Genre - Contemporary fiction My Rating - 5 Stars Published - January 1st 2004
Synopsis A short, sleek novel of encounters set in Tokyo during the witching hours between midnight and dawn, and every bit as gripping as Haruki Murakami’s masterworks The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore.
At its center are two sisters—Eri, a fashion model slumbering her way into oblivion, and Mari, a young student soon led from solitary reading at an anonymous Denny’s toward people whose lives are radically alien to her own: a jazz trombonist who claims they’ve met before, a burly female “love hotel” manager and her maid staff, and a Chinese prostitute savagely brutalized by a businessman. These “night people” are haunted by secrets and needs that draw them together more powerfully than the differing circumstances that might keep them apart, and it soon becomes clear that Eri’s slumber—mysteriously tied to the businessman plagued by the mark of his crime—will either restore or annihilate her. After Dark moves from mesmerizing drama to metaphysical speculation, interweaving time and space as well as memory and perspective into a seamless exploration of human agency—the interplay between self-expression and empathy, between the power of observation and the scope of compassion and love. Murakami’s trademark humor, psychological insight, and grasp of spirit and morality are here distilled with an extraordinary, harmonious mastery My Review I heard somewhere that Murakami is the favourite to take away the Nobel prize for fiction this year, and naturally I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I wasn't disappointed.
Imagine a literary version of David Lynch, that's probably the best way to describe Murakami. After Dark isn't so much a story as it is an experience.
Set on a winters night in central Tokyo, After Dark follows several individuals whose paths criss-cross over the proceeding 7 hours. The stories are slowly merged chapter by chapter until they form a cohesive whole. The result of this process illustrates in turn, both the dichotomy and harmony between the individual and the collective.
I read After Dark mainly at night, which definitely suited the mood of the book and added to its charm. Murakami has an enviable ability to make the mundane come to life. A winters night becomes a magical playground full of experiences, meaning and realisation. Maybe anything can be interesting if you look at it in an abstract enough way.
This is my first Murakami but definitely won't be my last.
Genre - Young Adult, Romance My Rating - 3.5 stars Published - January 2nd 2012 by Poppy/Little Brown
Synopsis Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more? My Review Okay so I'll give it to you straight, Jennifer E. Smith isn't going to be winning any literary prizes with this novel. But then again, I didn't pick this up in the hope of finding the next Rebecca. I just wanted a light, romantic summer read, something to cheer me up after being stuck in the house with a stubborn case of glandular fever. Some books are great for escapism and this is one of them. I instantly empathised with the plight of 17 year old Hadley, who is crossing the Atlantic to watch her Dad get married to a woman she's never even met. Although Hadley is a reasonably well adjusted teenager her parents divorce hit her hard and she's still reeling from the hole left by her Dad left in her life. Smith develops this aspect of the storyline well and it's encouraging to see how the father-daughter relationship develops and transcends the bitterness and betrayal Hadley feels at the start of the novel. So, to the love story. I won't pretend the romance between Hadley and Oliver is anything original, it isn't. But it's the kind of fairytale everyone dreams of. In reality Oliver would have invoked a restraining order when Hadley ran around half of London to find him, thankfully though this isn't reality. Of course it isn't a simple straightforward case of boy meets girl, there are twists and turns, the will-they, wont-they moments that keep you turning the pages and crossing your fingers. Despite being quite predictable and formulaic I was swept along with the story line and found the familiarity of it quite comforting. Sometimes we just want to read something with a happy ending that reaffirms our hopes in all that is good in the world. This is that story.
Genre - Travel, Comedy My Rating - 3 stars Published - January 19th 2011 by Canongate Book
Synopsis Karl is not big on traveling. Given the choice, he'll go on vacation to Devon or Wales or, if pushed, eat English food on a package tour of the Mediterranean. So what happened when he was convinced by Gervais and Merchant to go on an epic adventure to see the Seven Wonders of the World? Does travel truly broaden the mind? Find out in Karl Pilkington's hilarious travel diaries. My Review I don't normally read travel books, but this isn't your normal travel book. First, a bit about the author. Karl Pilkington is a born and bred Mancunian with a frank sense of humour that will leave you in stitches. It's not that what he says is in itself hilarious, he just comes out with the most bizarre things, and when you think about them, they make sense! For instance here is Karl talking about Easter - " I don't know why we celebrate with an egg. Bit odd that it's all about Jesus being crucified and giving up his life, and then years later we give him respect for what he did by eating a chocolate egg..with a small bag of Smarties inside". See what I mean? In an attempt to broaden Karl's mind professional funny-man Ricky Gervais (that guy in the office you want to punch) decides to send him off to see the 7 modern wonders of the world. For those of you like me, who don't know your wonders, these are : The Pyramids, Great wall of China, Chichen Itza (the only one i've been to yet still can't spell!), Machu Pichu, Taj Mahal, Christ the Redeemer and Petra. Despite being a travel diary I'll give you a bit of a warning , there is as much here about toilets, bugs and Monster Munch crisps as there is about the wonders. At first it's funny, but after a while it does start to drag. I even started to resent Karl a bit, having the opportunity to visit all these wonderful places and then doing nothing but moan about them! I know it's hot, the food is different and you can't sit down on the toilet, but come on, you're being PAID to visit the 7 wonders of the world, at least show a little enthusiasm? Hmm, maybe i'm missing the point of this book. It is funny, and a light entertaining (for the most part) read, but I would have loved a bit more travel and a lot less complaining! It was only 20p on kindle though, so well worth a look at!
