![]() Angela Q. 8/10 Likes to travel and read books based on the country she's going to visit - hence The Bone People, set in NZ, where she is going in April. This is the first of her choices she hasn't read before. Found it difficult to get into. Kerewin was very mixed up - didn't know what was going on in her head all the time. She obviously lives an interesting life - herbal remedies, being by the beach, knwlegeable. I like her lifestyle in the tower. The Maori culture was interesting. The book reflects the fact that child abuse is a massive problem in New Zealand. I looked at some data. In the 1980's 4/5 children suffered corporal punishment. NZ has one of the worst child mortality rates. There is a massive alcohol consumption. Interested in the mute aspect of the child. Angela knows the sibling of a child who has never spoken. In the book all three people are suffering. K puts a hard shell on herself yet does nice and pleasant things. The character of Simon is interesting for example when he makes structures on the beach. Quite like the book but it was a risk. John 10/10 Loved the language and found the philosophical aspect thought provoking. Quote p90: She thought of the tools she had gathered together, and painstakingly learned to use. Future probes, tarot and I'd change and the wide wisp fingers from the stars... All these describe and ferret and vex the smokethick future. Like the make made up compound words; like the poetry, the switching into the poetry mode in and out again; the different methods of writing; moving in and out of the each different character's mind. At the start I thought I would struggle with it. But as the book says with the last quote the beginning is the end and the book comes full circle second quote. Quote p126 (Simon) Knowing names is nice but it don't mean much. Knowing this is whatever she said is neat, but it don't change it. Names aren't much. The things are.Names are not the important thing is the thing itself. I thought this a long time every person who knows me thinks of me in a different way and I think myself different if all of them so my name John doesn't say exactly who I am the word knife is just a label is not the thing itself p163 She's standing on the orange gold shingle, arms akimbo, drinking the beach in, absorbing sea and spin drift, breathing it into her dusty memory. It's all here, alive and salts and roaring and real. The vast cold ocean and the surf breaking 5 yards away and the wall knowledge of home just up the shore. I would love to write like this. Questions are sprouting from him like fungi on a stump. and she hears the sussuration of a brush across the floor. I could never write like this , my mind doesn't work in this way. As I read the book I felt it was at least 9/10 or possibly a 10 then the book descended into a dark place for all three characters and I thought about Kerewin - you foolish woman your life would be so much better if you had learnt the secret of forgiveness.. I found the chapter with the old man and Joe very linked with the real moral Maori religious view of the world I didn't want to dismiss it but it was bizarre to say the least. I like books with a sense of redemption and didn't seem to be that in this book until right at the very end. Jackie 8/10 A really unusual book. I was on the verge of giving up. But I'm glad I persevered. I didn't enjoy the Maori myths and superstitions. The crescendo of the book was horrific. It was one the most disturbing things I've ever read and had to sometimes put the down book down. I had trouble coming to terms with what Joe had done, but then Joe himself had been abused. When the awful beating happened I felt if only Kerawin had been there. The boy is disturbed and did terrible things. I like the new age character of Kerawin. There was a mystery about how Simon had ended up on the beach and the Irish connection. It was a good read with very vivid writing. Tony 8/10 Read the book twice but more than once had to put it down. Very disturbed by the cruelty and brutality. Is a tale of three misfits who didn't fit into society but who were thrown together. Wasn't very keen on the Maori religious aspect. It seemed rather weird. The book was very well written with great powers of description. I was arrested several times by the descriptions. Was the tower in ivory tower, a hermitage? I think this is the key to the book. The starving cat saves Kerawin at the end. Ceri 7/10 I didn't have a good feeling reading the book. I was not inspired or uplifted. It had a very curious style, with lots of different voices thoughts and dreams all thrown together. I like the descriptions but not enough of the beauty of New Zealand came through. Even on the holiday you hear about the marsh being bleak and outside the tower she grew dandelions. I like to be able to picture pleasurable scenes but there weren't any in this book. The accent seemed very peculiar in some places with Scottish Irish connection. Kerawin " obfuscation is my trade". There seemed to be too much drink and and violence. The main attack on Simon seemed obscene. The final section of the book becomes very mystical with Kerawin magically healed and the transformation of her life. The book ended very dreamily. Matt So far I've read 100 pages. Really enjoyed the descriptions