I have started Pompeii by Robert Harris.
I first read a one of Robert Harris' books - Fatherland - as a result of listening to one of the early BBC Radio 4 Bookclub programmes. I have then read each of the others and enjoyed them all. In particular, I like his journalistic approach and attention to detail and accuracy.
I was keen to read this book, when it came out, but I was waiting for the paperback. I happened to mention this to a friend, who said they would lend me their copy. Next time I visited, there it was waiting for me [nice of them to remember!].
23 Aug 2004
New York Trilogy: The Locked Room - by Paul Auster
Again, this starts out as a mystery story - an intriguing tale about a guy disappearing and leaving instructions for his wife to contact his childhood friend if anything untoward happened to him. The story progresses in a reasonable manner, but then, once again, it diverges off into a study of the main character's obsession and self-destructive behaviour.
It is odd that the "missing" guy is called just Fanshawe - no first name is ever mentioned. Why not?
The story is written in the first person and there are hints that the narrator is Auster himself. He mentions having written City of Glass and Gihosts. There are various backwards references: a detective called Quinn [the main character in City of Glass]; a man called Walden [a book mentioned in Ghosts]; Peter Stillman and Henry Dark are mentioned; there is a red notebook just like Quinn's.
Some aspects of the story seem almost autobiographical - like the time spent in France. But again these are just hints.
For me, the whole story was just confusing. I am unable to see the overall message in my mind. Maybe it's just too intellectual for me. Suffice it to say that I won't be seeking any more of Paul Auster's books in the near future.
It is odd that the "missing" guy is called just Fanshawe - no first name is ever mentioned. Why not?
The story is written in the first person and there are hints that the narrator is Auster himself. He mentions having written City of Glass and Gihosts. There are various backwards references: a detective called Quinn [the main character in City of Glass]; a man called Walden [a book mentioned in Ghosts]; Peter Stillman and Henry Dark are mentioned; there is a red notebook just like Quinn's.
Some aspects of the story seem almost autobiographical - like the time spent in France. But again these are just hints.
For me, the whole story was just confusing. I am unable to see the overall message in my mind. Maybe it's just too intellectual for me. Suffice it to say that I won't be seeking any more of Paul Auster's books in the near future.
20 Aug 2004
New York Trilogy: Ghosts - by Paul Auster
There are many similarities in this story to City of Glass: it starts off appearing to be a mystery with a private detective at the heart and changes into a psychological study [I think]. I confess that I lost the point of the story after a while.
Certain stylistic devices were also applied, like the theme that all the characters' names were colours. And, at the very end the narrator talks directly to the reader.
I think that I never empathised at all with the main character, Blue, and never really understood his actions at all.
Certain stylistic devices were also applied, like the theme that all the characters' names were colours. And, at the very end the narrator talks directly to the reader.
I think that I never empathised at all with the main character, Blue, and never really understood his actions at all.
18 Aug 2004
New York Trilogy: City of Glass - by Paul Auster
This story appears to be a mystery, with the main character, Quinn, who is really an author, playing the private detective on a case. But it turns out to be much more of a psychological analysis of him and his obsessive behaviour.
It is well written, but I found myself dissatisfied. As much as anything, there is no clear ending or resolution to the story. I also did not find Quinn's behaviour altogether believable.
I am always disturbed by factual inaccuracies in novels, as I feel that it compromises the author's integrity. In this case, there is a translation error [American to English] that nagged me. It's the word "check" or "cheque". Early in the book, there is a reference to a bank "check" [I can't find it now]; later it is always spelt "cheque". Elsewhere in the book, a character a character asks for the "cheque" in a restaurant; this should be the "bill".
The appearance of Stillman's "double" seemed like an interesting twist to the story. But, as far as I could tell, it was a total red herring.
The oddest thing, I felt, was the use of Paul Auster himself as a character. The book is almost all told in the third person, mostly following the actions of Quinn. He meets another author called Paul Auster. Right at the end of the book, the narrator "speaks". He seems to have a high opinion of Quinn, but has a downer on Auster. This all seems unnecessarily complex and maybe a little egocentric.
It is well written, but I found myself dissatisfied. As much as anything, there is no clear ending or resolution to the story. I also did not find Quinn's behaviour altogether believable.
I am always disturbed by factual inaccuracies in novels, as I feel that it compromises the author's integrity. In this case, there is a translation error [American to English] that nagged me. It's the word "check" or "cheque". Early in the book, there is a reference to a bank "check" [I can't find it now]; later it is always spelt "cheque". Elsewhere in the book, a character a character asks for the "cheque" in a restaurant; this should be the "bill".
The appearance of Stillman's "double" seemed like an interesting twist to the story. But, as far as I could tell, it was a total red herring.
The oddest thing, I felt, was the use of Paul Auster himself as a character. The book is almost all told in the third person, mostly following the actions of Quinn. He meets another author called Paul Auster. Right at the end of the book, the narrator "speaks". He seems to have a high opinion of Quinn, but has a downer on Auster. This all seems unnecessarily complex and maybe a little egocentric.
17 Aug 2004
What I'm reading ...
I have started on The New York Trilogy by Paul Aster.
This is the September BBC Radio 4 Bookclub selection. As the title suggests, it is actually three stories. I am not yet clear whether they are connected in any way beyond being set in New York.
Having had a lot of "dead time" the last couple of days [hospital visits], I have made good progress on the first story - City of Glass. It has certainly got my attention.
This is the September BBC Radio 4 Bookclub selection. As the title suggests, it is actually three stories. I am not yet clear whether they are connected in any way beyond being set in New York.
Having had a lot of "dead time" the last couple of days [hospital visits], I have made good progress on the first story - City of Glass. It has certainly got my attention.
16 Aug 2004
Lambs of God - by Marele Day
I cannot imagine seeing this book in a shop and being compelled to buy and read it. It was handed to me by a good friend a long time ago. She and I often trade views on books we've read and she thought it might interest me. It took quite a while to get to the head of my queue, but it was worth reading when I finally got around to it.
The story is about three nuns - 2 aging and one younger - who live in an isolated, derelict convent. They have had no contact with the outside world for many years and have developed a unique lifestyle and way of thinking. The pattern of their lives is disturbed by the sudden arrival of a visitor - a young priest, who was under the impression that the place was uninhabited.
The priest has ideas for the convent and for the nuns. The nuns have other ideas. The story outlines how these views are resolved. In the process we get tantalizing glimpses of the history of both the people and place. The story is told from the viewpoint of different characters at different times and this illustrates how perceptions can vary.
The story is about three nuns - 2 aging and one younger - who live in an isolated, derelict convent. They have had no contact with the outside world for many years and have developed a unique lifestyle and way of thinking. The pattern of their lives is disturbed by the sudden arrival of a visitor - a young priest, who was under the impression that the place was uninhabited.
The priest has ideas for the convent and for the nuns. The nuns have other ideas. The story outlines how these views are resolved. In the process we get tantalizing glimpses of the history of both the people and place. The story is told from the viewpoint of different characters at different times and this illustrates how perceptions can vary.
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