Last Night at Chateau Marmont

Before I go ahead with my review, you have to allow me a minute to feel terribly smug, sitting as I am in the South of France, having just enjoyed a day in the sunshine. Do you all feel terribly jealous? Yes? Ok then, job done! Now I can move on and review the novel.

This is the latest novel by the author of 'The Devil Wears Prada', whose work you know I like. I should probably be looking at something with more "intrinsic literary merit", but I'm still reading that one so, faute de mieux, you'll have to make do with this.

Having said that, I actually wouldn't call it making do. It was a very good read. Definitely suited to holiday reading (in that it didn't require huge amounts of concentration), but nevertheless well-written, as are all her works, and raising some interesting points.

This is the first of Weisberger's novels to look at the other side - to take the part of the person left behind. Two of her three other novels deal with someone becoming unreasonably attached to work, while the third was simply completely different.

This made the novel interesting in itself, as we all know she has experienced being swept up in one's work firsthand, so her ability to consider someone else's point of view, and to do so convincingly (as she does) is admirable.

That aside, the novel retains the sense of humour so consistently present in her other work, while striking some serious notes without becoming dull. She maintains her standard impressively.

Our Man in Havana

Now, I could have reviewed the book I've just finished reading - I know it well enough, and it would have given me the chance to write a not-one-hundred-percent-positive review, which is always fun. But... well, it's not very good, and I think I've been doing fairly well in persuading you all that I only read well-written, meaningful novels, so I'm not letting that go just yet!

Instead, I've decided to write about one of my favourite novels. 'Our Man in Havana' was the first Graham Greene novel I read, and essentially shaped my opinion of his work, which is why I've been so surprised when people weren't keen. I followed it with 'The Comedians' (which is almost as good), so I couldn't think what the problem was until I read (well, almost read - got halfway through anyway...) 'Brighton Rock'. Which is funny, because it's meant to be one of the good ones.

However, I can't seem to get into it, so it's sitting on my shelf, half read. Anwyay, the reason I was mentioning all of that is to say: if you're not new to Greene, if you've read another of his novels and found it too Catholic, or slightly dull, don't write him off. Really.

'Our Man in Havana' is fabulous. Yes, Catholicism is a part of it, but it is far from overwhelming - nothing like the same level as 'Brideshead Revisited', to pluck a name from thin air (I know that isn't by Greene, but it is very Catholic). Our hero is not Catholic. In fact, he is an atheist, and has been for some time now.

The novel is a gentle comedy, ridiculing the British Intelligence Service, of which Greene had first-hand knowledge, having worked for MI6. The basic idea is that the SIS recruits Wormold (our hero), to report to them on any military developments in Havana. He knows nothing about such developments, so begins to fabricate his reports, needing the money they bring in for his expensive daughter.

Eventually, he discovers that his reports are somehow coming true, and gets caught up in a world he hoped to avoid altogether. The novel never loses its lighthearted feel, even in the tensest times, and Greene's writing style remains consistently entertaining. His amusement at the way the SIS dealt with the world is clear, and well transmitted. This is an extremely entertaining and beautifully written novel - I would absolutely recommend it, particularly if you haven't been wowed by Greene before.

Candy Girl

How many of you saw 'Juno'? Most of you? Good. Now how many of you liked it? All of you? Very good (don't worry if you didn't - I'll just never talk you again, that's alright, isn't it?). Well, this is by the woman who wrote 'Juno' (her name's Diablo Cody - well, not really, but it's an awesome pen name, don't you think?).

It's actually the first book she wrote, having spent years blogging and working in journalism, and is a memoir of her time as a stripper. Yes, really. She tells us how she went from a copy typist in an advertising agency to a full-time stripper and what it was like.

Quite apart from the voyeuristic thrill of finding out what stripping is like from the stripper's point of view, this is an incredibly readable book in its own right. The way of talking that made Juno herself such an entertaining character clearly owed a lot to Cody's own personality. The book reads rather like Juno has grown up and is telling you how she felt about stripping.

I'm not going to go into gory detail in this review, partly because I don't want to spoil it for you and partly because, well, there might be kids reading this! Shame on you for wanting to hear about what happens in Sexworld and how much hookers earn! If that sentence intrigued you at all, you should definitely read this.

If it didn't - what is wrong with you? Have you no human curiosity? Anyway, you should still read it, because it's fun, cool and occasionally very touching. I wouldn't say I identified with Cody (in fact, we're probably as different as people get), but I did come away with the strong impression that she'd be pretty fun to hang out with.

The Things They Carried

As promised, I'm now going to review a 'real' book - by which I mean a novel covering slightly weightier material than in the last post. 'The Things They Carried' is a novel I read when I was doing my A-levels - we had to write a comparative essay, either comparing 'The Go-Between' with 'Spies' by Michael Frayn or 'The Things They Carried', by Tim O'Brien. I am very lazy, so I went for the easy option and used 'Spies', which was basically a retelling of 'The Go-Between', set during WWII.

