‘Felt in the blood and felt along the heart’ – to quote Wordsworth out of context is to hint at the response evoked by Margaret Atwood’s Moral Disorder . I think what I like most about Attwood is how close to poetry her prose is. Yes, she weaves a good story and yes, she has wonderful insight into life and living but really it is the quality of her writing that makes me stop and browse every time I see her on the book shelves. Moral Disorder is described as a series of short stories but it also a novel to the extent that the chapters detail aspects of the same character or group of characters over a lengthy time period that more or less equates to a life time. Rather like flicking through an old photograph album, it is a collection of moments of time, of memories, that you will want to savour slowly and that will linger with you awhile when you put the book away.
I am a little late to the Stieg Larsson party and must confess that I picked up a copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo more from curiosity after all the media hype than because it was on my list of books to read. For the first few pages, it's a little slow and I wondered if it was going to be to my taste. But, once the story gets underway, it's becomes a gripping read with more than one mystery going on in the background. The characters are well drawn and suspense builds -- so much so that you may find yourself slowing down because you don't want to get to the end of the novel. No doubt that is why this novel has had such good reviews. I'm looking forward to reading Larsson's other titles.
I first came across Paul Auster when I picked up a copy of Brooklyn Follies a few years ago. It is one of those novels that grabs you from the first sentence and I enjoyed it very much. Since then, Paul Auster is always on my mind when I find myself in a book shop but until recently I hadn’t actually bought anything. That changed last weekend when I picked up a copy of Invisible. The blurb promised a ‘bristling thriller and a racy tale of intrigue and loss’ and I guess that is what the novel delivers. But for me, this wasn’t as good as the earlier book. Auster has been pretty prolific so if you have read any of his work, I’d be interested to know which titles you recommend.
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Book lovers who find themselves in the West of Ireland may want to check out some of the places associated with the poet, William Butler Yeats, amongst them the villate of Kiltartan which he made famous by the reference in his poem, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death. The poem came to my mind recently when I found myself driving past the Kiltartan Gregory Museum. Curiosity made me stop and wander inside the old school house which has been converted into a museum dedicated to Lady Gregory who, with Yeats, was behind the foundation of Ireland’s national theatre. The museum has some fascinating material on display – not least the theater posters, programmes, and first editions of some plays. There is also a reproduction of an old schoolroom complete with desks, slates, and some memorabilia that those on the interesting side of 50 may remember from the school rooms of their youth. Definitely worth a short stop if you find yourself on the road as I did.
If you work full time, it is not always easy to find the time to read a long novel between book club meetings and keen readers will often want to have some spare time to read outside the group choices and pursue their own interests. Here are five novels that are interesting enough to give your book club lots to talk about but that won’t take too long to read. Each of these also has a movie tie-in that your club could perhaps get together to watch.
The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. A short, perfect novel with not a word too many used by the author.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. A moving post-apocalyptic novel centred on a father-son relationship.
Atonement by Ian McEwan. Love, war, lies and class prejudice in a quintessentially English setting.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote. The heroine, Holly Golightly, is one of fiction’s best known characters. She was portrayed by Audrey Hepburn in the movie version but the novel is darker than the movie. More novella than novel but an interesting book club selection with the potential to provoke discussion on society and morality.
It is not often that I think that a film/movie is worth seeing before you have read the book but Atonement may be the exception that tests the rule. Certainly I thought the movie was a sensitive and intelligent interpretation of the novel. To be honest, I am not sure that it is not the movie rather than the book that has stayed with me in the last year or two. Atonement is a story about love and war, about lies and about the class system in Britain. It is also a story about writing stories. As novels about war go, it is not the best that I have read. For that, I would suggest Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy or Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong. For novels dealing with the class system, it is probably also not the best. But the characters are well-drawn and the story is well told. I don’t think you would be disappointed with this novel if it were selected by your book club but I would suggest that you make a point of seeing the movie also and see if you agree that it adds to your appreciation of the novel.
