natashak1's Reviews (265)

I do adore cyclical storytelling so despite the slow start to this one I still think it deserves a lot of praise. Obviously it's pretty well regarded but I think that's quite a fair reputation. Really loved the parallels between all of the characters and i have a feeling it will mean a reread is very much worth it.

Obviously fantastically talented but frustratingly just not a poet who speaks to me particularly. A few gems dotted through but overall not someone I'll be revising any time soon.

I'll be the first to admit that it's slightly ridiculous that a Murakami die-hard like me has waited this long to read Kafka on the Shore, but despite that I was not disappointed in the slightest. I actually felt that I liked this more than I would have had I read this as my first Murakami, but regardless it felt like a combination of all the best bits of Murakami (plus some of his slightly more questionable bits). 

Completely utterly heartbreaking I loved every part of it. It is quite abstract in places, so I can see why some people don't find it very engaging, but if you let yourself be swept up by the prose and style of imagery it is a book that will let you in with open arms.

These books are massively nostalgic for me, partly because I used to listen to the audio books with my mam, and partly because they're basically baby's first horror. They're also written by an author whose style I have always loved for some reason I can't put my finger on. 
Anyway, if you're after some slightly lighter fantasy/horror that you don't need to think too hard about, then this is probably not a bad start (and the voice actor for the audiobooks is fantastic!).

Not quite as coherent as I remember it being, but just as witty and much more insightful. 

Wilfred Owen is highly regarded for a good reason and I get more and more out of his poetry the more I return to it. 
Invested in a nice copy of my own without all of the graffiti in my second hand copy (so I can graffiti it myself!). 

This is a wonderfully written book, with a lovely writing style and flow that make it incredibly easy to read. 

The tone shifts ever so slightly as you work through the book, so gradually that you barely notice it until the big revelations start to come to the surface. Morton-Thomas also peppers through just enough hints of what's happening below the surface that all of the twists seem to fit, even when you're doing a double take at what you've just read. 
All of the characters are uniquely understandable, all of them interesting and flawed in a different way. The two POV characters in particular are written so well that you almost kick yourself when the final reveal so clearly highlights all the places in which their perspectives skew what you have been shown.

The best way to describe it is as a sort of anti-thriller. There isn't one big question, but instead the reader is left with more and more questions and it's almost impossible to know what the central mystery is exactly, and yet you're still left on the edge of your seat waiting for the big reveal when everything comes together. 

I'll definintely be looking out for more of Morton-Thomas's work, which is high praise given that this novel doesn't fit in with my usual fare. 

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 

 Small Hours is about a man called Jack who loses his job, rescues a fox, and finds out his mother has gone missing on the same day. He goes back to his family home, and the rest of the story unfolds from there, the family dynamics being slowly peeled away until there's nothing left to see. 

This one was a bit tricky for me. While I can appreciate that the author's style of writing, his tone and choice of language, I didn't get along very well with the content of the book.

This is a family drama at heart, but in a sort of toned down way that could really appeal to someone wanting a cozy, slice-of-life type story. I found that parts of it dragged a little because of this, with a lot of sections being a repeat of things we already know but from a new perspective. These sections have their worth, don't get me wrong, but I do feel a little like the audience is being led to the answers, rather than being expected to make connections themselves.

On the whole the characters are extremely believeable and work well together, but again I found this a little flavourless. We do get character growth, especially from Jack, the main character, but it is exactly as expected, with little that really grabs your attention. None of the characters ever really break the moulds of their steroetypes, and while that does match the tone of a book trying to provide nothing but comfort, I prefer to be challenged, even just a little. 

All in all a well structured, well written, wholesome family drama. But I couldn't find that little spark that might have made me care.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.