However lazy I might be, I was still curious enough to read TTTC (oooh, I only just realised how many words in the title begin with a 'T'...), and I am delighted that I did! It is a brilliantly written novel, far more interesting than the easy option I went with (though I'm still glad I did, it was the most straightforward essay I ever wrote).

It is set during the Vietnam war, Tim O'Brien having served in 'Nam (I've always wanted to write that - you can say what you want about the war, but it has the coolest abbreviation of any war), and takes the form of several, loosely connected short stories. They share a common narrator and many common characters, as well as various thematic links.

The narrator is clearly fairly autobiographical (can a person be autobiographical? I don't know... The narrator is based on O'Brien, anyway), being a writer who can only write about Vietnam (O'Brien can famously only write about Vietnam), and is exploring various ideas, which are, presumably, O'Brien's own thoughts.

He transmits the pain experienced by his characters very clearly, as well as the different ways they have been broken by this war. The disjointed nature of the stories cleverly expressed his views on the truthfulness of stories, as well as the way one's memory of a traumatic event is unreliable (I'll be honest here - that bit is straight out of my A-level. Sorry.).

This is a fascinating account of war and its effects on the participants, containing ideas and themes that will be familiar to anyone who has looked at WWI literature, though rather more graphically expressed. It is at times touching, at others tragic and occasionally almost repellent in its honesty.

The Devil Wears Prada

Well, having tackled some 'serious' literature on Wednesday, I felt it was time for something a little lighter (if you're lucky, I'll compensate for this by reviewing a hardcore maths book next time...). 'The Devil Wears Prada' definitely qualifies as 'light', though, as I may have mentioned before, that doesn't necessarily mean poor quality.

In fact TDWP is a rather droll novel, following the adventures of Andy Sachs in her first (and only) year with fictitious magazine Runway (i.e. Vogue) working for notoriously horrible editor Miranda Priestley (i.e. Anna Wintour). Now, I'm not going to go through the plot - I'm sure you've watched the movie and marvelled over Meryl Streep's fabulous portrayal of evil (with a heart) while you sympathised with Anne Hathaway as Andy.

There's a decent chance, however, that you won't have read the novel. I certainly didn't read it until after I had seen the movie, and even then I waited until a particularly bored afternoon. It was worth the wait, and managed to entertain me quite happily for a couple of hours. The characters are very believable (you might think that's a given for an autobiographical novel, but I've read plenty of novels in which it isn't the case), though Miranda Priestley lacks the sense of humour that saves her in the film.

There was rather more venom in the novel than the film, I felt, I suppose partly because it was written when everything was still fresh in her mind, without the benefit of success to soften her. However, it's was still good fun - very nicely written, even if she never quite achieves the brilliance of Austen or even Fielding. Perfect for holidays and lazy days.

Fahrenheit 451

Apologies again for the lack of service - I've been in Scotland with no internet, which was a slight impediment... Today's novel is another sci-fi type novel, which I do like, I think partly because of my geeky history. Anyway, before the review, I should give you a heads-up - it will be positive. In fact, almost all the reviews you read here will be positive. This is because I am not reviewing books as I read them.

I am actually mostly reviewing books I read in the past and still remember. Unfortunately, I tend not to reread books I don't like, as a result of which, unless I happen to have just finished a novel, I am likely to give it a decent review. Maybe think of them as recommendations? Maybe just think of me as a positive person? Either way, if you want horrible reviews, you'll have to go somewhere else! Though I don't know why you would - I'm so witty and entertaining...


Anyway, now that you're sufficiently prepared for the positivity I am about to spout, I shan't let you down - I really liked this novel. Apart from anything else, I loved the title and what it means. I do like dystopia novels generally, which meant that I had a pretty strong feeling I would like it before I read it, but I thought it threw up some interesting ideas about how it's our culture that makes us what we are, rather than what we are that shapes our culture.

It has to be said that I don't believe the situation presented in the novel would ever come about, but then I tend to think that about most dystopia novels - the excessive pessimism is sort of the point... (I wonder what my love of them says about me - hmmmm...). While I accept the point that the majority of people don't read the classics, they tend to be sort of in the air, and people absorb them without reading them.

I also believe that most people like to feel that they could read a classic, and indeed will read a classic, just as soon as they finish this slightly trashy novel. Rather like diets, one wants to know change is possible, even if we aren't going to partake ourselves. This, I think, would prevent the world ever ending up in the situation presented 'Fahrenheit 451' (I hope!). That said, I thought it was a beautifully structured story, with some fascinating characters.

