I have started Tara Road by Maeve Binchy. This is my next book club book, which I'll never finish in time. We chose the book as a result of the author's recent death and other club members were not familiar with her work. I have read it before, but have only the faintest memory of it. Here's the blurb:
Ria and Marilyn have never met - they live thousands of miles apart, separated by the Atlantic Ocean: one in a big, warm, Victorian house in Tara Road, Dublin, the other in a modern, open-plan house in New England. Two more unlikely friends would be hard to find: Ria's life revolves around her family and friends, while Marilyn's reserve is born of grief. But when each needs a place to escape to, a house exchange seems the ideal solution. Along with the borrowed houses come neighbours and friends, gossip and speculation as Ria and Marilyn swap lives for the summer ...
18 Mar 2013
Cloud Atlas - by David Mitchell
A big book, which, as usual, took me for ever to get through. It was a challenging read, though one that I enjoyed. It is really a number of shorter books, each of which is a separate story at a different point in time, stretching from the 19th Century through to the distant future. There are a number of themes which thread through all the story lines.
In a way, I feel each "book" could have stood alone and I enjoyed each one in a different way. The very first one is, IMHO, the weakest, which is a shame, as I can imagine it putting a reader off from continuing. The quality of writing is excellent and the style changes noticeably from one "book" to another. The use of [English] language varies over time, as one would expect - from archaic to a logical extrapolation of modern English. I was slightly daunted when I started the book set in the distant future, as the language was very unfamiliar. To my surprise, I picked up the rhythm of it quite quick and began to be able to read it with ease.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I am not 100% certain that I understood all the subtleties of the threads that ran between the stories.
In a way, I feel each "book" could have stood alone and I enjoyed each one in a different way. The very first one is, IMHO, the weakest, which is a shame, as I can imagine it putting a reader off from continuing. The quality of writing is excellent and the style changes noticeably from one "book" to another. The use of [English] language varies over time, as one would expect - from archaic to a logical extrapolation of modern English. I was slightly daunted when I started the book set in the distant future, as the language was very unfamiliar. To my surprise, I picked up the rhythm of it quite quick and began to be able to read it with ease.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I am not 100% certain that I understood all the subtleties of the threads that ran between the stories.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)