Category: Book Reviews

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review – Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

About the Book

You will certainly have heard about the Austen family or, at the very least, the timeless Jane Austen. Whether you have read her novels, watched Mr Darcy coming out of a lake (and possibly then read the book only to be disappointed that the lake scene never happened), or visited the Jane Austen museum in Bath, everyone at some point in their life will come across the name. However, very few of you, if any, will have heard of Anne Sharp (I certainly hadn’t!). Well, while the story takes place at the Austens’ estate in Godmersham Park, the story is very much Anne Sharp’s.

So, who is Anne Sharp? Well, for starters, she sounds like she has come straight out of a Jane Austen novel – A woman who refused to follow what society expected of her. She refused to marry simply for money or status, and vowed only to marry for love as she felt her mother and father had done. It came as a shock, therefore, when following the death of her mother, her father left her with little support, and a choice: Marry or work as governess at Godmersham park, tutoring young Fanny Austen.

Throughout the chapters, we hear about Anne Sharp’s struggles in navigating the Austen household, including Elizabeth Austen (her stern employer), Henry Austen (brother of Jane Austen, who sets his eyes upon Anne Sharp), and, of course, Jane Austen. 

Note: The story, as Gill Hornby notes, is based on a true story, with the events being taken from Fanny Austen’s journal – However, the rest is imagined.

My Thoughts on the Book

Right from the start, Gill Hornby writes in a way that flows really well and brings the whole scene to life. I can see, in my mind’s eye, the grand manor standing before me. I can see the grounds that they walk around. I can see the characters, their outfits and eccentricities. I can feel Anne’s moments of distress as though I were there with her, and her strength as she refuses to comply with society’s norms. 

One of the greatest pleasures of the book was seeing Jane Austen brought to life as the person I imagined her to be – There was something so invigorating about seeing a character of such humour and wit brought to life before me, and that was what I most loved about the book.

And yet, Gill Hornby doesn’t let Jane steal the limelight. This is about Anne Sharp, afterall. To begin with, Anne isn’t the most endearing of characters, though we do have some sympathy for her. But with each struggle she fights through, with each moment she refuses to be defined, and each time she opens her shell a little bit more, bringing joy to Godmersham Park, we find her growing on us bit by bit until she becomes an inspirational figure. – Anne Sharp, the woman few know, but is rightly brought to life by this superb novel.

The only point I would add about the book is that I can see how it would be more enjoyable to someone such as myself who already had an interest in the Austen family, and therefore enjoyed it from that point of view. And while I think people might still like the story, even if they don’t have such an interest, I do think it probably isn’t for those who are looking for a story full of action and surprise, something that will excite. Though, you never know!

Conclusion

I really enjoyed the book, I thought the story flowed well, and I was intrigued not only about Jane Austen, but also about Anne Sharp’s story and how everything would turn out. Would things at Godmersham Park work out, or would she be forced to find another route? But the best joy was seeing the characters really come to life right before me – For that reason alone, this is a book I would recommend to people (especially those who have an interest in the Austen family).

I hope you enjoyed today’s book blog – My next book blog will be a review of Dominicana by Angie Cruz. Goodbye for now!

TBT 🙂

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review – The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

Hello there, and a Happy New Year! Wherever you are in the world reading this, I hope you had a lovely New year’s Celebration (whether that involved staying in and reading a book, or going out to a New Year’s party) and that you have a great year ahead of you. It is a great time of the year for thinking about and setting intentions for the year ahead and I have spent plenty of time thinking and writing about what my intentions will be for the next year. 

One thing that came to mind is that I would like to spend more time on my book blog. I enjoy reading, I always have and hopefully always will. I rarely, however, make time to actually think about the books I have read, what made them so good (or, in some cases, not so good), what made them connect with me, and what (if anything) I learned and could take away from the book. That was largely why I set up this book blog in the first place, along with sharing my thoughts with like-minded people.

So, long story short, this is a new year, and I hope to make it the year that I post frequently. I look forward to seeing what lies ahead in 2023, kicking things off with a review of The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly.

About the Book

I confess that the first I heard of The Lincoln Lawyer was when an advert popped up for the Netflix TV series, and I then came across the book in a Costa (the coffee chain) bookstall for charity. Now, I have said a few times that I do not usually choose to read crime or thriller novels – I have nothing against them, but they are not my go-to when deciding what to read. I do, however, get entertainment from reading something, and then watching the film/TV series to see what they have changed (a bit sad, I know…). So, when I saw the book, I decided to give it a go.

