Equator - Miguel Sousa Tavares

We say:*****

Still drawing back from the back catalogue of favourites, Equator is a true gem of Portuguese literature.

Its author, a long standing Portuguese journalist decided, with the help of a hard working research team, to foray into historical fiction. It a real treat.

In the year of 1905 the Portuguese King sends a high society small company owner to one of its African colonies - there unfolds a story of love, treason, intrigue, revolt and social reform. If the facts are accurate the Brits come out of it pretty badly with their colonial policies.
Written with a ight hand and enough of everything to keep your eye from wandering - i read this hefty tome in an afternoon, with lots of cups of tea wishing for an African sky.

The sisters brothers - Patrick deWitt

We say: **

I have to say, what i liked the most about this book was the cover in its shiny, graphic gloriousness. And as the saying goes, it didn't live up to expectations.

The sisters brothers, contract killers on a job to California in the Gold Rush, live a series of misadventures meeting all sorts of unsavoury characters that read like a spaghetti western. One brother is short tempered, a drinker and kills anyone and anything in his sight while the other one muses about most people and things he sees, goes on a diet, falls in love and is generally a bit of a thick pain in the ass.

Seen some comparisons with Don Quixote which i can almost understand if you take a dark, Shoreditch style lens to it.
Actually, I reckon this is a bloke's book with its short sentences, single line story and no depth of characterisation.

Moving on.....

Case histories - Kate Atkinson

We say: ****

Another book done.
I have read Kate's "Behind the scenes..." and "Human crocket" but when i got to "emotionally weird" I was worn out.
It was heavy prose, with quite a lot of presumed stuff. Hard work.
(i will get round to the other ones soon, need to dig them out of the shelves for a new purpose)

So I saw this one on telly first.
Mother in law recommended it.
And Brody frankly looked to sexy for his boots and i wanted to know if his book character would live up to the tv persona.

It was great.
Nicely crafted plot with a believable storyline connecting all the three stories.
The ending slightly annoyed me though.
Did he really need to go on holidays with the mad sisters? Also, the psychopath Michelle......did she get away with it? I sincerely hope not. I know she didn't do the killing in the first place but she has disaster written all over....

I shall be reading the other 4, bear with me for the reports....

Between - Jessica Warman

We say: ****


A thrilling book with constant twists and turns. Grips the reader right from the first page. A ghost story that changes everything Liz (the main character) thinks about what happens after death.

A highly enjoyable read which I would recommend to anyone.

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

We say: *****

This is the perfect antidote to my previous review
A tale of twists of fate and perfectly shaped characters tell the story of two girls growing up in Victorian England.

From the slums of Borough to a secluded mansion and back again, Sue and Maud double cross each other following the path none of them freely chose. However, they find the link between them hard to sever and hold on to it finally taking charge of their destiny.

This one has got it all: mad houses, betrayal, love, erotica, moral critique and such a deft description of London's streets, river and way of life you end up dreaming about mud, smog and long buttoned gloves.

Unputdownable.

50 shades of grey - E L James

We say: *

I know. Everyone is reading it. Your mother, your neighbour, the nice lady from the knitting club.
Let me put it plainly: its terrible.

I explain.
This is a book for people who don't read. Its Mills and Boom with a snazzier cover and racier inside. Its actually worse than that, its a book that reinforces every stereotype of a breathless adolescent dream (a male one). And I don't mean this in a nice way.
It does nothing for women empowerment and if you enjoyed it and dream about having a Christian Grey in your life, you should hang your head in shame.
On top of it all, its poorly written. Repetitive lip biting and inner Goddess shaking made lose patience and ended up actually not caring about the characters.

I must confess not having finished the first book and not even bothering finding out what possibly could have happened in book two and three.

Hope they all become happy and fulfilled people – although I suspect things will go badly wrong in the red room, she finds someone who actually loves her for the person she is and he spends his life in therapy trying to deal with it.

Summer's Dream - Cathy Cassidy

We say: ****

A lovely book. It made me laugh, it made me cry. A book about Summer's struggle to achieve her dream and how you can work too hard for something you really, desperately want.

Summer has a passion for a dance and when she is offered a second chance to join a ballet school that could make her a preffesional dancer she is determined not to mess up. Soon ballet takes over her life, she is always practicong, can't sleep at night and is overcome by a fear that she is overweight. (She really isn't.)

Not my favourite Cathy Cassidy book, but it's close.

The lieutenant - Kate Grenville

We say: *****

First book from this author and what a joy it was!

Based in real events it tell the story of one of the first British boats set off for New South Wales and one man who wasn’t afraid to go against the tide.

His discovery and connection of the aboriginal culture is done with such a gentle touch that you can’t help taking in side against the brutality of the colonialist invadors.

In real life – not told in the story – the young lieutenant worked for the rest of his life in the movement for the abolition of slavery in London, Africa and the West Indies.

The darkness of wallis simpson - Rose Tremain

We say: ***

Its a collection of short stories that starts with a fabulous tale of what the last days of Wallis Simpson might have been like. A frail, dementia ridden shadow of her former self, kept barely alive in a sumptuous - and now abandoned - Parisian flat.

