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On Reading....
Feb. 9th, 2009 10:43 amIt's still snowing.
And it's snowing hard.
But I've been able to get a lot of reading in! Books I've finished:
World Without End: Ken Follet's long-awaited follow-up novel to Pillars of the Earth. I've never read Pillars of the Earth, but I'd heard good things about it, and World Without End isn't a direct sequel. It doesn't matter which one is read first. It's a long, thick, meaty novel but I was done with it in three or so days. It's a sprawling piece, covering well over 30 years of the lives of the four primary characters. We meet them first as children, spread between 8 and 12 years old. While the cast of central and semi-central characters eventually reaches more than two dozen, with the novel jumping back and forth between them, the author keeps up with things well and each story intertwines with all the others.
It's a well written book with characters who grow and change and develop, and it's clear that Mr. Follet has researched historical England in great detail. From the church to the serfdom to the war with France, the historical aspects are not prettied up or watered down in the least. Which means that there is a fair bit of violence, rape and whatnot. The advancement of medicine in the 1300s is also dealt with, and is extremely interesting. The paragraphs upon paragraphs detailing medieval architecture and building bored me a bit, but it was easy enough for me to glaze over.
And despite the fact that we're dealing with relatively historically accurate fiction, there are strong female characters who defy tradition as best they can. My only gripe with the book is the end, but discussing why I'm upset would only spoil it. It kept me interested, and there were places where I couldn't put it down. I felt for the characters, which is important to me. If you like meaty historical fiction, definitely look into it.
The Graveyard Book: Perhaps this is blasphemy, but I much prefer Gaiman's young adult fiction to his novels. And The Graveyard Book didn't disappoint. It's not a terribly complex story, and as it's for young adults it's not terribly long, but it's well crafted, captivating and has a dark sense of whimsy that anyone familiar with Gaiman's fiction will recognize immediately. As usual, he puts his own personal (and usually quite clever) spin on classic themes, folklore and Things That Go Bump in the Night. The writing is clever and descriptive without being heavy handed, and the characters are quirky and unique.
Plus, there's just enough violence and scary situations to keep both youngsters and adults engrossed and not bored. It left me wanting more, which is always a good indication of a well written story.
I've completely forgotten what's next on the list, as far as reading goes. I'm slowly plodding my through some manga - Tsubasa Chronicles, to be exact - but as I've never read a single CLAMP series, I'm a bit lost and feeling like I'm not getting the full enjoyment out of it that I should be. I know I've still got a pile of sci fi, a Victorian murder mystery, and some WWII diaries....
But I'll probably be through those before too much longer. ;)
And it's snowing hard.
But I've been able to get a lot of reading in! Books I've finished:
World Without End: Ken Follet's long-awaited follow-up novel to Pillars of the Earth. I've never read Pillars of the Earth, but I'd heard good things about it, and World Without End isn't a direct sequel. It doesn't matter which one is read first. It's a long, thick, meaty novel but I was done with it in three or so days. It's a sprawling piece, covering well over 30 years of the lives of the four primary characters. We meet them first as children, spread between 8 and 12 years old. While the cast of central and semi-central characters eventually reaches more than two dozen, with the novel jumping back and forth between them, the author keeps up with things well and each story intertwines with all the others.
It's a well written book with characters who grow and change and develop, and it's clear that Mr. Follet has researched historical England in great detail. From the church to the serfdom to the war with France, the historical aspects are not prettied up or watered down in the least. Which means that there is a fair bit of violence, rape and whatnot. The advancement of medicine in the 1300s is also dealt with, and is extremely interesting. The paragraphs upon paragraphs detailing medieval architecture and building bored me a bit, but it was easy enough for me to glaze over.
And despite the fact that we're dealing with relatively historically accurate fiction, there are strong female characters who defy tradition as best they can. My only gripe with the book is the end, but discussing why I'm upset would only spoil it. It kept me interested, and there were places where I couldn't put it down. I felt for the characters, which is important to me. If you like meaty historical fiction, definitely look into it.
The Graveyard Book: Perhaps this is blasphemy, but I much prefer Gaiman's young adult fiction to his novels. And The Graveyard Book didn't disappoint. It's not a terribly complex story, and as it's for young adults it's not terribly long, but it's well crafted, captivating and has a dark sense of whimsy that anyone familiar with Gaiman's fiction will recognize immediately. As usual, he puts his own personal (and usually quite clever) spin on classic themes, folklore and Things That Go Bump in the Night. The writing is clever and descriptive without being heavy handed, and the characters are quirky and unique.
Plus, there's just enough violence and scary situations to keep both youngsters and adults engrossed and not bored. It left me wanting more, which is always a good indication of a well written story.
I've completely forgotten what's next on the list, as far as reading goes. I'm slowly plodding my through some manga - Tsubasa Chronicles, to be exact - but as I've never read a single CLAMP series, I'm a bit lost and feeling like I'm not getting the full enjoyment out of it that I should be. I know I've still got a pile of sci fi, a Victorian murder mystery, and some WWII diaries....
But I'll probably be through those before too much longer. ;)
