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tashreads2manybooks's Reviews (1.06k)
This novel took me months to read. Not because it was at all boring, but because I felt that I had to savour it. I had to read it in instalments to properly understand it. At times, I did consider giving up, but something always drew me back in. That something was Richard Flanagan’s writing.
There were times when a sentence or paragraph would cause me to catch my breath. I had to put the book down and stare at the wall while I contemplated what he said and how he said it.
The book also took me a long time to get through because there are some seriously horrific scenes to take in - Systematic beheadings of Chinese POW’s; vivisections of live US airman; the daily torture and living conditions of the Australian POW’s. I needed to build my nerve and strength before plunging into the horror of war again.
POSSIBLE SPOILER: I didn’t always like Dorrigo Evans – at least – I liked Dorrigo Evans the doctor and during his time in the war, but Dorrigo Evans the husband – not so much (probably due to the fact he was a serial adulterer – and I admit I am quite judgemental about adulterers). I know men returned from the war as shells of their former selves, but the fact that he felt like he had to sleep with other women to validate his love for Amy really annoyed me. Yet at the end he redeemed himself as a husband and father.
The characters I fell for in this book were the ones on the periphery: Darky Gardiner, Tiny, even the old Greek owner of Nikitaris’s Fish and Chip shop. I loved reading about them.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a beautifully written, haunting read. It weaves the horrors of war together with its disastrous aftereffects. I am glad I stayed with it – even if it took three months.
There were times when a sentence or paragraph would cause me to catch my breath. I had to put the book down and stare at the wall while I contemplated what he said and how he said it.
The book also took me a long time to get through because there are some seriously horrific scenes to take in - Systematic beheadings of Chinese POW’s; vivisections of live US airman; the daily torture and living conditions of the Australian POW’s. I needed to build my nerve and strength before plunging into the horror of war again.
POSSIBLE SPOILER: I didn’t always like Dorrigo Evans – at least – I liked Dorrigo Evans the doctor and during his time in the war, but Dorrigo Evans the husband – not so much (probably due to the fact he was a serial adulterer – and I admit I am quite judgemental about adulterers). I know men returned from the war as shells of their former selves, but the fact that he felt like he had to sleep with other women to validate his love for Amy really annoyed me. Yet at the end he redeemed himself as a husband and father.
The characters I fell for in this book were the ones on the periphery: Darky Gardiner, Tiny, even the old Greek owner of Nikitaris’s Fish and Chip shop. I loved reading about them.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a beautifully written, haunting read. It weaves the horrors of war together with its disastrous aftereffects. I am glad I stayed with it – even if it took three months.
Jason Mott introduces us to another fantastic idea. In The Returned he imagined a world where our dead come back to us. Now in The Wonder of All Things he explores the idea of a modern day miracle worker; a healer – and the ramifications that occur when the world comes knocking on this new ‘messiah’s’ door.
After an accident at an air show, thirteen-year-old Ava is caught on camera saving the life of her best friend, Wash. This unexplained miracle leads to thousands of people inundating the small town of Stone Temple – all hoping for a chance to see and possibly be healed by The Miracle Child. But healing takes a great toll on Ava: as she gives life, so hers drains away. With the thousands and thousands of people pleading for her help, who should Ava choose to save? And at what personal cost?
While the premise is promising, and the idea intriguing, I felt the story and writing fell a little flat. As with The Returned, I wasn’t invested enough with most of the characters (with the exception of Ava’s stepmother – Carmen). I also guessed the outcome of the story quite early on in the book – although that did not deter me. The premise wasn’t pushed far enough, I felt as though we just barely broke the surface of major moral dilemmas – social responsibility; selfishness; science vs religion and so on.
At its heart The Wonder of All Things is about the value of life and what motivates us. Is every life equally important? Or should one be sacrificed to save many? There are many ethical conundrums in this book, and it will beg the question: what would I do?
After an accident at an air show, thirteen-year-old Ava is caught on camera saving the life of her best friend, Wash. This unexplained miracle leads to thousands of people inundating the small town of Stone Temple – all hoping for a chance to see and possibly be healed by The Miracle Child. But healing takes a great toll on Ava: as she gives life, so hers drains away. With the thousands and thousands of people pleading for her help, who should Ava choose to save? And at what personal cost?
While the premise is promising, and the idea intriguing, I felt the story and writing fell a little flat. As with The Returned, I wasn’t invested enough with most of the characters (with the exception of Ava’s stepmother – Carmen). I also guessed the outcome of the story quite early on in the book – although that did not deter me. The premise wasn’t pushed far enough, I felt as though we just barely broke the surface of major moral dilemmas – social responsibility; selfishness; science vs religion and so on.
At its heart The Wonder of All Things is about the value of life and what motivates us. Is every life equally important? Or should one be sacrificed to save many? There are many ethical conundrums in this book, and it will beg the question: what would I do?
3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this novel (liked the story within the story, liked the use of humour, and I enjoyed the characters) until the Zoo of Death. Not sure what changed but it became silly and felt rushed. Glad I read it though :)
3.5 stars.
If you read The Rosie Project, odds are you fell in love with Don and Rosie. This mismatched and unlikely couple made me laugh and warmed the cockles of my heart. So I was extremely excited to get an ARC of Graeme Simsion’s latest instalment – The Rosie Effect.
Don and Rosie are newlyweds living in the Big Apple (that’s New York if for some bizzaro reason you think this has turned in to some science fiction alternative reality thing). They seem to be happy and settling into life in America, until Rosie drops a bombshell that turns Don’s safe, predictable world upside down – she is pregnant!
As you would expect, hilarity and confusion ensues as Don tries to come to terms with impending fatherhood, and the changes to his and Rosie’s relationship. Don is as he has always been. It is Rosie that suddenly has the personality change.