The book comes with the tagline ‘There is no client as scary as an innocent man’, and when The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, meets his new client, he wonders whether he has just stumbled across an innocent man. 

Mickey Haller starts off thinking he has come across the star client, a man whose family is loaded with cash and can afford to pay all his fees, and ends up wishing he had never taken the case, as he is taken down darker and more dangerous paths. Until he has to ask himself the ultimate question – What will it take to bring down the devil?

What I Thought

About the Characters

I thought the characters were written really well. I didn’t particularly like Mickey Haller, his moral character was often lacking, he was constantly scheming, and he seemed more focused on money and glory than his friends and whatever family he had left. But I think that is exactly how he is meant to come across – a top criminal defence attorney who will do anything to win, and he truly believes that in doing so he is playing an important part in the justice system’s checks and balances. Despite this, I somehow found myself siding with the character who gets thrown into situations where he must make painstaking choices.

I did, however, like Maggie McPherson, who was working as a prosecutor and gunning for a higher role that, for political reasons, she had been held back from. She was doing this while having a child at home to take care of as a single mother. And she is a badass. I found her quite endearing, you both sympathise with her and respect her at the same time and, for me, I think she was one of the stand-out characters.

About the story

I enjoyed the story, there were plenty of twists, turns, and reveals to keep it engaging throughout. I did guess a few of the points in the book, but there were plenty that I did not, and you never really knew where the book was going until right at the end. 

Admittedly, I found it to be a little slow-moving to begin with, and I was wanting more, until about a quarter of the way through. At that point, everything got going and it did not disappoint – it became, and stayed, fast-paced, the narrative moving along quickly without rushing you towards the finish, at which point I was keen to find out what would happen. The ending did not disappoint.

Conclusion

I enjoyed the story. If I were to decide to read a crime/thriller book, this is the sort of thing I would be looking for and would enjoy reading – I always want to be kept guessing (but have enough information so that I could reasonably have predicted the ending – I cannot stand when books throw in a random curve ball at the end), I want the writing to flow enough that I can see it playing out in my mind, and I want the characters to be believable without being boring. And this book provided exactly that.

If you have also read the book, I would be interested to get your views on it – Did you enjoy it? Or did you find that the book was not for you? Please let me know either on social media or in the comments below, I would love to hear from you! 🙂

Goodbye for now!

TBT

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review – The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

Trigger Warning: The book (and therefore this post) includes references to suicide and death.

Review Summary for busy people

Not for me – I felt the story lacked suspense and characters I could connect with, and was too clichéd to stand out.

there wasn’t enough happening in the story to keep me interested, leaving it lacking in suspense“

Intro

Hello there! Thank you for joining me here for a new book review – I confess it has been a while since I last posted. In fact, it has been a while since I last wrote something that wasn’t for work and, to change that, I have been planning new routines to get back into writing. So you may be hearing a lot more from me over the coming months (whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you!).

Today’s post is a review of The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith, which was chosen by my workplace’s book club. It isn’t often that I read a crime novel, though I used to binge-read them as a teenager, so I was actually quite looking forward to getting back into the genre and seeing what I had been missing out on – So, let’s get into the review!

Story Summary

Most of us can only ever imagine what life as a rich celebrity in London is like. We might imagine the extravagances they spend their money on without a second of thought, the kind of wild parties they might attend, or questionable actions that the less privileged would never get away with. Luna Landry, however, didn’t have to imagine. Luna, born to a neglectful mother and the product of a one-night stand, got her first insight into the life of the wealthy when she was adopted by Sir and Lady Bristow, and more so when she became one of London’s most loved models. Unfortunately, she could not handle the pressure, her fame sending her further into despair until she couldn’t take it anymore, and jumped from her balcony into the snow below… Or did she?

The world has accepted Lula’s death as suicide, but John Bristow, her older adoptive brother, has not. He thinks someone is hiding a secret and hires Strike, a private detective whose life and business has hit rock bottom, to investigate the alleged murder of Lula Landry. This could be Strike’s last chance to save his business, and John Bristow’s last chance at finding the truth behind his sister’s death.

For once, Strike is not having to go through this alone. Robin, the new temp worker is keen, bright, and hard-working, and has secret always dreamed of being an investigator. Now that her dream has come true, she will defy her boyfriend, her own expectations, and even her own boss to hunt down the killer (if there even is one).

