The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

From beginning to end Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a wonderfully engrossing read.

I knew that I was in for something special when the book began thus:

"NOTICE

Person's attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted;

Persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished;

Persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.

BY ORDER of the author

                                  PER G.G, Chief of the Ordnance"

And yet, so many years later the motive, morals and plot in this story are still discussed worldwide and the book is thought of as one the best books ever produced by an English speaking author.

Most people know the story of Huckleberry Finn. The back of my penguin edition states "when Huck escapes from his drunken father and the 'sivilizing' Widow Douglas with the runaway slave Jim, he embarks on a series of adventures that draw him to feuding families and the trickery of the unscrupulous 'Duke' and 'Dauphin'".

I have gone through several drafts of this review attempting express the breadth of issues that Twain so magnificently weaves into his tale about little Huckleberry's adventures. Twain shows us everything from the worst side of human behaviour such as slavery and child abuse, to the generosity of spirit displayed by even the most beaten and downtrodden of individuals. The penguin book states it thus: "Beneath the exploits, however, are more serious undercurrents - of slavery, adult control and, above all, of Huck's struggle between his instinctive goodness and the corrupt values of society, which threaten his deep and enduring friendship with Jim".

In the character of Huckleberry Finn, Twain has perfectly combined the full range of human nature. I loved seeing his character unfold throughout his many adventures. At time I wanted to reach out and hug him and other times I was deeply challenged by the views and feelings he expressed.

I was held captive by the story as I waited to see which part of Huckleberry would triumph: the part effected by the "corrupt values of society" or his "instinctive goodness" that meant that Huckleberry was able to see Jim as a man in his own right, who deserved a life of his own.

Even if I wanted to ignore Twain's instructions and provide an in depth analysis of all the social issues displayed so realistically and passionately in this book, I would be incapable of doing so. Instead I want to leave you with two of my favourite quotes from the book.

The first is from runaway slave Jim. He has just recounted a story where he gave 10cents to another slave because he had a dream which told him to do so would bring him good luck. Instead, he never sees the money, or any particular good luck, again. The following exchange takes places between Huckleberry and Jim:

"(H) 'Well, it's alright, anyway, Jim, long as you're going to be rich again some time or other'. (J) 'Yes - en I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns myself, en I's wuth eight hundred dollars. I wisht I had de money, I wouldn't want no mo'."

 It is sad to think of someone assessing their self worth according to how much they are worth at a monetary level and yet I found the way in which Jim is able to see the good through the bad, the fact that he owns himself and is therefore a rich man to be very poignant.

Lastly, my favourite quote from young Huckleberry. This quote so perfectly displays Huckleberry's unfailing childish logic and his honest approach to life and himself. He is recounting the superstitious lessons that he has learnt from Jim when he says:

"Jim said that bees wouldn't sting idiots; but I didn't believe that, because I had tried them lots of times myself, and they wouldn't sting me."

I can't wait to read Huckleberry's adventures over and over again.

7.5 / 8: Brilliant. Everyone should read it - it is totally amazing. I recommend that you buy it. 

Were you as taken with Huckleberry Finn as I was? 

Another one of my favourite parts of this book was when Tom Sawyer made his appearance. These two together make one the best literary couples (in a non-romantic sense obviously) I have ever read. What do you think?

Originally posted 24 April 2011 Page Turners

Hell Island by Matthew Reilly

I had never anything by Matthew Reilly before and to be honest I wasn't expecting much from it. Thank goodness for that because there definitely wasn't much to Hell Island.

Teams of elite forces sent unknowingly to their doom on an unmapped island. An army of giant apes controlled by microchips in their brains, sent to kill everything in their path.

What can I say…. it was just silly. There's no other word for it. I don't want to be mean, and who am I to judge, but the writing was not good. Compared to what I might normally read anyway. Too many exclamation marks in the text. Maybe I am just being a bit fussy but I think that exclamation marks should be confined to speech only, and even then they should be used sparingly if at all.

Obviously I have got a bit off track and that's because there's really nothing much to say about this. Why am I writing this then, I hear you ask? Because I feel like it at the moment and I think it only fair to people to warn people before they pick this book up that they should lower their expectations… very low.

To be fair, it was a good choice for the time at which I chose to read it. I was in the middle of a big criminal trial that was stressing me out and making me easily distracted, so this book didn't pose any kind of challenge to me.

This book is what it is, and that isn't very good.

I am not going to rate this book - I feel too "eh" about it to give it a rating.

Have you read this book or anything else by Matthew Reilly? I would be interested to know what you think of his books if you have.

Originally posted 23 April 2011 Page Turners 

The comic genius of Jasper Fforde

I am both sad and happy to be reading the final Thursday Next instalment from Jasper Fforde.

I thought that as I went along, I might share any great quotes that I come across with you. There are so many hilarious quotes that I will only share with you the one's that I think are absolutely the most hilarious and those that are perhaps the most spot on about various modern day cultural issues.

The first quote is from page 2 of my edition and had me laughing out loud. I think that it might only be really appreciated by people who had read/tried to read Martin Amis, but for those of you that have it's hilarious.

The conversation is between the written Thursday Next (T) and a Designated Love Interest named Whitby Jett (W) who is an out of work fictional character peddling labour-saving Narrative Devices for EZ-Reads.

"T: 'Any work offers recently?' I asked.
W: 'I was up for a minor walk-on in an Amis.'
T: 'How did you do?'
W: 'I read half a page and they asked me what I thought. I said I understood every word and so I was rejected for being overqualified.'"

So funny.

The second quote is from page 73, where we have this gem:

"The taxi was the usual yellow-and-check variety, and could either run on wheels in the conventional manner or fly using advanced Technobabble (TM) vectored gravitational inversion thrusters. This had been demanded by the Sci-Fi fraternity, who has been whingeing on about hover-cars and jet-packs for decades, and needed appeasing before they went and did something stupid, like allow someone to make a movie based on the title of the book known as I, Robot."

The third quote is a little more serious and is from Bradshaw's BookWorld Companion (emphasis below is from the book):

"... Here in the BookWorld the protagonists and antagonists, gatekeepers, shape-shifters, heroes, villain, bit-parts, knaves, comedians, and goblins were united in that they possessed a clearly defined motive for what they were doing: Entertainment and Enlightenment. As far as any of us could see, no such luxury existed in the unpredictable world of the readers. The Outland was extraordinarily well named..."

