LETSBuzz Book Club 1st June 2003
This is 'full of weird information', lots of lists including 'Chatroom Acronyms' and 'Curious deaths of some Burmese kings'. Doreen found this book mad but also amusing and quite compulsive reading. Recommended - very entertaining.
Doreen
Doreen really liked this book. Very well-constructed - although the story jumps back and forward in time this is well done and not confusing. A very touching book. Gill and Andrew had also read this book. Gill didn't like it, possibly because the story centers on a private detective and Gill doesn't like detective stories, finds them a bit clichéd. There is no real plot and from the second chapter it's completely clear what's going on. A quick, easy read but Gill was not impressed.
Andrew quite liked this book - the best Swift book for a while. He liked the portrayal of the tight-lipped detective - very effective.
Doreen
Gill feels O'Farrell has written one good book (Things can Only get Better) and the rest are not that good. This one is a bout a celebrity, and a writer - a big turn-off for Gill who does not enjoy books about writers. She nearly gave up on this book after the first two chapters but towards the end the book redeemed itself with a twist in the plot. Andrew had also read this book but was not impressed by the plot twist. Not recommended.
Gill
Gill likes books that take place in another time or place. This one fits the bill as it's set in Australia, a century ago. Gill found the character of Oscar fascinating. Oscar, who is the son of a non-conformist preacher, becomes an obsessive gambler and Lucinda is described as a compulsive gambler. The novel describes the process of becoming a gambler. It also contains some striking visual descriptions and lots of information about glassmaking and voyages from England to Australia. Gill recommends this book.
Gill
Gill 'likes a bit of magic' so she was drawn to this book from the start. She said it was easy to see how it could have become a cult book (the book has sold over 20 million copies) as the underlying messages are 'If you're traveling towards your destiny the whole world conspires to help you' and 'Follow your dreams and you'll be happy'. Gill didn't think the book was about becoming rich (as Jane had said in her review) but more about fulfilling your potential.
Gill
Bob found this book (which describes two friends in search the world for other people called Dave Gorman) a hoot. Utterly inconsequential, 'it won't change your life'. The fact that it's true makes it even better. An easy read.
Bob
The author is a journalist, with an Italian girlfriend, who became fascinated with Italy - and specifically its terrorism, corruption, bribes and the mafia. The book consists of a series of articles about politics and corruption at the highest level. Bob found this book fascinating. Recommended.
Bob
Rory found this book annoying and gave up on it after 3 chapters. The book is about a woman who is dead applying for leave to become reborn. Full of in-jokes, snide remarks, 'jokes' about death and mutilation - not funny. Trying to be clever.
Not recommended.
Rory
Andrew really enjoyed the first three pages of this book - but the rest was not as good. The introduction, is very evocative, explains why Cohn felt a need to write this book. He felt an unknown England had grown up that didn't conform to his experience. He writes about people who form a sort of underclass, people who live outside the mainstream, often deliberately - eg bikers, travellers, homeless people, far right and far left. The book is too long and lacks structure. It doesn't really draw any conclusions but is interesting in parts.
Cautiously recommended.
Andrew
Three parallel stories, all taking place at different places and different times but all linked to Virgina Woolf's novel 'Mrs Dalloway'. Well-structured and a very enjoyable read. Jean hadn't read Mrs Dalloway and felt she would probably have enjoyed the book even more if she had. Recommended.
Jean
Partridge was a pacifist and was married to a pacifist. Her diaries give an interesting picture of life in England during the second world war - the bombing and the way that different people coped with it, and the experience of being a pacifist, and often hated for this, in a small village in the country. Partridge was on the edge of the Bloomsbury group and the book is littered with references to famous people but without a sense of name-dropping - these people were just part of her life. She writes well - lots of evocative descriptions of nature as well as gossipy bits about her friends and acquaintances. Recommended.
Jean
The frames have gone all funny - click to make it good.