Review: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

He imagined he could see the very faces of the stars; pale, they were, and smiling gently, as if they had spent so much time above the world, watching the scrambling and the joy and the pain of the people below them, that they could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.

Tristan Thorn dreams of little else other than winning the affections of the beautiful Victoria Forester. And when, one evening, they spot a shooting star hurtling through the night sky, he makes the ultimate romantic gesture and promises to bring it to her in exchange for a kiss. His quest takes him out of the village of Wall where he has lived all his life, and into the land of Faerie where he finds a whole lot more than he'd bargained for! But Tristan is not the only one in pursuit of the star; hot on his heels rides a witch on the hunt for everlasting life and a prince determined to rule the kingdom. Will Tristan succeed in bringing home his prize? Or will his aims change along the way?

In my review of A Game of Thrones I expressed my relief that, despite having watched and loved the series, the book turned out to be everything I'd hoped for and more! So with Stardust being one of my absolute favourite films, I went into this book confident that it too could surpass all expectations. Unfortunately, in this case, I was left disappointed. Basically, I wanted a fairytale. And I didn't get one. For once in my life I wanted cute, I wanted sweet, I wanted romance, I wanted the knight in shining armour, I wanted everything that the film had led me to believe I would get, and I got none of it! The tone was flippant without being particularly humorous and I found the writing downright lazy in parts. Several events occurred because 'they just did', realisations seemed to dawn on people without any need for evidence, and the ending sadly just flopped. Maybe I'm more of a traditionalist than I had previously thought and wanted to be left with that warm fuzzy feeling that, in all fairness, Neil Gaiman never promised to deliver. Overall, Stardust was entertaining and certainly had its moments, but if you're expecting a fun-filled adventure with a happy-ever-after akin to the film then you might be sorely disappointed.

RATING: ★★★☆☆

Lou x

Review: A Game of Throne by George R. R. Martin

Winter is coming...

The Hand of the King is dead and the stability of the Seven Kingdoms is hanging by a thread when Robert Baratheon, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, rides North to Winterfell to ask his old friend Lord Eddard Stark if he will take the dead Jon Arryn's place. Although loathed to leave his home and family, Ned begrudgingly accepts when word reaches Winterfell that the circumstances surrounding Arryn's death are believed to have been more than a little suspicious. The kingdom is crawling with secrets, yet knowledge comes with a price. For when you play a game of thrones you win or you die.

It's always going to be hard to read (and review) a book objectively when you've already seen its counterpart on screen. Before I began A Game of Thrones I knew that one of two things was going to happen; either 1) it was going to be as good as, or even more spectacular than the tv series and I was going to love it, or 2) it wasn't going to live up to the high expectations generated through watching the programme and it was going to be a huge disappointment. Luckily the former prevailed; this book was amazing and I absolutely adored it! As it turns out, the tv adaptation had stuck surprisingly faithfully to the original story so I found I had to use little imagination to picture scenes and settings clearly, and it was probably even a benefit in helping to negotiate the many characters that crop up throughout this epic saga! I didn't feel as though this hampered my enjoyment of the story in any way, though it would have been very interesting to have read this without being able to preempt the plot! Although mainly set in the fictional land of Westeros, I found that its similarity to Medieval Britain made it easier to connect with the story, and with battles and sword-fighting and kings and tournaments, it almost read like a piece of historical fiction as opposed to fantasy. The plot itself was rich and luxurious, unfolding through the viewpoints of eight of the main characters in their own eponymous chapters, making a book which was wide in scope feel remarkably intimate. Despite its length, I was completely hooked for the entire 864 pages and can hardly wait to get on to the next one! A Clash of Kings, I'm coming for you!!

RATING: ★★★★★

Lou x

January Reading Wrap Up

So it's somehow the end of the first month of 2015 already. Where did the time go?! Altogether I managed to read six books this month which is a fairly decent number for me. I decided at the beginning of the year that I wasn't going to set myself any reading targets as I just want to enjoy reading at whatever pace comes naturally to each book. Next month I might read ten or I might read two, but this month it was six.

