I would presume that swathes of humanity in the West (and millions elsewhere) already know the story of a civilian plane crash around (Second World) wI would presume that swathes of humanity in the West (and millions elsewhere) already know the story of a civilian plane crash around (Second World) war-time in which groups of upper class English schoolboys find themselves marooned on a deserted island, where there is a limited wish to remain civilised and a rampant descendance into savagery! [image] This startlingly immense debut novel by William Golding is woke-ism at its best! What, I hear you say? Yes... Golding, got the idea of the book from the 'Christian' pro-colonialism The Coral Island, when he though that the idea of marooned English schoolboys remaining civilised whilst encountering external evil as preposterous; and indeed the concept of the civilising power of colonialism; the beauty of his inversion of the original source was his idea that the evil the boys would face would be from within! A true modern classic and one of the greatest debuts of al time! All the stars, a 10 out of 12, Five STAR READ. [image] 2024 read PS Although read at least three times as a child, this was my first reading in over four decades as an adult!...more
Over educated tour guide Armino Fabbio has the easy life in his job travelling all over Italy with mostly foreign tourists, until he gets involved of Over educated tour guide Armino Fabbio has the easy life in his job travelling all over Italy with mostly foreign tourists, until he gets involved of the murder of a peasant woman in Rome, that runs out to be someone from his own past. He return to his home town Ruffano which feels haunted by his brother Aldo who was killed in the Second World War. 55o years previously 'The Falcon' a Duke oversaw a brutal regime in Ruffano, which as tension rise in the present day, people have forgotten the town's dark past. [image] Maurier plays with past and present to tell an intriguing tale of a town on the brink linked to Armino and his brother's past. Critically acclaimed by some, but overlooked by many, this is a very well written observed look at a fictional 1960s Italy where generations collide. 6 out of 12, Three Star read. 2023 read...more
The Swallow's crew is made up of four sibling children giving the freedom to adventure during their Summer holiday in the Lake District in 1920s EnglaThe Swallow's crew is made up of four sibling children giving the freedom to adventure during their Summer holiday in the Lake District in 1920s England, they sail(!), boat, trek, build etc. as well as battle, truce and have not necessarily all-good interactions with the adults. It is as it says on the tin, this is no coming of age drama, it's literally what the Swallow and Amazon boat crews get up to, most playing in an around the lakes... yet Ransome wrote and plotted it so well, you get drawn into their universe! [image] Oh, and it's intelligent, funny and poignant at times. Another huge plus is Ransome has the girls doing just as much boys, with very little, if any gender specific characterisations. It always annoys me when some readers excuse a writer's gender bias, racism, ignorance etc. because 'that's what it was like back then'; because 'back then' there were people who did believe in equality and wrote thus! Sorry for the digression, this modern classic is worth adding to your must-read-before-I-die list, this was my first time reading, and on completion can see how powerful a read this was for children in the mid-2oth Century, although I should stress I don't know whether modern kids would get much from this now. 8 out of 12., Four Star read. [image] 2022 read...more
Exquisite! 15 year old Charlie writes letters to an unidentified person, and we, the reader, see these letters in this book. Each letter is written moExquisite! 15 year old Charlie writes letters to an unidentified person, and we, the reader, see these letters in this book. Each letter is written mostly immediately, but sometimes a few days after the events that have taking place in Charlie's life as a junior in high school. Not your average junior though, Charlie is a massive nerd and introvert who is an outlier in his school and community, albeit with a 'cool' older sister and an older brother killing it on the football field at college and previously at the high school. Using Charlie as the lens allows the reader to see the reality of the toxic masculinity, treatment of non-binary people, treatment of outliers from a true and pragmatic prospective, and found it i utterly heart rending as it is life affirming throughout! [image] Making Charlie the lens to see this explicit and often difficult look at how young Americans, teachers, adults and the world in general looks and treats young people with mental health, gender, sexuality, familial, relationship and dealing with the