Fforde is comic genius if you ask me.

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie’s By the Pricking of My Thumbs is one of the strangest Christie’s novels I have read for a long time, perhaps ever.

It is a Tommy and Tuppence novel, not two of my favourites of her characters, but I will admit that I liked the more mature Tommy and Tuppence in this novel. When Tommy’s great Aunt Ada passes away Tuppence becomes involved the disappearance of an apparently nice old lady. Tuppence doesn’t give much credit to her assertions of a murdered child inside the fireplace, but the more Tuppence investigates the disappearance, the closer she comes to the truth of the child behind the fireplace and the bigger the danger she places herself in.


By the Pricking of My Thumbs didn’t seem to receive good reviews when it was published. I imagine it is because this book feels a lot less like her plot driven mysteries where Piorot and Marple try to figure out the clues, and a lot more like a modern-day crime novel or thriller. There are not the clues throughout the book to figure out the resolution to the mystery, but the book is still as tense as Christie’s other books, and perhaps even a little more melodramatic than usual.

Although it wasn't her usual style of story, I enjoyed it a lot and kept reading it until the very end.

6 / 8 

Really enjoyable and well written. I would recommend it.

I would love to know what you thought of this Christie mystery of you have read it. What did you think of an older Tommy and Tuppence, and did you think that this quite different to her usual stories/?

Originally posted 18 April 2011 Page Turners

Musings on differing opinions of a book

Today I received my first ever discourteous comment - in which someone called me a "novel-wimp".

I couldn't stop laughing when I first read it. Come on - novel-wimp! That is hilarious and I intend to use it at some appropriate point in the future (only about myself of course).

I feel a little bad for Josh (the commenter). When I read his comment my first reaction was to laugh, and my second was to wonder whether he is actually somehow related to the author and when he felt that his family member/friend was being unjustly criticised he jumped to her defence.

Having had time to reflect, I think that Josh just really loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, because it is this book that he left the following comment on:

"This review's conclusion is silly. I don't agree at all. I don't read a lot but, I wanted this novel to be twice as long. In fact, I wanted it to be 6 feet cubed so I could open it up and climb into it. This is a book for people who actually enjoy reading. Don't be racing your way through this book for your book-club. The footnotes and word-geekery only made for a richer experience. Don't be impatient and don't be a novel-wimp or you will never be able to properly enjoy the best kinds of novels. I'll be re-reading it as soon as my memory has finally stopped harassing me with Clarke's imaginings."

I admit that I got a bit carried away in my response, but what can I say? Maybe his passion rubbed off on me? Here it is:

"Wow Josh, don't hold back. My conclusion is silly, I'm impatient and a "novel-wimp", tell me what you really think! Although I have had people disagree with my opinion about a book, I have never had anyone be so forthright.

Sometimes, I have to admit, I have a look at someones blog and see that they have reviewed entirely paranormal fantasy books, and I wonder to myself about their taste (sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone), but I have never gone so far as to actually leave them a comment accusing them of being someone who doesn't "actually enjoy reading" or a "novel-wimp" or someone who "will never be able to properly enjoy the best kinds of novels".

Sometimes, I even disagree with a reviewers conclusion, but I have never left them a message telling them that their "conclusion is silly".

Do you know why? Because it's kind of rude. So, either you are rude OR you are extremely passionate about the book that all other considerations have become secondary to the defence of your most beloved novel. Given all the wonderful praise you have lavished on the book, I hope that it is safe to assume that it is the latter.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as much as you did, and I thoroughly expected too. Unfortunately I didn't. It sounds to me like the things that you loved about the book, are the things that didn't really do anything for me.

This doesn't mean that you enjoy reading more than me; it doesn't mean that my conclusion is silly or that I will never be able to properly enjoy the best kind of novels. It also doesn't mean those same things in relation to other people who didn't enjoy it as much as you did.

It simply means that we each had a different, but equally valid, reaction to the story.

I hate to be cliché and use a quote here, but I can't help it. No doubt it's the silliness in me coming out. In Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon wrote "…a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind…" Each of us is an individual, with unique life experiences, and with that comes different interpretations of, or reactions to, the same book.

Thanks for your comment, but perhaps next time you could express your own passion without being so judgmental?"

I don't mean to embarrass Josh by posting his comment in an entirely separate post. I am being honest when I say that it is nice to see people feel so passionately about a book. Hopefully more people can be just as passionate about reading books, as opposed to watching reality tv and other such crap on television these days.

I just thought that you might all enjoy reading the comment as much as I did. "Novel-wimp" is a great phrase and rest if the comment is just so brazenly vitriolic that I couldn't help but share it with you.

So, to all of those novel wimps out there - what do you think? Do we lack an enjoyment of reading if we don't like the same book that someone else does? Are our conclusions silly if someone else doesn't agree with them?

More importantly, will we never be able to appreciate the best kind of novels if we don't enjoy Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell?

Over to you! 

Originally posted 15 April 2011 Page Turners

Book club: is an honest discussion possible if the author is present?

From Leadership Connextions

I have been to two book club meetings in the past where the author has been present, and it has made me wonder: are book club discussions where the author is present as open and honest as they are when the author is not?

The two books and their authors were Kirsten Tranter author of The Legacy and Fiona McGregor author of Indelible Ink. Both books I thought were… ok. They weren't terrible, but then they weren't great either. Both books I had several distinct annoyances.

The Books

In The Legacy, my three biggest disappointments were these: the ending was extremely disappointing, the chapters all ended too suddenly, and Tranter keep trying to build up suspense around certain people in a way that turned out to be very misleading.

In Indelible Ink, my three biggest disappointments were these: lack of plot, an unbelievable premise (a middle-aged north shore Sydneysider becoming a tattoo addict) and so much dialogue about real estate that I was incredibly bored halfway through the book.

The Book Club Discussion

The annoying thing was, that with the authors there I didn't feel as though I could completely be honest about what I thought about their books.

In the book club discussion of The Legacy, I did ask Kirsten Tranter why she built up tension and suspense around certain characters and their actions that ultimately lead nowhere and she gave me an entirely unsatisfactory response to my question (which was specific to those two characters, so I won't bore you with the details).

