Book review - "2666" (Roberto Bolano)

This book is brilliant - maybe the best I've read for ages, in that I'll definitely read it again, which I don't generally feel with books these days. It's a very big book - this is partly the reason that I've taken about two months to finish it. The other reason is that one of the two intertwining themes is the actions of one or more serial killers in a small city in Chile. The book is divided into five chapters, one of which is devoted entirely to listing the details of the killings. That's done in an interesting way, but after that penultimate chapter, I needed a good long break. It's cleverly written, in that each of the five chunks could stand alone as a short book and still be interesting, and it's cleverly written in a way that I can say is interesting and engaging, but would probably take a literature degree to explain fully and properly. The other theme is a semi-obscure but well respected German author, and together these two loose stories, which may or may not be concretely collected span a huge range of time and geographical distance, yet all of it is masterfully put into words, along with the characters that range their paths through the intertwined stories.

Can absolutely recommend :)

Book review - "2666" (Roberto Bolano)

This book is brilliant - maybe the best I've read for ages, in that I'll definitely read it again, which I don't generally feel with books these days. It's a very big book - this is partly the reason that I've taken about two months to finish it. The other reason is that one of the two intertwining themes is the actions of one or more serial killers in a small city in Chile. The book is divided into five chapters, one of which is devoted entirely to listing the details of the killings. That's done in an interesting way, but after that penultimate chapter, I needed a good long break. It's cleverly written, in that each of the five chunks could stand alone as a short book and still be interesting, and it's cleverly written in a way that I can say is interesting and engaging, but would probably take a literature degree to explain fully and properly. The other theme is a semi-obscure but well respected German author, and together these two loose stories, which may or may not be concretely collected span a huge range of time and geographical distance, yet all of it is masterfully put into words, along with the characters that range their paths through the intertwined stories.

Can absolutely recommend :)

Book review - "What I talk about when I talk about running" (Haruki Murakami)

Ironically, 2666 says on its cover that if you snack on Murakami, you'll feast on 2666. Or words to that effect. And I can see what they mean, although I think I've consumed a little too much Murakami now.

I'm a big fan, and usually buy his books soon after they're published. And I'm also a big fan of running. So this has bee on my wishlist for a long time in the "what's not to like" vein. But I kind of got the impression that if I didn't like Murakami and running, I wouldn't like this. And I still wouldn't be sure if I just liked one or the other, if that makes sense. It's some interesting philosophy that the author has cogitated while running and about running and how running has made him the man he is today, and that's about the it.

Book review - "What I talk about when I talk about running" (Haruki Murakami)

Ironically, 2666 says on its cover that if you snack on Murakami, you'll feast on 2666. Or words to that effect. And I can see what they mean, although I think I've consumed a little too much Murakami now.

I'm a big fan, and usually buy his books soon after they're published. And I'm also a big fan of running. So this has bee on my wishlist for a long time in the "what's not to like" vein. But I kind of got the impression that if I didn't like Murakami and running, I wouldn't like this. And I still wouldn't be sure if I just liked one or the other, if that makes sense. It's some interesting philosophy that the author has cogitated while running and about running and how running has made him the man he is today, and that's about the it.

Book review - "Difficult Loves" (Italo Calvino)

I picked this on up randomly after making the tragic mistake of not bringing enough books on holiday - it was the only one my husband brought with him that I fancied reading. And I'm actually very glad.

It's a bunch of short stories which tell unexceptional adventures of different people in an understatedly detailed and fascinating way. Each one is only a few pages long (bar the final two) but seems to capture som much detail, so much event and so much of the person in those pages that you feel like you've really read an awful lot of quite involved stories. They're like beautiful little cameo paintings.

Will move on to longer works, I think.

Book review - "Difficult Loves" (Italo Calvino)

I picked this on up randomly after making the tragic mistake of not bringing enough books on holiday - it was the only one my husband brought with him that I fancied reading. And I'm actually very glad.

It's a bunch of short stories which tell unexceptional adventures of different people in an understatedly detailed and fascinating way. Each one is only a few pages long (bar the final two) but seems to capture som much detail, so much event and so much of the person in those pages that you feel like you've really read an awful lot of quite involved stories. They're like beautiful little cameo paintings.

Will move on to longer works, I think.

Meme nicked off cleverkat

( cuttage )

Meme nicked off cleverkat

( cuttage )