1900s

The Shining – Stephen King

Ange - Tall, Short, Tiny & a Pickle1 Comment

Book #312

Reviewer: Beth’s List Love (first published March 2013)

The ShiningI haven’t been scared of a lot of movies, but The Shining freaked me out pretty well. That meant that when I went to pick up the novel, it took me awhile to get going, since I kept saying to myself “oh, man, this is going to start getting really scary!” But of course I kept going and was rewarded by a very well-crafted and scary novel that is actually quite unlike the movie in some interesting ways (e.g. no maze, but some very scary topiary hedges). I’ll have to watch the movie again now, just to refresh myself on the differences.

Marvelously suspenseful! Also NOT entirely similar to the excellent movie you have probably already seen. Written from the perspective of 3 family members and one other character, this novel explores the frightening things that unfold in the off-season when the family sign on as caretakers for the posh but infamous Overlook Hotel in an isolated mountainside location in Colorado.

The father, an English teacher and promising writer has just lost a job at a private school due to his alcoholism and violence, and the same factors have threatened his family. His five year old son has some eerie psychic abilities that give him visions of evil events likely to transpire should they actually take up residence at the hotel. Knowing all this up front keeps a reader on the edge of his/her seat from the very start.

Stephen King builds the suspense steadily while giving little breaks to lull the reader in between. He shows us the battle the father wages with his weaknesses, the struggle the mother has with whether to trust his recent sobriety and seeming return to the personality of the man she fell in love with, and tremendous difficulties the son has trying to be a willing participant in something he fears will go terribly wrong very soon because of how necessary the job is to maintaining the family’s status as an intact unit.

Meanwhile, far away in Florida the cook for the resort, who has made a deep connection with the little boy, wonders if he can reach the family in time to save any of them. Add snow, terrifying things happening in and around the hotel, and you have the novel.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler

Ms Oh Waily2 Comments

Book # 599

Reviewer: Ms Oh Waily

TBS A little while ago I reviewed one of the other Raymond Chandler entries on the 1001 list, Farewell, My Lovely as did Beth.  We both agreed that it was well worth reading.  As a result I thought I would work my way through the other two – The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye.

Today we will visit Philip Marlowe on his very first outing.

In this story we meet Marlowe when he is hired by a General Sternwood to deal with a case of blackmail.  The General is father to two wild daughters, Vivian and Carmen.  The elder being married to an ex-bootlegger and the younger prone to drugs and men.  In this case it is the younger who is causing her father to hire Marlowe, but at the same time the General hints at another need – to find the missing husband of his eldest daughter.

This seemingly straightforward case of warning off a blackmailer takes Marlowe through the dark underbelly of Los Angeles.  Along the way we have illicit pornography, drugs, murder, and various forms of racketeering.  All of this by a wide-ranging cast of characters.  It is a complex plot, but easy enough to follow as you read.  The language is gritty and ‘hard-boiled’, as you would expect.  Having read the books out of order, I can clearly see this as a softer version of Marlowe both linguistically and as a character, but all the essential elements are there just waiting for firming up.

Here he is, in his own words to General Sternwood.

‘Sure, but there’s very little to tell. I’m thirty-three years old, went to college once and can still speak English if there’s any demand for it.  There isn’t much in my trade.  I worked for Mr Wilde, the District Attorney, as an investigator once.  His chief investigator, a man named Bernie Ohls, called me and told me you wanted to see me.  I’m unmarried because I don’t like policemen’s wives.’
‘And a little bit of a cynic,’ the old man smiled. ‘You didn’t like working for Wilde?’
‘I was fired.  For insubordination.  I test very high on insubordination, General.’

Yes he does.  Very high.  And once again we get another set of insights in his first conversation with Vivian Regan, the elder Sternwood daughter.

‘I didn’t ask to see you.  You sent for me.  I don’t mind your ritzing me or drinking your lunch out of a Scotch bottle.  I don’t mind your showing me your legs.  They’re swell legs and it’s a pleasure to make their acquaintance.  I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners.  They’re pretty bad.  I grieve over them during the long winter evenings.  But don’t waste your time trying to cross-examine me.’

And how can you pass up the option to read a book that contains one liners like this.

Neither of the two people in the room paid any attention to the way I came in, although only one of them was dead.

Or, better yet, this.

‘A little weak,’ I said. ‘But pass it. You’re broke, eh?’
‘I been shaking two nickels together for a month, trying to get them to mate.’

Oh yes, very vivid imagery.

Once again I can recommend you take a spin around 1940s Los Angeles with Raymond Chandler and his tough-talking private detective.  A great book for a quick and enjoyable read.  Perfect holiday reading.  Well deserved place on the list.

Now I’m off to find a copy of The Long Goodbye.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote

Ange - Tall, Short, Tiny & a Pickle2 Comments

Book #467

Reviewer: Tall, Short & Tiny

Breakfast at Tiffany's

It is impossible to read, or indeed review, Breakfast at Tiffany’s without conjuring up that famous image of Audrey Hepburn in her black gown and jewelled headdress, standing outside Tiffany’s in New York City, coffee in hand. In fact, I’m the first to admit that for a long time, I had no idea that one of my favourite films was in fact based on Truman Capote’s novella.