Followed by 11 other tiny stories for its not but a slim volume that set the imagination alight: a baby with wings? A redundant East Germany border guard? Delightful....

Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey

We say: *****

I tried to get going on this book about 4 times before I finally got to grips with it.

Boy am I glad I persevered!

It tells the tale of love, gambling, England, Australia, glass churches and impossible dreams.

It’s the kind of book that makes you finish what you started in your own life so you don’t have death bed regrets. Open every door, pursue every connection you may never get a second chance until its too late.

Magical and mesmerising and not only for the story. The writing is bewitching and drove me to buy every single work by Peter Carey I could get my hands on.

Never fails to amaze me how different his books are, not a stereotyping genre in sight.

If this is a man - Primo Levi

We say:*****

Deported to Auschwitz in 1943, Primo Levi was one of the very few to make the journey back to Italy after the war ended.

This is a touching narrative of, not only his days in the concentration camp but also what it is that makes us who we are.

Written in the gentlest of voices, he describes his days in hell factually, humanely and without ever allowing himself to be cast as a victim.

“Monsters exist, but they are too few in numbers to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are…the functionaries ready to believe and act without asking questions.”

It should be essential reading in every school.

The owl masters - Karen Maitland

We say: **

Interesting medieval portrait of village life. Depressingly it’s always rainy, muddy and the food is terrible…

The church is portrayed as the gangsters of their time with extortion being their preferred method. 1/10 of the starving peasants efforts are extracted regardless if they have enough to fill their “bairns” bellies or not.

Nothing like holding people’s entry ticket to heaven in your tight little fists…

In the whole though, its nothing like Company of Liars, the characters are far too numerous and sketchily formed for you to keep track (or actually even care) of their fate.

I found myself skipping whole chapters in a rush to get to the end and move on to a different book.

There is more interesting middle ages stuff out there.

Death in Venice - Thomas Mann

We say: ****

Seven very different stories in one book and all told with a lightness of touch and immersive description you feel you are there.

All the stories have such complex characters that a short story does not do them justice but almost form the basis for Mann’s books to come.

In Death in Venice, my favourite story, it says:
“Gustav Aschenbach was the writer who spoke for all those who work on the brink of exhaustion, who labor and are heavy-laden, who are worn out already but still stand upright, all those moralists of achievement who are slight of stature and scanty of resources, but who yet, by some ecstasy of the will and by wise husbandry, manage at least for a time to force their work into a semblance of greatness”

Perfectly so.

One hundred years of solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

We say: *****

I am lucky.
This is my blog. (our blog.....sorry Emma!)
So i am reviewing all my favourite books. And the one I read recently and really annoyed me (http://andrewsreads.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/we-say-what-wishy-washy-book-this-is.html)
For now that is.
I have about 20 years back catalogue to talk about in here....lets start as you mean to go right?

One hundred years of solitude is up there on the top favourites of all time.
Once again, i read it in its original Spanish so can't vouch for the translation into whatever language you want to read it in.
That is the reason why I learn a new language actually.
But I think it sort of ruined my hope of the perfect love. Of the live and breathe romance.
I mean, who will go to such extents to secure my love?
How come I am not right now on a boat down river Avon, up and down until death do us part?

It makes you cry, it makes you smile it ruins you with romantic aspirations for life.
It is so beautifully crafted that you simply don't want it to end.

I have ALL the other Garcia Marquez books and this one is simply the best.
I'll review the others in due course.
Beware of the wind my friends........

Gingersnaps - Cathy Cassidy

We say: ****


A brilliant book, my favourite book by Cathy Cassidy, I've read it so many times I can recite whole chapters!

A touching book about choosing between the boy and your friends, bullying and finding out who really you are. The main character is the same age as me (12) so I can relate easily. I feel that in the end she made the right choice, read it and decide for yourself!

"It's ok I'm wearing really big knickers!" - Louise Rennison

We say: ***

A hilarious book for teens. I bought the first one after watching the film and loving it.

I fell in love with the character Georgia Nicholson from the first chapter. Not a challenging read, but perfect for holidays or if you want something to make you cringe or just laugh out loud!

The title is a quote from the book, it’s not actually Georgia wearing the big knickers, it’s her best friend Jas.

Overall a feel good comedy!!!



The house of spirits - Isabel Allende

We say: *****

Again, having read it in its native Spanish, not quite sure how the translation into English will treat this fantastic story.

From its humble beginnings as a overgrown letter to a dying grandfather to the bestseller it became, this is the first of Isabel Allende's stories and it hits you like a tones of bricks.

All the characters are so strong and colorful that you want to be adopted into this slightly chaotic south American fold.
Fast paced and with a bittersweet plot, it transports the reader to a fantastical world of eccentric uncles, spiced cooking, dusty travel and unrestful ghosts.

