Reading this book was like spending a few hours in the company of a frank, intelligent, funny, opinionated friend whose insights make you laugh, nod and go ‘oh hold on there’ in equal measure; the only drawback was that, being a passive reader, you can’t start a discussion. I didn’t necessarily agree with every point made in the book, but then Gay makes it pretty clear that this is simply her opinions, not gospel, and acknowledges her own biases and contradictory feelings on certain issues – like singing along to the catchy-as-hell tunes while loathing their lyrics that demean women.
Tag: books
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult – Book Review
Jodi Picoult’s novels are my comfort reading, probably in the same way Agatha Christie’s crime novels are. By all rights I should find them overly sentimental and cloying, but there’s just something fundamentally likable, cosy and wholesome about her style – even when she writes about murder, incest or prison rape – and her strong sense of family and friendship is always very appealing.
Quote of the Day
Vanity Fair by William Thackeray is one of my favourite novels, and its last paragraph is one of my favourite conclusions to a book.
Ah! Vanitas Vanitatum! Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied? – Come children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is played out.
The very last sentence is memorable enough on its own, as it reminds the reader of the theatricality of the whole thing, but what sticks in my mind is how sad the ending actually is. That despite the fact that merely a few pages before we got our supposedly happy ending, complete with the dramatic last-minute dash and declaration of love from our heroine to the man who had hopelessly loved her for years. I love the BBC adaptation with Natasha Little as Becky Sharp (unlike the Reese Witherspoon version, it didn’t sugarcoat the fact that Becky is a horrible person), but I think it loses a lot by skipping over the sadness of the hero no longer caring for his most-cherished prize.
The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg – Book Review
I don’t know if it can be called a subgenre, but there’s certainly a kind of scenario that often appears in fiction: a bunch of people with disparate personalities and lives, who share some kind of common past, reunite for an occasion that ends up changing their lives, with revelations and much soul-searching along the way. This book was about a group of former classmates who attend their fortieth high school reunion.
The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin – Book Review
This was the only Ira Levin novel I haven’t read yet, so while I was excited to finally get my hands on it, it’s always a bit sad to come to a point where you’ve read all the books by one of your favourite authors, and there are no more to follow, ever. He’s not Harper Lee exactly in terms of output, but I wish Levin wrote more than seven novels in his lifetime. Or make that six, because while Son of Rosemary wasn’t all bad the ending made me wish I’ve never read it; truly a book to fling against the wall while screaming in rage.
A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin – Book Review
Back in my teens, I read the Russian translation of this book so many times the whole sections of dialogue and descriptions kept popping up in my brain as I was reading it in English. It was fun to revisit in its original language, particularly as the Russian translation couldn’t really capture the 1950s expressions and quirks.
Books I’ve read lately
Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection by Isaac Asimov
I’ve only read one other short stories collection by Asimov before, so this bunch of previously uncollected stories probably wasn’t a great place to start for a relative Asimov beginner. The stories are rather hit-and-miss; there’s a couple which are more like sci-fi jokes culminating with rather unfunny puns; while others are really good, like the first story in the collection called Cal, about a domestic robot who wants to be a writer just like his master.
Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman – Book Review
I love me a good historical biography and I really enjoyed this account of one of the greatest figures in history.
Quote(s) of the day
If I could invite any five famous people to a dinner party, Oscar Wilde would be one of them for sure.
This Charming Man by Marian Keyes – Book Review
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