Clarisse is charming, and I really wanted to get to know her better. Guy strikes me as something of an idiot, if I'm honest, but at least he's an idiot who wants change and will risk anything for what he believes in. I actually thought Captain Beatty was one of the most interesting characters in the novel, fulfilling a similar role to that of Mustapha Mond in 'Brave New World', as the morally ambiguous, but nevertheless rather sympathetic, boss/leader/chief.

Definitely worth a read, particularly if you are a fan of sci-fi or dystopian novels!

Different Seasons

Ok, I'm cheating slightly. This is a collection of four novellas, rather than a novel in its own right. My theory is that a novella is slightly too short to review and anyway, I don't think you can buy these separately, so if you're buying the whole collection you might as well have some idea about each novella.

Now, Stephen King may seem like a slightly odd choice to review - he's absolutely mainstream, and commonly considered to write trash. However, I have yet to meet anyone who's read this collection, and I can assure you, it's far from trashy. It is the only work by Stephen King I have read. I do not like horror stories.

I would go so far as to say that I am a complete wuss when it comes to horror stories of any kind. I had nightmares after a particularly scary episode of ER. That level of wuss. Anyway, I read this because I had heard that the original of 'The Shawshank Redemption' was in this collection, and I wanted to see if it was as good as the film. It was.

In fact, the film is a very faithful portrait of the original, in that, even if the details are not a hundred percent accurate, the atmosphere of the novella is identical to the atmosphere of the movie. I'm not going to describe it any more than than that. If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, go watch it now.

'The Body' was the other novella I particularly wanted to read, having seen and loved 'Stand By Me', the movie it inspired. Again, I can say that the movie truly reflected the spirit of the story, keeping certain memorable scenes, such as the pie eating contest and THAT moment with the leeches. Again, if you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you. Just watch it. And then read it. Or the other way around.

The story I remember the least about is called 'The Breathing Method' and is a sort of tall story/horror story hybrid. It essentially tells the story of a young woman giving birth after death. I liked it, because it sends a little chill down your spine, while leaving you hopeful and cheered, but it didn't grip in the way all of the others did.

Last, but far from least, is one of the most disturbing stories I have ever read. 'The Apt Pupil' tells the story of a young American who discovers an old Nazi living in his town. He threatens the clearly haunted old man with the police unless he agrees to tell him stories of the War. In detail.

The stories gradually have their effect, and he is left with psychopathic urges he simply can't control. I won't go into it any more deeply, because it gives me the creeps. The loss of innocence in the most upsetting way possible was strongly reminiscent of 'The Lord of the Flies', which I also dislike, for similar reasons.

All in all, a gripping, brilliantly, beautifully written collection of stories, which put Stephen King up there with some of the best writers I have ever read. But all with an element of horror about them. Worth it, but don't read them alone. Really.

Love in the Time of Cholera

So here it is, as promised - a real book! Not one I've read fifty million times, not one I'm just going to rave about, but something I hope to review. Properly. This was my first encounter with Gabriel Garcia Marquez and, to be honest, I only chose LTC because it was mentioned in a really stupid film I once saw ("Serendipity", for the curious out there).

So were they right? Was it the wonderful read I was expecting? My answer to this is the fantastically eloquent 'ish'. Sort of. But not really. I mean, on the one hand, the language was beautiful and the imagery very powerful (though it's always hard to tell how much of that is down to the translation), but on the other, I never felt in sympathy with the novel.

The character I came closest to indentifying with was probably Fermina Daza, as she seemed to have the most common sense. The problem I had with it really was, I think, a temperamental incompatibility. I am not the kind of person about whom he was writing. I would not fall in love with someone at first sight and remain true to them for the rest of my life, without knowing anything of their character. I would certainly not be ill because I loved them so much.

My views of love are probably best expressed by Shakespeare "Men have died, from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love." Every character in this novel seems to disagree, all of them falling ill all over the place, from broken hearts or unbroken hearts or...

I was also unconvinced by the structure of the novel. He starts near the end, then works his way through until her matches up with it and carries on. This made the rest of the novel feel like backstory or an elaborate preamble to the end, when in fact it forms the bulk of the story, so I found myself wanting to skip most of the novel. I didn't, but it was a close call.

I did enjoy large sections of the novel and got caught up in the story more than once, but I also often ended up irritated with all of the characters, which affected my opinion of it. If you don't mind that kind of romantic melodrama, you'll probably enjoy it. If you do, I wouldn't bother.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Apparently Douglas Adams got the idea for this lying in a field in Innsbruck, drunk, with a copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe. If his trip around Europe was anything like as exciting as Arthur Dent's first experience of intergalactic hitchhiking, I'm amazed he survived (though I imagine it wasn't).

I have unfortunately never heard the original radio series, nor have I seen the BBC adaptation, though I'm told I'm not missing much there. Possibly equally unfortunately, I have seen the recent movie which got the atmosphere of the book right, the comedy right and the casting right, then managed to screw up the plot - how hard is it?! He gives it to you in the book!

