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tashreads2manybooks's Reviews (1.06k)
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Some interesting and good ideas, but mostly I am glad I am not raising a child in France.
What an absolutely delightful read! If you enjoy heartfelt and uplifting literature with a generous sprinkling of magic on the side, then The House at the End of Hope Street is for you.
I really don’t want to give too much of the plot away, because it is completely wonderful to discover all the twists and turns for yourself. There are delicious mysteries to be solved and eccentric characters to fall in love with. The entire novel is peppered with literary references, and for a bookworm this is very exciting.
Even if you are not usually a fan of fantasy fiction (like me), suspend your disbelief for a moment and believe in magic. It is worth it. The book really does leave you feeling hopeful.
I really don’t want to give too much of the plot away, because it is completely wonderful to discover all the twists and turns for yourself. There are delicious mysteries to be solved and eccentric characters to fall in love with. The entire novel is peppered with literary references, and for a bookworm this is very exciting.
Even if you are not usually a fan of fantasy fiction (like me), suspend your disbelief for a moment and believe in magic. It is worth it. The book really does leave you feeling hopeful.
A very entertaining read. Not quite "The Hunger Games" , but it more then satisfied my craving for frivolous dystopian YA fiction :)
This is not usually a book I would choose to read, I generally steer clear of romances. But that is what is so great about a book club. It introduces you to genres out of your usual reading zone.
I found the beginning of the book rather slow and tedious and there is not much in the way of a plot at all. However, Heyer won me over when I read the chapter "The Indignation of Mr Manvers" and found myself laughing out loud. From that moment on "These Old Shades" was a joy to read with dazzling dialouge and way OTT characters. I am glad I spent the time on this novel.
I found the beginning of the book rather slow and tedious and there is not much in the way of a plot at all. However, Heyer won me over when I read the chapter "The Indignation of Mr Manvers" and found myself laughing out loud. From that moment on "These Old Shades" was a joy to read with dazzling dialouge and way OTT characters. I am glad I spent the time on this novel.
As the title suggests, this novel consists of a collection of letters all dealing with some kind of loss. There are three main couples involved: In Cork (1969), a Russian painter and his novelist wife who must come to grips with a terminal illness; Perth in 2011 where a bookstore owner writes to her estranged partner trying to fathom what went wrong with their relationship; and Bournemouth in 1948 where a retired doctor writes to his partner who never made it through the war.
These three couples are all vaguely connected through art, war and parallel imagery. I found this to be quite a clever literary tool. It makes lives that seem so random suddenly seem part of some grand plan. All couples have memories involving the artist or artwork of Paul Klee. I also found the imagery of diving and of watches (time) to be quite effective.
Dreams are also of a great importance in the novel and are described vividly. I suppose when love is lost; dreams are sometimes all you have left.
The novel is beautifully written. It is soulful and sorrowful. As a reader you can feel the yearning in Walker’s words; the heartbreak over lost love. There is not really any plot at all – these are simply a collection of love letters. So I don’t think this will appeal to the general reading public.
One aspect I didn’t really enjoy was the graphic sex scene. Please let me state that I am by no means a prude, I appreciate that sometimes to go into great detail about lovemaking is necessary. It just seemed so out of place in this novel. There are these beautiful and lyrical descriptions of love then all of a sudden BANG! (excuse the pun) and we are into 50 Shades of Grey. I just didn’t think it fitted into the novel’s gentle themes.
Overall a beautifully written novel without much of a storyline.
These three couples are all vaguely connected through art, war and parallel imagery. I found this to be quite a clever literary tool. It makes lives that seem so random suddenly seem part of some grand plan. All couples have memories involving the artist or artwork of Paul Klee. I also found the imagery of diving and of watches (time) to be quite effective.
Dreams are also of a great importance in the novel and are described vividly. I suppose when love is lost; dreams are sometimes all you have left.
The novel is beautifully written. It is soulful and sorrowful. As a reader you can feel the yearning in Walker’s words; the heartbreak over lost love. There is not really any plot at all – these are simply a collection of love letters. So I don’t think this will appeal to the general reading public.
One aspect I didn’t really enjoy was the graphic sex scene. Please let me state that I am by no means a prude, I appreciate that sometimes to go into great detail about lovemaking is necessary. It just seemed so out of place in this novel. There are these beautiful and lyrical descriptions of love then all of a sudden BANG! (excuse the pun) and we are into 50 Shades of Grey. I just didn’t think it fitted into the novel’s gentle themes.
Overall a beautifully written novel without much of a storyline.
I don’t usually review children’s books, but when I read the premise of Twerp I decided to break the rules.
The story is told from the perspective of Julian Twerski, a twelve-year-old boy living in New York in 1969. After an undisclosed incident involving another boy named Danley Dimmel, Julian is suspended from school and asked by his English teacher to write about the events leading up to this incident. What follows is a humorous, honest and touching account of a sixth grade boy trying to get to grips with that awkward space between childhood and adulthood.
I absolutely loved reading Twerp. I am a thirty something mother who grew up in South Africa, but when I read Twerp I was a twelve year old from Queens in the 60’s. Julian’s voice seemed so authentic I had to remind myself it was written by a New York Times columnist in his fifties.
The thing I probably liked most about this book is all the positive messages it sends to the kids who will read it. It teaches tolerance and has very strong anti-bullying messages without being preachy. The characters are flawed; they make mistakes, but in the end they own up to these mistakes and accept the consequences of their actions. A lot of adults could learn from this book.