What I thought

I had read/heard good things about the Robert Galbraith books and, as I hadn’t read any crime novels for a while, I was looking forward to reading The Cuckoo’s Calling and really wanted to like the book… Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, I felt that there wasn’t enough happening in the story to keep me interested, leaving it lacking in suspense. There was a lot of interviewing, gathering evidence, and reflecting on past events, but very few twists and turns and barely any action. When I have read crime novels previously, my favourite part of the stories is the tension it creates, building up gradually until I am desperate to find out who the killer is and what will happen. Whereas, if it wasn’t for my work’s book club, I would probably have DNF’d this book about halfway through.

Secondly, there was a lot that I felt was quite clichéd – Things that I have seen/read far too often in other crime/detective novels and programmes for this one to stand out. For example, the detective who was once in the army, but has suffered his fair share of trauma and now has no home to go to, and drinks his problems away at the local tavern. Or the side-kick who has sat in other people’s shadows for too long, never being allowed to make the most of her talents but is now keen to show what she can do. I even found the ending clichéd (though I won’t say anything more for fear of spoilers!). As such, I felt the story felt like something I had already read and lacked excitement as a result.

Thirdly, no matter how hard I tried, I could not connect or sympathise with Strike. I think this was because we don’t get to know much about Strike as a person. We do hear about the traumatic events in his past, though these are repeated far too often to the point of becoming quite stale. The traumatic events could have been a good way of explaining Strike’s personality, if only we got to see what his personality actually was. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that we got to see enough of his character to properly empathise with him.

Conclusion / Next time

I hope you enjoyed reading this review (even if it was of a book which wasn’t for me) – If you have any questions or suggestions, or wish to share your views, then please feel free to do so either on the social media pages or in the comments below.

In the meantime, I look forward to bringing you my next book review – The Sanctuary by Andrew Hunter Murray, in a couple weeks’ time – A book which I am excited to give my review on (I also reviewed Andrew Hunter Murray’s previous book which you can find here: https://tbt.art.blog/2022/04/11/the-last-day-by-andrew-hunter-murray-book-review/).

For now, enjoy your hot drinks and books, and I will be back with more soon 🙂

TBT

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray – Book Review

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

“[…]this balance between building up the suspense while giving us plenty of action is balanced beautifully and kept me hooked throughout.”

About the Author

The Last Day is the first solo book written by the BBC’s QI Elf and co-host of the podcast ‘No Such Thing as a Fish’ (if you haven’t listened to it already, I would highly recommend it – a perfect combination of funny and interesting), while his second book, The Sanctuary, is expected to be published on 26 May 2022.

About the Book

The year is 2059, and the world has stopped spinning. Half the world has been plunged into an icy darkness, while the other half is scorched by sunlight. Britain, however, has found itself in a place where life can be sustained, where it is neither too hot nor too cold. The situation called for action, and it was Davenport who took charge and made the decision to separate Britain from the rest of the world, creating a barrier preventing anyone from leaving or entering.

Elsewhere, Ellen Hopper, working on one of the rigs, is about to be given a clue to a secret she must uncover. It is a secret that Davenport’s government will kill to keep concealed. Can she beat the odds and find out the secret, or will she be betrayed by those close to her who fear the consequences of working against Davenport?

My Review

I really enjoyed this book. The very first line of the first chapter is immediately gripping and the chapter does a great job of painting an image of the post-apocalyptic world in which the book takes place while introducing us to the book’s main character, Ellen Hopper.

We quickly see that Ellen Hopper is a bit of an outcast, distancing herself from the rest of the crew with the exception of Harv, the only person she has allowed herself to become close to in years. However, we also see that she cares about and feels the impact the Stop has had on people, particularly as she herself has been deeply impacted by it in ways that are hinted to in the opening chapters. This, to me, made Hopper likeable and easy to connect with, and I found myself urging her on throughout the book.

We also hear a snippet about the secret by way of a letter sent to her by Edward Thorne, the secret that Hopper must choose whether to pursue in the face of threats to her life. And throughout the book we get tiny bits of information at a time, bringing us a step closer to the secret each time, but this is not without its complications – And this balance between building up the suspense while giving us plenty of action is balanced beautifully and kept me hooked throughout. This, along with the writing which flows smoothly throughout makes this the kind of book that you could easily binge-read in a day or two.

