librarytart

Almond, Steve and Baggott, Julianna ~ Which Brings Me to You: A Novel in Confessions

When I selected this book I thought
The idea sounds appealing of a failed Gen-X coupling in a dark cloak room turning into an epistolary friendship. The description on the back cover of a ‘tour de force’ was a warning of sorts though, as nothing sets my nerves on edge like an overused claim made (usually) in desperation by the publisher.

50-word description
Jane and John are single and jaded thirty-somethings. They lock eyes at a wedding and end up grappling and shedding clothes in a cloak room but John stops in an effort to change old habits. Instead, they agree to get to know each other by confessing their emotional and relationship histories through pen-and-paper correspondence.

150-word review
I loved the concept of this book in a Wow, I wish I’d thought of that idea way, commonly known as envy, I believe.

The book starts insightfully with the protagonists’ jaded attitudes towards love and their distracted attempt to have sex, however, awkwardness quickly infiltrates the pages. The premise of the pair confessing their emotional pasts with the freedom of being relative strangers becomes stifled, as if they are writing one-way news stories rather than searching for meaning or context within their own or the other’s life.

Two other flaws haunt the book: John’s decision to not have sex with Jane because he might like her rankles of a Madonna/whore mindset; and the plot’s movement is slow and lacks anchor points as if reading a diary with few dates or events to mark time.

Everything wraps up nicely and I was left wondering what could have been if some substantial sentences of wisdom had firmer structure and plot to support them.

steve almond and julianna baggott ~ which brings me to you

Found in
Fiction A

Borrowed
Dec 08

Authors’ links:
Steve Almond’s web site, Julianna Baggott’s web site

Rating
Unrealised potential

This is book 12 of the project.

Abrahams, Peter ~ Oblivion

When I selected this book I thought
I haven’t read a crime or suspense novel for a long time and this seemed as good as any. I enjoyed A Perfect Crime by the same author years ago after Stephen King touted it as a grand read in his On Writing book.

50-word description
Cop turned private investigator Nick Petrov takes on a missing person case that turns sinister when his instincts are muddled after suffering amnesia. While ailing and undergoing urgent medical treatment, he valiantly tries to remember and solve the case while an unknown assailant gets in his way.

150-word review
I’ll start with the most interesting part of the book: Abrahams gives Nick Petrov the character a solid voice as clever arsehole evolving into sick man with a conscience. Nick’s attempts to get his life on track are believable and almost keep the book from turning into a phantasmagoria of unlikely coincidences.

However, the rest of his battle to solve the missing girl case while squeezing in treatment for a virulent form of brain cancer verges on the ridiculous. Oh, and a very nasty person gets him while he’s down and tries to kill him. And, although he can’t remember the case he is working on, informants and suspects happen to be in the right places at the right time to toss him clues like a Labrador retriever catches tennis balls.

Then he gets the girl. Of course.

peter abrahams ~ oblivion

Found in
Fiction A

Borrowed
Dec 08

Author’s link:
Author’s web site

Rating
Overblown

This is book 11 of the project.

How did they end up in my hand?

It was utilitarian errand list: buy shampoo, find a Kris Kringle present, stock up on Christmas cards, return some library books and have a prescription filled at the pharmacy.

I came home with more books. I swear it wasn’t my fault: no place I needed to go was near any other, the day was hot, my legs were swollen, and the quiet, air-conditioned sanctuary of the book shop beckoned me to enter and relax a while before returning to the consumer-driven mayhem outside.

They got me again.

(The books looked straight before I took a photo – this book photography caper is more technical that it appears. Sticky tape and a spirit level will compensate for my poor eyesight next time.)

I don't need any more

Bottom:
Jeff Lindsay ~ Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter in the Dark omnibus. I’ve been told the books that inspired the television series are a cracker in their own right, and could not leave without putting this on my summer ‘to read’ list.

Left to right:
Michelle de Kretser ~ The Lost Dog. Acclaimed and award-winning book from 2007 that I keep picking up but keep putting back because there is indeed a lost dog in the story. I find it hard to read books where I think something bad might happen to an animal, but curiosity is overcoming my ‘I don’t want to know about it’ blinkers.

Carmel Bird ~ Writing the Story of Your Life: The Ultimate Guide. A newish non-fiction book by Carmel Bird about recollecting and creating memoirs. I’ve read this book a couple of times already and recommend it for helping kick-start or provide motivation for writing about things close to the heart. I’ll do a proper review when I’m up to ‘B’ in the blog.

Helen Garner ~ Monkey Grip. Easy, the only book by Helen Garner I don’t own. Will be interesting to go back 30 years to her early days as a published writer.

Anthony O’Hear ~ The Great Books. Impulse buy but its premise of introducing and examining the classics of the past 2,500 years seems interesting.

Jean Bedford ~ If With a Beating Heart. This gets complex, but I’ve been hunting a collection of short stories called Country Girl Again after reading one of Jean Bedford’s character descriptions in a Kate Grenville book about writing. Still there? Until I find it, I shall dip my toe into Bedford’s long-form works.

Allende, Isabel ~ Daughter of Fortune

When I selected this book I thought
This has to be part of the unintentional family grouping on the A shelf, and I’ve never read an Isabel Allende book. I know, I know, famous and critically-acclaimed writer who’s sold mountains of books; I’m playing catch-up.

50-word description
In mid-1800s Chile, an orphan baby is taken in and raised by a middle class British family. The girl defies her careful upbringing and falls pregnant, which sparks a series of dangerous journeys to find her lover who is pursuing wealth in the Californian gold fields.

150-word review
My mother used to bring home towers of secondhand books when I was young and I did my historical saga apprenticeship with the biggest of James A Michener and Leon Uris.

I haven’t read one for a while though and was let down by Allende’s almost reportage style of narrative. New characters kept walking onto the pages and tedium set in while determining passages that could be skimmed and when sharp concentration was required to keep track of the central story. My yardstick of a book is how late I stay up reading on a work night – this was all early nights and I could easily control idle curiosity about how heroine Eliza’s life would pan out.

Allende’s descriptions of Chile, California and China were well rendered, as were her portrayals of social classes and perspectives of women during the period. Apart from that, trying to find memorable themes to discuss a week after finishing the book is a challenge.

isabel allende ~ daughter of fortune

Found in
Fiction A

Borrowed
Nov 08

Author’s link:
Author’s web site

Rating
Underwhelming

This is book 10 of the project.