past, issues is a sublime bit of innovative creativity that makes us, the consumer, really see the pain and impact of selfish and/or lack of empathy behaviours. What takes this book to another level is not only the totally individual and personal narrative voice of Charlie, but no matter how much this story can be generalised, that it is fundamentally Charlie's story, and that every individual has a personal story and personal needs. The final piece of excellence of this episodic tour de force, is how it illustrates the huge impact of doing the right thing by accepting people for who they are, if it doesn't negatively impact others or the wider community. I. Loved. This! 10 out of wallflowery 10, Five Star read. Al the feels! [image] 2022 read...more
Deservedly considered a classic / modern classic by many, these are two of Greene's 'written for filming' novellas. The Third Man, even without Orson Deservedly considered a classic / modern classic by many, these are two of Greene's 'written for filming' novellas. The Third Man, even without Orson Welles' incredible 'cuckoo clock' speech, paints a great picture of post-war Vienna and the wars impact on the common man; it always depicts the weakening of the ties between the Russians and the other Allied Forces. The compelling tale of contradictory witness statements of a motor accident death, where the only neutral witness talks of a third man at the scene, which does not balance with the other witnesses, who knew the victim, Harry Lime, is quite compelling read. 7 out of 12 [image] The Fallen Idol is another great story looking at what causes a seven year-old to lose total faith with a man he idolised within his household, Baines, the butler. Another Layer is added y writing the story by the child's perspective. 5 out of 12. [image] 2022 read...more
If you don't succeed at first, try, try again! On rereading this book 'Fitzgerald's crowning achievement - THE novel of the 1920s, and loved by every If you don't succeed at first, try, try again! On rereading this book 'Fitzgerald's crowning achievement - THE novel of the 1920s, and loved by every generation since' it's like my eyes have been opened and a shroud lifted! From the very first page the writing, the atmosphere and that reliable(!) narrator held my attention and kept it rivetted over all nine short chapters. As well as being a blistering critique of the American Dream, it's also about the narrator Nick Carraway's eye's being opened, just like mine were on truly understanding the story of the great Gatsby! [image] Personally feel that this story will always stand true for America, the way people are so easily thrown under the bus when their tide turns, despite being so 'invested in' and 'hung on to' when in vogue, see Gatsby; how the privileged live their lives and decimate the lives of the less privileged around them with little regard or indeed consequence, i.e. Tom and Daisy; how striving for the American Dream has no real rules and does not really call for a moral compass or integrity, see Gatsby; and how the enlightened, despite understanding this, do little about it, as the American Dream is a integral part of America itself, see Nick. The cherry on top is the writing and the utterly amazing feat of saying so much in so few pages. F. Scott Fitzgerald, I so stand corrected! 9 out of 12! [image] This book also underlines one of my strongest bookish beliefs, in that if I ever "don't get" a lauded read, I must one day return at another point in my life and reread it again, especially as my expectations are very much then lowered. If you didn't/don't think much of this book, please read it again one day. This book kicks ass! [image] 2005 and 2022 read Link to my 2005 one star review...more
Oh wow... did I not see this coming! First published in 1924 and set in India in the 1920s the time when the British Raj was under observation, critiqOh wow... did I not see this coming! First published in 1924 and set in India in the 1920s the time when the British Raj was under observation, critique and ultimately the threat of the Indian Independence Movement, this drama centred around a woman seeking a more fulfilling life in India as she seeks a relationship with a high ranking Englishman juxtaposed with the story of a Muslim doctor who dared to have a real friendship with a (liberal) Englishman pulls no punches at looking at the failings of not just the British Empire, but Britons themselves as they seek to maintain a hold over 'British-India'. [image] Even read through a 21st century lens this book stands tall, leaving no stone unturned at the despicable, but normalised attitudes, behaviours and actions of most of the Britons in India. It also casts unflattering eyes at the treatment of women, and how they're perceived and ultimately abused in both communities; notwithstanding all that good work, Forster manages to give insight