Category Archives: 3

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

My book club is reading James by Percival Everett. I have already read it (as part of my Booker short list reading), so I thought I would listen to Huckleberry Finn and see how they were connected.

Here is the Wikipedia summary

Commentators readily distinguish three parts in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the first, the author believes he is writing a children’s entertainment, a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Then, at the beginning of Chapter XVI, he experiences difficulties and stops writing. It is at this point that his hero questions the notions of good and evil that he has been taught. It will take Twain seven years before he regains his creative momentum. Finally, in a third part— a highly controversial “burlesque about-face  —the character of Tom Sawyer reappears, selfish, cruel, and unconscious. Huck falls under his influence again, and the author returns to the “Tom Sawyer” spirit of the beginning.

This is not my favourite book – I know it is an American classic, but it wore me down. The constant use of the N word, and the bit at the end when they play at rescuing Jim was excruciatingly awful. The sections where it was Huck and Jim having adventures were enjoyable and interesting.

I know it is meant to be a satire and we see characters that are more like caricatures, and Huck grapples with the morality, first of helping a slave escape and then secondly of slavery itself. But I feel it has not aged well, and James does a much better job of show casing the awfulness of slavery and the selfishness (and ignorance) of the people white people.

From the Guardian

I definitely don’t agree.

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From London With Love- Katie Fforde

From London With Love – Katie Fforde

I have been a Katie Fforde fan for a long time – some are better than others.

Here’s the blurb …

It’s 1968 and it’s cold when Felicity arrives in London to stay with her mother, improve her English, do a secretarial course – and meet a suitable man.

She is already missing her home in Provence and her father and his new wife and their extended family. But it’s only for a year she tells herself – and then she can go back to France and do what she really wants and become a painter.

And then she bumps into Oliver who is quite the most interesting young man she has ever met. He lives on a barge for one thing and has a selection of jobs including looking for hidden treasures along the shores of the river Thames.

In a word he’s a mudlarker – and before long Felicity is mudlarking too. She is also pursuing her dreams and painting scenery for Oliver’s actor friends.

But is Oliver a Suitable Man of whom her mother will approve? Felicity knows she will not …

Love, tangled relationships, and a real life adventure lie at the heart of Katie’s Fforde’s heart-warming new novel.

This is not one of my favourites. I liked the two heroines, but I found the situations contrived, particularly the bit about Violet having to help Henry so that he could get a position at Oxford. And Felicity and Oliver’s falling out over the mudlarking incident seemed unrealistic.

Having said that, its cosy, warm and a bit retro, all things I like.

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A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

I was looking for something to listen to in my husband’s audible library and came across this. I missed the bit about it being a rough guide to science. Which is not a problem – I have a science degree, so I still found it fascinating.

Here’s the blurb …

Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can’t contain his curiosity about the world around him. “A Short History of Nearly Everything” is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilisation – how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. The ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space, revealing the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.

This is very entertaining and informative – I enjoyed Bryson’s writing style. And I feel more informed on geology, chemistry, biology, anthropology, etc. Although, it seems the more we know the less we understand. I found the narrator to be annoying (and his Australian accent was terrible) not to mention the way her pronounces Himalayas.

It is probably a little bit dated after Covid and the current state of climate change.

A review.

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My Inconvenient Duke – Loretta Chase

My Inconvenient Duke – Loretta Chase

I was very keen to read this novel (I pre-ordered it) I enjoyed the first two books in the series (A Duke in Shining Armour and Ten Things I Hate about the Duke). In these books Alice and Blackwood are estranged (or appear to be so) and I wanted to know their story.

Here’s the blurb …

Of all the dukes in all the world, why does it have to be him?

Lady Alice Ancaster needs a husband, and fast, because her reckless brother is going to get himself killed, leaving the dukedom—and her future—in their repellent cousin’s clutches.

The Duke of Blackwood has known Alice since childhood, and they’ve always had a special connection. But years ago he broke it, when he chose a riotous life with his two best friends instead of a reasonable one with her.

The trouble is, the tall, dark, sardonic rogue keeps turning up exactly when needed, and ready—though he sometimes needs a push—to play the hero, if only for as long as it takes.

Being irresistibly drawn to the Wrong Man is not convenient, but when events come to a crisis, Alice has to make a choice. The question is, can she live with it?

This is not the novel I was expecting (which is not a bad thing). The first two thirds are before the first two novels and it shows the start of their relationship and their marriage. The last third shows that they were never really estranged they were both just busy with other duties that took them away from each other.

It’s witty, well-written, and well-researched. If you’re not familiar with the first two novels, then I think you will enjoy this one, but I was hoping for a book about a relationship that had gone sour being re-ignited.

A review.

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Love Letters – Katie Fforde

Love Letters – Katie Fforde

I always like Katie Fforde’s novels. I found this one at the library.

Here’s the blurb …

With the bookshop where she works about to close, hopeless romantic Laura Horsley, in a moment of uncharacteristic recklessness, finds herself agreeing to help organize a literary festival deep in the heart of the English countryside. But her initial excitement is rapidly followed by a mounting sense of panic when reality sinks in and she realizes just how much work is involved – especially when an innocent mistake leads the festival committee to mistakenly believe that Laura is a personal friend of the author at the top of their wish-list. Laura might have been secretly infatuated with the infamous Dermot Flynn ever since she studied him at university, but travelling to Ireland to persuade the notorious recluse to come out of hiding is another matter.