I kicked off the year with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, the story of a girl who is whisked away to save the inhabitants of Fairyland. Having heard so many people rave over this book I could hardly wait to delve into it as soon as I could. However, it was just a little too 'out there' and weird for me and I didn't really enjoy it for the most part. I then picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, another fantasy novel, but one that has it roots planted more firmly in the human world (I have heard it referred to as Harry Potter for adults, you can make up your own mind about that!). Though entertaining in parts it just didn't do enough to really hold my attention for long so it took me almost a fortnight to get through it (which actually isn't bad considering it's a whopper of a book - over 1000 pages!). To allow myself some time away from this beast, I also read The 39 Steps by John Buchan (sadly I don't own a copy of this as I read it on Google Books at work) and Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson. These were two very quick and easy reads and were by far my favourite books of the month. They were both so much fun; my heart was in my mouth for the majority of Buchan's thriller, whilst Miss Pettigrew was a more light-hearted affair that managed to make me smile despite the wind and rain outside. So after a shaky start to the month, all seemed to be going well.

Then I picked up To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.

I. HATED. THIS. BOOK!

Nothing I've ever read has caused me such pain and frustration! If it had been much longer then I certainly would have just put it down and forgotten about it, but at just over 200 pages I thought I'd persevere. I tried to get my head around the 'stream-of-consciousness' writing style, but I just never managed to connect with it and, although I hate to admit it, I did skim the last section of the book in order to get it done and out of the way. Eugh *shudders*

Finally, off the back of a recommendation from my mom, I read Headlong by Michael Frayn, the story of a man who believes he has discovered a missing artistic masterpiece in his neighbour's breakfast room. This was a massive step up from To The Lighthouse - it had an actual plot for a start - but it unfortunately let itself down in the middle where it almost morphed into an academic essay on the history of art and the Netherlands!

So that was January! I'd love to know if anyone else has read any of these books and what you thought of them if you did. Should I turn my back on Virginia Woolf and never let her darken my bookshelf again? What else have people been reading?

And, most importantly, what should I read next?!

Lou x

Review: Headlong by Michael Frayn

My tone's going to sound inappropriately light minded at times. But that's the way it was. The tone of most of the things we do in life is probably going to turn out to have been painfully unsuitable in the light of what happens later.

In a bid to escape the diversions of London, philosopher and would-be art historian Martin Clay heads to the countryside with his wife and daughter so that he might finally knuckle down to work on writing the book he should have started several months ago. Yet he stumbles upon an even bigger distraction in local landowner Tony Churt's breakfast room when he is invited to cast an educated eye over some paintings languishing within; a missing masterpiece he believes to be worth millions. The oblivious Tony Churt hopes he can salvage a few thousand pounds out of his acquisitions and needs Martin's help in finding a buyer; and so an opportunity presents itself. If Martin can prove that he has discovered a lost Bruegel and, more importantly, if he can keep his unwitting neighbour in the dark as to its worth, then not only would he be performing a great public service by bringing it to light, but he might also find himself a couple of million richer!

Up until maybe a quarter of the way through Headlong, I was thinking this was going to be a 4 or possibly 5 star read; humour, tension, a bit of adventure, it seemed to have everything! However, once Martin embarked upon his mission to prove the painting was indeed a missing Bruegel the book seemed less and less of a fiction and more of an intricate (not to mention lengthy) study into art interpretation and European history! I found this interesting up to a point, but once lost there was no way back, and more often than not I was hankering to get back to the 'real-time' action which was gloriously entertaining on the whole. If this balance had been fine-tuned then I could have seen this being a new favourite!

RATING: ★★★☆☆

Lou x

Review: To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

“What is the meaning of life? That was all- a simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years, the great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead, there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark; here was one.” 

Eugh even making it to the end of this book feels like an achievement so I'm going to make this brief.

To The Lighthouse is unlike anything else I've ever read. Virtually devoid of plot, the book is a portrait of the Ramsay family and their friends during summers spent at their holiday home in Scotland. In the absence of action and dialogue, Woolf's focus is on the emotions, thoughts, and observations of the book's multiple narrators. This is achieved by way of a free-flowing stream-of-consciousness narrative style (i.e. wordy, incomprehensible ramblings) which was impossible to follow without an insane amount of effort that I just wasn't able to muster. In the end I found myself skimming through page after page in a bid to finish the thing (which is probably why I'm finding it so difficult to come up with much to say about it!). Needless to say, the devout adoration this novel and its author receives is completely beyond me.