Although I asked the question, I didn't feel like I could express my views about how this aspect of the book didn't work for me. I also didn't feel like I could raise the other areas of the book that fell short for me.

Similarly, in the book club discussion for Indelible Ink I found myself again feeling too uncomfortable to express my true thoughts about the book in front of the author Fiona McGregor. I remember Fiona McGregor talking about the book as a book about middle class Australia. Now, (this may only have significant meaning for people from Sydney) – Indelible Ink was centred around a family who had a harbour front mansion near Mosman, views of the Harbour Bridge etc, which was worth $6.5 million Aussie dollars. Let me ask you – does this sound middle class to you? Because if that is middle class – then what the bleep is upper class? I really took issue to the fact that the characters were described as middle class rather than upper class BUT I did not feel as though I could express these feelings in the presence of the author.

What difference does it make if the author is there, and should it make a difference at all?

Objectively, I know that I could have expressed my views if I had really wanted to. Authors probably appreciate that fact that someone has thought about their books and had a certain reaction to it.

But when that reaction is negative one and isn't necessarily going to be well argued (I'm only a reader after all – I know nothing about literature itself and can't necessarily form a wonderful argument to support my view), it is really hard to say what you really think.

This in turn as made me question whether other people in the room are holding back? What thoughts did they have about the book that they might not be sharing? Am I alone in feeling overall disappointed about the book or are there others like me in the room? Did we like the same things? Did we dislike the same things?

The problem is - I now no longer know if those discussions that took place were open and honest. It may be that everyone sounded positive about the books because everyone like me was too nervous about speaking their mind in front of the author. Maybe people even said some things that they didn't really think.

The point is, I can't know and that can't be a good thing when the point of a book club surely is to have an open and honest discussion about a common book.

I now avoid book clubs where the author is going to be present, because I would rather know that I can express my opinion, be it bad or good, without worrying about what the author thinks.

What do you think? Have you been to a book club with the author of the book being discussed? How was it different, if at all?

04.11.2011: This post receives a lot of traffic each week but rarely received a comment. Don't forget that it's never too late to leave your thoughts, they are always welcome.

Originally posted 13 April 2011 Page Turners

Kindling by Darren Groth

There isn’t really anything to say about Kindling that I haven’t already said in my review of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (“TCIDNT”).

Kindling was an enjoyable and quick read. It kept me interested in the plot and it provided me with an insight into the life of a child with Autism.

Unfortunately, though, there was nothing new or unique in it for me. Having already read TCIDNT, I had seen all those things in a book before. The unusual font style was even common to both books.

I am not in any way suggesting that Groth copied TCIDNT or anything like that. I have no idea when either author wrote their book, which I accept could have been at an entirely different time to the time at which it was published.

It’s just that I feel like I had read the story before. Yes, the setting had changed, and the plot was different, but the content was the same. The same difficulties in interpreting the world experienced by the autistic child. The same difficulties faced by the parent of the child. In both books the parent of the child was a single father who was also coping with being single. The same issues related to the schooling of autistic children.

I enjoyed it, I just can’t get enthusiastic about it.

5 / 8 

Good and worth reading if you have the opportunity, but there's no need to prioritise it.

I would be very interested to know what you thought of this book if you have read it, especially if you have read TCIDNT as well.

Originally posted 11 April 2011 Page Turners

The Sinkings by Amanda Curtain

The Sinkings is Australian author Amanda Curtin's debut novel. If you are looking for a distinctive book which encompasses historical and contemporary Australian life and deals with challenging issues, then this is a book for you.

There are two central characters in Curtin's debut novel, The Sinkings. The first is Little Jock, a convict found brutally murdered in 1882. Then there is Willa, an out of work editor who is attempting to come to terms with the disintegration of her own family. She becomes obsessed with the story of Little Jock when she learns that his deceased body was at first identified by a medical expert as that of a woman. Little Jock is intersexed (a hermaphrodite), and by exploring his life, Willa attempts to come to terms with the guilt she feels about her own intersexed child.

The chapters in The Sinkings alternate between the story of Little Jock and Willa so that the reader has an insight into both their lives.

Through the character of Willa, Curtin explores the reality of dealing with the birth and raising an intersex child. Willa has had to make some difficult decisions and is being suffocated by guilt and self-doubt as her family falls apart under the pressure of dealing with such a difficult situation. Researching Little Jock's life becomes a took through which Willa can begin to come to terms with the decisions she has had to make on behalf of her daughter, decisions that her daughter has ultimately come to resent.

It was the story of Little Jock, however, that really grabbed my attention and was the highlight of the book. I was fascinated with his journey, which began as a little girl in Ireland to his being adopted as young boy by an English family. Living in poverty leads him to life of crime which ultimately sees him transported to Australia as a convict. The story then follows his struggles as he tries to hide his true identity and make a life for himself.

Curtin does so many things really well in The Sinkings. Her depiction of convict life was honest, and she created a very interesting character in Little Jock. Her exploration of the realities for people born intersexed and their families was fascinating, and it was clear that life for those that are intersexed is no less difficult now as it was in the past, albeit perhaps in different ways.

The Sinkings was a good mix of history and contemporary life, although I do have to admit that I would have enjoyed the book just as much, if not more, if it had been solely about the life and death of Little Jock.

This was a wonderful debut Australian novel and one that I would recommend if you had the time.

 

5.5 / 8

Enjoyable and well written. Worth reading if you have the opportunity.

Do you enjoy reading debut novels? What is it that you like or don't like about them?

Originally posted 6 April 2011 Page Turners

The Messenger by Markus Zusak

The Messenger is another humorous, poignant and powerful story written by Markus Zusak with one of the better endings I have ever read in a novel.

The star of this story is Ed Kennedy, a young and aimless teenager making do in suburban Australia. He works part time as taxi driver and otherwise spends his days playing cards with his friends, spending time with his dog The Doorman and longing for his friend Audrey to love him the way that he loves her. When calamity strikes one day and Ed ends up putting an end to a bank robbery, his life changes forever. He begins to receive playing cards with addresses written on them; tasks that he must complete or face the wrath of whoever is sending them to him. But who is sending him these cards?

Ed never has any idea what he is doing. He is forced to make decisions and live a life with some purpose. Some of his tasks are easy and some are hard. He is faced with violence, poverty, love and redemption. He learns about himself and his friends. This isn't a nice story; the tasks that Ed has to complete are often difficult and dangerous and he suffers for it. But the tasks provide him with some drive and ambition, and he is able to pass that drive and ambition onto his friends and family when they need it.

