3 books in 2 months!

That's sad. I've only posted 3 blogs on books since I first started my reading journey.

I usually chow through books quickly, usually a book a week, if not more. Now, I get 3 books in 2 months. Not a good statistic.

Well, I'm almost through with The Plot Against America, which is another slow slow read. I've already skimmed through the end but I decided not to blog about it until I've completely read it. In the interest of fairness.

On another note, I tried reading Ryu Murakami's Almost Transparent Blue. Ugh. Couldn't stomach it. I guess it was ground breaking when it came out, especially in Japan. But, it's just not my kind of book. Stomach churning. I returned it to the library without finishing it.

I borrowed it because he has the same last name as one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami. Their writing style could not be any more different. Lesson learned.

The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble

I finished reading The Red Queen a week and a half ago. I just couldn't be bothered reviewing it. Now, I can't remember too much about it. Oh well.

It's essentially 2 books in one with a flimsy thread holding them together. The first part, as told by the "Red Queen", is interesting and fascinating for the most part. A tad bit wordy and slow reading but I liked it.

With the second half, you have to wonder what the point is. It didn't enhance the first story nor did it even expand or expound it. The main character (as well as everyone else) was a bit annoying and the story never really goes anywhere. At the end, all I could ask was, So What?

I've never read Drabble before and this experience does not make me want to rush out and read her again.

If you like history or have a special interest in Korea, I'd suggest you read the first part of the book but don't bother with the second half. If you're neither, I'd say stuff it, there are more interesting books out there.

I'm still here

Still plodding through The Red Queen. It's not the easiest of reads but I'm more than mid-way. I'll get there...

Short update

...
I decided to shelve Saturday for now. I was getting nowhere.

I'm reading The Red Queen now. Looks promising. I got past page 20.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

I've been wanting to read Zadie ever since my sister said she was amazing. I read Nick Laird (Zadie's husband) previously (Utterly Monkey). Chrismiss had borrowed some books from my library when she was here and I read some of them before I returned them. I was utterly not impressed. Very British male, very typical. Similar to Nick Hornby, whom I am not a fan of (High Fidelity was such a disappointment). But I digress. I'm here to write about Zadie after all.

I tried reading On Beauty with a very open mind and with minor expectations, not wanting a repeat of what happened during my reading of Ishiguro. But, either I failed keeping in my expectations to a minimum, or this book just did not live up to the hype.

Yes, it was very well written. Yes, the characters were complex and developed. But, I could not connect with any of them at all. It was fascinating reading about the Belseys and the Kipps but all i could think of was, So what? Maybe it was because there were too many characters (and Zadie was trying her best to give justice to each of them) and too many things happening. But the novel felt disjointed. I'm sorely disappointed.

I'm still willing to give her another chance though. I will read White Teeth. Good thing it's on my list.

_______

I'm now trying to tackle Saturday by Ian McEwan. I'm encountering the same problems I had when I was reading the last 2 novels. The writing is very good, yes, but it also seems to be too self-important.

Maybe it's my frame of mind. I've decided to do something about it. I've borrowed a popcorn book from the library and will read it in the meantime so that I can appreciate good writing better. What's a popcorn book you ask? No substance, very unsatisfying but easy to munch and get through (sometimes addictive).

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Refer to my previous blog for book details.

I was very much prepared to love this book. I liked it very very much but I didn't fall in love with it. It's hard to review the book without giving too much away but I'm including the Editorial Review from amazon.com here:

All children should believe they are special. But the students of Hailsham, an elite school in the English countryside, are so special that visitors shun them, and only by rumor and the occasional fleeting remark by a teacher do they discover their unconventional origins and strange destiny. Kazuo Ishiguro's sixth novel, Never Let Me Go, is a masterpiece of indirection. Like the students of Hailsham, readers are "told but not told" what is going on and should be allowed to discover the secrets of Hailsham and the truth about these children on their own.

Offsetting the bizarreness of these revelations is the placid, measured voice of the narrator, Kathy H., a 31-year-old Hailsham alumna who, at the close of the 1990s, is consciously ending one phase of her
life and beginning another. She is in a reflective mood, and recounts not only her childhood memories, but her quest in adulthood to find out more about Hailsham and the idealistic women who ran it. Although often poignant, Kathy's matter-of-fact narration blunts the sharper emotional effects you might expect in a novel that deals with illness, self-sacrifice, and the severe restriction of personal freedoms. As in Ishiguro's best-known work, The Remains of the Day, only after closing the book do you absorb the magnitude of what his characters endure.

--Regina Marler

The writing is amazing and the characters are wonderfully fleshed out. But I just couldn't get myself lost in the story. As I was reading, I was acutely aware of the mystery/non-mystery (the twist of the novel) that was hovering in the background, which is why I think I couldn't get more involved in the story.

BUT, I would definitely recommend this novel and I'm looking forward to reading more Ishiguro. I might even read the book again someday. But not any time soon as I have another 1,000 books to go.


Next book: On Beauty by Zadie Smith

I'm reading this

I was able to get my reserved books from the library last night and so I'm going to start my reading.



I've decided to start with Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. I'll keep you posted on how I go.