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wilderthanThe Lady in the Lake (Raymond Chandler)
This might've been my favourite so far, and that might be because I managed to figure it out before Chandler got there. I like feeling smart, and after he lost me plenty of times in the other books, I got pleased with myself for following this one just fine. The plotting was tighter, or at least, more comprehensible, and it didn't seem to inexplicably wander quite so much.
As always, though, in my opinion the writing was the stronger part -- and the characterisation, of course: mostly that of Marlowe. His dialogue and the first person narrative see to that. The writing/dialogue isn't so stunning now I know what to expect from Chandler, but it's still good. The whole exchange about 'whom' made me laugh: "Did he say whom?"/"Yeah, but don't hit him. There is such a word."/"I knew there was. I often wondered where they kept it."
A couple more to go. I'll be sad when I run out of Chandler.
Sleep, Pale Sister (Joanne Harris)
Joanne Harris' second novel probably could have done with more editing before it was re-released, it's true. At first glance it's quite different to her other writing, but slowly you can see themes in it that come up over and over again in her writing. Slowly it becomes more and more creepy and mystical and strange, from something that was more like realism. Creepy both in the supernatural sense and in the creepy pervert sense, really.
The writing is pretty compelling, just like her other writing. There's something "more-ish" about it, I guess: it goes down easy. I've found that with all of her work and this one's no exception.
The closest similarity is with The Evil Seed, and I think that's the gothic element and also one of the key characters. Marta haunts the other characters in the same way that Rosemary does in The Evil Seed. I don't find the evil-woman-who-has-men-dancing-to-her-tune archetype all that much, so I hope it doesn't show up again through all the rest of Joanne Harris' writing that I haven't read yet...
Hold On (Alan Gibbons)
The star rating is a bit of a lie, with this one. I didn't like it at all, in the sense that it made me uncomfortable and unhappy. My sister wanted me to read it, so I did, but I didn't need to. The actual details of John's life don't really matter so much as the fact that this story happens, every day -- is happening right now. I just spent the whole day answering my sister's phone for her, in case the bullies called her again so I could try and tell them to back off. It's funny, because I've been in both John's shoes and in the shoes of his parents and teachers.
In a way, I think it's a true story. It doesn't have to have really happened in that place with those names and the exact circumstances for that.
It's definitely a book for younger readers. I'd say about age fourteen. It'd be nice to think it could change something, make one kid more understanding and ready to be Annie. At twenty, reading it, it makes me feel like the scared kid again. Maybe this is just the right time to read it and understand -- my parents have forgotten what school was like, at their age, and yet I'm grown up enough to understand a bit better. It's worth reading, I think, in an attempt to understand, even if I winced sometimes at the melodrama or the heavy-handedness. There was truth in it. That's why it gets three stars -- a balance between my gladness that such a story is told, and the discomfort from seeing myself and my sister in it.
I can't be less than personal about this kind of story, so I don't know how helpful my review will be to anyone else.
This might've been my favourite so far, and that might be because I managed to figure it out before Chandler got there. I like feeling smart, and after he lost me plenty of times in the other books, I got pleased with myself for following this one just fine. The plotting was tighter, or at least, more comprehensible, and it didn't seem to inexplicably wander quite so much.
As always, though, in my opinion the writing was the stronger part -- and the characterisation, of course: mostly that of Marlowe. His dialogue and the first person narrative see to that. The writing/dialogue isn't so stunning now I know what to expect from Chandler, but it's still good. The whole exchange about 'whom' made me laugh: "Did he say whom?"/"Yeah, but don't hit him. There is such a word."/"I knew there was. I often wondered where they kept it."
A couple more to go. I'll be sad when I run out of Chandler.
Sleep, Pale Sister (Joanne Harris)
Joanne Harris' second novel probably could have done with more editing before it was re-released, it's true. At first glance it's quite different to her other writing, but slowly you can see themes in it that come up over and over again in her writing. Slowly it becomes more and more creepy and mystical and strange, from something that was more like realism. Creepy both in the supernatural sense and in the creepy pervert sense, really.
The writing is pretty compelling, just like her other writing. There's something "more-ish" about it, I guess: it goes down easy. I've found that with all of her work and this one's no exception.
The closest similarity is with The Evil Seed, and I think that's the gothic element and also one of the key characters. Marta haunts the other characters in the same way that Rosemary does in The Evil Seed. I don't find the evil-woman-who-has-men-dancing-to-her-tune archetype all that much, so I hope it doesn't show up again through all the rest of Joanne Harris' writing that I haven't read yet...
Hold On (Alan Gibbons)
The star rating is a bit of a lie, with this one. I didn't like it at all, in the sense that it made me uncomfortable and unhappy. My sister wanted me to read it, so I did, but I didn't need to. The actual details of John's life don't really matter so much as the fact that this story happens, every day -- is happening right now. I just spent the whole day answering my sister's phone for her, in case the bullies called her again so I could try and tell them to back off. It's funny, because I've been in both John's shoes and in the shoes of his parents and teachers.
In a way, I think it's a true story. It doesn't have to have really happened in that place with those names and the exact circumstances for that.
It's definitely a book for younger readers. I'd say about age fourteen. It'd be nice to think it could change something, make one kid more understanding and ready to be Annie. At twenty, reading it, it makes me feel like the scared kid again. Maybe this is just the right time to read it and understand -- my parents have forgotten what school was like, at their age, and yet I'm grown up enough to understand a bit better. It's worth reading, I think, in an attempt to understand, even if I winced sometimes at the melodrama or the heavy-handedness. There was truth in it. That's why it gets three stars -- a balance between my gladness that such a story is told, and the discomfort from seeing myself and my sister in it.
I can't be less than personal about this kind of story, so I don't know how helpful my review will be to anyone else.