I can't be more specific in my review of The Messenger because it such a clever, surprising and emotional story that I don't want to in any way spoil your own reading experience of this book.

Where Zusak excelled is in the ending. Not only does The Messenger provide us with a touchingly personal story about one person's journey of self-discovery, but it is also a story about the writer's relationship with their own characters.

7.5 / 8

Brilliant, couldn't put it down. Everyone should read it and I recommend that you buy it.

(PS. The only reason that this is 7.5/8 and not 8/8 is because I enjoyed The Book Thief just a touch more)

Who else thinks that Markus Zusak is one of the best contemporary writers they have read? It makes me proud to be Australian when I read the books that he writes (although I admit that I could just be getting a little carried away).

Originally posted 18 August 2011 Page Turners

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

Breaking Dawn is easily the best of the four Twilight books – it was mesmerising, and I am disappointed that my Twilight journey has come to an end (it's sad but true).

Spoilers contained herein.

There isn't much to say about these books, because they are not particularly well written with any sort of message or themes that are really worth discussing. But I will just make a few comments about what I enjoyed about this book.

I read Breaking Dawn in two sittings because it was entirely impossible to put down. I just had to keep reading and reading until it was finished. I stayed up way past my bedtime in order to finish it and then dreamt all night about vampires, but it was absolutely worth it.

What I enjoyed most about this book was that Bella did not whinge half as much as she usually did.

We also got to see some of the story unfold from Jacob's perspective which provided some interesting relief to Bella's usual melodramatic tone. Having said, Jacob was equally if not more melodramatic in his own way. His narrative voice was also a little too close to Bella's for comfort but that says more about the quality of Meyer's writing than anything else.

Bella just felt more grown up in this book. The events were a lot more adult. She was dealing with issues that I am beginning to think about at the moment. Maybe not the vampire stuff – but marriage and motherhood very much so. So, at last, she ceased to be a teenager with an attitude problem and became someone I could identify with (more so than usual anyway).

I don't care what anyone says. I know these books are trash. I know they show disturbing relationships to their teen readers, and I worry about what effect it will have on them in the future. I don't agree that it's 'no sex before marriage' message is a realistic or helpful message to today's teens (birth control could have been dealt with in this book but wasn't, surely that is a significantly more practical lesson Meyer could have imparted if she has such an interest in this area of social education).

But I can't help it - I love this series, and I loved this book.

7.5 / 8: Brilliant, couldn't put it down. It was amazing and I recommend that you buy it.

Originally posted 29 March 2011 Page Turners

Sydney Book Blogger Meet-up

Look at these cute little friends!

Last night I attended the inaugural Sydney Book Blogger/Twitterer/Reader Meetup at the Arthouse Hotel, and it was a great night.

The best thing about it was having faces to go with names and also meeting a whole lot of wonderful new people. It was nice to sit around with a group of likeminded people and talk books, life and anything else that took our fancy.

Thanks for the great night everyone and I will look forward to more catchups in the future. Big thanks to Marg for organising.

Originally posted 25 March 2011 Page Turners 

The Virago Book of Ghost Stories ed. Richard Dalby

The Virago Book of Ghost Stories is an entertaining way of exploring the world of ghost stories.

The book is an anthology of ghost stories written by talented female authors of the 20th Century, including Edith Wharton, E Nesbit, Mrs Gaskell, Elizabeth Bowen, Angela Carter and Fay Weldon. Their talent ensures that as you read their stories the hair on the back of your neck stands on end and you are sitting on the edge of the seat as you wait to find out who and what the ghost is.

There is everything in this book from the more traditional ghost stories told around the fireside late into the evening, to psychological experiments and manifestations. The ghosts are both real and imaginary. Some of the ghosts are human and some are not. Some are old and some are young. There are innocent victims, perpetrators of crime, disturbed men and women and of course there are haunted houses that are out to get their inhabitants. Some of the stories are written from the perspective of someone that is decidedly alive, and others are told from the perspective of the ghost themselves. If you are looking for variety, you will find it in the pages of The Virago Book of Ghost Stories.

The stories are collected in this anthology by Richard Dalby and his enthusiasm for the genre is very contagious. He has arranged the contents of The Virago Book of Ghost Stories in chronological order. This was a wonderful way to show how the ghost story has changed (or not changed) over time. I will admit to enjoying the ghost stories from the early 20th century that little bit more than the stories from the later 20th century. I think that this may be because the earlier the ghost story the more traditional it seemed to be. It could, however, also be accounted for the fact that the book is quite long.

In the introduction to The Virago Book of Ghost Stories, Richard Dalby explains how hard he found it to cut the book down because of the sheer volume of quality ghost stories told by the talented female authors of the 20th century. In fact, I believe that there is a second volume, and that there is also The Virago Book of Victorian Ghost Stories. Although I don't doubt that it would have been extremely difficult to limit the number of stories to include in the anthology, I thought that there were a few too many and that I was ready to move on to another book before I had read all the stories it contained.

Despite that, Richard Dalby's The Virago Book of Ghost Stories was a mesmerising collection and has not dulled my enthusiasm for a good ghost story.

6 / 8: Really enjoyable and well written. I would recommend it. 


Two Questions: 1. Do you enjoy ghost stories? and 2. Do you enjoy reading anthologies?

Originally posted 24 March 2011 Page Turners

Every Secret Thing by Marie Munkara

Marie Munkara's Every Secret Thing is a very special Australian book – but one that, because of its universal themes, I would recommend to all readers regardless of nationality.

Every Secret Things explores the reality of life for Indigenous Australian's during the missionary era of Australia's history. The story itself is a short novel, that plots the history of a mission in northern Australia, and the conflicts between The Bush Mob, The Mission Mob and the Catholic missionaries that staff the mission.

This book deals with culture, religion, faith, sex and family – and traces how the traditions of the Bush Mob are slowly wiped out by the interfering missionaries.

Munkara has firsthand experience of this cultural deterioration, being a member of the Stolen Generation, that is, the generation of First Nations children that were removed from their families in the name of integration (to read more about the Stolen Generation click here).