Twerp covers an array of pre-teen experiences and emotions. From first love to first betrayal. But the main emphasis always is on friendship and loyalty. It is a warm and funny read, bursting with pre-adolescent mischief but remains innocent at heart. I hope my son will read this book one day.
Kids will love the antics of the characters so much they won’t even realize they are being taught valuable moral lessons. Well done Mark Goldblatt!
The story is told from the perspective of Julian Twerski, a twelve-year-old boy living in New York in 1969. After an undisclosed incident involving another boy named Danley Dimmel, Julian is suspended from school and asked by his English teacher to write about the events leading up to this incident. What follows is a humorous, honest and touching account of a sixth grade boy trying to get to grips with that awkward space between childhood and adulthood.
I absolutely loved reading Twerp. I am a thirty something mother who grew up in South Africa, but when I read Twerp I was a twelve year old from Queens in the 60’s. Julian’s voice seemed so authentic I had to remind myself it was written by a New York Times columnist in his fifties.
The thing I probably liked most about this book is all the positive messages it sends to the kids who will read it. It teaches tolerance and has very strong anti-bullying messages without being preachy. The characters are flawed; they make mistakes, but in the end they own up to these mistakes and accept the consequences of their actions. A lot of adults could learn from this book.
Twerp covers an array of pre-teen experiences and emotions. From first love to first betrayal. But the main emphasis always is on friendship and loyalty. It is a warm and funny read, bursting with pre-adolescent mischief but remains innocent at heart. I hope my son will read this book one day.
Kids will love the antics of the characters so much they won’t even realize they are being taught valuable moral lessons. Well done Mark Goldblatt!
What a strange strange novel. I find it difficult to believe that this is a Booker Prize winner (I hold this prize in very high esteem, but I am afraid this time it let me down). I found the narrator's preoccupation with sex (especially her own family's) and genitals rather disturbing. Almost the entire first half of the novel involves her imagining how her grandparents met and did or didn't shag! And if that isn't enough, at one point she thinks about her dead baby brother and imagines how he is having little cherub sex in heaven - umm, icky!
Occasionally there is a glimpse at the kind of book this could have been (and I suppose why it won the booker prize), when Enright delivers the most beautiful and powerful prose. However, this is few and far between. As for the plot, well, it is nothing new. Why would a man grow up to be a damaged alcoholic? Take a guess and you will probably be right.
Occasionally there is a glimpse at the kind of book this could have been (and I suppose why it won the booker prize), when Enright delivers the most beautiful and powerful prose. However, this is few and far between. As for the plot, well, it is nothing new. Why would a man grow up to be a damaged alcoholic? Take a guess and you will probably be right.
Although I don’t usually like comparing one book to the other (especially when it is a classic) Whistling Past the Graveyard reminded me a lot of To Kill a Mockingbird. Whoa! Those are big shoes to fill. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all time favourite novels, and for anything to even come near to it is quite exceptional.
Starla Claudelle lives with her grandmother (Mamie) in Cayuga Springs, Mississippi in 1963. Despite Mamie’s best efforts to turn her into a lady, Starla insists on maintaining her tomboy ways. After sneaking out on the Fourth of July, there is an incident that has Starla convinced she is wanted by the law. Considering she has never felt loved by her grandmother and her father works for long periods on an oil rig, she decides to run away to live with her mother; a famous singer in Nashville.
So begins Starla’s long journey through the Deep South to find a mother she hardly remembers. Her path is fraught with dangers, but along the way she encounters Eula; an African American woman who has a tragic past of her own. Together, the unlikely pair navigates a country ripe with racial tensions and political upheaval, as Starla discovers the injustice of her world and realises that family can come in any shape and any colour.
Starla is a wonderful narrator. Although she is mostly naïve about the political situation in the South, she has an innate sense of right and wrong and fights for those she loves. If Starla is the voice of the novel, then Eula is the heart. Although she makes some bad decisions, her intentions are always pure.
Crandall’s writing is effortless and heartfelt. The plot moves quickly and as the characters develop you fall more in love with them.
I really enjoyed this novel. And while it doesn’t quite live up to the legendary classic that is To Kill a Mockingbird, it is pretty darn close.
Starla Claudelle lives with her grandmother (Mamie) in Cayuga Springs, Mississippi in 1963. Despite Mamie’s best efforts to turn her into a lady, Starla insists on maintaining her tomboy ways. After sneaking out on the Fourth of July, there is an incident that has Starla convinced she is wanted by the law. Considering she has never felt loved by her grandmother and her father works for long periods on an oil rig, she decides to run away to live with her mother; a famous singer in Nashville.
So begins Starla’s long journey through the Deep South to find a mother she hardly remembers. Her path is fraught with dangers, but along the way she encounters Eula; an African American woman who has a tragic past of her own. Together, the unlikely pair navigates a country ripe with racial tensions and political upheaval, as Starla discovers the injustice of her world and realises that family can come in any shape and any colour.
Starla is a wonderful narrator. Although she is mostly naïve about the political situation in the South, she has an innate sense of right and wrong and fights for those she loves. If Starla is the voice of the novel, then Eula is the heart. Although she makes some bad decisions, her intentions are always pure.
Crandall’s writing is effortless and heartfelt. The plot moves quickly and as the characters develop you fall more in love with them.
I really enjoyed this novel. And while it doesn’t quite live up to the legendary classic that is To Kill a Mockingbird, it is pretty darn close.