Genre - Contemporary Fiction My Rating - 4 stars Published - October 1st 2010 by House of Anansi Press
Synopsis International bestselling author Douglas Coupland delivers a real-time, five-hour story set in an airport cocktail lounge during a global disaster. Five disparate people are trapped inside: Karen, a single mother waiting for her online date; Rick, the down-on-his-luck airport lounge bartender; Luke, a pastor on the run; Rachel, a cool Hitchcock blonde incapable of true human contact; and finally a mysterious voice known as Player One. Slowly, each reveals the truth about themselves while the world as they know it comes to an end. My Review Player One was originally written as a series of week long one hour lectures hence the novel is split up into five "hours" and is written in real time. This is the first Coupland book I've read in years, I have a vague recollection of skimming through Generation X in my teens and dismissing it as pretentious intellectualism. It would be interesting to re-read it now and see what I think as I really enjoyed Player One and Coupland's unique style of writing. When Coupland describes a character he gets to the nitty gritty, into their soul and thought process. The novel alternated between the point of view of a preacher turned thief, an ex-alcoholic bar tender, a beautiful autistic teenager and a 40 year old divorcee. Then throw into the mix a self help guru, an indiscriminate killer, a MILF hunter and an awkward internet hook up, and you have Player One's unlikely cast. Whilst each character has a distinct personality Coupland points out"we run out of things that make us an individual very quickly; all of us have more in common than we do not have in common". And he's right of course. In a world overpopulated with 6 billion people, how is it possible to be truly unique? Yet everyone wants to feel they are different, everyone wants to count, as Luke puts it "I want a Wikipedia page. I want Google hits. I don't want to just be a living organism that comes and goes and leaves no trace on the planet". So many of us can relate to this. Or at least I can. Yet in wanting fame, or infamy as the case may be, we become just like everyone else. I could go into the intricacies of the plot but a Coupland novel is much more than this. It's food for thought. It's liberation. And most importantly it made me think about so many things I'd never normally consider. I feel a better person for reading Player One, like I learnt something intangible yet important. I will definitely be reading more from him. Whilst the characters are different they all speak with Coupland's voice and give you a unique glimpse into a future I hope we never have to witness. The only thing I would say that errs on the negative side is that this is not a book you can read when you're sleepy and about to go to bed. It requires full concentration, if you daydream through a paragraph you will lose the thread entirely and need to re-read it. As i'm the kind of person who likes to read before I go to bed to relax this was hard going at times. Player One is NOT a relaxing book that you can take to the park to chill out with, it's a thinking book that challenges you, and whilst I honestly do love this, after 250 pages I felt like i'd earned a well deserved rest!
Genre - Chick Lit My Rating - 4 Stars Published - 1st June 1999 by Penguin Books Synopsis Bridget Jones's Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement--a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult--and learn to program the VCR.
Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic... My Review I got an email through from Amazon saying this book was deal of the day, and so picked it up for just a pound on my kindle. I must admit I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. Of course, i've seen the movie, but after reading the book there didn't seem to be much similarity between the two. I rarely find myself laughing out loud at a book, but whilst reading this I must have been giggling away conspiratorially to myself as my boyfriend even asked me what was so funny. There's something about the quirky things Bridget does that every woman can relate to on some level. She's a walking contradiction, a woman who wants to be strong and independent yet at the same time is desperate to be loved. I must admit I was annoyed by her at first because it seemed almost like she was one of those awful women whose life is defined by the man she's dating. I guess in some ways she is, but she doesn't want to be. She's a unique spirit, and it was quite lovely to see a man fall for her because of all her imperfections rather than in spite of them. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants a bit of light relief. You can easily chomp through the pages in a day or two and it leaves you with a real feel-good vibe. Looking forward to reading the next one!
Genre - Contemporary Fiction My Rating - 5 Stars Published - March 1st 2012 by Canongate Synopsis Every family has a story. Mal was ours. He was always different from the other kids. Larger than life. Trips to pantomimes were ruined by him stripping off his clothes. But people loved him. Especially Lou; it seemed like their love would last forever. Then something happened that changed everything ...Mal grew up. My Review Bed is almost too good. Every once in a while I read something so special and unique to me that I want to hide it away from a world of prying eyes, criticism and make it mine. Despite being long listed for the Desmond Elliot Prize this novel hasn't got the critical acclaim it deserves, and it's 3.19 rating on Goodreads is quite frankly a disgrace. So what went wrong and why is this book so misunderstood? Bed is about Mal, a discontented 25 year old who hounded by an unbearable ennui, decides he's going to bed, and staying there. After 20 years laying naked in bed doing nothing but watching TV and eating food cooked by his over-zealous mother he weighs 100 stone. But this isn't a book about being fat and if you're reading it in the hope of an insight into obesity then you should look elsewhere. Bed is a book about love, the bonds between family, how one persons selfishness can bring people together and at the same time tear them apart. Told from the perspective of Mal's younger brother (we never learn his name) he describes Mal as a planet which the family are orbiting. An ambitious young man, Mal left school telling the careers officer he wants to change the world, but like so many of us 2 years later he finds himself working a 9-5 office job with a steady girlfriend. This isn't the life Mal wants, he hates the banality of the weekly grind but feels that there is no way out. I view Mal as the ultimate individual, a man with a voracious appetite for the extraordinary who is unable to find fulfilment in the real world outside his dreams. So he goes to bed. The only rightful protest he can make against the cruel disappointment of living in a society that raises its children with an expectation of future greatness, and fails to deliver. You may not like Bed, a lot of readers hated the graphic descriptions of Mal's obesity. It's certainly not a book for the squeamish and some scenes will probably shock you. But if you can get past the imagery and read Bed with an open mind it will repay you in buckets. Some books feel like they can tear a fissure in your life leaving an invisible before and after, it's an unsettling experience but also quite mind blowing. I love this book, a day later i'm still reeling.