Every Secret Thing is a short novel, but it reads more like a series of comic short stories that recount events that occur in and around the mission. Munkara's direct and sarcastic approach to telling these stories is for the most part laugh out loud funny. She uses her sense of humour to expose the harsh realities of everyday life for both the Bush and Mission Mobs. The book, however, becomes increasingly distressing as the narrator adds her own commentary to events unfolding.

"And even though the eighth commandment stated quite clearly that it was very naughty to steal, the mission mob ignored this too and stole the things that were dearest to the bush mob’s heart. They stole their resistance to change, and they stole their belief in themselves and they stole their children. Because each black soul that was harvested and each child that was appropriated was another rung higher up the ladder to heaven for Father and his crew and another step closer to salvation from this cesspool of earthly temptation and sin."

For me, the true message of this book culminated in the isolation felt by one of these stolen children, who manages to return to the mission years later, only to find that she can longer relate to her family.

I have seen Marie Munkara speak about Every Secret Thing at the Sydney Writers Festival 2010, and also heard her discuss her book on the ABC Radio National Book Show (if you want to listen to this click here) - and is a down to earth lady with a lot of interesting and important things to say.

In 2008 Every Secret Thing won the David Unaipon Award for the best unpublished Indigenous Writing – an award this book certainly deserved.

Please read this book.

7 / 8

Brilliant, enjoyable and well written. Highly recommended.

Originally posted 14 March 2011 Page Turners

Deception Point by Dan Brown

There's not much to say about Dan Brown's Deception Point.

I love a bit of Dan Brown for light reading. His books are easy to breeze through and don't take a whole lot of concentration to finish but they are still exciting enough to grab your attention.

I had read Deception Point before, but I picked it up this time for a bit of relief from Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (I think that will be the disappointment of 2011). It was relief… of a sort.

Deception Point is largely based in northern most areas of the world and is centred around a "scientific discovery" of magnificent proportions. Of course, not everything is what it seems, and the cast of main protagonists have quite a task to get to the truth.

It was as predictable as they all are once you get used to Brown's formula. The mastermind is of course who the mastermind always is – an older male (usually white, because old white men rule the world - sorry, it's true) in a position of authority, who plays a main role in the story and is a sort of father figure to the main character. Same old same old.

My biggest complaint with this one was that it jumped between all the characters too quickly. Every few paragraphs I felt like one character stopped and another started – it went backwards and forwards so much it made me dizzy.

Having said all of that, it was enjoyable in a mind-numbing way, and it served its purpose of providing me with entertainment (which I'm sorry but Wide Sargasso Sea certainly wasn't providing me with) admirably.

6 / 8

Enjoyable. I recommend it if you approach it with the right attitude. Perfect for a bit of escapism.

Do you enjoy Dan Brown's books? What do you like/not like about them?

Originally Posted 6 March 2011 Page Turners

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke had enormous aspirations when she wrote Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell; a book with a strong plot and lots of potential.

I was really excited by this book initially, thinking that the story was going to be magically mesmerising. It is set in an alternative version of 19th century England where practical magic, that was once commonplace, has now died out. Enter Mr Norrell, a man who claims to be the only practical magician in existence and who sets out to return practical magic to the world. It soon becomes clear, however, that there is a second and more personable practical magician in England, Mr Jonathan Strange.

Mr Norrell takes Mr Strange on as his apprentice, and it chronicles their different magical approaches and activities that culminate in their falling out – which as an enormous influence on the practice of magic in England.

The events all stem from one of Mr Norrell's most terrible magical acts – the raising of a young woman from the dead – and the consequences it has for the magical and human realms.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell falls into many different genres (historical, fantasy, classic) and so is a book that no doubt has a wide appeal.

It's biggest appeal to me was its authenticity. Clarke used many different techniques to make it feel as if it really were a 19th century book. Clarke also wrote Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell in the language of the 19th century, very similar to the language of Austen or Dickens or Louisa May Alcott. She used real historical events but wove magical elements throughout and around them to give them their own distinct character.

There are wonderfully drawn charcoal drawings throughout the book that are very dark and blurry and are a perfect representation of the atmosphere that Clarke creates in the story.

The book has a significant volume of footnotes, a lot of which take up more room on a n individual page than the story itself. For the most part, I found these footnotes fascinating. Clarke has created an entire history of magic which she shares through the footnotes. I was astounded by this creative feat, initially at least, although I have to admit that I ceased to read them close to a half of the way through the novel.

Finally, Clarke successfully gave the book a very English feel. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell may have been based in an alternative world/universe but the language she used, the atmosphere she built and the characters that she created were so very English that it added a strong impression of realism to the story.

Did I love it?

I wanted to love it, and I almost did, except that it was about 300 – 400 pages too long. This book looks and feels like a brick and is almost impossible to carry around with you for extended periods of time. By the time that I got halfway through the story I was losing interest, and by the time that I was ¾'s of the way through it I was skim reading.

I understand that Clarke was attempting to write an epic historical novel set in an alternative history or world (a la LOTR perhaps?) but the result was a lot of tedious and unnecessary detail about the activities of the magicians and the other characters whose lives intersect with the magical realm. We read about a lot of different events and occurrences, but so few of them seemed to add anything to the plot.

Overall, I felt like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell had a lot of potential to be an enjoyable and unique book, but I feel like Susanna Clarke got a bit carried away and in the end the result was a long and tedious novel.

5.5 / 8

Good and worth reading if you have the opportunity, but not one to get excited over.

What did you think of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - did it keep you interested for its entire length or did you lose interest like me?

Originally posted 2 March 2011 Page Turners

Deaf Sentence by David Lodge

Deaf Sentence by David Lodge was an interesting and somewhat unique read.

The protagonist, Desmond Bates was a Professor of Linguistics before he was forced to retire from his university career as a result of his deteriorating hearing. Four years after retirement, he is beginning to struggle with his freedom. He misses the routine of university and has made himself a daily routine that is no longer satisfying him. His relationship with his second wife Fred is beginning to flounder and he finds himself a pawn in a young university student's manipulative mind games.

Lodge has written Deaf Sentence largely as personal diary, from the first-person perspective of Desmond. This is an effective way of telling the story because it provides us with an honest and uninhibited account of Desmond's experiences and thoughts on all the daily issues that affect him; his deafness, his relationship with his father and his wife and of course his adventures with Alex, the ominous PHD student that attaches herself to him.

