers what is it about "an" author that you are most passionate about, that have you coming back for more from them, following their every blog post – literally blackmailing people to read their books?

• Who are some of your all time favourite authors?

• And what is it about them that makes you keep going back for more?

My absolute favourite author is Enid Blyton. I attribute my love for reading to her. Most of my childhood reading was Blyton, and on a bad/rainy day, I still yearn to curl up with one of her books. I strongly believe that children should read her books, and while lately, there's been a lot of criticism about her racist and sexist, I personally think it's the politically-correct police working overtime - much like the whole "Baa Baa Black Sheep" being racist, and changing it to "Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep," which incidentally has homosexual connotations...

I digress.

Moving on to authors of adult books...

There are a number of authors I've enjoyed reading since my mid-teens, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Milan Kundera. I'm slowly working my way through all their books, and am enjoying taking my time.

A couple of years ago, I discovered J.M. Coetzee. While I love the three works by him which I have read, and think he's immensely talented, I'd still be reluctant to call him an all-time favourite.

Just last year, I discovered Angela Carter, an author I've enjoyed acquainting myself with. Not only are her works surreal, brilliant and original (well, I've never read anything like her books), but her book covers are so incredibly striking, that you just want them sitting on your shelf, to look pretty!

So, what keeps me going back for more? Well, it's different things about different authors, and in some instances, it's hard to nail down. I haven't listed Sarah Waters as a favourite, yet, I want to read all her books to see if any of them compare to Fingersmith.

With Marquez and Kundera, it's kind of hard to pinpoint what I love. I've almost taken it for granted that if I pick up one of their books, I'm bound to love it. The language is beautiful, the story thought-provoking, and I genuinely feel as though I'm gained something after reading their works. On the other hand, reading Carter is a hell of an experience. I'm sorry, but there's no other way (that I can think of) to describe it.

How about you? Do you have any authors that you're just drawn to, more than others? What keeps you going back for more of their works?

Simon Lelic - Rupture

We live in a world of the Columbine High School shootings, the Red Lake High School shootings and the Virginia Tech shootings. Something pushes people to pull the trigger on innocent people, and hard as we may try, the horror that ensues just cannot be justified. In Simon Lelic's debut novel, Rupture, the shooter, Mr. Samuel Szajkowski, was a teacher at a London public school. At assembly one morning, he shot three students and one teacher, before turning the gun on himself. The novel reads as a fast paced mystery novel, despite the perpetrator of the crime already being dead. Inspector Lucia May is in charge of what seems to be a fairly straightforward case, and her superior wants a to-the-point report, which will close the case for good. However, Lucia starts looking into the "why" of things, as opposed to immediately closing the case as her boss wanted her to, which annoys him to no end.

It's a book about bullying, physical and verbal, and the unfairness of it all; how some people get away scott-free, whereas some people feel compelled to act in a rash manner. No one said life's fair, but when you're pushed, how far will you go?

It's undoubtedly an ambitious novel, with the testimonies of fifteen people interleaved with May's account of how the investigation is progressing (as well her own life, and contemplations). The voices of the fifteen people sound real - ranging from fellow teachers to students to parents, and the reader feels as though they have been given the whole story - not just one side of it.

However, and here's the BIG however, some things about this book really annoyed me. For some reason, people in this country have decided that saying "should of" instead of "should have" and "would of" instead of "would have" is acceptable. Every time I see something like that, I wince. When the students' accounts are peppered with these, it's almost (but not quite) acceptable. However, when teachers and parents use the same, it just sounds wrong! The author really should of done better with that.

Second, and this might stem from my doubts about twenty-first century technology in books - the author manages to bring in bullying via text messages (and in text speak, no less) as well as mentioning Facebook. The latter seems to be more "name-dropping" than anything else, and it just makes the novel feel so current.

Finally, some parts of this book seem unbelievable. I studied in an all-girls school, which had uniforms, daily inspection and severe disciplinary actions for any small wrong-doing. I've been asked to stand outside the classroom for looking at my watch during Chemistry, so, you get the picture. I just can't imagine a school where bullying, taunting and being undisciplined is overlooked, and the students and teachers responsible aren't reprimanded at all.

Oh, and while the below quote has absolutely nothing to do with the story, I could so relate, and thought I'd share it.

The books filled the shelves the landlord had left for her, as well as her IKEA bookcase. She liked to let her eyes gaze upon the spines. She liked being able to identify a book without being close enough to read its title. The battered corners, the creases on the cover - they were a mark of familiarity. They were a comfort.

Have you read any books on school shootings? What did you make of them? Do you think anything can justify it?

Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice

Mee invited all Pride and Prejudice first-timers to a readalong in February. I'd like to start this post by apologising for not finishing the book in the second month of the year itself, but, I got sidetracked with a couple of other things, and well, you know how it goes... Pride and Prejudice is my very first Austen (yes, I'm a book blogger who has never read an Austen. Shame on me!), and there are so many things I want to say about the experience. I'm not going to write a proper "review" with a story recap etc. as, well, most people have a general idea as to what the story's about, and in my opinion, knowing more can ruin the story for them.

