Tag: book reviews

Review: A Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

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The most harrowing thing that stuck with me when reading this book was how easily women in society were downgraded to nothing but merely possessions. Not only that, but the vivid detail with how it was done resonated with me because truthfully, the very same thing could be done now if the right lunatic came along. There would be nothing we could do to stop it.

That isn’t to say I think it will happen; I don’t. We may have a colourful history when it comes to the royalty and presidents that have made their mark on the world, but I doubt things would ever get this far. I have to, for the sake of my sanity.

The Handmaid's Tale
GoodReads – A Handmaid’s Tale

The whole story is written from the perspective of Offred, a handmaid who tried to flee with her husband and daughter but regrettably got captured when they tried to escape and they were separated.

The roles of handmaid’s were created in order to re-populate Gilead after a disaster that affected many people. As a result of the exposure to toxins in water infertility afflicted many men and women (though of course you can’t say that about men since they are superior – duh!) Other effects are not immediately present. Some of the remaining fertile women give birth to babies that are unbabies – that is to say that the exposure to toxins in water after said disaster has made mutations common.

Taking inspiration from the Bible – Genesis 30 for anyone curious to know, the roles of the handmaid’s were created to serve as child bearers in place of the wives of the Commanders:

When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.”
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I also want to add at this point that it isn’t purely women that are oppressed in this “modern” society – a lot of men are denied access to a handmaid unless they are of sufficient rank and are therefore denied a family.

Many of you may know that Channel 4 has recently being showing a ten part series in the UK based on the book. As of writing this, I am yet to watch the last episode, because I wanted to finish the book first. To make everybody aware, the TV series is a more embellished version of the book. Some plot lines are exaggerated and some are made up to add to the story. The order of things has also been mixed up. For example, in the book Offred does not attend a salvaging until pretty much right at the end of the book, whereas it happens much earlier on in the series. These little things are slight annoyances to me. Don’t get me wrong; I know they have done it to make things interesting, current and appeal to a wider audience… I get that. I don’t have to like it though.

I think it’s fair to say that despite their differences, they are both enjoyable. It is best to appreciate them separately. Let’s not forget that A Handmaid’s Tale was first published in 1985 and there are a lot of differences between society and the readership then and us now. To take one example from the TV series, Ofglen (the original one – the handmaid’s names are based on their “masters”) had a girlfriend back before she was captured and trained to be a handmaid. For conspiring against the society that enslaves her, Ofglen is forced to watch her girlfriend (who is not fertile and therefore expendable) hanged to death. Given that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, this is a relevant topic today. I acknowledge at this point it was technically only illegal for men, but as the series is based for the most part around the oppression of women in times where human fertility is dangerously low, you have to work with what you’ve got. This story line wasn’t in the book at all. Ofglen conspired all right, but after she was found out she disappeared entirely, never to be seen again.

It is fair to say that this book is an acquired taste to read… you are either interested in the subject, or you’re not. I tried to read this a couple of years ago, got about a third of the way through and gave up. I hate leaving books unread, but I hate forcing myself through them more – I won’t enjoy it as there is little point. Watching the TV series helped for me. If anyone has watched it and is curious about the book I would recommend giving it a read too. As I said above, there are subtle differences so it’s worth checking out!

Have any of you watched the series or read the book? What did you make of them? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Review: A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess

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My first thought having read the first chapter of this book was:

“Right, so what the fuck did I just read?”

 

A Clockwork Orange
GoodReads – A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange is written from the perspective of Alex, a teen who spends his time away from school by terrorising the local neighbourhood. It’s safe to say, he’s a bad egg. When he isn’t doing that, he is usually in his room deep in the peaceful abyss of classical music. He narrates his tale in the language that he uses when with his crew and fellow teens of the book; it is a confusing form of slang with Russian being a heavy influence.

Our pockets were full of deng, so there was no real need from the point of view of crasting any more pretty polly to tolchock some old veck in an alley and viddy him swim in his blood while we counted the takings and divided by four, nor to do the ultra-violent on some shivering starry grey haired ptitsa in a shop and go smecking off with the till’s guts. But, as they say, money isn’t everything.

If you are anything like me, you would probably have been scratching your head at this point, but as you read on you begin to work out the meaning of the obscure words. Some are less obvious than others, trust me. The above caption from the book should give you an idea of the attitude of the teens, and the older characters of the book we meet indicate that this attitude is wide-spread. A lot of people fear to walk the streets at night, frightened of each of the gang leaders and their “droogs” (that’s friends, to you and I). Those who don’t fear the streets will wish they hadn’t ventured out.