Some books are wasted on the young. When I was at school, Hemingway was on the curriculum and we dutifully read this novel, read the critics, learned what we needed to learn, and produced it at the appropriate examination time. That said, The Old Man and the Sea (Vintage Classics) hung around in my head in the intervening years and so, recently, I took it down from the shelves and re-read it. What a difference thirty years of experience brings to that second reading. Now I understand why this novel was on the curriculum. Now, indeed, I think it may well be the most perfectly crafted novel that I have ever read. Every word, every sentence moves this story forwards. The critics have not been universally kind to Hemingway. Some talk of ‘fakery’ in this novel but, to me, as an ordinary reader who loves books and literature, I was pleased to rediscover this work. The old man is a flawed hero but what hero is not? If you’ve lived a little, I think you’ll find a lot to relate to in The Old Man and the Sea (Vintage Classics) and for the pure craftsmanship of the writing, in my opinion there are few novels to touch this.
Some books just break your heart. This is such a sweet, sad story – very simple in many ways. It calls on the adult reader to suspend disbelief and allow themselves to witness the story unfold through the eyes of the innocent child, Bruno. But it is well done. It settles into a rhythm that carries the reader through. A good book choice for young adult readers.
I read somewhere that Holly Golightly, the main character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s was Capote’s favourite character and I guess I can understand why – certainly if she is compared against the protagonists of In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences(Penguin Magnum Collection). Many readers have their impression of her shaped, at least to some degree, by Audrey Hepburn’s performance in the movie version. Holly is brilliant but brittle. As her name suggests, she does tread lightly through life, sparkling, entertaining, enthralling the men she encounters – including the narrator – but there are hints of a darker waves beneath the shiny surface. She suffers from ‘the mean reds’, she appears free and unencumbered by attachment but also vulnerable. This is a very short novel that is easily read in a single sitting but it is very well written and is one of those stories that hangs about inside your head for years to come.
If you like a good, pacy, page-turner then Linwood Barclay is worth a look. His earlier books, No Time For Goodbye and Too Close to Home are both good reads and this new title, Fear the Worst is well up to his usual standard. I read it in a single sitting. Barclay’s characters are well drawn and his plots are complex and interesting. Fear the Worst is the story of a father’s quest to find his 17-year-old daughter who goes missing one morning after they have had an argument about a pair of Versace sunglasses that she bought which he thinks – erroneously – that she may have shoplifted. The father is very well drawn – we get a lot of insight into his relationship with his daugher, with his former wife, and with his work colleagues. Peripheral characters like his paranoid girlfriend are also well drawn. As he searches, he learns more about his daughter’s life and the quest becomes more dangerous. The story is gripping right up to the last. In the final pages the pace quickens and the action becomes, perhaps, a little less credible but all in all this is an enjoyable read that will keep you engrossed and entertained. Perfect for a long flight or to take on holiday.
For as long as I can remember, I have been an avid reader. I like good novels and I also read some biography, history, economics, medicine, and just about anything else that gets a good review from friends or the critics. I hope you enjoy my featured books and perhaps get some ideas for your own shelves from browsing mine. Thanks for stopping by today and happy reading!
may be the exception that tests the rule. Certainly I thought the movie was a sensitive and intelligent interpretation of the novel. To be honest, I am not sure that it is not the movie rather than the book that has stayed with me in the last year or two. 
hung around in my head in the intervening years and so, recently, I took it down from the shelves and re-read it. What a difference thirty years of experience brings to that second reading. Now I understand why this novel was on the curriculum. Now, indeed, I think it may well be the most perfectly crafted novel that I have ever read. Every word, every sentence moves this story forwards. The critics have not been universally kind to Hemingway. Some talk of ‘fakery’ in this novel but, to me, as an ordinary reader who loves books and literature, I was pleased to rediscover this work. The old man is a flawed hero but what hero is not? If you’ve lived a little, I think you’ll find a lot to relate to in 
was Capote’s favourite character and I guess I can understand why – certainly if she is compared against the protagonists of 
. Many readers have their impression of her shaped, at least to some degree, by Audrey Hepburn’s performance in the movie version. Holly is brilliant but brittle. As her name suggests, she does tread lightly through life, sparkling, entertaining, enthralling the men she encounters – including the narrator – but there are hints of a darker waves beneath the shiny surface. She suffers from ‘the mean reds’, she appears free and unencumbered by attachment but also vulnerable. This is a very short novel that is easily read in a single sitting but it is very well written and is one of those stories that hangs about inside your head for years to come.
and 
are both good reads and this new title, 
is well up to his usual standard. I read it in a single sitting. Barclay’s characters are well drawn and his plots are complex and interesting. 
