2013: books 15-18
Jul. 10th, 2013 11:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_siobhanI'm spending more time on buses and subways these days. So that means I'm making a bit more of a dent in the piles of books.
The CTR Anthology: Fifteen Plays from Canadian Theatre Review
I got this when I was getting my English degree. I know I read the whole thing at the time, but I really couldn't get into re-reading it. Of the first three plays one was terribly earnest and tragic and the second two were experimental and seriously dated. Into the giveaway pile with you.
Jude by Kate Morgenroth.
A couple of our neighbours work for a publishing house so every once in a while they put a big box of books on their front stoop and send a note to the local mailing list saying, "Come get 'em." I know that's where I got this one because it has "Advance Review Copy. Uncorrected proof" stamped all over the cover.
So anyway, this was a quick read. It's supposed to be Young Adult fiction and the plot itself is ok - a boy who finds out that his drug-dealing father kidnapped him from his successful politically ambitious mother. All the adults in his life behave badly and stuff happens. I found it difficult to give a shit about any of the characters, because the writing is so flat. I kept comparing it unfavourably to reading The Outsiders when I was a teenager.
Mimi's Ghost by Tim Parks.
I have no idea where I got this book.
In the first three pages I find out that the main character Morris Duckworth is an utter twat. A few more pages in it becomes obvious that he killed his former lover and has since married her sister. This marriage has made him very very rich.
It never really explains the circumstances around why he killed the sister, and after looking up the author I found out that this is the second book in a series. The thing is, it doesn't matter to the story. Reading about Duckworth is incredibly entertaining with or without the background. He's a wonderful anti-hero that I loved to hate and anticipate a glorious downfall for.
Down The Coaltown Road by Sheldon Currie.
Another proof. Who's idea was it to bring another box of books into the house when we don't have shelf space for the ones we own? Oh right, mine.
The story is set in a coal mining town on Cape Breton Island during WWII. Like most of eastern Canada at the time the population is mostly Irish, Scottish and Mi'kmaq, but this particular town also has a high concentration of Italians. Canada has just declared war against Mussolini and issued internment orders for "enemy aliens" of Italian origin. All hell breaks loose as the war becomes an excuse for settling long-standing rivalries and jealousies. The local priest tries to defuse the situation and protect the Italians in his parish.
I. Love. This. Book.
The conflict and mounting tension is beautifully described through the slow accumulation of major incidents and small indignities. All the characters are fully human and none of the solutions are ever simple. When I give myself permission to start buying books again I'll be looking for more by this author.
The CTR Anthology: Fifteen Plays from Canadian Theatre Review
I got this when I was getting my English degree. I know I read the whole thing at the time, but I really couldn't get into re-reading it. Of the first three plays one was terribly earnest and tragic and the second two were experimental and seriously dated. Into the giveaway pile with you.
Jude by Kate Morgenroth.
A couple of our neighbours work for a publishing house so every once in a while they put a big box of books on their front stoop and send a note to the local mailing list saying, "Come get 'em." I know that's where I got this one because it has "Advance Review Copy. Uncorrected proof" stamped all over the cover.
So anyway, this was a quick read. It's supposed to be Young Adult fiction and the plot itself is ok - a boy who finds out that his drug-dealing father kidnapped him from his successful politically ambitious mother. All the adults in his life behave badly and stuff happens. I found it difficult to give a shit about any of the characters, because the writing is so flat. I kept comparing it unfavourably to reading The Outsiders when I was a teenager.
Mimi's Ghost by Tim Parks.
I have no idea where I got this book.
In the first three pages I find out that the main character Morris Duckworth is an utter twat. A few more pages in it becomes obvious that he killed his former lover and has since married her sister. This marriage has made him very very rich.
It never really explains the circumstances around why he killed the sister, and after looking up the author I found out that this is the second book in a series. The thing is, it doesn't matter to the story. Reading about Duckworth is incredibly entertaining with or without the background. He's a wonderful anti-hero that I loved to hate and anticipate a glorious downfall for.
Down The Coaltown Road by Sheldon Currie.
Another proof. Who's idea was it to bring another box of books into the house when we don't have shelf space for the ones we own? Oh right, mine.
The story is set in a coal mining town on Cape Breton Island during WWII. Like most of eastern Canada at the time the population is mostly Irish, Scottish and Mi'kmaq, but this particular town also has a high concentration of Italians. Canada has just declared war against Mussolini and issued internment orders for "enemy aliens" of Italian origin. All hell breaks loose as the war becomes an excuse for settling long-standing rivalries and jealousies. The local priest tries to defuse the situation and protect the Italians in his parish.
I. Love. This. Book.
The conflict and mounting tension is beautifully described through the slow accumulation of major incidents and small indignities. All the characters are fully human and none of the solutions are ever simple. When I give myself permission to start buying books again I'll be looking for more by this author.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-07-10 04:49 pm (UTC)