Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (Book Review)
31/08/2012 § 2 Comments
Six characters, whose lives traverse aeons, geographies and genres, are linked by disparate windows into one another’s worlds. This is not just another book jumping onto the multi-storyline bandwagon. Mitchell produces both quality and quantity by delivering an extravaganza of extraordinarily distinct narratives that are unified by cohesive themes. This novel reads like an all you can eat buffet; with generous helpings of humour, atmosphere, tension and philosophy. Readers will mourn the loss of one account only to fall in love with the next. Their richness will leave you pondering Cloud Atlas’ intricacies long after you’ve gobbled up the final words.
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt (Book Review)
20/04/2012 § Leave a comment
Polly, a fundamentally average lawyer, and her brother, a profoundly lazy musician, are embroiled in a catalogue of transdimentional cock-ups, which begin with a missing pig and escalate into perpetual time loops, teleporting dry-cleaners and a group of chickens with a serious identity crisis. But it’ll all be fine, provided nobody mentions the ‘M’ word. A chaotic plot where the emphasis of jokes leans towards quantity not quality evolves into a cleverly ridiculous piece of good fun writing. Holt may be a poor man’s Douglas Adams, but a shadow of the Hitchhiker’s Guide still makes for a pretty entertaining read.
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (Book Review)
28/11/2011 § 1 Comment
Aomame, a feminist assassin, and Tengo, an aspiring author, are bound together by fate within 1984’s alternate reality; 1Q84. In this world their lives become dominated by a cult and the quirky and intoxicating teenager who has escaped it with a story to tell. Murakami’s deadpan writing style insists on minimal descriptions of an unfamiliar environment and is overwhelmed by character’s speech and thought, which is often patronisingly simplistic and repetitive. Disconcerting sexual forays and unrewardingly bizarre fantastic elements make this lengthy, long winded novel an un-enjoyable read. 1Q84’s omnipresent “Little People” simply don’t measure up to Orwell’s “Big Brother”.
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