When we meet Alex it is apparent he is already a person of interest by social services, and much as the title foreshadows, he always ends up on the same path of crime and anti-social behaviour. The law catches up with Alex when he becomes responsible for the death of an elderly woman, and as a result he is sentenced to fourteen years in prison. After two years he kills a cell mate who tries to get too “friendly” with him – I find it ironic that as a person he would think nothing of such behaviour if it were him committing the act, but it being done to himself is an entirely different story.

I have digressed; after this Alex is put forward for a program designed to reform individuals like him in as little as two weeks. This ultimately becomes a highly controversial method of treatment as Alex, being “reformed” (or mentally scarred through a cruel form of torture if you ask me) is released back into the new world. He struggles to adapt to his new life, feels rejected by his parents and is no longer able to love classical music as a result of the “treatment” he received. Much again in line with the concept of clockwork, once out he finds himself subjected to beatings from the police and subjected to being treated as if he is on the bottom rung of society.

He ultimately attempts to commit suicide. Whilst he doesn’t succeed in this he frees himself of the conditioning of his mind – he can listen to classical music and his thoughts venture into the desire to commit violent acts again. Does this make him “normal” again? Who can say definitively. There is wrong and there is right, but equally there are so many shades of grey in between, and that is where we all find ourselves… somewhere between the goal posts of the “holy saint” and “spawn of the devil”.

The book is an interesting read in that it highlights a number of issues in the justice system. Whilst ethically no treatment like Alex endured could be practiced now, it raises questions as to how far we can go in order to guide people to behave in a manner defined be society as acceptable. At the end of the book Alex raises the point as to what he could do were his son to behave in the same way, and his son after him etc… like clockwork.

Sadly, it is equally apparent that society shuns these individuals regardless of reform or punishment just as rigidly.

 

Review: Magician – Raymond E Feist

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Good evening everybody!

It’s Sunday night again, and many of us have the joys of going back to the daily grind tomorrow. On a slightly more positive note we’re not quite there yet, so let’s enjoy the time we have 🙂 I’m going to have a few posts coming up in the next few days, including my monthly profile of the books I intend to read; I have another review coming up after this for A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (I finished that this morning) and I’ll also be reviewing my TBR pile once again in the next few days… I hope you’ll stay tuned!

 

GoodReads – Magician

To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan Pug came to study with the master magician Kulgan. His courage won him a place at court and the heart of a lovely Princess, but he was ill at ease with normal wizardry. Yet his strange magic may save two worlds from dark beings who opened spacetime to renew the age-old battle between Order and Chaos.

 

My Thoughts…

I don’t know about any of you my fellow readers, but I have a habit of staying up past my bedtime when I am extremely close to finishing a book. Magician is the first (and largest book) of the Riftwar Saga trilogy, being 841 pages in itself whilst the remaining two books add up to this together. At approximately 11pm on Thursday night, I knew I had 60 pages left to read in order to finish this book, so I WAS going to finish this book. I packed up from the front room, made my lunch ready for work the next day and made myself ready to read the home stretch whilst sat in bed.

I finished reading this book, brushed my teeth and got into bed at 12:45am 🙂 It’s a good job I’m a night owl anyway – I don’t need much sleep. It was absolutely worth staying up late to finish.

I read Magician before a number of years ago, not long after I had started working full-time and I was still living with my parents. I bought the further two books in the trilogy after reading and enjoying it, and that was back in January 2014. I still haven’t read these yet and that is why I wanted to re-visit the first book and refresh myself before I tried to read these.

I get the sense that Magician was written with the potential to be a standalone book initially. It isn’t like most books in that it doesn’t leave with some cliffhanger to draw you on to the next one. Certainly, there are plenty of things that could be picked up, revisited and elaborated on if the fact it was going to be a series was in doubt at the time of writing. Equally if Raymond E. Feist had never got the chance to write nor I the chance to read the last two books of the series, it wouldn’t be the end of the world either. From my perspective, Magician could exist as a standalone book. I’m glad it’s not though…just saying.

The book begins with us learning about Pug, a small orphaned keep boy who is effectively raised by his best friend’s parents. Every boy progresses to manhood at the point of the Choosing, in which they are apprenticed to a variety of crafts. Pug finds himself apprenticed to the great Magician Kulgan, and is elevated into court as reward for a courageous feat to save one of the royal family.

