Review Request

Just in case anyone was wondering, yes I will do read requests. I was indeed asked to read a title, by the author himself. John Michael Cummings sent me a request, through my Drood review, to read a title called Ugly To Start With, a collection of short stories. I did reply, though rather late, and was unable to reach the author. I will, however, check the title at my local library. If I can find it, the title shall be read and reviewed.

Please, if you, my dear Readers, have any titles you'd like reviewed, please send me a message. Thank you for reading.

Promises To Keep by Charles De Lint

Promises To Keep --5 Stars

All right, so I'm partial. I love Charles De Lint!! His novels always take me to a new place, a new adventure. In this case, my favourite character, Jilly Coopercorn, is in her early twenties. She has only just cleaned up her life and is attending Butler University, studying Fine Art. Jilly is given an invitation to see a band preform and so walks through a doorway to an afterlife.

I say "an afterlife" because, as the book says, there could be several. Jilly is given everything she was denied in her life. She is safe, has money, no one is wanting to pimp her out for cash... In short its the perfect life. The only problem is that she feels she's in the wrong place. She is making a life in Newford and wants to earn her happiness, not have it simply handed to her.

Problems really start when Jilly is told she can't home to the "World As It Is". Since she accepted the wealth offered, she has to stay. Jilly wants to go home. But how?

Beautifully written. This is a recent novel, but tells the early history of a character that I have grown to care very much about. I have loved Jilly since I first read of her in The Ivory and The Horn. Of course that was the De Lint novel that started this whole Newford obsession. When compared to the other book I finished that day, this one was a joy! And yes, I read all 192 pages in a single day. I couldn't stop myself. 

The Phantom Of The Opera by Gaston Leroux

The Phantom Of The Opera -- 1 Star

All right, I have seen the film starring Gerard Butler and listed to the same sound track a hundred times. I do enjoy the story... on stage! The novel, however, was a chore to get through. Christine is a tease, as we would say today. She strings poor Raoul along and leaves him hanging any number of times. The dialog is excrement! And I was left sorry I even started the book in the first place.

This book was on my reading list, and I've had it on my shelf for some time. I should have left it that way. I just could not believe such a renown novel could be so lousy! Honestly, it felt like a French version of Gone With The Wind. I had to speed read to get through this.

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino

Grotesque -- 3.5 Stars

This is the first novel by this author that I have read and I was left feeling unsure about the book as a whole. Written in Japanese surrealist style, the novel follows one woman through her life and how she reacts to a world where she is merely average yet her younger sister is a monstrous beauty. The focus is on the time spent in high school and then middle age.

When her sister and a school mate are both murdered, the unnamed protagonist goes back through her memory and explores the past they all shared. There are two journals and one confession that we are given to read to gain further insight into this world of prostitution, murder and money. Spanning well over thirty years, this book has a lot of detail but it doesn't really go anywhere.

I do enjoy Japanese surrealism, but not this book. It was average in almost every way. The way the story kept flipping from one view to the next was uninspired. The protagonist is a malicious whiner, not a character I attach to or care about.

This is book number one in my list of novels left on my shelf for longer then one year.

A Year In Books

I made a goal to read forty books in a year. Well I missed it by four books. It was an interesting adventure, reading so many books with such a varying array of titles. This has motivated me to try this goal again. In 2012, I want to read forty books. Mixing with that goal are three others. Goal One: To read twelve books that have been on my shelves for at least a year. This is to be completed in 2012. Goal Two: To read all books available in English by Haruki Murakami, this is an on going goal. Goal Three: To read all books listed in 1001 Books To Read Before You Die, also an on going goal.

I will continue to add my reviews for books I read and I'm looking forward to yet another year in books. I am pleased to share my journey with any and all who want to join me. Until next time...

Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto

Lizard -- 4 Stars

This is a collection of short stories, though calling them novellas would be a better description. The stories are strange and surreal in a way that I have only seen from Japanese authors. Its hard to describe them in a way that anyone could understand, but I can try.

There are four stories and they vary on topics from love to dreams, the past and the present. I enjoyed the shorts and will indeed pick up more novels of this author. I wish I could write more by way of review but there is just no way to put into words how lovely these stories were!

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Break No Bones -- Four Stars

This is the ninth book featuring the character Temperance Brennan, now a lead character in the Fox show Bones. I love crime thrillers, its my weakness. Give me a good murder and a decent plot twist and I will be a pathetic reader, begging for more. Yes, I have found all that in this novel.

Tempe is on an archeological dig in South Carolina when she finds a body that is not like the others, Much too young to be Pre-Colombian, still intact as well. This sends Tempe on a modern investigation that leads her down a road she never thought she'd be on when she agreed to go to the sea-side in the first place.

Full of technical jargon that is blessedly dumbed down for we poor regular folks, the story is one twist after another. Between the bodies that keep turning up and the boy friend/ex-husband in her life, Dr Brennan has no time to relax. I rather enjoyed the book and look forward to the next Brennan novel patiently waiting on my shelves.