The only comment I did have is that I felt a little unconvinced by the ending of the book. Although the ending in itself made sense and wrapped up most of the issues in a way which made perfect sense, I just felt that there was maybe something missing from the end which would have given it more of an impact. Though, I would just add that: 1. It did not take away from the book for me, which was still a great read which I have already recommended to people; and 2. I obviously appreciate that other people may read the book and disagree, and believe that the ending was the perfect way to round off the book.

Conclusion

I do love a good dystopian book, and The Last Day is no exception, taking an unimaginable world and making it believable – I do hope that Andrew Hunter Murray’s second book is just as good (or better)!

I hope you enjoyed this review. If you have any comments, either in relation to my review or the book, then feel free to comment down below, and I look forward to bringing you my next book review/bookish post shortly.

TBT

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review – Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

Hello there, and welcome back to my bookblog. It has been a while, but it is good to be back and I look forward to bringing you more of my book reviews and bookish thoughts, starting with my review of Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It by Oliver Burkeman.

About the Author

Oliver Burkeman is a journalist who previously wrote a weekly psychology column for the Guardian titled ‘This Column Will Change Your Life’. Four Thousand Weeks is the third and most recent of Oliver Burkeman’s books, the other two being:

  • HELP!: How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done; and
  • The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking

What is the Book About?

This is, as the title suggests, a book about time and how to use it. But, the first point to be clear about is that this is not a productivity self-help book. This book will not teach you how to cram more into every available second, turning you into a productivity master who is able to master every skill while maintaining absolute calmness. Quite the opposite.

Instead, this book will teach you to accept, and even embrace, the truth that our time and what we can do in that time is finite, and you simply will not, and can not, get everything you want done. Having accepted this, you will then be in a position to make a decision on what to do with your time, and the book will then guide you through how to make that decision.

What did I think?

Four Thousand Weeks was a pleasure to read, and it is one of the non-fiction books that I most connected with.

I have read several books on productivity, watched and listened to numerous productivity gurus, and created an endless number of systems that would allow me to carry out an infinite number of tasks and activities every day. But something always felt off, like there was something missing from these books and videos. Oliver Burkeman touches on the issues with some of the most well-known productivity guides and the hard truths that they miss out that we should accept if we are to make the most of our time.

And though some of these hard truths can be difficult to face, let alone to accept, there is a sense of having been freed, of relief, once you do so. As Burkeman puts it, once you accept that time is finite and you can’t possibly get everything done, you can stop berating yourself for not having achieved everything (which you have now accepted was impossible in the first place) and start making decisions and prioritising things safe in this knowledge.

I would, therefore, recommend this book to anyone who, like me, has often felt pressure to get as much done as possible in a limited amount of time.

Conclusion

As you can tell, I really enjoyed reading this book – A book about how we can free ourselves by, counter-intuitively, accepting our limitations.

Thank you for taking the time to read my first review of the year. I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to bringing you more posts throughout the year.

But for now, I wish you many happy readings and cups of tea/coffee! 🙂

TBT

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review – Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

Hello there, and welcome to this week’s book review! Today’s review is of a book written by one of my favourite authors, Claire Fuller (whose book, Bitter Orange, was the first review of this blog (which you can find here)).

Having already read Bitter Orange and Our Endless Numbered Days, I had been wanting to read Swimming Lessons for a while but had never got round to it. So, the book launch for her fourth novel, Unsettled Ground, was the perfect prompt (I did attend the book launch for Unsettled Ground – it was a lot of fun and I look forward to reading and reviewing it soon).

So, let’s get to it.

About the book

Ingrid’s disappearance has had a large impact on the lives of her husband, Gil, and their two daughters, Flora and Nan. It comes as a surprise, therefore, when Gil looks out the window to see her standing in the street, staring up at him in the pouring rain. He calls out to her, but she does not respond. Instead, she turns away and walks down the street.

Gil runs out of the shop to follow her, but she is nowhere to be seen. He does not give up. He runs down the street, turning the corner in the hope that he catches up with her until he reaches the pier. One second she’s there, the next she’s gone. Gil, in his attempt to find her, slips off the edge of the pier, down onto the rocks below.

From here, the questions only grow. Will Gil survive? What did he really see that night? What happened to Ingrid all those years ago?

In answering these questions, the story switches between the present day told from Flora’s perspective, and the past told from Ingrid’s perspective. The latter is found in letters Ingrid wrote to Gil in the years before her disappearance, left in some of the thousands of books scattered across the house. Eventually, both stories reach their endpoint in a dramatic revelation.