Determined to rise to the challenge she sets off to meet her literary hero. But all too soon she’s confronted with more than she bargained for – Dermot. The man is maddening, temperamental and up to his ears in a nasty case of writer’s block. But he’s also infuriatingly attractive – and, apparently, out to add Laura to his list of conquests .

This was good – it had witty dialogue, lovely characters, and who doesn’t like a book about books? The reason why the hero and heroine couldn’t be together was a bit light – an evil other woman.

A review.

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The Bright Book of Life – Harold Bloom

The Bright Book of Life – Harold Bloom

I always like books about books. I did cheat with this one, I just read the chapters on books that I have read.

Here’s the blurb …

In his first book devoted exclusively to narrative fiction, America’s most original and controversial literary critic and legendary Yale professor writes trenchantly about fifty-two masterworks spanning the Western tradition.

Perhaps no other literary critic but Harold Bloom could–or would–undertake a project of this immensity. And certainly no other critic could bring to it the extraordinary knowledge, understanding, and insight that are the hallmark of Bloom’s every book. Ranging across centuries and continents, this final book of his career, gives us the inimitable critic on Don Quixote and Book of Numbers; Wuthering Heights and Absalom, Absalom; Les Miserables and Blood Meridian; Vanity Fair and Invisible Man; The Captain’s Daughter and The Reef. He writes about works byAusten, Balzac, Dickens, Tolstoy, James, Conrad, Lawrence, Wolff, Le Guin, Sebald, and many more. Whether you have already read these books, or intend to, or simply care about the importance and power of fiction, Harold Bloom serves as an unparalleled guide through the pages of these 52 masterpieces of the genre.

I think Harold Bloom is of his time and I don’t necessarily agree with all of his critiques. But what I did enjoy was his personal approach to the novels. I liked to read about when he first read the novels, what his friends thought of the novel, etc.

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The House in the Cerulean Sea – T J Klune

The House in the Cerulean Sea – T J Klune

The theme for my book club this month is joy and when I googled joyful books this one came up.

Here’s the blurb …

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.

I would call this a ‘romantasy’. It is very warm and cozy, and the characters are charming. I don’t think I am the target audience for it, I found it a bit didactic (a bit too much respect everyone, include everyone, etc.) I think I needed a bit more conflict.

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A Song of Stone – Iain Banks

A Song of Stone – Iain Banks

I found this in Mr H’s audible library and I needed a new audio book.

Here’s the blurb …

The war is ending. perhaps ended For the castle and its occupants the troubles are just beginning Armed gangs roam a lawless land where each farm and house.. supports a column of dark smoke. Taking to the roads with the other refugees. anonymous in their raggedness. seems safer than remaining in the ancient keep. However. the lieutenant of an outlaw band has other ideas and the castle becomes the focus for a dangerous game of desire. deceit and death.Iain Banks masterly novel reveals his unique ability to combine gripping narrative with a relentlessly voyaging imagination. The narrative technique and sheer brio of A SONG OF STONE reveal a great novelist at the height of his powers.

This novel wasn’t for me – it is first person narration, and I disliked the narrator. In fact, I disliked all of the characters and didn’t care what happened to them.

I do think it is well written.

A review.

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On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong

I am continuing my epistolary reading. This is a letter from a son to his mother. I listened to it, and it was narrated by the author (I am sure that must add something to the reading).

Here’s the blurb …

his is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born. It tells of Vietnam, of the lasting impact of war, and of his family’s struggle to forge a new future. And it serves as a doorway into parts of Little Dog’s life his mother has never known – episodes of bewilderment, fear and passion – all the while moving closer to an unforgettable revelation.

This was incredibly beautiful, but also challenging. There’s trauma and generational trauma. The difficulties of making a new life in a country where you don’t speak the language. The harshness of poverty and the daily small indignities (trying to act oxtail at the super market counter). But it is also about love (all sorts of love) and family. Damaged people trying to do their best.

A review.

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Long Island – Colm Toibin

Long Island – Colm Toibin

I really enjoyed Brooklyn, so I was keen to read this sequel.

Here’s the blurb …

Long Island is Colm Tóibín’s an exquisite, exhilarating novel that asks whether it is possible to truly return to the past and renew the great love that seemed gone forever. The sequel to Colm Tóibín’s prize-winning, bestselling novel Brooklyn.

A man with an Irish accent knocks on Eilis Fiorello’s door on Long Island and in that moment everything changes. Eilis and Tony have built a secure, happy life here since leaving Brooklyn – perhaps a little stifled by the in-laws so close, but twenty years married and with two children looking towards a good future.

And yet this stranger will reveal something that will make Eilis question the life she has created. For the first time in years she suddenly feels very far from home and the revelation will see her turn towards Ireland once again. Back to her mother. Back to the town and the people she had chosen to leave behind. Did she make the wrong choice marrying Tony all those years ago? Is it too late now to take a different path?

Once again the writing is beautiful, and it covers the anxiety people living far from home feel. Is this the right place for me?, where do I fit?, did I make the right choice? All of the main characters from Brooklyn are here and we see what has happened to them during the 20 years. When I read Brooklyn, I liked Tony, so I was very disappointed to hear what he had done. This has clouded my thoughts about this novel. I don’t like it as much as I probably should.

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