Pug struggles to find his way in this new life, but all is about to be turned on its head when Pug and Tomas, his best friend, find a foreign ship smashed against the rocks near castle Crydee.

Kelewan is a distant world from Midkemia; its people having fled from the Enemy through a rift in time and space onto this world. The Tsuranuanni have a vastly different social system and live in the harsh conditions of the world they are forced to live on. They greatly value the precious metals available on Midkemia, and after discovering this world quite by accident, events lead to war spanning years as the Midkemian’s fight against these new invaders.
Yet Kelewan also has something that Midkemia is lacking; the knowledge Pug needs in order to train in the Greater Path of magic. In training to do so, he becomes the Master Magician he was destined to be.

If I have one criticism of the book, it’s that I found the part of Pug’s education in the higher arts to be very lacking. It was almost like the need for Pug to be educated was merely a stepping stone in order to carry on with the rest of the book so a couple of chapters were stuck in to acknowledge the fact. I would have liked to see more development here personally. I don’t feel that this detracts from the book at all, what is written is well done and flows nicely.

It’s a bit cliché if anything, but I don’t mind that so much once in a while.

Review: Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien 

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I would just like to wish everyone a pleasant weekend from over here, in the not so sunny climes of the island upon which I live. As I am typing this, the view outside my window is far less picturesque than the rolling, lush green hills of the Shire, but never mind. For what any of us lack in gorgeous countryside and dazzling sunshine we have in imagination!!
It’s a good job really… We only get a couple of weeks a year that can constitute as a summer so we take whatever we can get!
Moving along, I wanted to share with you my thoughts as to my latest read, being the last installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Return of the King. Admittedly I was apprehensive about finally reading this book; I was concerned that it wouldn’t live up to the hype around it. I think that is a real danger with any book, film or TV program when it becomes so popular.
 

GoodReads – Return of the King
I was glad to see that a lot of my time wasn’t wasted in the set up of where Gandalf and company left off in The Two Towers. I was concerned that this wouldn’t have led to anything particularly consequential given that I would argue this was the lesser important side of the two perspectives we read. Here we get to see the raw power of Mordor and the vast numbers fighting for Sauron.
I don’t know about anybody else, (with the exception of my dad, as I’ve discussed this with him) but I found this last book to be really dark, and it made it difficult to read; like someone condemned takes their next step more begrudgingly to their doom, each page turn was more difficult than the last. I was determined to finish. I waited with bated breath for events unfold, hoping against hope that little Frodo and Sam made it!
I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read the book, but what I will say for its difficulty to read (that’s just one – well two opinions anyway) it is spectacular. It was worth the perseverance and I was not disappointed by the end. It’s a little sad, but it felt like it ended as it should have, even though you would never have anticipated it in the beginning.
Now I’ll have to catch upon the films, because I am a firm believer that the books are better and must be read first. I have made a few exceptions:

  • War & Peace – because I would never have understood the book without watching it first
  • A Handmaid’s Tale – I did actually try the book a few years ago but didn’t finish it
  • Game of Thrones – purely because I don’t have a choice and I’ll be damned if I get behind! I’m sure there are plenty of people who agree with me on this one!

That’s all for now guys! I’m presently half way through reading Raymond E Feist’s first installment in the Riftwar Saga, Magician. This is a re-read from a few years ago, as I have the next two in the series to read but admittedly I’ve forgotten what happens!
This has also brought my round to thinking about having a tidy up. I need one comprehensive reading list, so I’m going to be tidying up my TBR “pile”. I’ve found a lovely book tag dedicated to the task which should make the task of deciding easier! I look forward to seeing you then!
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Review: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

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Hi all!

I know I promised this review sooner, and I apologise. I’m a slacker.

Truth be told, my time has been taken up with reading Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. I’m trying to space my reviews out so they aren’t too infrequent, in relation to how far I am through the next book, but this has taken me longer than I expected to read.