Anyway, this is not a review of the film, which is good, as I might easily end up ranting nonsensically for hours on end, which would bore you all to tears in about two seconds flat. As it happens, this is an easy book to review, and kind of a cop-out - I'm not going to say anything that will cause violent disagreement (to clarify, I think it's a great book), but it's Friday, so I don't care. I'll do a hard one on Monday and probably really piss everyone off...

Ok, enough waffle! 'Hitchhiker's' tells us the story of Arthur Dent, an Englishman who is lucky enough to survive the Earth's destruction, thanks to the help of a friend of his, who happens to be an alien (the line explaining how Ford Prefect got his name is one of my favourite in the book - I especially like that it was lost on American audiences who hadn't heard of the car...).

They jump onto a Vogon ship (the Vogons are the bad guys) and are rescued from there by a ship that is powered by improbability. They meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, the President of the galaxy, with one of the best names in fiction and Trillian, originally Tricia McMillan, a woman Arthur met at a party, who is dating Zaphod. The improbability drive leads them into all sorts of adventures, but, like Wodehouse, the important thing about this novel is not the plot (which changed through all its incarnations anyway), but the writing.

Let's face it - who could not love a book that describes ships as hanging in the air "in much the same way that bricks don't" - complete nonsense, but wonderfully descriptive. My favourite character has to be Marvin (the Paranoid Android), whose pessimism in the face of the best news is hilarious. He actually reminds me strongly of Eeyore, which, I suspect, is why I like him so much...

Anyway, a fantastic read, deservedly famous and very entertaining!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Following on in my theme of choosing books by their covers, I was first drawn to this because its cover looked so sweet. The title was an unexpected bonus. I've always liked epistolary novels (as 'Daddy-Long-Legs' should suggest), so I was well-disposed to this from the start.

I was helped in my positive view of the novel by the quality that became evident within about two pages. This is a really good novel. It's light(ish) but, because it deals in that time just post the Second World War, it has real issues to handle. We are reading the letters between a novelist who is stuck for an idea and a man who has found a book belonging to her and wants to know where he can buy more by the same author (Lamb). We look at all of her correspondence (this being her story), but her letter from him is what kicks off the plot.

She ends up visiting post-war Guernsey (which was another element of this novel I enjoyed - as a young adult [to borrow bookshop categories], I read and loved 'Tomorrow is a Stranger', which looks at Guernsey during the Nazi occupation, from the point of view of the children. The similarities between these two novels added to my sense of their veracity, which I liked) and learning about how the island fared under Nazi rule.

She meets all of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society, finds out how they got their name and makes a lot of very good friends. Every character we are introduced to is believable and has depth, even those from whom we hear little. The various subplots are either touching or funny or, often, both, and add to our sense of the fullness of this story.

I would say this is a great book to read if you're feeling down or have just finished reading 'Lord of the Flies' or something equally depressing and need cheering up. I can't think of anything wrong with it - I could try reading it a few more times to find something, but I have no desire to ruin a good book for myself.

The End of Mr. Y

First, a quick apology for the week-long hiatus - I've been in Wales! On the plus side though, it gave me the time to read a new book, about which I am now going to talk. I had wanted to read 'The End of Mr. Y' for some time now, having, as I always do, judged the book by its (admittedly very striking) cover. I found the first page a little difficult, but once I got past that, the story gripped me.

Our narrator, Ariel Manto (we later learn that this is a pseudonym and an anagram), is interesting and hints at a dubious past, without ever going into any detail, which I liked, though I can see how it might irritate some readers. She is a PhD student, looking into thought experiments and writing a newspaper column on the side. All of this leads her to a writer named Thomas Lumas.

His books have fallen into obscurity, with the result that they are all extremely rare, but none more so than 'The End of Mr. Y', his last novel. This is one of the rarest books in the world, with supposedly only one copy in existence. One of the reasons it is so rare is that it is rumoured to be cursed, which, understandably, puts people off it a little.

Shortly after we enter the story, a (the) copy of this novel arrives in Ariel's possession. Ignoring the curse, she decides to read it, realising as she does so from whence these curse stories have spread. The book gives a recipe for a mixture which allows the user to access the world of minds, and this is where it all goes wrong. We follow Ariel as she discovers exactly what the problem is and tries to solve it.

I found the novel intriguing and certainly wanted to read more. All of the characters are very real, and Thomas' description of this psychic world is fascinating. It reminded me a little of 'Sophie's World', in the way she used her narrative to explore ideas she had obviously been pondering for a while, though I felt she achieved a better mix than 'Sophie's World' managed.

I had a couple of issues with the ending, as I wasn't sure I agreed with the logic of their final decision, but that in no way took away from my enjoyment of the novel. I would definitely recommend it, if nothing else, for the awesomeness of reading a book with black pages!