Just
two books read this month ... and both are my Book Club selections: one for July's and one for next month's meeting.
The first was 2013 Man Booker prize-winner "
The Luminaries" by Eleanor Catton. I've diverted from my normal front cover images because this was a
beast of a hardback to hold ... all 832 pages of it! Set in the 1860s New Zealand gold-rush, it's a Victorian-style novel, full of wordy descriptions and lengthy character developments, where the action unfolds quite slowly but gathers pace once you have been introduced to the twelve main characters, an unexpected interloper and the unsolved crimes that concern them. Unfortunately that takes over half the book ... which is constructed around astrological charts with twelve "chapters", each half the length of the previous one. Not an easy read, but a cleverly constructed puzzle book which I would quite like to have another go at now that I know what's what (
just not for a while).
Thankfully next month's book is a lot shorter. "
Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet"
by Jamie Ford covered another period of history that I knew nothing about. The novel switches between 1986 and 1942 to describe Chinese and Japanese communities in Seattle and the anti-Japanese sentiments that led to thousands of Americans (of Japanese descent) being imprisoned for the duration of WWII. Shocking in parts, it was also a tale of family relationships and a forbidden friendship between a young Chinese-American boy and a Japanese-American girl. Another slow starter for me, but again it gathered pace and I admit to crying towards the end.
Just two :O
ReplyDeleteI feel a scrapbook page coming on with inspiration from that first book cover!
I also love the cover design of the first book, quite inspirational!
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of both of these. That first one doesn't look like one for reading in bed, mind. That's a big book!
ReplyDeleteActually, hold on, if it's big, does that mean it's got bigger print? Might be right for bedtime after all lol
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to read what you thought of The Luminaries. A friend recommended as up my street, but I struggled to get into it and put it aside for now. Due to its huge size I downloaded it to my Nook. I don't think the actual book would make for very comfortable bed time reading!
ReplyDeleteBoth of these sound intriguing . . . although I think I'd like the first one in a lightweight paperback! :>)
ReplyDeleteYou read some amazing books. I'm such a lightweight and read easy going chick lite more :)
ReplyDelete