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Book Review Year 5 No 6
Jun. 11th, 2019 04:41 pmI had reserved four different library books at different times, which of course guaranteed they'd all arrive within a week of each other. It was a good job we were on holiday for a week as I had more time to read than usual. I returned the last two to the library today, so here's my review of all four.
Crudo by Olivia Lang
One of the FutureLearn courses I'm planning on taking includes reference to the four novels shortlisted for this year's James Tait Black fiction prize (incidentally the oldest UK book awards, which are 100 years old this year). So I decided to read at least some of them. Crudo is very clever, but I didn't enjoy it at all, and didn't like the protagonist. It's supposed to be funny, but it didn't appeal to my sense of humour.
Elsie and Mairi Go To War by Diane Atkinson
This appealled because when we were on the trip to Belgium we'd seen reference to the two ladies, and I've posted pictures I took at one of the museums we went to. The book however was a disappointment. To me, it was badly written, at times jumping from subject to subject without indicating what was happening - for instance, too many 'she's when a good beta would have said 'you need to make it clear which one you mean'. The book was based on the war diaries of the two nurses, which meant there were large gaps when they were at their busiest. That's understandable, but the author made no attempt to describe what would have been going on, so a significant part of the book was taken up by their fund raising trips back to England, and their off duty times. Elsie Knocker came over as a very dominating woman, and although no doubt that was necessary for what she did, it did convey the impression it was all about her.
Sight by Jessie Greengrass
The second of the James Tait Black contenders. I enjoyed it. The narrator speaks of her life and looks at how she's got where she is in an interesting fashion - she's confused and questioning, but I was rooting for her. In addition she weaves in details about Rontgen and the discovery of x-rays, Sigmund Freud and the beginnings of psychoanalysis and William Hunter who performed autopsies to discover more about how the body works. It's not a conventional novel in that sense, but for me it emphasised the 'there are so many things out there to find out about' attitude which I like.
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
Having really enjoyed Life after Life but been very disappointed in the ending of A God in Ruins I was in two minds about reading Transcription. Again it's a story where facts remain hidden until near the end of the book, which jumps between 1940 and 1950, slowly revealling what happened. I was gripped, and this time the ending did satisfy me. So if you were wondering whether to read it, I'd say go for it. I had to wait three months for a copy from the library, it's been extremely popular, even though there are 34 copies within the county. (Plus a further 8 paperback copies - I reserved both and waited to see which one arrived first.)
I've used these four books to complete by Book Bingo: Two as Wild Cards and Two in Substitute Categories (Crudo for Less than 200 pages; Sight for First Person POV). My completed card and full list of books is below:
( book bingo )
Crudo by Olivia Lang
One of the FutureLearn courses I'm planning on taking includes reference to the four novels shortlisted for this year's James Tait Black fiction prize (incidentally the oldest UK book awards, which are 100 years old this year). So I decided to read at least some of them. Crudo is very clever, but I didn't enjoy it at all, and didn't like the protagonist. It's supposed to be funny, but it didn't appeal to my sense of humour.
Elsie and Mairi Go To War by Diane Atkinson
This appealled because when we were on the trip to Belgium we'd seen reference to the two ladies, and I've posted pictures I took at one of the museums we went to. The book however was a disappointment. To me, it was badly written, at times jumping from subject to subject without indicating what was happening - for instance, too many 'she's when a good beta would have said 'you need to make it clear which one you mean'. The book was based on the war diaries of the two nurses, which meant there were large gaps when they were at their busiest. That's understandable, but the author made no attempt to describe what would have been going on, so a significant part of the book was taken up by their fund raising trips back to England, and their off duty times. Elsie Knocker came over as a very dominating woman, and although no doubt that was necessary for what she did, it did convey the impression it was all about her.
Sight by Jessie Greengrass
The second of the James Tait Black contenders. I enjoyed it. The narrator speaks of her life and looks at how she's got where she is in an interesting fashion - she's confused and questioning, but I was rooting for her. In addition she weaves in details about Rontgen and the discovery of x-rays, Sigmund Freud and the beginnings of psychoanalysis and William Hunter who performed autopsies to discover more about how the body works. It's not a conventional novel in that sense, but for me it emphasised the 'there are so many things out there to find out about' attitude which I like.
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
Having really enjoyed Life after Life but been very disappointed in the ending of A God in Ruins I was in two minds about reading Transcription. Again it's a story where facts remain hidden until near the end of the book, which jumps between 1940 and 1950, slowly revealling what happened. I was gripped, and this time the ending did satisfy me. So if you were wondering whether to read it, I'd say go for it. I had to wait three months for a copy from the library, it's been extremely popular, even though there are 34 copies within the county. (Plus a further 8 paperback copies - I reserved both and waited to see which one arrived first.)
I've used these four books to complete by Book Bingo: Two as Wild Cards and Two in Substitute Categories (Crudo for Less than 200 pages; Sight for First Person POV). My completed card and full list of books is below:
( book bingo )