in to the complexity of the many religions, castes, creeds etc. in India itself. [image] The story itself is a compelling and interesting read, and most of the characters, with the omniscient narrator playing a strong part, are fully fleshed out and multi-faceted. Forster moves to another level as a writer for me, as even though he is immensely critical of the Empire, he does not make the main Indian cast angels at all, as each Indian protagonist has several layers, both good and bad as well. [image] I never understood the defence of people doing / promoting / normalising really unpleasant behaviour because of the age they lived / were published in, and the likes of E.M. Forster shows that right is right, and wrong is wrong, regardless of the supposed status quo. A truly surprisingly good read. I am a Forster fan for life, off of the back of my first venture into his work. 8.5 out of 12 formidable Four Star read! [image] 2022 read...more
Amory Blaine, a mid-Westerner and middle class, begin what feels like the start of the rest of his life, in the place he feels he is meant to be, and Amory Blaine, a mid-Westerner and middle class, begin what feels like the start of the rest of his life, in the place he feels he is meant to be, and on his arrival at Princeton (university) he feels at his life's greatest moment. This is his story, via a mix of narrators, styles, even genres, the story of his painful intellectual and sexual awakening as part of the 'Jazz Age' in the shadows of and after the Great War (World War I), as America begins to find itself moving to Superpower status, whilst it's young as ever question the empowered way of life, and in this case the superpowered to be way of life. [image] Fitzgerald's quasi autobiographical bildungsroman debut novel is everything: showing the genius to come; showing the failings that would impede his future success; overall thematically looking at America at it's perceived best, and realised worst; dysfunctional romantic liaisons; and at its heart a quest for identity. Loathed by some critics (even now), but loved by readers at the time (his best seller in his lifetime!!!!), this starts with a strong erudite man-on-campus feel that evolves into a lot more. The first Fitzgerald read that I've enjoyed that may now lead me to rereading and reading his other works. Worth reading alone for the final chapters when Amory throws contrary opinions at the monied classes in such a delightful way, with arguments that could still be used today! 7 out of 12. [image] 2022 read...more
Out-of-kilter writer Sal Paradise sort of worships Dean Moriarty, a traveller and an almost mystic-like man who epitomises the 'Beat Generation'; thisOut-of-kilter writer Sal Paradise sort of worships Dean Moriarty, a traveller and an almost mystic-like man who epitomises the 'Beat Generation'; this is the story of their friendship mostly focussed on their journeys across America (east to west, and west to east), their and their fellow travellers' escapades; and the personal growth that they may or may not go through. A roman a clef work that is essentially a quasi-autobiographical take on the American Dream from a non-conventional perspective drenched in sexual comedy, almost widescreen-like travel writing, counter-culture, and evocative recollections of growing up (in America). [image] Neal Cassady(L) and Jack Kerouac(R) A book that drips with lyrical writing that feels almost like a 300+ paged unstoppable juggernaut that once entered, enveloped me in what (in 2021?) feels like almost a constructed reality, despite it being drafted from the pages of Kerouac's diaries and notes, and based heavily upon his relationships and times with the likes of Neal Cassady, William S Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. It's a bit of a cliché to say, but I do feel that this book has such a prominent place in 20th century American culture that everyone should read it. 7 out of 12, because after awhile the stories and adventures as 'out there' as they were, did feel a bit repetitive. [image] 2021 read...more
2021 read: Waugh's modern classic originally published in 1952 tells the story of upper middle class Guy Crouchback having returned from Fascist Italy2021 read: Waugh's modern classic originally published in 1952 tells the story of upper middle class Guy Crouchback having returned from Fascist Italy to London desperate to take part in the war effort. He gets a non commissioned officer with the Royal Corps of the Halberdiers, and this darkly comic story related the tale of his induction, training and first war mission. There's plenty of evidence of Waugh's powerful ability to use language to create a reality and tell a story in this work based on his wartime diary / experience. I was indeed mesmerised for the first two thirds of this book to a degree, but it never really changed and when the story left behind the darkly comedic and wonderfully created 'officers in training' section and moved into the war arena, it lost some of its shine for me. 6 out of 12. [image]...more