Sometimes, having seen the film first can ruin the subsequent reading of the book. However, there are so many points of difference between the two that there’s no possible cause for true comparison. Both, in my opinion, are fantastic…but that’s not much of a review now, is it?

The novella is narrated by a writer living in the same apartment building as one Holly Golightly, a mysterious, outwardly sophisticated but inwardly lonely and scared young woman with a penchant for rich suitors and expensive drink. She is the object of desire for virtually every man she meets, and while she often benefits from the attention, it is apparent that she is uncomfortable with her own beauty and attractiveness. She decides, on their first meeting, to call the narrator ‘Fred’, as he reminds her of his brother. It is hinted at that the writer is gay and that Holly is an escort, but these remain speculations.

Holly has many admirers, and throws many parties frequented by many men, yet she seems to be perpetually alone. She has a cat for company, but even then, she doesn’t wish for any sense of belonging to exist between the two. In the early part of the novel, Holly comes across as flighty, and the reader almost expects to find her vanished at the turn of the next page, but when she does disappear, it is a disappointment and the reader – along with our friendly narrator – is left hoping that she is all right.

I enjoy Capote’s style of writing. It is elegant and flowing, warm and enthralling. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, he relies heavily on dialogue rather than description to tell the story, and that appeals to me immensely (I am the sort who will skim through a tedious book until I reach the dialogue; the relationships between characters is always my favourite part). This is a short story (94 pages in my copy), and a very easy, enjoyable read, earning 4/5 stars from me.

April Update

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7 books reviewed
138 books in total
863 books to go

April saw the review of Book #1 on the list: Never Let Me Go. This means we now have reviewed the very first book on the list, and the very last (Aesop’s Fables)…as well as a few in between.

Reviews for An Artist of the Floating World, Smiley’s People, The Little Prince, Absalom, Absalom, The 39 Steps and The Tree of Man mean we have reviewed 92 books from the 1900s. Given that this is the section with the largest number of entries, we do have a way to go, but this seems to be our most popular century to review!

Never Let Me Go is the only book from the 2000s that we reviewed in April (although it is the second Kazuo Ishiguro novel reviewed this month, along with An Artist of the Floating World), bringing the number of books reviewed from the 2000s to 18.

We have reviewed 20 books from the 1800s, three from the 1700s, and five from pre-1700s.

I wonder – is it the age of these entries that put us off, or their accessibility (both physically and literary)? Or is it more that we are simply attracted to the more recent works? Something to ponder, as eventually, we won’t be able to hide from the 1800s and earlier any longer!

The Tree of Man – Patrick White

Ange - Tall, Short, Tiny & a Pickle5 Comments

Book #496a
Reviewer: Tall, Short & Tiny

The Tree of Man

 

A friend’s boyfriend recommended The Tree of Man years ago, when he found out how much I love to read. He wrote the name of the novel in the little notebook I carried for such purposes, and a few years later, I decided to try his suggestion.

From the moment I began to read White’s prize-winning novel, I was hooked.

It is an evocative, beautifully written novel, with descriptive passages that transport the reader directly to the heart of rural Australia. However, the narrative never detracts from the quintessentially simple, rural nature of the story; it only serves to describe the setting and its inhabitants perfectly. White has taken an ordinary, plain situation, and made it interesting and beautiful.

The imagery is fantastic; I especially enjoyed the way White described the intensity of bush fires, and was turning pages as fast as the flames ripped through the landscape. I also thoroughly enjoyed White’s use of language, with immensely appealing lines such like,

“…she began to feel sad, or chocolatey.”

White has the ability to describe the most mundane, ordinary things in a deliciously ordinary way that evokes such strong images, such as,

“She sat in an old cane chair, which creaked beneath her. The chair had been unravelling for many years but it was comfortable.”

This novel is about human endurance, about relationships (including friendships) and how they change over time. There is a recurring theme that in time, and with age, love is transformed into habit; I interpreted the line above about the cane chair as a metaphor for the love-to-habit theme. As the central characters, Stan and Amy Parker, move through their lives, there are many moments where their love for each other is questioned, yet they still appear strong. White writes,

“Habit comforted them, like warm drinks and slippers, and even went disguised as love.”

and Amy is often lamenting not loving someone enough.

For the most part, this novel was a real page-turner. About three-quarters of the way in, I felt as though the chapters were just filling in time until something inevitable happened, and didn’t enjoy it as much as. However, only a few chapters later, I was hooked once more, and felt the novel was back on track.

When a central character dies (I will not say who!), there is very little drama or fanfare about it, which feels natural because the novel is very much about the everyday. Perhaps it is also because the death of someone is expected, given that the novel begins with marriage, and goes through the (natural) progressions of life; while it is a sad occasion, I don’t think the novel would have felt complete with this happening.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Tree of Man, and it came as no surprise that this was the winner of The Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973. I give it 4.5/5 stars.