Things what I read
Jun. 11th, 2009 11:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jadesfireI should preface this by saying that in the last couple of years, I haven't done a whole lot of reading, for various reasons. Hopefully this is a better sign of things to come. I also need to say, sorry all of you who recommended The Dresden Files and told me I'd love them. For whatever reason, they don't work for me (I finished 1 but couldn't get through 2) and I'm not going to be trying the rest of the series. I realise that this is heresy in some corners of my flist, but it's just how it is.
Anyway, moving swifly on, I've tried to make these as spoiler-free as possible, although obviously that may change if anyone comments ;)
Things I have read recently:
The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss
Again, this is one that was recommended by my flist. Apparently my online personality and my offline one are different enough that I shouldn't ask for recommendations, because at least 3 people enthused when I said I had this, and...well...
I didn't dislike it exactly, it's just that it left me feeling dissatisfied. I do realise that it's a romp of a book, a comedy adventure thing rather than anything serious, but I was left with the same kind of feeling I get when I watch "League of Gentlemen" or "Little Britain". No matter how much I'm told it's funny, I just don't get the joke, and the whole thing ends up feeling a little pointless.
So no, I won't be rushing to read the sequel to this. On the other hand, it has a fine line in terrible puns and a fun plot, as well as a great main character. I just had the constant feeling that I was looking for something that wasn't there, which isn't the book's fault, but because of it, I couldn't settle to reading properly and just skimmed the last quarter or so.
This is a bit of weird one, because while I can't enthuse about this book, I wouldn't not recommend it either. It's a light read, fun and fast-paced and the action sequences are brilliant (my favourite parts of the book, if I'm honest). For me, what was missing was the depth of character that I find in satire/comedy like Pratchett, where you have the feeling that if you scratch the characters, there's real depth to them. Here, the affectation of the main character felt like it had seeped into the whole book, and I was left vaguely disappointed.
Capote in Kansas by Kim Powers
Read this book. It's fairly short and is written in a direct, easy style to follow, but wow. I have a real weakness for historical/fictional biography, and Powers blends together the fact and the fiction so seemelessly that you have no idea which is which. In the epilogue, he does lay out what parts he made up and what are matters of record, but it really, really doesn't matter.
Two books lurk in the background of Capote in Kansas, although one of them is never named.* Not having read In Cold Blood, and knowing nothing about it before reading this book, it's hard to say how accurate Powers is being, but the resonance of Capote's novel through this one is so strong. The idea of taking actual events and fictionalising them, or at least turning them into literature and the question if an idea works with the narrative, does it matter if it's really true or not? The latter is one I've been interested in since seeing The Invention of Love years ago. In that, Stoppard raises the idea of something being "the truth about a person", even if they never did the action described. Capote in Kansas feels like that kind of novel, where it doesn't matter if the events described took place or not. What matters is that this is how these people were.
The story shifts narrators, from 'Nelle', whose identity quickly becomes clear, to Capote himself, to Capote's staff - his housekeeper and the air-conditioning repair man who's his most recent fixation - which is the kind of thing that would normally drive me mad in a short space of time. Here, it works perfectly, each character's voice distinct and clear and shedding light on the last days of a troubled, brilliant man. The depth of character in the novel is extraordinary, from Nelle's isolation and neuroses to Myrtle Bennet's affection for the man she works for and who constantly berates her.
I started reading this in the spare 2 hours I had between finishing work and going to choir, and I actually resented having to get up and go sing because I was so deeply into the novel. It felt as though I was drinking it in rather than reading, the kind of book where you just get lost in the characters, completely and absolutely. It's haunting and vivid and is going to stay with me for a while yet.
*As far as I recall. Nelle's novel is definitely never named, but I don't remember if In Cold Blood is explictly named or not.
Scipio by Ross Leckie
As I said above, I am a huge fan of historical biography, and have read some really brilliant one of Roman historical figures. My second* favourite novel series is the Sub Rosa novels by Stephen Saylor, which capture the turmoil of the late republic far more vividly than a straightforward history book can manage. Scipio goes over a hundred years back from those, to the height of the Roman Republic and the time when it was threatened by Hannibal (yes, and the elephants. the elephants aren't important in the novel, but it's the one thing everyone knows about Hannibal so I thought I'd better mention it)
What interested me about Scipio was the period of time Leckie chooses to focus on. The novel purports to be the dictated memoirs of Scipio, told at the end of his life to a favourite slave, Bostar, who unbeknownst to Scipio, used to a mapmaker for Hannibal. Still with me? Great. The narrative weaves together Scipio's account of his life with Bostar's, painting a vivid picture of life in Italy during the period. While Scipio's world is one of politics and intrigue, Bostar sees the simple struggle for survival faced by the people. Scipio's concerns are battles and senatorial plots, while Bostar's can be summed up by the phrase 'don't get killed'. The contrast is striking, as is Bostar's view of Scipio and the events of his life, which is quite different to how Scipio himself sees things.