The Pevensies are pulled and tugged by invisible forces from a train station platform to another reality again, this time they find a world of overgroThe Pevensies are pulled and tugged by invisible forces from a train station platform to another reality again, this time they find a world of overgrown lands with acres and acres of nature gone wild; they also find the ancient ruins of a palace... and the longer they are marooned in this strange land, the more familiar it gets! [image] Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter are back on a magical adventure, but where are they? And what does their appearance have to do with the runaway Prince Caspian in Narnia? Another wonderful high fantasy tale written in the more innocent age of the 1950s and classically drawn by Pauline Baynes - I can't imagine reading these books with illustrations by anyone else! C.S. Lewis' second offering and sequel to his first The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is just as spellbinding but with more mysteries and multiple sub-plots. As ever, with this series that I know that I adore it so much because I first read it as a child, and I remember my first read of this book being such a thrill with the early big plot-twist that a first-time child reader may not see coming! 8 out of 12. [image]...more
Bracken and gorse and rocks and tors! Heather and mists and winds and moors! Young adult newly orphaned farmer's daughter Mary Yellen has to move in wBracken and gorse and rocks and tors! Heather and mists and winds and moors! Young adult newly orphaned farmer's daughter Mary Yellen has to move in with her auntie and uncle; her uncle the landlord of Jamaica Inn, a place that nobody even stops at and that never has any patrons! Du Maurier pulls no punches in setting up some obvious plot points and characters only for us to see further reveals when the mist clears. On top of that we get the usual strong female character, despite the book being published in the 1930s. [image] I sorted of expected some off-beat romance, set in a smokey inn with some sort of older female chaperone in the mix... like I completely forgot who du Maurier was! This is a book about lots of bad men, living in a near feudal society where woman live secondary lives and the 'working people' serve the elite; where du Maurier virtually single handed creates and nurtures the 'bad boy' romantic lead and then doubles down on the bad; where villains look like villains and everything is obvious, but turns out not to be in the way the reader was led to believe! [image] I considered this a modern classic before I read it, and still do, although I feel Frenchman's Creek is more deserved of the acclaim this book gets. For what it is worth I couldn't put this down for the last 100 pages. 7 out of 12...more
This modern classic book overshadowed by the modern classic Jack Nicholson movie of the same name, still packs a punch at face value... the story of aThis modern classic book overshadowed by the modern classic Jack Nicholson movie of the same name, still packs a punch at face value... the story of a cocksure womanising drifter who feigns insanity to avoid imprisonment and finds himself compelled to fight against the regime of a mental hospital ward run by the 'dark' Nurse Ratched; he also strives for his fellow inmates to get more out of their lives. [image] So lovable anti-hero versus evil domineering nurse, who is allowed to abuse her power because of the way the state is complicit in its desertion of the mentally unwell - BUT WAIT A MINUTE - lead character McMurphy was convicted of statutory rape and justly sentenced, then FAKED insanity and got himself committed. Apparently despite women and Black people by far the worse abused by American mental health institutions over many decades - we have to side with and feel for all these poor White men, including the doctor on the ward at the mercy of this 'evil women' and her Black henchmen. What!!!!!! Even worse the White men are given somewhat fleshed out characterisations (including the doctor), while Nurse Ratched, her Black staff and all the supporting female cast are one-dimensional cut-outs. Big hoo hah, that the narrator is Native-American... I mean for Heavens sake they called him 'Chief'! [image] Oh but it was the sign of the times? STOP! A few other books written in 1962 - Travels with Charley: In Search of America, Another Country, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Death of Artemio Cruz, Island, Something Wicked This Way Comes etc. I give a 6 out of 12 for this debut novel, a study of the boundaries and similarities between insanity and sanity! A bit weird having a female nurse and Black Men as the bad guys, when this was written in 1960's America, where both had limited power! [image]...more