As you can imagine if you were writing a diary of your own life, some parts are definitely more interesting than others, and I have to admit that I did skim those sections that didn't hold quite as much interest for me. I don't mean this in a bad way at all, if anything, it gave the book a more authentic feel.

At times, however, Lodge slips between the first and third person, which made the story seem rather halting and was both frustrating and unnecessary.

It is the way in which the story in Deaf Sentence unfolds and changes that makes this book interesting.

The book begins almost as if it is going to be a comic novel about the difficulties of living with deafness. You can't help but laugh when you read about Desmond's failing batteries and whistling hearing aids. Just as you can't help but laugh at his visits to his ageing father's home and trips to the shopping centre for lunch where they both yell at each other across the table because they can't hear themselves speak.

(*Spoilers in this paragraph*) Progressively, however, the book's tone changes to something more serious. Deaf Sentence tackles much bigger themes than deafness. It looks at marriage, love, family, new life and death. We discover that Alex is revealed as a manipulator who is not to be trusted. Desmond's first wife died of cancer and Desmond himself assisted her to pass away without any pain. His father experiences a stroke before they can move him into a nursing home, and he has to watch his father slowly fade away. Desmond visits Auschwitz and meditates on the nature of suffering. Finally, and positively, a grandchild is born, little Desmond, bring new life and new hope.

The book is sensitive, but very realistic and I felt the choice of telling the story through Desmond's own words in his own diary greatly contributed to this sense of realism. You could sense Desmond attempting to solve those bigger and more profound life experiences and questions, but not really being able to capture what he wants to in his diary or even in his own mind.

Lodge himself admits that this book is close to being autobiographical. From what I understand, many of Lodge's usual themes and influences are very apparent in Deaf Sentence. His Catholic upbringing is reflected particularly in Desmond's wife Fred and her faith. He also drew on his own experience of deafness, academia and campus life to write this book. Having said that, the way in which Deaf Sentence is written seems to be a step away from his usual writing style, and whilst the diary entry style wasn't entirely successful, it served its purpose in portraying a unique interesting story in a realistic way.

5 / 8

Good, and worth reading if you have the opportunity, but there is no need to prioritise it. 

Have read anything by David Lodge before? What do you think of him? I am interested in reading some more of his books in order to gain a greater understanding of him as an author.

Originally posted 28 February 2011 Page Turners

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

I know that I will probably be in the minority when I say this – but Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys was boring. As you heard in my last review (of sorts), I loved Jane Eyre. It has gone straight into my list of favourite books of all time (you can see the others in my widget on the sidebar). So, as you can imagine with my newfound love of Jane Eyre and all the great things I had heard about Wide Sargasso Sea, I was very much looking forward to reading it.

Initially, I thought that it was going to be fabulous. The writing is amazing (I can't deny it and I don't want to) and the story seemed liked it was going to be equally as good. But as much as I could see the potential and admire the writing, I just didn't enjoy it.

Here are my biggest complaints: it was too slow. I felt like I had to push my way through the writing to get to the story (hope that makes sense) and when I got to the story nothing interesting was happening.

There was no resolution to any parts of the story. A friend of mine who read it at the same time as me thought that this could perhaps be explained by the fact that Rhys was making a comment on how everything is resolved so neatly in Jane Eyre, and she is probably right. Having said that, I am just someone that needs answers at the end of a story.

There were too many endnotes. You know the notes that you have to flick to the back of the book to read? So annoying. I don't want to flip backwards and forwards every few pages for explanations about what I am reading. It ruins the flow.

It was interesting reading about the colonial history of the West Indies as it is referred to, but not interesting enough make up for the slow-moving story.

I very much understand and identify with Rhys's fascination with 'the woman in the attic' in Jane Eyre'. I admit myself to not being at all satisfied with Rochester's explanation of the situation and I never felt quite like I had closure on that issue in Jane Eyre. Having said that, Wade Sargasso Sea didn't help me in any way to resolve me feelings towards the first Mrs Rochester's situation. I know Rhys didn't necessarily write it to provide me with closure, but it would have been nice.

I know that is all negative, so I am sorry for adding to the negative energy out there in the world, but it had to be said.

3 / 8: Couldn't get into it but I finished it because I felt like I should.

Do you think I am crazy and that this is actually a fabulous book? I think perhaps most people feel like that.



Originally posted 2 March 2011 page Turners

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I loved this book so much that it is almost impossible for me to talk about in any articulate way.

I just want to gush about perfect it was. How much I loved Jane. How beautiful and poignant the writing is. How I wish it would never end but I couldn't put it down. So, bear with me while I ramble about how wonderful it was.

**If you haven't read Jane Eyre – don't read this post. It is impossible to talk about with spoiling most of the story and I want you to read it without knowing what happens. A lot of the time, you probably won't understand what I am talking about anyway. You have been warned.

Jane is such a wonderfully headstrong but moral character. I constantly felt heartbroken on her behalf, but nothing seemed to break her spirit. She believed in what was right and Christian and she acted upon it no matter what cost to her. She is perhaps one of the strongest characters I have ever read.

I admit to being initially incredulous at the way in which Jane leaves Thornfield Hall after the disastrous wedding and all that follows. I imagined that she would be the kind of person who would reject the kind of impropriety that behaviour demonstrates. It also seemed a bit over the top for her to then be wandering around the countryside begging and sleeping in fields. Maybe a little bit too over dramatic.

After talking to a friend though about this issue I feel a bit better about it. Jane was so fixated on doing the right and moral thing, demonstrated particularly by her returning to her aunt on her deathbed. She had been like this for her entire life. Even at Lowood School she could not accept the injustice that she saw in the way Helen Burns could, regardless of whether it was done in the name of God or not. I can see now that Jane believed so strongly that it was wrong for her to live in sin with Rochester, as he was urging, but she didn't trust her all too human desires and so rather than betray her beliefs, even her own nature, she chose to leave Thornfield Hall urgently.

I still found the aimless wandering around the countryside a little bit melodramatic, but I know I am probably out on a limb on this issue. In any event, it serves as the way in which she comes to meet her natural family and so I can easily not worry too much about my misgivings about this section of the story.

