I have started A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. Another favourite author, I have been monitoring the price of the Kindle edition of this book and it recently came down to what I thought was an acceptable price [probably because of paperback publication]. As I have a bit of time until my next book club meeting, I thought I’d treat myself. Here’s the blurb:
A God in Ruins relates the life of Teddy Todd – would-be poet, heroic World War II bomber pilot, husband, father, and grandfather – as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge will be to face living in a future he never expected to have.
This gripping, often deliriously funny yet emotionally devastating book looks at war – that great fall of Man from grace – and the effect it has, not only on those who live through it, but on the lives of the subsequent generations. It is also about the infinite magic of fiction.Those who loved the bestselling Life After Life will recognise Teddy as Ursula Todd’s adored younger brother – but for those who have not read it, A God in Ruins stands fully on its own.
23 Oct 2016
Slaughterhouse-Five - by Kurt Vonnegut
This book was quite a surprise. I had always had the impression that the author was “just” a sci fi writer and, whilst that would not mean that I would never read his work, this is a genre that I only dip into from time to time. However, although aspects of this book might be labelled as sci fi, the story as a whole is very down to earth.
I found it s straightforward read and was never confused by wandering in time. So many books nowadays have multiple timelines, that this feels quite normal. I guess it was ahead of its time, as it was written 60+ years ago. I am still not quite sure what to make of Billy Pilgrim, even though his character is examined quite broadly in the book. The story as a whole was thought provoking, looking at “man’s inhumanity to man” type issues and the wider meaning of life (and death) etc. As the author would say, so it goes.
I found it s straightforward read and was never confused by wandering in time. So many books nowadays have multiple timelines, that this feels quite normal. I guess it was ahead of its time, as it was written 60+ years ago. I am still not quite sure what to make of Billy Pilgrim, even though his character is examined quite broadly in the book. The story as a whole was thought provoking, looking at “man’s inhumanity to man” type issues and the wider meaning of life (and death) etc. As the author would say, so it goes.
12 Oct 2016
What I'm reading ...
I have started Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. The author of the last book I read was clearly a Vonnegut fan and the main characters in the book seemed rather obsessed with his books. So I thought that I would give this one a try. Here’s the blurb:
Adapted for a magnificent George Roy Hill film three years later (perhaps the only film adaptation of a masterpiece which exceeds its source), Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) is the now famous parable of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran and POW, who has in the later stage of his life become "unstuck in time" and who experiences at will (or unwillingly) all known events of his chronology out of order and sometimes simultaneously.
Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralmafadorians who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).
The "unstuck" nature of Pilgrim's experience may constitute an early novelistic use of what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; then again, Pilgrim's aliens may be as "real" as Dresden is real to him. Struggling to find some purpose, order or meaning to his existence and humanity's, Pilgrim meets the beauteous and mysterious Montana Wildhack (certainly the author's best character name), has a child with her and drifts on some supernal plane, finally, in which Kilgore Trout, the Tralmafadorians, Montana Wildhack and the ruins of Dresden do not merge but rather disperse through all planes of existence.
Adapted for a magnificent George Roy Hill film three years later (perhaps the only film adaptation of a masterpiece which exceeds its source), Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) is the now famous parable of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran and POW, who has in the later stage of his life become "unstuck in time" and who experiences at will (or unwillingly) all known events of his chronology out of order and sometimes simultaneously.
Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralmafadorians who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).
The "unstuck" nature of Pilgrim's experience may constitute an early novelistic use of what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; then again, Pilgrim's aliens may be as "real" as Dresden is real to him. Struggling to find some purpose, order or meaning to his existence and humanity's, Pilgrim meets the beauteous and mysterious Montana Wildhack (certainly the author's best character name), has a child with her and drifts on some supernal plane, finally, in which Kilgore Trout, the Tralmafadorians, Montana Wildhack and the ruins of Dresden do not merge but rather disperse through all planes of existence.
The Universe versus Alex Woods - by Gavin Extence
I did not know what to expect from this book. The initial precepts are unlikely, but far from impossible. The style of writing engaged me straight away. The book starts nearly at the end of the story and then Alex fills us in on the events that led to the conclusion. He is very likable, I felt, as he is so honest and well meaning, if often rather naive.
I found the book a thoroughly enjoyable read. I was entertained, amused, moved and educated - what more can one ask from a book? I progressed through the book at a good pace and reached that interesting ambivalence towards the end: I did not want the book to end, but I did want to know the conclusion of the story.
I found the book a thoroughly enjoyable read. I was entertained, amused, moved and educated - what more can one ask from a book? I progressed through the book at a good pace and reached that interesting ambivalence towards the end: I did not want the book to end, but I did want to know the conclusion of the story.
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