A modernist tour de force from the heart and mind of the insurmountable Virginia Woolf. Clarissa Dalloway, 52, a socialite, married well, and with theA modernist tour de force from the heart and mind of the insurmountable Virginia Woolf. Clarissa Dalloway, 52, a socialite, married well, and with the ear of the highly privileged, is preparing for her party in the evening. Septimus Warren Smith, shell shocked Great War veteran is on the brink of insanity. This is the story of a day in their lives. [image] Woolf takes you from character to character's point of view, with mostly streams of their thoughts, switching points of view when they cross paths, or are even just mentioned in passing. What starts of as confusing, steadily becomes a real nice flow; like you're watching a film where the camera's eye flicks from person to person as it changes focus... and this was written in the 1920s! [image] You read this book and you can see that their lives barely cross, and don't really get why these two people's stories are in the same book. Woolf uses this device to contrasts their class, their gender, their world views, the people around them, and even how the same individual treats them differently. Woolf implies that these differences can be bridged, but are yet to be. [image] Woolf also uses her own experiences with mental health decay and treatment, to illustrate Smith's condition, which must have been hard. She also has none to subtle digs at the way we treated our war veterans, how we treat women in general, attitudes to lesbianism and snobbery. She also deftly sets it all in post Great War London where the seeds of he end of Empire are growing, where the first Labour Government has been elected, and where most essentially of all the privileged have began to have real concerns of the impact of social equality on their own lives. All this is just under 200 pages! 8.5 out of 12. A book that goes straight on to my shelf, as one that I know I will love even more on rereading. [image] 2020 read...more
A literary best seller then was remade as a movie. The UK Sunday Times --> "The air of New York crackles with an energy that causes the Adrenalin to pA literary best seller then was remade as a movie. The UK Sunday Times --> "The air of New York crackles with an energy that causes the Adrenalin to pump, until one has the illusion that this is where the whole of life is taking place. The feeling is perfectly reproduced in Wolfe's novel, which opens such cans of worms as racial hostility, dress codes, political labelling and the cynical opportunism that governs every action. It's, well, electric" ... perfectly sums up how I feel about this great book! 8 out of 12, Four Stars. [image] 2014 read...more
Hercule Poirot book No.34 is one of my favourites in the series. It starts with a coup in a (fictional) Middle Eastern Kingdom and moves to a homicideHercule Poirot book No.34 is one of my favourites in the series. It starts with a coup in a (fictional) Middle Eastern Kingdom and moves to a homicide ridden private girls school in the UK. [image] Poirot is convinced that among the seemingly innocent staff, that that there's a cat among the pigeons, or indeed cats. plural. Great mystery, a very solid Four Star, 8 out of 12 read for me. [image] 2014 read...more
Maybe I am just not spiritual enough to appreciate Pirsig's critically acclaimed best selling cult classic? A fictional account centred on a philosophMaybe I am just not spiritual enough to appreciate Pirsig's critically acclaimed best selling cult classic? A fictional account centred on a philosophical look at the idea of quality, a motorcycle journey and the nature of the main character. 3 out of 12, One Star read. [image] 2013 read...more
Debatedly Shute's most famous work. And what can I say - well, this is a marvellous piece of fiction mainly set in 'the Far East' in Malaysia and in ADebatedly Shute's most famous work. And what can I say - well, this is a marvellous piece of fiction mainly set in 'the Far East' in Malaysia and in Australia, covering the Second World War and post-war life of the amazing Jean Paget as recounted by her solicitor. A truly wonderful, wonderful tale, by a great scribe. 8 out of 12. [image] 2013 read...more
Another wonderful post-world war II tale from Shute. An almost autistic (Aspergers?) brainiac identifies a serious error in the make-up of the most poAnother wonderful post-world war II tale from Shute. An almost autistic (Aspergers?) brainiac identifies a serious error in the make-up of the most popular British commercial aircraft leading to an almost farcical string of occurrences as the corporate and Government worlds try to rubbish his claim. Great read! 8 out of 12., Four Star read. [image] 2013 read...more
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