Stardust
GoodReads – Stardust

Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall—named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining…

 

My Thoughts…

To be perfectly honest I only picked up this book because I have heard such good things about the author. The story is based around a young man who runs off to retrieve a fallen star for the sweetheart of the town, after she promises to give him his greatest desire if he succeeds. Of course, his wish is to marry this beautiful girl. Prior to this promise, he had once or twice sat in a tree looking through windows at her. Not at all creepy…

Now call me a cynic if you want, but I’m not for all this mushy stuff. At the proud age of 22, I can testify that nobody has come to sweep me off my feet. No Prince, Page or Peasant has promised to fetch me a fallen star, bottle up the northern nights or whisk me off into the sunset for my happy-ever-after. What have all these bitches got that I haven’t?! Destiny. Whilst these ladies fulfill their destinies, promising their lives away to the heroes of these grand fairy tales I sit here typing away…

As much as I criticise, the book was well written. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the plot outline was original because it isn’t, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Tristran, the young man in question, in order to retrieve the fallen star must pass the Wall between this world and Faerie, a land of all things magical. But the fallen star has drawn the interest of others too; withered witches require the heart of the star to restore their youth. The Star holds an amulet, cast into the sky by the Lord of the Stormhold on his deathbed and is the cause of her fall. Each of the surviving sons of the Lord searches for this amulet to claim the lordship, and so is their invested interest in her movements.

For a fairytale story, it is actually quite gruesome. This doesn’t particularly bother me as it happens, (I’m a die-hard Game of Thrones fan so I can’t be squeamish) but I’m not sure that it entirely fits. By all means, the fighting of the brothers of the Lord of Stormhold seems entirely reasonable. We know one brother is particularly keen on bumping the others off. That’s fine. The witch and one of the sons of the Lord of Stormhold fighting with each other as they both need something of the star. Not unreasonable. The graphic descriptions though – not so much. Not for me anyway. This is also very graphic at the beginning; it’s not a bedtime story for the children folks!

My favourite thing about the book is Neil Gaiman’s writing style – it is this that saved the book from being a write off for me. Despite not being a great lover of the plot it hasn’t put me off reading his other books. I bought a copy of American Gods not that long ago; that will definitely be more to my taste, so I’m looking forward to reading that one in September (or thereabouts).

One thing I have decided, having read some other reviews on this book… I will not be watching the film. I thought this was lovey-dovey, sickly sweet and vomit-inducing romance, but if anyone, ANYONE, makes me watch that film, I cannot be held accountable for my actions.

Review: The Last Wish – Andrej Sapjowski

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Hi guys!
So today I’m bringing you a review of Andrej Sapjowski’s book, The Last Wish. Please, never ask me to even attempt to pronounce this author’s name! My Polish is not up to scratch at all… and by that, I mean it’s totally non existent 🙂
All joking aside, this is the first book I have read of this series and it is one I am adding to my TBR. It seems to me lately that the pile does not go down – for every book I read I’ve added three more!
The Last Wish
GoodReads – The Last Wish
Geralt of Rivia wakes in the temple of Melitele, having been grievously injured. In order to recover, he stays at the temple under the protection of Nenneke. She attempts to persuade him to be entranced, in order to understand what afflicts him so, but he refuses on the grounds that he cannot be hypnotised and lacks faith in her God. Instead he reflects on past events that have lead to his appearance at the temple.
It is through these reflections that we learn of Geralt, his past and his profession. He is a Witcher. As a child he was trained and mutated to develop the supernatural abilities required to fight the various monsters that plague the planet and human existence, but not necessarily to slay them. He is also trained how to reverse the many spells or curses that may have been placed on people.
He battles a striga and restores a seven year old child (presumed dead) to its father; he encounters the lord of an abandoned mansion that can control the house with his will alone. His lady friend is a bruxa, a kind of vampire like creature that uses song to manipulate people. Morality and “deciding the lesser evil” challenges Geralt at times along the way, and a simple fishing trip and the releasing of a Djinn brings the Witcher into the clutches of a powerful sorceress.
I think the moral of these tales is this: not all is as it appears to be. That which appears sinister may not be at all and not all that appears fair is good.
All in all, I have enjoyed the book… but I have one observation. Pretty much all the monsters/individuals possessing the power of magic or Geralt ends up fighting (as they are monsters) are women. Not necessarily a criticism at this point in time, but an observation. I hope to see a little more diversity in “The Sword of Destiny”, which is the second book which prequels the main book series.