Although the novel does follow Scipio to the decisive moment of his life, it still felt a little lopsided to me, as though we were missing the last third of the story. But it's one of the best historical biographies I've read, and it's so good to have something that covers the early period of Roman history rather than concentrating on the excesses of empire.
*My favourite is the Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This is another book where the depth of the characters, and the unfairness of their lives, will just suck you in and reduce you to a quivering heap. There's a definite cinematic quality to it, and I don't only say that because I've seen The Greatest Show on Earth too many times. It's not a broad sweep of a book, which would have been easy given the subject matter, but rather it's a close, intimate novel about... I want to say "about love" but that makes it sound more trivial than it feels. Trivial is not a word I would use for this book. There's a shocking intimacy to much of it, where you're so close inside Jacob's head that you want to weep with him, for his loss, his humiliation and his strength of character. The story shifts between his present, trapped inside an old body that no longer feels like his and at the mercy of the nursing home staff, and his past, the circus. The blending of the two works brilliantly, and you're not allowed to forget that you're seeing the past through Jacob's eyes, even as you trust his narration completely.
There are hugely shocking moments throughout the book, and some unexpected twists in what could otherwise be a straightforward love story. Every character, whether they're fully developed or just have a walk-on part, feels rounded and real, but it's the minutiae of circus life that really makes the book sing. Too often with historical fiction, or one set in such a specific time and place, you can feel the weight of the writer's research in the story and how they really want you to know what they read about. Instead, this book really wants you to understand Jacob and Marlene and all the other circus-folk. The reality of their lives, the grind, the poverty, the hardship and the joys.
It's not always an easy read, but it's always worth it, and like Capote in Kansas, you're left wishing it was longer, while feeling it's absolutely the perfect lenght.
Oh, and without giving it away, I LOVED the ending. So very much. Since it's me, that doesn't tell you whether it's happy or not, but I will tell you that it was absolutely right and had me in tears for just how right it was.
Anyway, moving swifly on, I've tried to make these as spoiler-free as possible, although obviously that may change if anyone comments ;)
Things I have read recently:
The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss
Again, this is one that was recommended by my flist. Apparently my online personality and my offline one are different enough that I shouldn't ask for recommendations, because at least 3 people enthused when I said I had this, and...well...
I didn't dislike it exactly, it's just that it left me feeling dissatisfied. I do realise that it's a romp of a book, a comedy adventure thing rather than anything serious, but I was left with the same kind of feeling I get when I watch "League of Gentlemen" or "Little Britain". No matter how much I'm told it's funny, I just don't get the joke, and the whole thing ends up feeling a little pointless.
So no, I won't be rushing to read the sequel to this. On the other hand, it has a fine line in terrible puns and a fun plot, as well as a great main character. I just had the constant feeling that I was looking for something that wasn't there, which isn't the book's fault, but because of it, I couldn't settle to reading properly and just skimmed the last quarter or so.
This is a bit of weird one, because while I can't enthuse about this book, I wouldn't not recommend it either. It's a light read, fun and fast-paced and the action sequences are brilliant (my favourite parts of the book, if I'm honest). For me, what was missing was the depth of character that I find in satire/comedy like Pratchett, where you have the feeling that if you scratch the characters, there's real depth to them. Here, the affectation of the main character felt like it had seeped into the whole book, and I was left vaguely disappointed.
Capote in Kansas by Kim Powers
Read this book. It's fairly short and is written in a direct, easy style to follow, but wow. I have a real weakness for historical/fictional biography, and Powers blends together the fact and the fiction so seemelessly that you have no idea which is which. In the epilogue, he does lay out what parts he made up and what are matters of record, but it really, really doesn't matter.
Two books lurk in the background of Capote in Kansas, although one of them is never named.* Not having read In Cold Blood, and knowing nothing about it before reading this book, it's hard to say how accurate Powers is being, but the resonance of Capote's novel through this one is so strong. The idea of taking actual events and fictionalising them, or at least turning them into literature and the question if an idea works with the narrative, does it matter if it's really true or not? The latter is one I've been interested in since seeing The Invention of Love years ago. In that, Stoppard raises the idea of something being "the truth about a person", even if they never did the action described. Capote in Kansas feels like that kind of novel, where it doesn't matter if the events described took place or not. What matters is that this is how these people were.
The story shifts narrators, from 'Nelle', whose identity quickly becomes clear, to Capote himself, to Capote's staff - his housekeeper and the air-conditioning repair man who's his most recent fixation - which is the kind of thing that would normally drive me mad in a short space of time. Here, it works perfectly, each character's voice distinct and clear and shedding light on the last days of a troubled, brilliant man. The depth of character in the novel is extraordinary, from Nelle's isolation and neuroses to Myrtle Bennet's affection for the man she works for and who constantly berates her.
