LETSBuzz Book Club 25 March 2001
Gill, Andrew, Doreen, Rory, Gavin and Sean were present
Gill enjoyed this and described it as "a good read", using the notes to understand difficult words and phrases, without going into too much analysis.
Gill
Gill enjoyed the book as a whole, particularly enjoying the first story titled "Three People".
Gill
Andrew agreed with Doreen - it was either a padded-out short story or a novel without enough ideas.
Andrew
Andrew liked the writing but thought this one a bit of a "curate's egg". There was little narrative pull and he had to keep going back to remind himself of the story. Andrew got to the end and then wondered what it was all about - perhaps a little too subtle?
Andrew
The story is narrated directly to the reader by the three characters. Although Andrew enjoyed this book, he felt he was a little too old to be reading it as it dealt with issues that he'd dealt with a lot earlier in life. If he had read it in his 20s, Andrew thought he would have enjoyed it more. One point of interest (possibly) would be to go to the previous book (Talking It Over) and check how the character of Oliver had changed.
Andrew
Andrew had really enjoyed this author's first book. This book is nothing like it, but still very entertaining, although the language is full of obscurities.
Andrew
The first chapter is confused and confusing, the middle is interesting, and Gavin lost interest towards the end, which he thought was pathetic. Gavin would not recommend this, even to a murder mystery fan.
Gavin
The author is from the Ivory Coast and this is a translation. On the plus side, the book gives a flavour of life in Abidjan through a series of cameos. Love is the overall theme, but the author doesn't say anything important about it.
Gavin
Gavin thought this was brilliant. Some parts had a very contemporary feel. Full of passion - out of control in places.
Gavin
These books were all written for children, although the Pullman books were for a slightly older group than Rowling's, and both series are read by adults too. The Subtle Knife is a fantasy magical quest, with 12-year-old heroines and heroes, re-staging the devil's fall from heaven. Serious ideas are discussed within a good story. It is very imaginative but rather hard compared to the Harry Potter series.
The fourth Harry Potter - the Goblet of Fire - is for a younger audience, but Harry is growing up and although there are light-hearted episodes, there is a really evil character at the centre of the book. It will be interesting to see what will happen in future instalments (seven books are planned) as Harry Potter fans are generally youngsters.
Doreen
This is collected journalism, some weak, some hilarious. It is very good at the general irritations of life. Worth reading for the two really good stories.
Doreen
(Goldbach's Conjecture is that any even number can be represented as the sum of two prime numbers.) Sean had chosen this because he had read some very good reviews. It is about a Greek family of three brothers. Uncle Petros is a genius, a professor who has achieved nothing and is supported by others. One of the three brothers, a boy, sets himself the task of finding out what happened to Uncle Petros. It was originally written in Greek, but was translated into English by the author. For Sean, this book did not work as he found it shallow and unconvincing. Sean would not recommend it but worries that he may have missed something.
Sean
Sean enjoyed this, despite it being about a glum person and his glum (bereaved) father. It begins in an unhappy household with a lacklustre life. The father makes a bargain with God to bring happiness to his son. The book is set in Ireland and Venice.
Recommended.
Sean
This book was difficult to read because of the poor quality of the printing - reason unknown. Harry Joy is an advertising executive. He has a heart attack and during the subsequent operation he has an out-of-body experience. He decides that he has died and is in hell. It is a great story, built on a good premise and is very enjoyable.
Sean
This is a treatise that aims to show that man's altruistic behaviour is a genetically determined trait that allows man to form societies which are the springboard for his place in the world. It is a convincing argument, although there are some unanswered questions, e.g. "Why is a person 'nice' one day and not the next?" He goes into "small is beautiful" territory.
Sean
This book has President Idi Amin of Uganda on the cover: he claimed to be the last King of Scotland. The narrator is a doctor and becomes Idi Amin's personal doctor. There is more than enough medical detail for this reader. This book won the 1998 Whitbread First Novel award, and it's OK.
Sean
This is an astonishing, brilliant book. It starts with two deaths, then works forwards and backwards. It is rhythmic, almost like poetry. Sean was angry at first at the deaths but felt they were justified (for the purposes of the story) by the end, although very little was known about the murderer. Sean couldn't put this one down and felt it was the highlight of his reading.
Sean
Rory agreed with previous reviewers that this contained some excellent short stories. It was a window into Jewish Hasidic society, completely unknown to him, with a powerful emotional pull. The only disappointment was the last "story" which was more like a fragmented diary of the author, recently in Jerusalem.
Rory
This, the latest Harry Potter volume, is the biggest so far, running to over 600 pages. Harry is growing up, although he can still be very juvenile at times (can't we all?). It is a good story, well constructed and a real page-turner. Recommended.
Rory
The frames have gone all funny - click to make it good.