I LOVED it!

I was looking forward to reading another Claire Fuller novel… And it did not disappoint. Her descriptive writing is always impeccable, so much so that it seems she could turn something so ordinary into the most interesting thing in the world. She could probably turn a white empty room into a place of wonder.

On top of this, the pacing of the book magnifies the intensity of the book. Each chapter gives us a little bit more, enough to entice our curiosity while not giving anything away. By the end, the suspense will leave you desperate to find out what happened, and the wait is worth it (but no spoilers, of course)!

But what I always admire the most about Claire Fuller’s novels is the meticulousness of the writing. All three of her books, I would happily (and probably will) read multiple times, keeping an eye out for things I didn’t spot the first time. There is something exciting in finding hidden details you hadn’t spotted previously, but I also appreciate how much work and planning has to go into a book to have this level of detail.

You have probably guessed from my review that the books are very, very good and I would highly recommend (and this book is no exception)!

Outro

I hope you enjoyed this review. I went for a bit of a different approach this time. Usually, I would spend a lot of time planning what I am going to say and how I’m going to say it and then going over the plan to make sure that I haven’t missed any key points. This time, I went for a brain-dump technique of putting down whatever came to mind. Admittedly, while writing in this way was much quicker, it felt odd not to plan it out and I probably won’t do it again. But, I would be interested to hear (well, read…) your thoughts!

But for now, it is time for coffee and another book 🙂

TBT

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern – Book Review

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

“This feels like a book that was weaved together. Weaved with a million beautiful strands slowly and carefully, every movement made with precision”

Hello there! It has been a while, but it feels good to be back. During the 7 months since I decided not to continue with my book blog, I must admit that a part of me has missed sharing what I have read with others and seeing what others have been reading. It was often exciting to write a review to then find that a fellow book blogger has also reviewed that same book – especially if it was a book that you both loved. There is something about having shared that same bookish experience that makes it even better.

While I hope to get back into posting and engaging with other bloggers more frequently, I would also like to experiment a bit more to see what does and doesn’t work for me. When I posted previously, I spent too much time thinking about what I would write and about the books I read, and not enough time to think about how I wanted to go about writing my posts. Basically, I thought too much about the content itself, and not enough about the type of content. 

As always, any feedback or suggestions would be very much appreciated and welcomed! Anyway, speaking of content, it’s about time that I actually get into the content! 

My Song for this book is… Bellyache by Billie Eilish

My first bit of experimentation is to choose the song I think best suits the book. When I’m reading, the book sometimes ‘connects’ with a song that I’m listening to, as though the song were written as a soundtrack for the book, the two going hand in hand to create the perfect storytelling experience. On this occasion, that song was Bellyache by Billie Eilish.

Like a lot of songs, Billie’s ‘whispery’ (Apparently this is an actual word, though I would have used it even if it wasn’t) voice gives the song a slightly dreamy quality, and that’s how I would describe a lot of this book… Dreamy. 

What it’s about

The story begins with a book in the library. The book has no author and is never taken out by anyone visiting the library. That is until Zachary Ezra Rawlins picks it off the shelf. What Zachary had not expected was to find his own story in the book, telling of his regret at not having made a choice many years earlier, something he had never told anyone else. And yet, here it was with every detail written down, even his internal thoughts, long before he was even born.

In his quest to find out the who, the how, and the why, Zachary will come across more books telling the stories of others. Some stories seem more like fables until they begin to intertwine with Zachary’s real life as he tries to find his purpose in his own story.

Book Review – I… Loved it!

This doesn’t feel like a book that was written. This feels like a book that was weaved together. Weaved with a million beautiful strands of string slowly and carefully, every step taken with precision, to create a sublime book. As above, the book has a lot of dreamy qualities with its fable-like tales that could easily have been their own bedtime stories, but even the main story itself is wonderfully written.

Though its dreaminess doesn’t stop this book from being exciting. There were many times when I was at the edge of my seat (or leaning forward while I read in bed), staying up a little bit later to see what would happen. 

It is sometimes difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes a good character and what makes us connect with them. But we can spot one immediately when we start to feel something for them without realising, whether that be admiration, hate, or otherwise. In this case, I often found myself feeling anxious about what would happen, my heart pleading for nothing bad to come to them (I’m afraid to find out, you’ll have to read the book yourself…).

