Look what just arrived in the post! Of course, I’ve also ordered the American edition―this one is the British―from an independent bookseller in the U.S. because it comes with a free Murakami book bag (Because one can never have too many book bags, yes? Especially when they have black cats on; or, in the case of my Harper Lee bag, a mockingbird.) This is the Harvill Secker hardcover without the dust jacket on. The boards and spine are beautiful. I enjoy our daily post so much more now that our bills come via email so that our letter box is normally filled with things like books, greeting cards, or other nice surprises. I highly recommend this method of upgrading your daily deliveries!
Posts from the “Book Reviews and Essays” Category
Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan My rating: 5 of 5 stars ‘Your money is meaningless to us,’ said the bears. ‘You grasp economics with the same clawless paws you use for fumbling justice.’ And, once again, the bears showed us. There they were, God help us, the Ledgers of the Earth, written in clouds and glaciers and sediments, tallied in the colours of the sun and the moon as light passed through the millennial sap of every living thing, and we looked upon it all with dread. Ours was not the only fiscal system in the world, it turned out. And worse, our debt was severe beyond reckoning. And worse than worse, all the capital we…
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book slayed me. I loved The Gift of Rain which I read first, but The Garden of Evening Mists has surpassed it in my admiration. The story is hard to endure at times, due to its historical context: Malaya during the Japanese invasion, which began on 8 December 1941, just after midnight (thus preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor). It carries us through the experiences of our narrator, Teoh Yun Ling, who was held for three years in a brutal camp, along with her sister, and who is the sole survivor of that camp. As if subjugation and torture from the Japanese weren’t enough to cope with…
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had never read a Hammett novel until now and, while I did enjoy it, I would be lying by omission if I did not say I like the movies so much better. I suspect this would be the case, too, with Hammett’s other famous novels, in which his snappy detectives are the most enjoyable and memorable aspect of the stories. Hammett’s writing is as crisp and clean as fresh-pressed linen, which suits his material. I found the book to be a real page-turner, in many ways. And yet . . . * I think whether readers enjoy Hammet’s writing must depend on whether they are truly a…
Moon Magic by Dion Fortune My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book was first published in 1957, eleven years after Fortune’s death, so it was completed by friends of hers. This is somewhat obvious, but not tragically so. In Moon Magic we pick up the trail of Vivien Le Fay Morgan after her adventures in The Sea Priestess. Vivien has travelled to London, following an inner calling, where she has changed her name to Lilith Le Fay and is seeking to establish an Isis cult. I liked Moon Magic better than The Sea Priestess and I am not entirely sure why. I think I felt more connected to Vivien/Lilith because this second book is narrated by her, in first person, for…
The Sea Priestess by Dion Fortune My rating: 4 of 5 stars Publisher Weiser Books’ description: The Sea Priestess is the highly acclaimed novel in which Dion Fortune introduces her most powerful fictional character, Vivien Le Fay Morgan- a practicing initiate of the Hermetic Path. Vivien has the ability to transform herself into magical images, and here she becomes Morgan Le Fay, sea priestess of Atlantis and foster daughter to Merlin! Desperately in love with Vivien, Wilfred Maxwell works by her side at an isolated seaside retreat, investigating these occult mysteries. They soon find themselves inextricably drawn to an ancient cult through which they learn the esoteric significance of the magnetic ebb and flow of the moontides. NB: Should you choose to read this…
Caraval by Stephanie Garber My rating: 3 of 5 stars Note: I read both Caraval and Legendary over the past couple of nights, so this review discusses both novels in a general way. I think I have avoided plot spoilers though and stuck to what I liked and disliked about the books. Oh my stars! Someone needs to give Garber’s editor a sound thrashing. Why, you ask? Because today I have a hangover from bingeing on buckets of broken stars; mismatched lovers that cling to hope like lost kites over frozen lakes; silver-blue sadnesses that feel like skyfall-peonies rotting in an autumn wind; amber skies smelling of lost dreams and broken promises; betrayal that wreaks of old love letters inked on torn…
The Dry by Jane Harper My rating: 4 of 5 stars *Plot spoilers ahead* This is such an Australian book, so embedded in local culture that it amazes me it’s popular outside the country. It’s a fine book! But you could forgive someone who, having read The Dry, Wake in Fright, and/or Drylands decided never under any circumstances to visit a rural Australian town. I lived for ten years in Melbourne before moving with my husband to a rural Australian town, and we love it here, but it’s in the central highlands of Victoria and a very beautiful place. Also, we are not currently in drought conditions (though bush fire season approaches and is taken seriously by all of us), and we are…
Book review: The Illustrated Gormenghast Trilogy, by Mervyn Peake
td Whittle
Posted on July 28, 2017
The Illustrated Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake My rating: 5 of 5 stars Come, oh, come, my own! my Only! Through the Gormenghast of Groan. Lingering has become so lonely As I linger all alone! (p.99) Ah, Gormenghast! I (td) have only got through Titus Groan, so far, which is the first book of the trilogy. Here is the blurb for that part of the trilogy, for anyone not familiar with it: ‘Titus Groan starts with the birth and ends with the first birthday celebrations of the heir to the grand, tradition-bound castle of Gormenghast. A grand miasma of doom and foreboding weaves over the sterile rituals of the castle. Villainous Steerpike seeks to exploit the gaps between the formal rituals and the emotional…
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde My rating: 5 of 5 stars ***Warning: Plot rotters ahead!*** When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was. Friends, whatever you do, think twice before deleting that selfie! Unless, of course, you are certain it does not contain your soul. Personally, I wouldn’t risk it. Dorian Gray surprised me! I had managed…