I don't even care enough about To The Lighthouse to hate it, such is my complete apathy towards this book.

RATING: ★☆☆☆☆

Lou x

Review: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never would.” 

It is 1806, and most people believe English magic to be dead. Magicians may study magic, much like a historian studies the past, but the time of the practical magician is over. There is talk, however, that one true magician still remains; and when the reclusive Mr Norrell is called upon to display his alleged powers it soon becomes clear that magic is far from being a mere historical footnote (more on footnotes later!). Before long, and much to the indignation of Mr Norrell, another magician, the young and carefree Jonathan Strange, presents himself on the scene. Though opposing in character, the two magicians join forces to restore magic to England. Yet problems start to arise when it becomes clear that the two magicians have very different ideas about magic and the way it should be practiced in England today. 

First and foremost there's no escaping the fact that, standing in at a whopping 1,006 pages, this is by far the longest book I have ever tackled. At a glance, this hefty beast seemed more than slightly intimidating! And yet the writing style was so light and enjoyable that I found myself whizzing through this book in the time it would take me to read something half its length (not to mention the fact that a considerable chunk of this book is dedicated to lengthy and extraneous footnotes). Having said this, it wasn't a huge page-turner for the most part. Very rarely did I find myself finishing a chapter then immediately wanting to launch straight into the next one. The plot was incredibly slow to the extent that at regular periods throughout the book I was forced to question what the story actually was! The main problem I had was that I seemed to be forever waiting for the main plot to start and for everything to fall into place - it was only when I reached the 700-page mark that I finally conceded that the story I was waiting for was never going to happen! Overall, I found Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell had an engaging writing style with some entertaining plot lines, but it didn't turn out to be something I felt I could really get my teeth into and relish as I'd hoped!

RATING: ★★★☆☆

Lou x

Review: Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson

In all her lonely life Miss Pettigrew had never realised how lonely she had been until now, when for one day she was lonely no longer.

On a morning much like any other, not-very-good-governess Miss Pettigrew walks into her employment agency having almost resigned herself to the workhouse. However, today happens to be her lucky day; a Miss LaFosse is looking for a nursery governess, and so with a great deal of relief, Miss Pettigrew nervously makes her way to the home of her potential new employer. However, nothing can prepare her for what's in store when she arrives. From the moment the door is opened by a glamorous young women in a silk neglige, Miss Pettigrew steps into a decadent world she has only ever known through her weekly escape to the cinema. In a whirlwind of makeup, men, parties and...sherry(?!) we see Miss Pettigrew live for a day, but her life is changed forever.

This book was charming, farcical, ridiculous, and so much fun. I found myself relating (almost painfully!) to Miss Pettigrew's self-deprecating opinions of herself - 'permanently seeking a new job, nervous, incompetent, dowdy and shy.' Now if that's not me in a nutshell then I don't know what is! At the other end of the spectrum is the beautiful, vivacious party girl Miss LaFosse. An unlikely friendship in real life, but one that works terrifically in the absurd context of this little gem! I loved the novelty of the story taking place over the course of a single day, with each chapter dividing the book into blocks of time of varying lengths. This lent the story a surprisingly swift pace so that before I knew it, the day was almost over. As much as I loved this book, it was let down in places by some troubling social attitudes which made for rather uncomfortable reading. The utterance from one of Miss LaFosse's suitors that 'Delysia's a little devil and there's times I could flay her alive, and obviously she needs a little physical correction, but I'm the only right man to do it' is more than slightly worrying, whilst Miss Pettigrew's own opinion that 'when it comes to marriage it's safer to stick to your own nationality' in reference to a Jewish beau of her companion is equally unsettling. Setting these aside as an unfortunate bi-product of the pre-WWII era in which the book was written, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is an otherwise fantastic introduction to the Persephone Books collection which I shall undoubtedly be delving into again!

RATING: ★★★★☆

Lou x