of the local area and the setting the tower. Was sorry when this ended at the appearance of the boy. The style didn't work for me it was very unusual I couldn't pick up on the writer's voice. Struggled with it. There are interesting aspects to the story, the boy says he can see things in the dark. Even though it's a Booker prizewinner I won't go back to it but it's certainly unusual. Angela l 5/10 (via comment) Read the whole thing after stomaching the pretentious introduction. Perhaps, in some sunny future, I will have hours to look up Maori terminology but currently, as busy mum and full-time teacher, I do not. Therefore, I struggled through the book. I didn't enjoy reading the plot: all about weird people & abuse and I didn't care enough about the characters to empathise or forgive their actions. The only thing that interested me was the setting of the unusual house. Perhaps I should read happy books about interior design in future! ![]() The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern : Thursday 19th December 2003 Ceri: This was a charming, light very readable book but after a short while I began to feel that the theme was too light to justify 500 pages. Positive features were the way the two central characters were drawn together, and the way in which the book touched upon several themes from Fairy Tales e.g. Never ageing (Peter Pan), edible treats( the gingerbread house), The Firebird. The book didn't move me and didn't leave a strong lasting impression. 7/10 Nick: This was very readable, the first quarter was quick, but the characters were weak. What was the point of the dates jumping around? This was confusing. My two favourite parts were the love story of the two main characters and Bailey and the red-haired girl. irritating features included 1) the girl throwing herself under a train 2) American spelling 3) the woolly ending. 6/10 Marilyn: I haven't finished it yet. I thought I would enjoy it, as so far it is a pleasant read, however, I haven't looked to pick it up and it is not luring me. It lacks substance, although this is not because it is a Fairy story. I have read 'Book of lost things by John Connolly which was far better. 5/10 Matt: I enjoyed it, although I wouldn't call it a terrific book. I expect that it will be made into a film. generally I found it to be a shallow book, in which not enough happened , although I liked the magical element. Having said that, I don't believe in magic. The author was very creative and imaginative. the American English annoyed me initially. The whole book seemed to be about describing the circus. 6/10 Tony: I picked up the book when I needed a diversion, and it was a tonic. I enjoyed the spread of a long period. I liked it for having so many characters tied in together. There was symbolism of colour and light. I liked wondering about what was real, what was a not real? There was a lot of humanity, especially Bailey who ended up virtually running the circus. The man in the grey suit most interested me. When he vanished, things changed for the circus. The book was like a 'sorbet' between courses. 8/10 Jackie: I found this a childish book. At times the writing was almost babyish, e.g. Kittens featured in one of the chapters. I didn't want to waste any more time on it. 4/10 Angela L: I loved it. The writer addressed you as a visitor to the circus. I loved the twists and turns which reminded me of childhood visits to a circus. half way through reading it my Kindle got broken and I absolutely had to order a new one immediately as I was so intent on reading this. I read lots of different genres and this was refreshing. I liked the love story, although at the end the story lost shape. I will read this again- it was shockingly frivolous. 9/10 Lisa: I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to finishing it. I is magical and absorbing. the characters are not strongly drawn, but I could smell the candied peel and apples, it was so evocative, and full of beauty e.g. The cloud maze. I liked all the tents that were there to be found, and would live to take my children there. It was not a narrative-driven story, but was ethereal and fluffy, and addressed childhood themes. I enjoyed the circus as a character itself. 8/10 From my lovely warm, sunny room in my daughters house in Oz, here are my thoughts on The Night Circus I enjoyed it just as much as as when I first read it over at year ago but the book does have at least one important flaw. It is an adult fairy story and shouldn't be taken too seriously. It puts us in in a dream world where everything is possible - Le cirque des rêves. I love the short chapters and the way it hops in and out of the story. I love the sheer imagination of the different tents, the clock and all the fantasy elements. My mind is far too narrow to create these flights of fantasy so I love the stimulation they bring. Like all fairy stories there is a dark element and a degree of suspense. The main flaw is that the actual contest does not work. There is no sense of someone winning or losing, and no sense of dread that the end would result in the death of the hero or heroine. I think this takes the heart out of the book. 8/10 Thank you to Nick and Sandra for hosting a lovely Christmas Party. |
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