LETSBuzz Book Club 24th October 2004
Pretentious, irritating: the story swaps about so much it is unreadable.
Doreen
About growing up in South Africa, as a white English-speaker. Appeared to be highly autobiographical. The childhood section was great, but the teenage section was boring - all teenagers seem to be boring - and Doreen lost interest.
Doreen
This is not a recent book (1994). It is about Dostoevsky and it seems you should read "The Devils" first. It is a very unhappy and depressing book, and Doreen was glad when she'd finished it.
Doreen
This is based on a true story of a fake Australian poet called Ern McNally. It is a story within a story, but fairly easy to read. It questions what is true and it ends without any final resolution.
Doreen
Brigg is a Catholic and a 17th century coroner; he is called in to investigate a death. It looks simple at first, but municipal power politics come into the story. The author seems to have lost the plot towards the end.
Doreen
Not an easy read, but it became amusing after a while. It is a satire on reality shows and has a strange, but not beyond imagination, ending. Guardedly recommended.
Andrew
Andrew liked its fantastical story about finding a presence in the old garage. It is well written and economical. It can mean what you want it to.
Andrew
A story set in Afghanistan about a boyhood friendship across a class divide. It is about the breakdown of relationships and of Afghanistan itself under the Taliban. It is an easy read, but powerful and compelling.
Andrew
This is a non-fiction book about saving a rare bird from extinction, and the writer is passionate about it and writes well. Gill found it very educational; parrots can be very valuable, especially rare ones that can change hands for thousands of pounds. Spix's Macaw is no longer found in the wild, but some survive in captivity.
Gill
This book is aimed at teenagers and it appeared a bit dated, although written in 1999. It is a novel about a gang of four boys and one girl. There is an accident and the story mainly concerns its aftermath. The message is to look beyond appearances.
Gill
A very likable story set in Botswana. The author's love of the country comes over strongly. The feel of the book is gentle, and the language beautiful.
Gill
This is her first novel. It is meant for teenagers, and has been very well reviewed. At the beginning it seems like an old story, but it turns out differently from what was expected. The children are left on their own and have a dangerous adventure. Recommended.
Christine
This is based on the true story of a murder committed at the beginning of the 20th century. It is the author's first novel and is marvelously well written. There are some lovely characters, the main one a teenage girl.
Christine
This a novel about sex - the contraceptive pill, couples pairing off, women terrified of losing their virginity - set in 1960s England. Christine did not like the writing, finding fake light-heartedness in serious subjects irritating.
Christine
This is a history book about the rise of Open Source software (e.g. Linux) and the people behind it. The people are great - geeks and nerds, many obsessive, but some quite normal. It is revealed why the mascot for Linux is a penguin. Entertainingly written, if you're interested in this sort of thing.
Rory
A very accessible novel, with interesting characters and revisiting many of the author's pet themes, like apocalyptic visions, dreams, redemption and technology. The main character is a woman in her forties, with a boring job. She is almost invisible to other people, being fat and living alone. But she changes.
Recommended.
Rory
This is set in the early 20th century in an Ottoman Empire village, where there are people of mixed religion and backgrounds. It is a remote, feudal society. The rise of Kemal Ataturk is described in parallel, and later intertwined with the lives of these people. It starts off gently, but gathers pace and violence, giving a strong anti-war message. Interestingly, there is a small connection to Captain Corelli. This is a very long and quite a dark book.
Seán
The tales, although supposed to be by different people, are actually rather similar in many ways, and the voice of all is Chaucer. They nearly all have a moral, they deal in extreme characters, and they re-use the same figures of speech. The stories were clearly not meant to be read sequentially as chapters in a book, but were to be read out loud to an audience at intervals. The glossary is useful but it is not essential to look up every reference.
Seán quite liked it, but would have preferred to read each story separately.
Seán
The author is quite flattering about Britain, so much so that Bob felt a bit uncomfortable about it by the end. It is well written, entertaining and informative. The occasional bad language was surprising.
Bob
Bob thought this was extremely tedious and nearly gave up. It seemed very repetitious - perhaps 200 pages too long. However, it had some good things in it. The characters' reactions to oppression were particularly notable.
Bob
The author seemed to be rather smug about his grim, Northern upbringing. It was just not interesting.
Bob
This is a good thriller - quite long but a real page-turner. It is about the secret service, complete with rather clichéd characters and situations, but a good read.
Bob
The frames have gone all funny - click to make it good.