May 2004 Archives

Evocative descriptions of 1950s England and Australia, a fine cast and a strong story, I loved this novel. Read from cover to cover in 2 days.

I might try A town Like Alice next; I've always been rather deterred by the fact it was a film - unfairly perhaps.

Buy it: Amazon link

So far, so good, making allowances for this being Tim Winton's first book. Two mates on a coastal camping trip, and not too many descriptions of fish!

Buy it: Amazon link

Another gem from Liza Jewell. The story of three brothers, their girlfriends, parents and a psychic lodger, Gervase, as a suburban London spring turns into a London summer.

Hurrah for the Barbican lending library!!

Just buy (or borrow) it: Amazon link

My first, and I think my last, taste of Paulo Coelho. Just a little too whimsical for me, with the none-too-subtle subtext telling the reader that they should make the most of their life in a rather patronising Pollyanna style. A few interesting character and a sympathetic slovenian setting just about saved it, as did the slight 191 pages.

Glad it was a flat-clear-out-loan from Hazel.

Buy it: Amazon link

Encouraged by Neuromancer, I selected another William Gibson SciFi from Phil's shelf. More accessible than the first, but just as enjoyable, with similar David and Goliath story (this time about a snaffled pair of wrap-around shades that reveal more than Reactorlight Rapides TM do) giving another none-too-enticing glimpse of the Western world's future.

Buy it: Amazon link

I borrowed this from Phil's bookshelf as a result of finishing Bookseller and having left Clapham Junction and the literary treasure-trove that is Battersea Public Library. Having not read and SciFi for a long time, it was a happy return and my first taste of William Gibson's world; one that looms on the not-too-distant horizon. Although some of the Neuromancer-speak and terminology eluded me, I understood enough to get me through to the end of this Matrix-like tale of a criminal gang with X-Men-esque powers crossing paths, "swords" and computer skills with a shadowy elite.

Buy it: Amazon link