I started reading this in the spare 2 hours I had between finishing work and going to choir, and I actually resented having to get up and go sing because I was so deeply into the novel. It felt as though I was drinking it in rather than reading, the kind of book where you just get lost in the characters, completely and absolutely. It's haunting and vivid and is going to stay with me for a while yet.
*As far as I recall. Nelle's novel is definitely never named, but I don't remember if In Cold Blood is explictly named or not.
Scipio by Ross Leckie
As I said above, I am a huge fan of historical biography, and have read some really brilliant one of Roman historical figures. My second* favourite novel series is the Sub Rosa novels by Stephen Saylor, which capture the turmoil of the late republic far more vividly than a straightforward history book can manage. Scipio goes over a hundred years back from those, to the height of the Roman Republic and the time when it was threatened by Hannibal (yes, and the elephants. the elephants aren't important in the novel, but it's the one thing everyone knows about Hannibal so I thought I'd better mention it)
What interested me about Scipio was the period of time Leckie chooses to focus on. The novel purports to be the dictated memoirs of Scipio, told at the end of his life to a favourite slave, Bostar, who unbeknownst to Scipio, used to a mapmaker for Hannibal. Still with me? Great. The narrative weaves together Scipio's account of his life with Bostar's, painting a vivid picture of life in Italy during the period. While Scipio's world is one of politics and intrigue, Bostar sees the simple struggle for survival faced by the people. Scipio's concerns are battles and senatorial plots, while Bostar's can be summed up by the phrase 'don't get killed'. The contrast is striking, as is Bostar's view of Scipio and the events of his life, which is quite different to how Scipio himself sees things.
Although the novel does follow Scipio to the decisive moment of his life, it still felt a little lopsided to me, as though we were missing the last third of the story. But it's one of the best historical biographies I've read, and it's so good to have something that covers the early period of Roman history rather than concentrating on the excesses of empire.
*My favourite is the Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This is another book where the depth of the characters, and the unfairness of their lives, will just suck you in and reduce you to a quivering heap. There's a definite cinematic quality to it, and I don't only say that because I've seen The Greatest Show on Earth too many times. It's not a broad sweep of a book, which would have been easy given the subject matter, but rather it's a close, intimate novel about... I want to say "about love" but that makes it sound more trivial than it feels. Trivial is not a word I would use for this book. There's a shocking intimacy to much of it, where you're so close inside Jacob's head that you want to weep with him, for his loss, his humiliation and his strength of character. The story shifts between his present, trapped inside an old body that no longer feels like his and at the mercy of the nursing home staff, and his past, the circus. The blending of the two works brilliantly, and you're not allowed to forget that you're seeing the past through Jacob's eyes, even as you trust his narration completely.
There are hugely shocking moments throughout the book, and some unexpected twists in what could otherwise be a straightforward love story. Every character, whether they're fully developed or just have a walk-on part, feels rounded and real, but it's the minutiae of circus life that really makes the book sing. Too often with historical fiction, or one set in such a specific time and place, you can feel the weight of the writer's research in the story and how they really want you to know what they read about. Instead, this book really wants you to understand Jacob and Marlene and all the other circus-folk. The reality of their lives, the grind, the poverty, the hardship and the joys.
It's not always an easy read, but it's always worth it, and like Capote in Kansas, you're left wishing it was longer, while feeling it's absolutely the perfect lenght.
Oh, and without giving it away, I LOVED the ending. So very much. Since it's me, that doesn't tell you whether it's happy or not, but I will tell you that it was absolutely right and had me in tears for just how right it was.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-11 11:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-11 12:35 pm (UTC)I didn't *not* like the book exactly, it was just more of a snack, while the others were full meals.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-11 02:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-11 02:46 pm (UTC)Also, while you're here, do you happen to have a copy of the icon you made me? The 'Jadesfire fic' one? I wanted to use it on my fic list, but it was saved on the stolen laptop and I can't find it in my email :S Ta muchly.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-11 02:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-11 02:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-11 09:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-11 09:49 pm (UTC)Thanks :)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-12 04:21 am (UTC)To be fair, I should mention that I find most of his books build a good story but then 75 pages into it I start to get a bit bored and nearly always I do a bit of skimming around pg 180-230 or so.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-12 07:13 am (UTC)Regarding Capote in Kansas: since you said you knew nothing of In Cold Blood beforehand I'll assume you didn't see either of the two recent biopics about Capote, both of which largely focus on his writing In Cold Blood. I haven't seen the one with Philip Seymour Hoffman but Infamous with Toby Jones as Capote (and a really, um, interesting performance from Daniel Craig as Perry Smith) is a movie I enjoyed a lot, and coming from that it sounds like I might enjoy the book.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-13 04:22 pm (UTC)