While I thought a lot of the plot development was formulaic and predictable, the insight into what happens inside the medical system was really compelling. I thought it was diverting and very enjoyable but many others found it laugh-out-loud funny.
Tuesday, 8 August 2023
“Heaven” by Seiko Kawakami (June 7, 2023)
I found this a very moving book describing bullying in a Japanese school and its impact. Others thought it was trite.
“Cold Enough For Snow” by Jessica Au (April 5, 2023)
Disappointing. Very little character development.
“Dept. of Speculation” by Jenny Offill (March 1, 2023)
Lots of varied opinions about the writing style in this book. Some felt that the style of "social media" posts as a way of telling a story was disjointed, others liked it.
“Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad (February 2, 2023)
Cloying and oppressive, capturing the feeling of the African jungle
“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens (November 2, 2022)
Very well received book. While the story was told very simply and there wasn't a lot of character development, the book never seemed to be corny which it could easily have descended into.
“My Sister The Serial Killer” by Oyinkan Braithwaitè (October 5, 2022)
This was a very straightforward book.
“Violets” by Shin Kyung Sook (September 7, 2022)
Lots of comparisons with The Vegetarian which we had read some time ago.
“A Lonely Girl Is A Dangerous Thing” by Jessie Tu (August 3, 2022)
Some considered this little more than porn, others thought that there were intriguing suggestions for sexual antics they hadn't considered.
“The Siege of Krishnapur” by J.G. Farrell (October 6, 2021)
Some notes I took during our Zoom meeting
- restraint of Victorian England
- Satirical picture of colonialism and Victorianism
- Characters are likeable
- No heroes in the book
- it’s not post-colonial, not Slaman Rushdie or Vikram Seth
- Great Exhibition is used as a touchstone
- never gets lost in the detail
- Phrenology
- Magistrate condemning all the poetry
- Loved the way that the shells falling on the masonry caused all sorts of problems, when they fell on the earth was best, kind of showing the trappings of civilisation
- The only role of women was to go mad with boredom
- Rank hypocrisy of the the system in which their embroiled
- None of the Indian characters are very developed. This was discussed at length because it denies them a voice and an opinion about what is going on around them
- It really struck me that this was the pomposity of the colonialists
- Why isn’t Ballard better known?
- Victorians putting so much emphasis on the machines they build, exemplified by the World Fair
- The auction of the food was brilliant
- Fleury killing someone is the unbelievable part of the book
- Trenchant critique of colonialism portraying the the characters as being woefully shirt-sighted about the situation they’re in. Putting a spear through the omnipotent
- Discussion about UK versus US humour, Monty Python versus The Office (US), a comment about how in Animal House, John Belushi smashing the guitar of some wannabe musician who’s wowing the girls show the difference: in the US Belushi’s the hero, in the UK it’s the guitarist
- Wanted to ask the author about why things happened the way that they did
- Notable difference between the 70’s (when the book was written) and (say) 1985 when Haneef Kureshi’s “Buddha of Suburbia” was written. It feels like a world of difference between the two world views — the difference between seeing Indians as “other” as compared to a part of society
- Watching the colonial oppressors getting their just desserts
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