fiction

All the Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy

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This isn’t the first book that I’ve read by McCarthy. I read The Road a few months ago and so I knew that I had to prepare myself when sitting down to begin All the Pretty Horses. If you have ever read a book by Cormac McCarthy, then you will understand that his writing is unique and often very depressing.

All the Pretty Horses is no exception. It is a book about love and friendship and although not quiet as desperate or bleak as The Road, it sure has its moments. Our protagonist is a sixteen year old of few words, who spends most of his time among the horses, whispering to them, calming them and of course riding them. A world without horses to John Cole Grady is unimaginable, which is why, when his mother tells him that their ranch is being closed, he decides to set out on horseback with is friend Lacey Rawlins, to find work in Mexico. Leaving their childhoods behind them in San Angelo, Texas, they travel towards the border and a time of their lives that will scar them forever. Continue reading →

Upside Down Inside Out – Monica McInerney

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I have said before that I don’t particularly like romance novels, but my friend gave me this one as a present, and I thought the summary on the back sounded quite intriguing. Set between Ireland, England and Australia, this book is about an unsatisfied shop assistant in Dublin and an unhappy, but successful business man in London, who meet while on holiday in Melbourne, and surprise, surprise, fall in love.

I am not really giving anything away, as the book does not pretend to be anything other than a romantic story about two strangers. The ‘twist’ is that both characters have secrets. Eva, the shop assistant, spends the whole holiday pretending to be a famous singer and sculpture called Niamh, while Joseph, who runs his own business, has her believing that he is a backpacker with no money. But will they accept each other for who they really are when the truth is finally revealed? Continue reading →

Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

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Having heard the story of Frankenstein and his monster many, many times, I thought I knew exactly what to expect from Mary Shelley’s novel. I imagined it to be gruesome and frightening. I assumed I would have nightmares and would only be able to read the book during the day, when all was still light. What I was not expecting was for such a tragic, heartbreaking tale.

Everyone knows Frankenstein’s story, of how he created a monster and through years of study, found a way to bring life to the being. As the nameless monster opens his luminous eyes, Frankenstein suddenly realises the horror of what he has done and flees. The newly alive creature, alone and  uncertain struggles through a hard and unloved life. People run from him, he can’t even stand the sight of himself and with a rush of emotion and self pity, he curses his maker and vows to hunt him down and make his life unbearable. Continue reading →

The Boy Who Ate Stars – Kochka

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Boy Who AteThis is a short and deeply moving book, translated from French by Sarah Adams. It is the charming tale of twelve-year-old Lucy, who has recently moved into a new apartment in Paris. She decides to get to know all of the people in the building, but when meeting the extraordinary four-year-old Matthew from upstairs, everything changes. She learns that he is autistic and wants to understand more, so she sets out to learn all about him and his unusual world. Continue reading →

Right Ho, Jeeves – P.G. Wodehouse

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Right Ho, Jeeves is the perfect book to read if you are feeling slightly dispirited. It is a rollicking, barrel of laughs from start to finish and is sure to put a smile on your face. If, like me you love the TV series, you’ll find the books just as entertaining.

The book is bursting with farcical situations, foolish schemes and some very amusing dialogue between our two favourite characters Bertram Wooster and his butler, Jeeves. Starting with the simple problem of Gussie Fink-Nottle being too nervous to admit his love for Madeline Bassett, Bertie creates a whole confusing mess of matters and causes chaos at his Aunt’s house. Luckily, Jeeves is always around to save the day with a well thought out plan and knowing smile. Continue reading →

The Promise of Happiness – Justin Cartwright

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I had high hopes for this book and was slightly disappointed. Although it is well written, I found the style at times irritating. The storyline is interesting enough and the characters are realistic, but I simply was not hanging on every word or desperately reading late into the night.

The book revolves around the Judds, a seemingly ordinary family of five. Charles and Daphne have retired to an idyllic Cornish town to live out the rest of their lives walking along the beach, playing golf, arranging flowers and experimenting with fish recipes. However, life for this particular family has been uncertain and on edge since the prodigal daughter, Juilet, or Ju-Ju, was arrested two years earlier. She was then sentenced to prison for art theft which turned their lives upside down. Now, on the day of her release, Ju-Ju’s family are preparing and desperately hoping that the world will now right itself and life will gradually go back to normal. Continue reading →

Brick Lane – Monica Ali

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At first glance, you may think that Brick Lane is full of unsatisfied and unhappy characters. Luckily, the book itself was a far from an unsatisfactory read. In fact, by the end, I was very satisfied indeed. The characters may be frustrated with certain aspects of their lives, but this book shows how people can rise above their disappointments and live their lives to the full.

Our heroine is Nazneen, who grew up in a small village in Bangladesh. After her sister runs away in a ‘love marriage’ and her mother passes away, she is sent to London to marry an older man. She is only eighteen when this life changing decision is made by her father, and nothing will ever be the same again. Continue reading →

The End of the Affair – Graham Greene

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This is a beautifully written account of the bitter aftermath of a broken love affair. The book is written from the point of view of Maurice Bendrix, an author and rejected lover of Sarah, a married woman living across the common.

He starts his tale with the chance meeting of Sarah’s husband, Henry, walking through the common on a miserable, rainy evening. It is eighteen months since he last saw the married couple and seeing them again reawakens his feelings of hate, which threaten to overflow. He hates Henry, for coming between him and his lover. He hates Sarah for leaving him. But most of all he hates himself for pushing Sarah away with his jealousy and anger. Continue reading →

The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde

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Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be eternally young? But if you keep your youth and beauty, if time and life does not leave its tell-tale traces upon your face with creases and stains, would you live your life differently? We would all like to believe that our personalities wouldn’t change but I don’t think that is very realistic.

Dorian Gray is rich and beautiful. At only only eighteen he is fresh faced, innocent and charming. One day he sees his portrait and realises that he will not always look so beautiful. The idea of his portrait staying young while age slowly creeps up on him is so unbearable to him that he rashly wishes away his soul in exchange for eternal youth. Continue reading →

Gardens of Delight – Erica James

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 I wouldn’t normally go out of my way to read a romance novel, but when I heard that Erica James had won the Romantic Novel of the Year award in 2006, I decided it might be worth a try. It was also the only affordable book I could find set in Lake Como, which is where I went on holiday straight after reading it. I was hoping that reading a book about a group of people visiting Lake Como would be a nice way to get in a holiday mood.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I had hoped. For starters, the characters didn’t actually spend all that much time at the Lake. Most of the book was set in a small, English village full of nosey neighbours and where the social highlight of the week is the local Gardening Club meeting. As you can imagine, the book doesn’t get much more exciting. Continue reading →