Most impressively, however, is how the story is brought together. Throughout the story, there seem to be a hundred different strands to keep track of. And yet, Erin somehow brings them all together, connecting them logically and wonderfully in a way that makes all 500 pages worth it. I will someday have to read the story again as there were probably many things that I missed throughout the book, but it is a book that I would want to read again for that reason. It is sometimes easier to appreciate the hidden clues when you know what’s coming. More so when things that seemed entirely trivial suddenly become a big part of the story.

Outro

Thank you for reading what I hope to be a new beginning for my book blog. I must admit, I forgot how hard doing a proper book review was. Going from having a clear image in your head to sitting in front of your laptop with no idea which words to use (or forgetting every single word in the English language, which ironically seems to happen to writers more than anyone else…).

But, it feels good to be back talking about the books I have read, and I look forward to doing it some more. For now, it’s time for a cup of coffee and a book! 🙂 

TBT

Book Reviews

Book review – The Rest of Their Lives by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

I very much enjoyed the characters. They just seemed so genuine that I could picture them so clearly in my mind… In fact, I’m sure my brain at some points forgot that they are not real people

TW: Book contains many themes involving/speaking about death.

Intro

Hello there, and welcome to another of my book reviews! It has been almost a month since my last book review, mainly due to exams… But exams are now (hopefully!) out of the way for good! *Cheers internally* Which I am quite pleased about, as I have had a couple book reviews in my head ready to type out, but haven’t had the time to do so, and I can finally get it out of my head and over to you!

So, let’s get into it! But first, a quick trigger warning. Death is one of the central themes of the book, and this post will speak a bit about that, so please skip this post if it might be upsetting to you – you have my permission to stop reading!

About the book

The book switches between the perspective of Manelle and Ambroise. Let’s start with Manelle. She is a home help carer for the elderly in a small French town, so she gets to see quite a wide-range of people which, inevitably, includes some very bizarre personalities, but also some very friendly personalities with the ability to charm warmth into anyone’s heart. One of the latter kinds of people will change Manelle’s life forever when he makes a request she feels she cannot possibly accept.

Next is Ambroise, an embalmer (this is basically dealing with a dead body so it is presentable for the funeral, but might also include a theme to symbolise a person’s personality or life to give the person as good as send-off as possible). While he himself takes a lot of pride in what he does, unfortunately it is something which seems to put a lot of people off, or makes people act a little weird around him, so much so that he appears to have given up on a love life. It even seems to put his Father off of him, and the two no longer speak. Also featuring in the story in Ambrose’s Grandmother, with whom he lives.

Through a series of events, Ambroise ends up in contact with an elderly person who has made a request… The same request that Manelle could not possibly accept. And this is the point where the story of Manelle and the story of Ambrose (and his Grandmother) starts to come together, as we see these characters go on a journey, and it seems that nothing will be the same for any of them, ever again.

I… Thought it was ok

I must admit that, at times, I found this book very difficult to read, not because of the book itself, but because of the common theme of death (including scenes describing the embalming process). Like many people, the thought of it is something that terrifies me, and I sometimes felt myself getting a little nervous when reading certain scenes, especially the embalming scenes. Because of this, I made sure that I only read the book during the day… Never at night. I made that mistake once, and that was enough for me not to repeat the same mistake. However, I have tried to ignore this when reviewing the book, because it seems unfair to give it a worse review just because I couldn’t read it at night.

I should also say that this was not, at all, a bad book. In fact, there were some things about the book that I very much enjoyed. However, there were some things I wasn’t so keen about which were true throughout most of the book which meant that, while I didn’t dislike the book, it just wasn’t that interesting a lot of the time. But because there were some very good and some things I didn’t enjoy, I think it is best to go through both individually!

What I enjoyed

Firstly, I very much enjoyed the characters. They just seemed so genuine that I could picture them so clearly in my mind… In fact, I’m sure my brain at some points through the book forgot that they are not real people (as far as we know!). I think this is much more difficult than people think. It involves a deep understanding of your characters, and knowing how they would react if you were to put them into any situation. Sometimes, the actions of people seem random, impossible to predict, and sometimes completely irrational. So, for the writer to get a good grasp of how his/her characters might react in certain situations is actually very difficult – so I very much appreciate writers who are able to write characters in a way that their actions seem to make sense from what we know about them. And this is one of those examples.