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In the brief time that I spoke to you last I have also managed to read Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. I will be releasing the review of that within the next couple of days! Until next time,
Rebecca

Review: To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee

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GoodReads – To Kill A Mockingbird

Tom Robinson’s a coloured man, Jem. No jury in this part of the world’s going to say, “We think you’re guilty, but not very,” on a charge like that. It was either straight acquittal or nothing.
Atticus Finch

To Kill A Mockingbird is undoubtedly one of the most influential books of all time in highlighting the racial inequalities known especially within southern states of America. Harper Lee has won numerous awards including the Pulitzer Prize for To Kill a Mockingbird and a further book, Go Set a Watchman was published in 2015, some 55 years later.
I’ll be perfectly honest, this book isn’t at all what I expected. I hadn’t even realised that the story was narrated from the perspective of two young children until I actually opened the book. Truthfully I didn’t think I would get on with this, but actually it was perfect.
Jem (Jeremy) and Scout (Jean Louise) have been raised in the small, largely peaceful town of Maycomb by their father, Atticus Finch. Atticus is a lawyer by profession, but when Atticus takes on his biggest case there is much controversy and trouble for the Finches.
The story is narrated by Scout, who is the tender age of nine in that fateful summer of 1935, in which Tom Robinson is on trial for the rape of a white woman; and her father Atticus is defending him. As I mentioned above, I wasn’t confident that I would like the way the story is narrated by a child, but it is done very effectively. I was wrong to doubt.
Whereas adults quite often are prejudiced and are willing to turn a blind eye to what they know is wrong, children on the other hand are blank canvases. The world is black and white – they haven’t yet learned to see the shades of grey we are willing to paint in between depending on what suits us. They also ask a lot of questions. We’ve also come across those kids, you know the ones… that say anything that comes to their mind. Apparently as I kid I embarrassed my parents by declaring loudly at a supermarket checkout that it smelled very badly right behind the culprit – otherwise known as the Great Unwashed since.
Shameless. My parents are able to laugh about it now. It was true… I just wasn’t afraid to say it.
This to my mind is in direct contrast to the attitudes of adults, who are to willing to allow such segregation and injustice to happen, and it is refreshing to hear people asking the right question – why. Atticus is a fantastic character, who implores his children in times of difficulty to walk “in the other person’s shoes” to try and teach them about perspective. Atticus is like a father to anyone and everyone, and he has many lessons to teach us all. The struggles of morality and conscience also afflict him; despite fighting a losing battle, he couldn’t sleep at night if he didn’t defend the man.

There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads – they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.

Thankfully the general attitude is society is a little better than it used to be, but we have a long way to go. Fear sets in deep. What is said out in public and that behind closed doors can be very different.
Racism makes me angry. Sure, there are times when we can’t help but make prejudgements –  it’s part of our natural survival instincts. It is when these prejudgments are made without cause and we act negatively towards that person (directly or indirectly) – that is what is disgraceful.
I hope through education we an break this awful cycle; if all children had parents like Atticus Finch the world would be a much better place.
 

Review: The Gunslinger – Stephen King

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Hi! So we are fast approaching the end of June and that makes us halfway through the year already!! Now isn’t that scary…
As promised in my last post, here is a review of The Gunslinger, the first installment of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Before this, I have only read one other book of King’s, being The Green Mile (I’ve decided this is my all-time favourite book), so I was curious to try some of his other works.
The Gunslinger takes a very Western/Apocalyptic style. We learn about Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger, whilst he seeks the man in black, following him through a quaint little town and expansive desert; danger always looming over him and any that happen to accompany him. The other somewhat prominent characters are Alice, a bar maid, and Jake, a small boy from New York city. The Gunslinger has not met these individuals by chance; the man in black has made sure of that.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the book at first. You are drawn in by the Gunslinger describing his path and you discover he is tracking somebody, described only as the man in black. Very ominous sounding, right? You find out he is his arch-nemesis. Are you biting your nails in anticipation yet? I was.
Then for me when The Gunslinger met Alice it went a bit flat for a while for me. Why, I hear you ask? Because to my mind, if the Gunslinger had been chasing after his nemesis for so long and found himself closer than ever to catching him, WHY WOULD YOU STOP? He had his fill of all his needs, (and I really do mean ALL of them), so then why wouldn’t he carry on? Alas he didn’t, but resulted in some mean shooting action so I shouldn’t complain really. He isn’t called the gunslinger for nothing!!
I didn’t mind so much when Jake came along, as he journeyed with the Gunslinger so progress was always being made. At this point we lose a little of the mystery of this gun wielding, gun flipping dead shot as we discover more about his upbringing and training as a boy. We learn he is the last Gunslinger, yet equally see the human side of him in his love of Jake and the lengths he will go to in order to protect him.
Once Roland leaves Tull the book really picked up for me. Put it this way, I started the book on Thursday night, read some more Friday when I wasn’t at work and I finished it on Saturday afternoon. Despite the “slow” start, I loved it overall and it gets a 4* rating from me. I can’t wait to continue the series!
I also discovered not too long ago that this is being released as a film in the US in November this year, starring Idris Elba as the Gunslinger himself. I couldn’t be happier about this – if anyone has seen the TV series “Luther” (in which Idris Elba plays a slightly unconventional police detective) I think you will agree with me that he is perfect for the role.
That isn’t for another five months yet and not even in the UK, so I’ll have to hold my horses. In the meantime, there is lots of reading to do! My next read, which incidentally I have also managed to get through far quicker than expected is To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. I was expecting this to be the last book I squished in this month as I hadn’t originally planned this in by June TBR, but turns out I was as keen as mustard and got through that too!
That being said, I really am squeezing just one more book in before the end of this month – Animal Farm by George Orwell. After this  quick spurt of classics any followers who happen to be fantasy readers will be delighted to know the next three books are of that genre at least. I’m going to publish a full list shortly so watch this space!
Rebecca   🙂
 