Then there's Rochester. I don't know what to make of him. Part of me thinks that he is just so adorable. Perhaps not initially – but when they are finally at the point of declaring their feelings for each other and he explains how he has been feeling that whole time that he has been watching her and trying to figure out what she feels about him – I couldn't help but sigh a big, long "aww". What a sweetheart. And his reaction when he finally comes back to him at the end of the book with his sweet confusion about whether it could really her come back to him because it's just too good to be true – I couldn't help but sigh another big, long "aww". 

On the other hand, the man has locked his crazy wife up in the attic. For years. And then tries to trick an innocent young girl into bigamy, then treats her like sh*t at the wedding when all is exposed and tries to convince her to live in sin with him. All of which he knows (or should know) that she would morally abhor, and in doing so puts her in a position where she feels her only option is practically to escape with what little she has – and we know how that turns out!

He doesn't once take responsibility for his actions (in my humble opinion anyway). I mean I know times were different back then – but there is no real sense of remorse for what he has done. There is just this sense of how hard done by he feels that he is. And he is selfish. He thinks about himself, and his own happiness more than he thinks about Jane's.

And yet…. Their romance is just so sweet. He loves her. She loves him. And despite everything, they end up together. He is a sinner, but her love redeems him. Beautiful.

The wife in the attic – that is a whole other issue. I know times were different back then – but you can't help but think that locking someone in an attic would only send them crazier. This was the only part of the story I didn't feel had any real conclusion. I wasn't satisfied with Rochester's story about how she came to be crazy and a prisoner at Thornfield Hall, it just seemed a bit one sided.

(If you ignored my advice above and are still reading this post even though you haven't read the book – at least don't read this paragraph for me) Then there is the way in which everything has such a neat conclusion. She goes to the charity school, which is terrible but then it improves, and she becomes a teacher there. Because she does well as a teacher, she is able to become a governess and meet the man she will fall in love with. Her potential marriage collapses when she finds that Rochester has been lying to her and she finds herself homeless and starving. Then the people that she seeks help from just coincidentally happen to be her long-lost relatives. Then she gets a massive amount of money left her and becomes very rich. Then she finds that Rochester's wife has died so she can marry him. And he is blind which places them on equal footing.

It almost feels too good to be true – but you love Jane so much that it doesn't matter. You want the best for Jane and so you are willing to believe the almost unbelievable for her sake.

And what about St John Rivers! I have to admit that at one point I almost thought that she would agree to marry him. That man was horrible. Yet in the end he is able to come to understand his faults and mistakes and so is forgiven.

I think that over all this book is mostly about morality, more than Christianity or anything else.

I am not going to go too much into this because there are scholars out there that are better placed than me to talk about it. I think, however, that Bronte was sharing a powerful message that what man says about God and religion isn't always the right thing – that behaving in a manner that is moral and good is sometimes bigger than religion.

In the preface to Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte says:

"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. To pluck the mask from the face of the Pharisee, is not to lift an impious hand to the Crown of Thorns.

These things and deeds are diametrically opposed: they are as distinct as is vice from virtue. Men too often confound them: they should not be confounded: appearance should not be mistaken for truth; narrow human doctrines, that only tend to elate and magnify a few, should not be substituted for the world-redeeming creed of Christ. There is – I repeat it – a difference; and it is a good, and not a bad action to mark broadly and clearly the line of separation between them."

Regardless of whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, atheist or agnostic, I think that this is a useful lesson for everyone.

I think what best illustrated Bronte's views on these issues was the contrast between Jane Eyre and her friend Helen Burns at Lowood School. Helen accepted the way of like at Lowood; the starvation, the diseases, the abuse and humiliation because she believed in forgiveness preached in the Bible and had convinced herself that in the name of God it was her duty to accept things as they were (that's how I saw it anyway). Jane on the other hand wasn't willing to accept the wrongs perpetrated against the inmates of Lowood School in the name of forgiveness. She saw that the behaviour of the management of the institution (the Church), although done in the name of God, was immoral and a crime against the children and those acts were worth fighting against.

The same can be seen in the character of St John Rivers. He believes that he is a Christian man (in fact he is a clergyman),and yet he is depicted as a demanding and almost deceitful man (I am thinking about when he accused Jane of going back on her promise to marry him when in fact she gave no such promise) and it often feels as though he is only doing the acts that he does in order to make himself seem better in the eyes of others.

The biggest lesson I learnt from Jane Eyre is how important it is to stand up for what you believe in and doing the right, good and honourable thing will always be the most personally rewarding.

I will just leave you with my favourite moment in the book - the moment when Rochester and Jane are having their first meaningful discussion in the living room by the fire. Jane spoke to him as if she were his equal, despite being at times confused about what he was trying to say. They were so obviously trying to get the feel for the other person, and they had this instant connection and the tension between the two of them was palpable. Their discussion continued for quite some pages, and I remember closing the book when their conversation ended and just feeling exhausted and emotionally drained by their exchange.

Ultimately – what does Jane Eyre mean to me? It means passion and that living a passionate life is living a full life.

I love Jane Eyre.

8 / 8: One of the best books I have ever read. Everyone should read it - it is totally amazing. I am in love.

Am I overreacting or did you love it as much as I did? Feel free to post your comments on my random thoughts and opinions, I imagine some of them might be controversial?

Originally posted 23 February 2011 Page Turners

From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne

From the Earth to the Moon is not one of Jules Verne's best works.

It is such a shame because I have really enjoyed the Jules Verne books that I have read recently those being Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Around the World in 80 Days (which I am about 1/3 through reading on my iPhone).

From the Earth to the Moon was written in 1865 and is based on the adventures of the Gun Club, an influential American club that finds itself at a loss as to what to do with itself now that its weaponry invention services are no longer needed. The President of the club, Mr Barbicane decides that the time has come to send a projectile to the moon, and the rest of the book details how the Gun Club works toward achieving this goal.

Verne's storytelling in From the Earth to the Moon just doesn't compare to the other works of his that I have read. To be fair, the way in which the story unfolds is well done, but the content just didn't live up to what I have come to expect from Verne. The characters felt like caricatures (which perhaps they were supposed to be?) that were just so overdone as to make them unbelievable. My biggest complaint, however, was that the scientific discussion was just overdone. He was a little but guilty of this in A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, but not nearly to the same extent as he is guilty of it in this book. No doubt for someone with a significant interest in space exploration or even just science would find this an interesting read, if only because of the insight it provides into post-civil war American scientific knowledge.