The story also has some moments that will raise a range of emotions in the reader, and those moments usually lead to some great quotes – most of which are very deep, meaningful, but also quite clever and very well said… Well, very well worded, unless you listen to the audiobook, in which case it depends on whoever is reading the book to you, I guess…

What I didn’t enjoy

Thinking about it, there is only really one issue… But for me, it was a big one which caused a lot of smaller issues. That issue was the lack of conflict.

Pretty much every story will have one big dramatic question (in fact, I can’t think of any story that doesn’t have one) that the story will centre around, and one of the writer’s jobs is to make sure that the reader is constantly focussed on that very question, so that the answer to that dramatic question will be on the balance through the story, and may swing between two different answers to make things interesting. That usually means that there will be some sort of conflict, otherwise it would just be one answer winning out quite clearly.

But conflict seemed very rare in this story, despite there being many opportunities where conflict could have arisen – It seemed to me that there could have been many different tweaks in different places that could have made the story a lot more interesting. And there were moments where it seemed that there would be a conflict. In fact, one moment seemed perfect for conflict, which did arise… And then went very quickly and anti-climactically.

Because there was very little conflict, the story seemed very predictable. While a predictable ending is not necessarily a bad thing (i.e. the superhero almost always wins), the fact that much of the story itself was quite predictable meant it lost a lot of that excitement that usually makes you want to keep reading (it is this sort of story that makes you say “Just one more chapter” until it is 2am and you have finished the book).

It is a shame, because if a few things were different, and the story contained more conflict, I could very easily see myself changing my rating from ‘thought it was ok’ to ‘enjoyed’ or even ‘loved’. Because the story seemed to have it all… Other than the thing that adds interest and excitement in the novel. But who knows, perhaps this is something that I need to enjoy a novel, but that other people don’t necessarily need for a novel to be enjoyable – so if you think you might enjoy this novel, don’t let this post put you off!

Conclusion

Sorry for what was probably a little bit of a depressing book review… But let’s hope for a more positive book review next Monday. But for now, keep an eye out for my next ‘Bookish Post’ hopefully coming out on Wednesday. Until then, grab a hot drink and a book, for a lovely Monday evening!

TBT

Book Reviews

Book Review – Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

The author (Sayaka Murata) uses the five senses brilliantly, so brilliantly that I am transported to the convenience store, sometimes in just a sentence or two.

Intro

Hello there, and welcome back to Theodore’s Bookish Thoughts! It has been a while, but it feels good to be back. I hope (though, I am making no promises…) to get back to posting regularly. I am also going to be experimenting with some new types of Bookish posts (hence the new tab ‘Bookish Posts’), the first of which I hope to publish on Wednesday evening. How exciting (I hope)!

I will also no longer be giving ‘stars’, but instead saying whether I ‘loved’, ‘enjoyed’, ‘thought it was ok’, or ‘thought it was not for me’. The reason for this is that 1. I don’t like giving low ratings where I think it is a book that someone else might enjoy; and 2. I think this is much easier to interpret than stars (e.g. one person’s 3 stars might not mean the same as another person’s 3 stars).

Anyway, that’s enough of an introduction from me – let’s get into this review!

About the Book

A convenience store (the one in this book, at least) is largely a place of routine. A customer walks in, the bell rings. Customers take items off the shelves, staff re-stock the shelves. Customers come to the counter to pay, the staff member calls “Irasshaimasé” (Welcome/come in, typically used in Japan in a place of business). The staff member thanks the customer, and the customer leaves. And repeat for each customer. This is what attracts Keiko to her job at the convenience store. In fact, it is the only job she feels capable of doing.

Keiko, as she tells the story, tells us about how everyone thought she was a strange child. She would often get in trouble for doing something, at which point she would know that she had done something wrong… But she didn’t understand why what she did was wrong. When she joined the convenience store, however, she found she could get away with copying behaviours from other people.

To Keiko, the convenience store was perfect. Her family, however, were disappointed. They wondered why Keiko had not found someone, or moved on to something other than a convenience store worker. They wondered if Keiko would ever be ‘cured’, and Keiko is determined to ‘cure’ herself.

I… Enjoyed

This is the first book I have reviewed with this new rating system, and I enjoyed it (the book – I am not getting excited about my new rating system, I swear). The book is very much short and sweet at 163 pages, and each page being quite short in itself. Because of its shortness, the book doesn’t have time to hang around and get stuck on details and instead moves from one event, to the next, to the next. In other words, it is quite fast-paced.