Review: Small Gods – Terry Pratchett

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Hi guys!

So I wanted to add this little section as we have something to celebrate – I have now achieved reading 30 / 60 books of my challenge with about a week to spare, and that includes having read some epics so far!

My review of Stephen King’s The Gunslinger will follow in the next couple of days; there’s no rest for the wicked as I have started what was the first book on my July List, being To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I’m hoping to sneak this in before the end of the month to give me a head start.

I was dubious when I upped my target from 20 to 60 this year but I’m more confident than ever that I can achieve it, so fingers crossed.

Thanks for everybody who has been supporting me and listening to my impassioned rants about books at home… I know none of you particularly share my love to the extent I do. Thank you to all of my followers too; I hope that you enjoy my reviews and I would appreciate any feedback you can give me. I only strive to improve for you all 🙂

Thanks guys!

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So you guys have probably guessed that I have become a Pratchett fan somewhat, as I have read and am gracing you with a review of the next book in the Discworld series, Small Gods.

 

Goodreads – Small Gods

Just because you can’t explain it, doesn’t mean it’s a miracle.’ Religion is a controversial business in the Discworld. Everyone has their own opinion, and indeed their own gods. Who come in all shapes and sizes. In such a competitive environment, there is a pressing need to make one’s presence felt. And it’s certainly not remotely helpful to be reduced to be appearing in the form of a tortoise, a manifestation far below god-like status in anyone’s book. In such instances, you need an acolyte, and fast. Preferably one who won’t ask too many questions…

 

My Thoughts…

I have found through reading Pratchett’s books that they often have some underlying message, often by parodying life and our everyday struggles or alternatively, other literature; Equal Rites addresses the issue of gender equality, Wyrd Sisters parodies the three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Moving Pictures is a humorous take on Hollywood and the power of media.

Small Gods I think is no exception, introducing the idea that the power of God(s), one or another (there are thousands on the Discworld) are relative to the number of believers they have. In a way can I get behind that idea. I would truly be concerned however if God, Allah, Thor, Loki, Apollo etc all sat in heaven throwing dice and using us mere mortals as pawns for some game we don’t understand the rules of. As well as his ability to address these topics – Pratchett has an extraordinary sense of humour to do it with!

We experience this tale from the perspectives of Brutha and the small god Om. Om was once a powerful God, however true belief in his powers dwindled away as the Church raised in commemoration to him established it’s own hierarchy and the struggles within take precedence instead of the reverence to Om. Acolytes worship out of fear from the Quisition, who torture and kill any man believed to be sinful. The Quisition can NEVER be wrong as Om wouldn’t lead them to doubt the faithful…of course. Please note the sarcasm here.

Om finds himself manifested as a tortoise and sets out to getting himself heard among his “believers”. His only true believer is Brutha, a mere Novice of the church. Brutha attracts attention to himself with the Quisition and upon discovery that he is Om’s Prophet – the Chosen One, he lands himself in a dangerous predicament with the higher powers of the Church.