Ultimately though, this was a disappointment, and I didn't finish the book. If you are new to science fiction, this is definitely not one for you.

I am, however, still looking forward to finishing Around the World in 80 Days and starting 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

1 / 8

Couldn't even finish it

I would be interested to know what you thought of this book if you have read it, and how you thought it compared to some of his other works.

Originally posted 21 February 2011 Page Turners

An important notice from the author

"NOTICE

Person's attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted;

Persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished;

Persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.

BY ORDER of the author

PER G.G, Chief of the Ordnance"

~ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

And so my Huckleberry Finn journey begins.

Originally posted 18 February 2011 Page Turners

Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee

JM Coetzee's 1999 Booker Prize winner Disgrace is a simply told story with a powerful message, and worthy of the accolades it has received.

I expected something special from Disgrace, which is an exploration of racial politics in post-apartheid South Africa, but I find that I have a lot less to say about this book than I expected.

David Lurie is a middle aged, divorced bachelor who finds himself unceremoniously out of his university teaching job following an affair with a student. He is a wretched character, someone whom I found difficult to respect. Finding himself in disgrace, he goes to stay with his daughter Lucy on her country farm, where she grows vegetables and cares for abandoned animals.

Here, he finds himself and his daughter victim of atrocities committed against them in a home invasion and they both struggle to deal with the consequences in their different ways.

David cannot come to terms with the events that have had such an impact on their lives, particularly Lucy's. Lucy quietly accepts what has been done to her as the price that she has to pay for staying on the land that he white ancestors once so barbarically took from the original inhabitants of the land. This doesn't mean that she isn't a changed person by what has happened to her, but she is unwilling to move from her home in the wake of the horrible events. David cannot comprehend her attitude, urging her to move away for fear of further attacks.

Disgrace is about misery and reconciliation on a personal as well as a political level. Coetzee creates a depressing picture of a land full of hate and misery attempting to cope with political change and racial politics.

There is a lot more to say about JM Coetzee's Disgrace that I am not able to adequately discuss in this review.

For the first time ever, I am not going to give this book a rating out of 8 according to my usual practice because I feel so ambivalent towards this book, and I really can't explain why.

Is this feeling of ambivalence unique to me? I would love to know what other people think of this well-known book.

Originally posted 17 February 2011 Page Turners

Death Before Wicket by Kerry Greenwood

In Death Before Wicket, the sophisticated and debonair The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher visits Sydney, ostensibly for a holiday, but also because she has been summoned there by two young university men to solve the mystery of some missing university documents, which were stolen from a safe at Sydney University. A friend of these young men has been blamed for the theft and they hope that Phryne can clear his name.

Phryne takes on this seemingly simple problem but soon finds herself embroiled in a mystery involving curses and black magic. The deeper she delves in the mystery the more danger she places herself in.

Her investigations into this matter are of course complicated by the fact that upon returning to Sydney, her faithful companion Dot discovers that her sister has disappeared, leaving her husband and children behind. Phryne attempts to discover the whereabouts of the missing woman, but her investigations lead her into the seedier side of Sydney life, and she has to try to discover the truth without hurting Dot's feelings or Catholic sensibilities.

I did enjoy this book, although strangely not quite as much as I have her others. I think that is because the change of setting from Melbourne to Sydney may have distracted me a little bit. Having said that, Greenwood's depiction of 1920's Sydney is spot on. She captures the people of Sydney, the atmosphere and of course the heat (something I am very familiar with, especially this week with temperatures reaching almost 40C (104F) every day) so wonderfully that I felt as though I was right there in the 'heat' of the moment with Phryne.

The plot in Death Before Wicket was the most complicated plot I have read in a Phryne Fisher mystery, and whilst that sometimes made it a bit harder to follow than the other books in the series, it still added to the mystery.

Phryne herself was as sophisticated in Sydney as she is in Melbourne. As usual, my mouth watered at the descriptions of all the food and the drink that they all consume, and I was particularly taken aback by the raunchiest sex I think Phryne has ever had (that I have read about anyway!).

All in all, a fabulous read and I can't wait to get my hands on another one in this series.

6.5 / 8

Really enjoyable and well written, couldn't put it down. Recommend that you buy it.

 

Do you enjoy reading books that are based in your own city? What do you enjoy about them?

Originally posted 16 February 2011 Page Turners

Space Ranger by Issac Asimov

Space Ranger is the first instalment of an exciting science fiction series written by one of the most prolific authors of all time, Isaac Asimov.

The star of this series is David Starr, a newly qualified biophysicist who has recently been accepted as a member of The Council of Science, located on Earth. He is given a task; to uncover a criminal conspiracy to hold the Earth ransom by poisoning its food supplies. Earth has long since used up its natural resources and relies on the farms on Mars as its primary source of food.

David Starr goes to Mars disguised as a 'farm boy' and is embroiled in a plan to dastardly his life is in peril until he can uncover the mastermind (sounds like crime fiction doesn't it).

Asimov is important to science fiction, not just because of how prolific a writer he was, but because he was one of the first writers of hard science fiction, that is, science fiction based on real scientific thought/theories.

Asimov himself was a biochemist as well as a writer, and his depiction of Mars in Space Ranger is all the more fascinating because the Mars that he creates, with its thin atmosphere not able to support human life and its network of fissures that crosses the planet, was an accurate representation of the planet according to mid 19th century knowledge (although now we know differently).

In Space Ranger, Asimov effectively combines this (historically) accurate setting with an exciting story in a way that displays his imagination and his talent for storytelling.

I was swept up in the action and drama of this book; unable to put it down until I had figured out who it was that putting the Earth under such a great threat. It had me completely drawn in from beginning to end, so much so that I was giving my boyfriend unwelcome/exciting updates about what was happening as the story progressed.

If you are looking for a tense and exciting read, this is a book for you. If you are looking for a short but creative introduction to the fun and fabulous world of science fiction, this is one for you too.

6.5 / 8 stars

Brilliant, I couldn't put it down. I would definitely recommend it.

 I read somewhere from memory that he is one of the only authors who has been published in almost all sections of the Dewey Decimal system. I am not quite sure what that means, but it sounds impressive.

Have you read any of Isaac Asimov's writing?

Originally posted 14 February 2011 Page Turners