I actually quite liked this about the book – I found that because it doesn’t hang around, it is entertaining throughout. But don’t think that, because it has to move quickly, that you won’t have as clear an image in your mind. The author (Sayaka Murata) uses the five senses brilliantly, so brilliantly that I am transported to the convenience store, sometimes in just a sentence or two.

What I enjoyed most

The thing I enjoyed most about the book is how well Keiko’s point of view is told. It must have been difficult to tell a story from the point of view of someone who doesn’t fit in, but doesn’t know why she doesn’t fit in, but finds somewhere that she can fit in.

This, however, is done very well. We see Keiko try to break down, understand, and rationalise the world outside the convenience store, and we see Keiko getting into the flow of things at the convenience store. She knows exactly which items the store should stock more or less of depending on the weather, she knows exactly what to say to customers and when, and she feels calm when she hears the sounds of the convenience store.

Conclusion

While it was difficult to write as much as I would have liked, given how short the book was and the shortage of characters to speak about, I did enjoy the book and found it enjoyable throughout. And that concludes my first book review for a loooooooooooong time. I hope you enjoyed, and keep an eye out for my first non-review ‘Bookish Post’, hopefully coming on Wednesday.

For now, grab a book and a hot drink, and relax for the evening.

TBT

Book Reviews

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

Theodore's Bookish Thoughts

Tagline: ‘Even the chapters where nothing of much importance happens are so wonderfully written, that you will still find yourself hooked’

Hello again, and welcome to another book review! Which, this time, is only a few months late… But I am still trying to keep the reviews coming. It just might not be as often as first intended.

Today’s review is of a book which I have wanted to read for a while, but haven’t felt in the right mood to read (I pick what to read depending on how I feel at the time). In the end, I had put off reading this book for too long, and decided to take the plunge! 

Background

The story begins in the dorm of a few college students in the small town of Santa Lora in California. The town, we are told, has a lot of strange history – a lot of residents even believe that the town itself is cursed. 

On the day in question, a college student falls asleep – after all, who didn’t spend a large part of University life sleeping? But, when the other college students try to wake her up, it becomes obvious that this is more serious than a quick nap.  The college students, no matter how hard they try, cannot wake her. But, she is still breathing, and her heart is still (obviously) beating.

She is taken away to the hospital where she enters into a state of relaxation so extreme that her heart slows down, so much so that her heart eventually comes to a stop. A student killed in her sleep, by her sleep.

The other students don’t get much time to mourn the death of their friend, as other students start to suffer from the same illness – falling asleep, incapable of being woken. But, different students suffer different symptoms – not all of them enter a state of extreme relaxation (as the first student did). Instead, they sleepwalk, suffer nightmares, and more (some of these symptoms being lethal).

We then see how easily a disease like this can spread. The medical staff who treated the first student begin to develop symptoms, and so the staff, and anyone they have been with, are quarantined (the students are also quarantined in their dorm). But, this is not enough, and soon we will see the impact the disease will have on this whole town. 

As the disease spreads, we see the best and the worst of humanity. People helping others, despite the increased risks of catching the disease themselves, and people acting out of fear, doing anything to not catch the disease. 

Review – 4.5 out of 5 stars ✯✯✯✯(+1/2)

Admittedly, this book is not what I was expecting. I was expecting a light-hearted book that would make you feel ‘warm’ inside. Instead, it was a dark story which will keep you on the edge of your seat to find out what happens to the characters. And I loved it. 

Quite often, it takes some time before a book gets interesting, as the characters, location, situation etc are being introduced. This is not one of those books. This book was interesting right from the start and only got more and more interesting. First, you are keen to know what is causing this disease, who is going to get infected, and how it is going to affect each person. Later, you wonder what will happen to those who have been affected, and how the remaining ‘survivors’ will act.

Even the chapters where nothing of much importance happens are so wonderfully written, that you will still find yourself hooked – the writing is almost soothing on the mind, in spite of the darkness of the book. This includes the characters, as we see how they develop through the story, some of them acting in ways they never would have done before the disease (for better and for worse). You also find yourself willing the characters to avoid the disease – to survive. 

I hope you enjoyed my review of The Dreamers – if you have read it and would like to share your thoughts, or would like to suggest my next read, then feel free comment down below. If you wish to see more of my reviews in future, please do follow/like/other – my social media pages are available on the ‘Contact & Social Media’ tab at the top of the page.

TBT