Maybe it is because I have been pregnant, or maybe it is because I am a control freak, but I found Pregnant Rosie very different from Project Rosie. She just seems so irresponsible. I know I am probably sensitive about this subject, but she has such a careless attitude towards her baby. She continues to drink alcohol, fails to schedule important doctor’s appointments, and although she seems to want the baby, she is not prepared to make any sacrifices for it.
Her attitude towards Don was also disappointing. I expected her to be more in tune with his…oddities, rather than expect him to act like an average expectant father. He is not average, and that is why we love him.
However, I am happy to report that both Rosie and the book redeemed themselves in the end. I could see things from Rosie’s point of view and could forgive her, a little.
I still laughed out loud in a few places, and overall enjoyed the Don Tillman Ride.
[rating stars="three-half-stars"]
If you read The Rosie Project, odds are you fell in love with Don and Rosie. This mismatched and unlikely couple made me laugh and warmed the cockles of my heart. So I was extremely excited to get an ARC of Graeme Simsion’s latest instalment – The Rosie Effect.
Don and Rosie are newlyweds living in the Big Apple (that’s New York if for some bizzaro reason you think this has turned in to some science fiction alternative reality thing). They seem to be happy and settling into life in America, until Rosie drops a bombshell that turns Don’s safe, predictable world upside down – she is pregnant!
As you would expect, hilarity and confusion ensues as Don tries to come to terms with impending fatherhood, and the changes to his and Rosie’s relationship. Don is as he has always been. It is Rosie that suddenly has the personality change.
Maybe it is because I have been pregnant, or maybe it is because I am a control freak, but I found Pregnant Rosie very different from Project Rosie. She just seems so irresponsible. I know I am probably sensitive about this subject, but she has such a careless attitude towards her baby. She continues to drink alcohol, fails to schedule important doctor’s appointments, and although she seems to want the baby, she is not prepared to make any sacrifices for it.
Her attitude towards Don was also disappointing. I expected her to be more in tune with his…oddities, rather than expect him to act like an average expectant father. He is not average, and that is why we love him.
However, I am happy to report that both Rosie and the book redeemed themselves in the end. I could see things from Rosie’s point of view and could forgive her, a little.
I still laughed out loud in a few places, and overall enjoyed the Don Tillman Ride.
[rating stars="three-half-stars"]
I am a very emotional TV and movie viewer. If there is an advert about babies or love or puppies I am easily a goner – tears streaming down my face. This trait does not usually carry through to novels though. Yes, I am emotionally involved with the characters and their ups and downs, but it takes very special writing to reduce me to tears. I cried while reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova.
Alice Howland is a very successful and respected professor of psychology and linguistics at Harvard University. She leads a full and happy life with her scientist husband and three grown up children. But Alice is beginning to notice worrying changes. She forgets words, becomes disorientated in her own town and forgets about scheduled meetings and conferences. When she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease her perfect world rapidly and irreversibly alters.
I couldn’t put this book down. Although it dealt with an awful and inevitable disease, it read like a thriller. Lisa Genova drew me into the Howland family, I felt as though I was on the journey with Alice. When she went for her memory test, I tested my own memory; when her thoughts further declined, I felt her despair; and in her moments of triumph, I felt emotional (teary) joy!
I could also see how difficult it was for Alice’s family (especially her husband) to watch her rapid decline. I empathise with anyone going through this, or who has a loved one with this disease.
The movie, starring Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart, will be released later this year. I have no doubt that I will be bawling like a baby throughout the 100 minutes.
This is a truly beautiful and life-affirming story. Read it.
Alice Howland is a very successful and respected professor of psychology and linguistics at Harvard University. She leads a full and happy life with her scientist husband and three grown up children. But Alice is beginning to notice worrying changes. She forgets words, becomes disorientated in her own town and forgets about scheduled meetings and conferences. When she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease her perfect world rapidly and irreversibly alters.
I couldn’t put this book down. Although it dealt with an awful and inevitable disease, it read like a thriller. Lisa Genova drew me into the Howland family, I felt as though I was on the journey with Alice. When she went for her memory test, I tested my own memory; when her thoughts further declined, I felt her despair; and in her moments of triumph, I felt emotional (teary) joy!
I could also see how difficult it was for Alice’s family (especially her husband) to watch her rapid decline. I empathise with anyone going through this, or who has a loved one with this disease.
The movie, starring Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart, will be released later this year. I have no doubt that I will be bawling like a baby throughout the 100 minutes.
This is a truly beautiful and life-affirming story. Read it.
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What is the price of stability? The loss of individuality? To sacrifice truth and beauty? To give up a family, God and even the possibility of romantic love?
Huxley paints a rather sinister dystopian future where rampant consumerism and the 'good of the community' trumps passion, families, science and even reading good books. The civilised world is in a perpetual, drug induced state of 'happiness'. Everyone is made to fit a particular mould; to know their place and to not deviate from their social conditioning. Into this world, Huxley introduces a Savage who has read Shakespeare, believes in God, loves his mother (scandalous!) and wishes be monogamous.
It is a thought provoking read. The arguments for this type of civilisation do actually make sense, but at what cost? No thank you. Send me to an island!
Huxley paints a rather sinister dystopian future where rampant consumerism and the 'good of the community' trumps passion, families, science and even reading good books. The civilised world is in a perpetual, drug induced state of 'happiness'. Everyone is made to fit a particular mould; to know their place and to not deviate from their social conditioning. Into this world, Huxley introduces a Savage who has read Shakespeare, believes in God, loves his mother (scandalous!) and wishes be monogamous.
It is a thought provoking read. The arguments for this type of civilisation do actually make sense, but at what cost? No thank you. Send me to an island!