JG Farrell's Troubles

was awarded the lost Man Booker prize this year. Written in 1970 it was missed because of a change in the rules. This is an odd one. To start, we all know how much I hate Irish writing (thanks to Frank McCourt's disgusting blathering vomit about his boo-hoo childhood) so I went into it a bit cautiously. The book is long (at 450 pages) and didn't feel like it was moving at all but I was always surprised at how far I had progressed. The story is exactly what one would expect, so no surprise there but it was really well put together. It was quite funny and heart-warming and preachy in a sweet way. When the protagonist almost dies at the end I was shocked and I must say if he had died I would have stopped reading the book. I know this is part 1 of a trilogy and I'm doubtful I'll pick up the other two, yet it was good.

Botany of Desire

turned out after a short burst of reading frenzy I'm back to slackertown again. Botany of Desire (the June selection for Naked Suit) didn't change that. The book is bogged down in bizarre details and color that really drag. I had a difficult time finishing the book and didn't feel super enlightened (except for the part about witches dildoes). Thumbs up only because I love Pollan but really it was not very good.

The Sea

John Banville won the Man Booker Prize with his magnificently written story of memory and loss. While the language is so beautiful, the book is ultimately not that interesting and I found the ending a bit predictible and dull. Thumb down.

Ghostwritten

David Mitchell has been on my bookshelf for oh so long now. I read something by him a while back and was very impressed but never got around to the rest of his catalog. So, I invested a little quality time with Ghostwritten. I must say I really enjoyed it. I love the way the story changed throughout the book providing different narratives, each really a standalone story, but all connected. I like how that is so true about life and how all of our actions touch someone else somehow. I also loved how the point of view changed as things happened. It reminded me very much of Mrs. Dalloway and how the POV changes were almost viral in that they moved from person to person after some type of physical connection (a touch, a bump, etc). This was also true with Ghostwritten. Very nicely done.

And finally...

I finished the 2009 Man Booker Shortlist with Adam Foulds' The Quickening Maze. This prose poem about identity, home, and the difficulty of change was not my favorite. The story is beautifully told and the structure was well-thought out, with the changing seasons tracking the changes in the character's lives. The ending, however, was so powerful I felt like it really redeemed the book. This is definitely a thumbs up for me, making this 6 of 6 for the '09 MB.

The Glass Room

Simon Mawer's The Glass Room is the fifth in my MB reading list. Another small story told in terms of sprawling history, the author explores the idea of man's inability to really see ourselves no matter how hard we try. It compares the precision of science to desire. And on top of all its lofty themes the novel tells the amazing story of the modern Landauer house and the family who inhabits it. I loved the book. I thought it was nicely written and the story was really engaging. I've never read anything by this author but was glad for the opportunity. One book left for my short-list survey!

Bel Canto

I've had this book on my shelf for ages. Somewhere along the line someone told me it was a must read and there it sat. My Man Booker 2009 short list read was interrupted by availability of the last two books so I picked this up and egads but it is spectacular. Ann Pratchett's ability to capture the relationships and feelings these characters have for each other; her ability to depict how situations and other personalities force us to look at ourselves, amazing. The book is really about the beauty in the human experience regardless of highest triumph or lowest failure and our humanity through it all. "All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if only we suspected we knew how."

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I finally gave in and for book club read the uber popular GWTDT. It was interesting. I like the pulp fiction easy-reading aspect of it. I read the last 300 pages in one day. I liked that there were multiple stories going on to keep it interesting. I liked the characters--reminiscent of Diva. I don't like the endless detail that so many books contain. When an author tells me the character is having a sandwich, that's all I need to know. I don't need to know there were pickles and mustard on it. Likewise with the coffee. Seriously, I understand that these people drink coffee (most do). I don't need to read the line "and [s]he made a pot of coffee" every five pages. At any rate, the author is dead so my criticism is for naught. Good read, I'll probably check out the next one in the trilogy.

Coetzee's Summertime

I picked up J.M. Coetzee's Summertime with some trepidation. Other than Foe, he is an author with whom I struggle. His writing is so foreign to me. On top of that it tends to be dry and dense. This book, however, was quite engaging. I found it to be humorous and quite clever. I loved the structure of telling the story of South Africa through the eyes of colonial guilt and using that as a metaphor for personal perception. I feel like I finally saw what others see in his work. Definite thumbs up on this one!

Crow crap

Periodically I take a quick romp through romance. This is something I've done since high school really. Once in a while I simply enjoy that lovely story about a girl who meets a boy, the initial attraction, the delay caused by something, overcoming the delay only to be torn apart by fate at which point they finally come together in a surge of passion and love and rainbows. Ms. Crow's trilogy of m/m romance titled something like Scarlet & the White Wolf is an outrage. To begin with, who puts an ampersand in a book title? WTF? Secondly, here is a newsflash: gay men who are attracted to each other have sex. They don't stand around in their red capes with the wind whipping their long locks looking longingly at each other. The culmination of volume one is a kiss? Are you kidding? I got as far as the handjob in the middle of volume two and had to throw the books away. Please, keep writing about lesbians or puppies or whatever it is you're good at and leave men alone.

Sara's Little Stranger

After publishing by post on Wolf Hall, I realized I missed this posting on Sara Water's The Little Stranger. I loved this book, she really brought back the genre of gothic romance. Her imagining of the class system in England as a ghost knocking around the decaying mansion was brilliant. The characters were so well crafted and the pacing was perfect. She did everything right in this baby and her Man Booker short-list was well-deserved. I have read all of her novels and this one really hit the mark.

Wolf Hall

Oh Hilary, you are amazing! This book took hold of me from the first page with young Cromwell being smacked down by his dad to the last chapter's stormy England with its ray of hope. The writing was so elegant, the characters so human, you brought 16th century England to life for me. I shall follow you blindly through any future writings. While I have not finished the Man Booker shortlist, you absolutely win so far...

The Children's Book

After learning there were more than 200 people wait listed to borrow this book from the DC Public Library, I used a gift card to Border's and purchased my very own copy. I must say that at 675 pages it definitely is a daunting read. I must also say it never slowed or bored. What an amazing brilliant book! The story of the adult generation trying to find their way at turn of the century England and how that path clashes with the next generation as they deal with their own struggles. All that plus the history of modern England to boot. AS Byatt is indeed worthy of the Man Booker nomination for this novel and I can't wait to read Wolf Hall if it truly is better.

Banker to the Poor

Even though I don't celebrate the holiday season I was a bit lost for reading time. I moved and painted and tried to stay warm. At any rate, my old book club Naked Suit reunited tonight with Muhammad Yunus' book on microfinance and it's ability to pull the poor out of oppression and empower them to greatness. The book was poorly written and simply too optimistic. I'm not sure if that is a natural propensity of the Indian personality to ignore the negative and focus on the good or if that is his character. At any rate, I feel like the concept is laudable and the book would have been much better if written by a neutral party. I hear so many arguments for and against microfinance but there must be someone who can write about it without getting sucked into the emotion. Thumb down for me because it was too upbeat.