That was my major gripe with Pride and Prejudice. I really wish I'd read it as a teenager, as I wasn't aware of the storyline back then. Things have changed since, and much to my displeasure, I discovered that a lot of the feel-goodness of the book was lost as I already knew how things would come together in the end. Further, I also knew how a couple of characters would turn out, which was annoying.

That said, I did still enjoy the book, if for nothing else, the language - oh, how I loved the language! Why don't we speak like that now-a-days? Well-articulated, romantic sentences in proper English (it was the nineteenth century), with appropriate exaggerations? It's a fantastic world to get lost into, and the emphasis is so much more on the dialogue than the ambience. Through the dialogue, you acquaint yourself with the characters, and it's almost as though you're right there with them through everything: the balls and the walks, the ecstasy and the misery, the anger and the lament. You even get to read the letters between the characters, which tells you all the more about them, and by the end of the book, everyone has a favourite: Elizabeth Bennet or Mr. Darcy. Unfortunately, none of the other characters jump off the pages as much as the aforementioned.

Yet, I cannot fault Austen for characterisation. As readers, we're introduced to a myriad of characters who stem from being naively good hearted to downright self-involved and manipulative; from being "airheads" (sorry, but that is the apt twenty-first century term) to being gallant; from being weak-minded or avaricious to having severe delusions of grandeur thanks to association. The people would fit in today's society easily - we see them every day! Some we would judge, and some we'd want for our best friend. Some we'd loathe, and some we'd do our best to bring down to earth. Some we'd instantly have an opinion on, only to be proven wrong. That aspect of timelessness amazes me - are society's virtues and vices inherently still the same across two centuries?

And then, we come to the setting: Austen brilliantly brings out life in the nineteenth century, almost satirically. Imagine a world where girls aren't allowed inheritance, despite the property being owned by their father? How about a world where an embarrassing mother is trying to find an eligible bachelor for five teenage daughters (who really should be in school)? Or, a world where people who earn five thousand pounds annually are considered rich? Where girls are looking out for eligible "Officers" as potential husbands - everyone really has only one thing on their minds?! Some of the essential laws of human survival exist: power rules, money talks, estates wow and some people are better as indifferent acquaintances instead of friends!

I did like the dynamics between the characters as well, specially the Bennet family (including the aunts and uncles). Also, must make a special mention of the relationships between Mr. Darcy and his sister, and Mr. Darcy and his aunt Catherine, for they made the book a lot more rich!

I really did enjoy the book, although, maybe not the story in itself, if that makes sense? Again, I attribute that to me already knowing the way the plot would turn, and hence, missing out on the feel-good factor. Also, some of the romanticism and mushiness was a little much for me, but, I guess that was part and parcel of the nineteenth century, and maybe, in another lifetime, I was Elizabeth Bennet. Well, a girl can dream. :)

Reading In March

I've had a pretty fantastic female reading month in February. It's not something I've ever done knowingly, or inadvertently before, so, I was ecstatic with the results! Seriously! I mean, a Sarah Waters book was the biggest disappointment - that's got to be a good reading month, right? So, following on from my Fantastic Female February, it's time to do a Marvellous Magnificent Male March! Alliterations - they always make me smile. :)

I'm moving house this month, and, most of these books are pretty chunky, so while I might not finish all of them, I'll hopefully finish at least five.

1. Jasper Fforde - Shades of Grey : I haven't read anything by Fforde, but in the last couple of months, there have been some spectacular reviews on this book. Also, at the risk of sounding superficial, I love the cover!
2. Simon Lelic - Rupture : Read a fantastic review of this, which claimed the book was a cross between We Need To Talk About Kevin and Notes On A Scandal. Based on that description alone, I thought Rupture is a must-read.
3. Milan Kundera - Farewell Waltz : I'm working my way through all the books by Kundera. Due to the finite number of books published, I'm just reading one Kundera a year, so, here we go. I love his style, and his writing always leaves me craving for more.
4. José Saramago - Death At Intervals : A recent blogpost by Jackie reminded me that I've been planning on reading Death At Intervals for absolutely ages. It was this review by Sarah that prompted me to add this book to my TBR in the first place.
5. Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex : I don't really think I need to say more. Everyone who's read this has loved it (well, everyone I know anyway!), so, it's my turn now.
6. John Connolly - The Book of Lost Things : Like Middlesex above, most people have raved about this book, and hold it to the highest regard. The plot sounds fantastic, and it's again one of those I've had on my to-read pile for ages.
7. Michael Chabon - The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay : I have wanted to read this book for quite some time now, but it kept slipping off the radar. I saw an interview with Marcus Zusak recently, though, and he claimed Chabon was one of his favourite authors. After hearing that, how could this not be bumped up the TBR?

So, how was your February reading, and what's in store for you in March?

Also, any suggestions as to which book I should kick off the month with?