It stretches the imagination and delights your mind's eye with a rainbow of writing colourfulness that you will see for a few more books from Allende yet. But tread carefully.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

We say: *****

Three of my favorite books of all time; I literally couldn’t put them down.

The first book is about an event called the Hunger Games where a boy and a girl (called tributes) from each district (there are 12 districts) are thrown in an arena and must fight to the death. All three books follow the heroine Katniss Everdeen and is about her fight to keep herself and everyone she loves alive. 

My favorite character is definitely Rue, who appears in the first book, but tragically dies, her death scene had me in tears.

Overall a highly enjoyable book which I would recommend to anyone, no matter the age. Mainly it is targeted at teens, but I think anyone who doesn’t mind a bit of gore will love it!

The year of the death of Ricardo Reis - Jose Saramago

We say: *****

Having read the book in its original language, i can't guarantee the translation does it justice.
I certainly hope so as it is on my top 5 favourite books of all times.

Set in Lisbon in the late 30s it goes on to tell the story of a retired doctor returning to Portugal after 16 years in Brazil.
Throughout the book he re-discovers the city and engages with several characters mainly around the hotel where he is staying until he finds a more permanent abode.

Or so you think.
Like in Gillespie and I, once you get into the story, you start seeing through that narrative to a different one all together. It details the dictatorship Portugal was living under at the time in a tangled web of light and shadow.

One of those books one tries to pace out because you just don't want it to end.

Down and out in Paris and London - George Orwell

We say: *****

‘You have talked so often of going to the dogs – and well, here are the dogs, and you have reached them.’ George Orwell

Such a vivid memoire of what its like, in the 1930s, to be destitute, homeless, have to put up with brutality and hunger that you go down with the author and feel the cold and bleakness he describes.
The infamous Hotel X I am sure still exists in many of the glitzy London and Paris hotel scenes where immigrants from all corners of the globe clean rooms or restaurant dishes for a fraction of the minimum wage.

If a book exist that makes you get up from wherever you are reading it ready to change to world, this is one of them.
How old do you need to be to read it? I'm passing it on to daughter and she will let you know...

Gillespie and I - Jane Harris

We say: *****

I have to confess to having bought Jane Harris' first book - The Observations - as an act of confusion (deliberate from the part of the publishing house I am sure) between her and Joanne Harris, of Chocolat fame.
The font was similar, the type of cover...anyways....I bought it but wasn’t terribly impressed. There was something in her prose that was enticing but didn't quite shine for me.
So why did I go and buy her second one is anyone's guess...

Glad i did though. This one is a tour de force!
I found the main character purposefully un-identifiable, those meddling older ladies that keep getting under everyone's feet.... until you start to read the hidden narrative.
Half way through the book you start figuring out that what you are reading on the pages is not quite the full story and you dust off the detective inside you - that had been in hibernation since the last Stieg Larsson's - and you start deciphering the story behind the story.

It’s those kind of books you can't wait to pass on to someone else to read, without telling them the secret and wait for them to find it out by themselves.
Such fun!

Company of liars - Karen Maitland

We say: ****

What a treat!
A medieval adventure with atmosphere and pace galore.
The way each chapter is being told by a different character is slightly disorientating at first but once you get sucked into the story it definitively enriches the plot by adding a kaleidoscope of points of view.

The unexplained bit being all covered under the wide backed "magic" kills the narrative ever so slightly but i have gone ahead and bough all of the author's other books straight away so it didn’t affect me that much clearly.

Look forward to the rest.

I capture the castle - Dodie Smith

We say: **

What a wishy washy book this is!
The romantic family who is poor as church mice but can't work so sells their furniture, eats nothing but what they grow in the garden but hey ho, still has live in servants!

The girls' characters are extremely limited by today's standards and the parents worse than useless!
"oh we are so posh that no one would employ us but everyone wants to be our friend and share their good fortune with us...." - a good work experience stacking shelves at Tesco was what I was left wishing for them all....
Irritating and narrow minded.
Don't really understand how so many people - from Isherwood to JK Rowling - quote it as one of their main sources of inspiration. Maybe they could relate. I certainly didn't.

However, curious to see the film, may need to track in down somewhere on the web.
I am sure an exceedingly posh British cast under clever direction can transform it into a spiffing good film.
After all, that is what happens with the Harry Potters isn't it?

Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Capture_the_Castle

The night circus - Erin Morgenstern

We say: *****

Just finished this book and its been a while since i was so engrossed.
Read it over what felt one seating throughout the whole weekend.

The way its written is really visual and evocative transporting the reader to a parallel universe of magic, manipulation, circus acts and impossible settings.
With just a wisp of reality to ground us and attach us to the story, this books transported me across the world, to he beginning of the century and back. All I needed to join the fans was a red scarf.

All characters are strong and have their own animated plots to follow. They make independent decisions and suffer the consequences.
The plot is so well achieved, no gaps no questions....and the best is that we know there are more things to explain just round the corner but this is just a window and we can't see it all.

Can't wait to read more from the author.

Also, an interview with the author that gives a bit more insight into the whole story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY_Rh6j1WFo