Corruption in the church is also an issue which is brought up, as the local population with the help of Om attempt to dipose Vorbis, the head of the Quisition with whacky schemes of a million-to-one-chance odds, so it just has to work… right?! Well, nothing ever goes exactly to plan, but the Discworld population are adaptable if nothing else.

This book has some real laugh-out-loud moments, and although I wouldn’t say it was in my top favourites of Pratchett’s Discworld novels, it still holds its own. I’m not a religious person at all, but maybe this would have better resonance with somebody who is? I can’t say for sure, but I did enjoy it nonetheless.

Here’s one of my favourite quotes from the book, which I think says a lot of my opinion when it comes to politics:

The Ephebians believed that every man should have the vote. Every five years someone was elected to be Tyrant, provided he could prove that he was honest, intelligent, sensible and trustworthy. Immediately after he was elected, of course, it was obvious to everyone that he was a criminal madman and totally out of touch with the view of the ordinary philosopher in the street looking for a towel. And then five years later they elected another one just like him, and really it was amazing how intelligent people kept on making the same mistakes.

As mentioned above, a review of the first installment of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger will be posted in the next couple of days. I’ll also be publishing my July reading list soon so please stay tuned!

Review: Of Mice & Men – John Steinbeck

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I last read Of Mice & Men as part of my GCSE English Literature studies, and I actually just gave myself a mini heart attack thinking that it will have been about seven years ago.

It does not feel like it should have been that long ago… but it was. I might just go and cry in corner now.

 

Goodreads – Of Mice & Men

The compelling story of two outsiders striving to find their place in an unforgiving world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other and a dream–a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie, struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy, becomes a victim of his own strength. Tackling universal themes such as the friendship of a shared vision, and giving voice to America’s lonely and dispossessed, Of Mice and Men has proved one of Steinbeck’s most popular works, achieving success as a novel, a Broadway play and three acclaimed films.

 

My Thoughts…

Thinking about it, it does actually explain a lot to me. I have managed to read this book in its entirety today, in a couple of hours in between doing the housework and laundry. Way back when, I remember really struggling to read this book. I remember that too was a Saturday and I spent all day putting it down and feigning doing something else just to get a break from it. I put it down to a couple of things; firstly, this time I was reading it to enjoy, not to study the crap out of it. I actually wrote a post about my thoughts on this on Monday (link if you’re interested Interim: Book Theme Analysis) I’m also going to say that I think maturity plays a big part in appreciating classics, modern or otherwise. I’m making an effort to read more and I can safely say if I’d set myself the challenge of reading them a couple of years ago, they would never have made it off the TBR pile.

I have no shame in admitting that I wasn’t ready for them. I wouldn’t even commit to saying I was in a position to fully understand and appreciate them now, but I am willing to try. That’s a step forward.

I’m not surprised that now I managed to read this so quickly; having set myself the pace I need to complete my book challenge I do need to read at least 100 pages a day to get through any sizeable books. I had fallen a little behind since reading War & Peace so whilst I knew I wanted to re-read this at some point, I did plan thereafter to read it sooner to help me catch up on my target.

Can I just say that I absolutely love this book! I’m surprised it only has a 3.8 star rating on GoodReads… I thought it would at least just creep over 4. It obviously isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – it wasn’t mine to start with. It’s funny, as much as I struggled to read the book first time around I did actually come to love it by the end and it’s the only book I enjoyed studying at school. I think it also featured in one of my exams if I remember correctly and I might have chosen that question topic to answer.

I like that if you think about it, it brings up a lot of issues relevant to the time. I don’t think it quotes a date but is very reminiscent of the 1930’s and the American Depression. Poverty and the struggle to get work was very real, the attitude towards women and negro’s is also touched upon. You know it’s there, in fact it is so casual that it doesn’t slap you in the face as offensive. I like that about it, as well as how it realistically touches on many social issues of the time and not just any one. And who can’t feel sorry for poor Lennie… he just doesn’t understand his own actions or strengths. I feel sorry for George for having to look after him too, but I think I would have done the same in his shoes. Lennie can’t look after himself and you would never see anyone you know struggle.

Well, I wouldn’t anyway.

This is a book I would implore anybody who hasn’t picked it up to read it at least once. It’s actually a very easy read so please do.

That’s me caught up on reviews for now!! I’m reading Small Gods by Terry Pratchett next and following up with The Gunslinger by Stephen King – for which I am very excited! As I’ve been reading at a good pace I’m also now hoping to sneak another book onto my reading list for June, being To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.