Last night I finished Nevil Shute's 'On the Beach.' I couldn't say what my idea of him was but I think I've always had the wrong idea about Shute. I thought 'On the Beach' a very good book. Heartbreaking. Has anyone read any of Shute's other books?
There's also that bonding-with-your-son thing that runs through it.
Classic books that I dislike often seem to have the same element: that is characters that feel so wildly and extravagantly that I cannot recognise their behaviour as consistent with what I have observed in real life.
Is Blood Meridian written in the same style? What do other people think about the style?
Quote from: andy popp on April 05, 2013, 11:41:46 amLast night I finished Nevil Shute's 'On the Beach.' I couldn't say what my idea of him was but I think I've always had the wrong idea about Shute. I thought 'On the Beach' a very good book. Heartbreaking. Has anyone read any of Shute's other books?Andy recommended this to me last week and I couldn't keep my nose out of it. Best book I've read in years. However this comes with a very real health warning. Finished it last night and then had a fitful night's sleep. Then moped around a great deal today, requiring regular hugs. Was eventually sent out to the wall to cheer myself up which I succeeded at. It really is heart wrenching in every respect but utterly compelling throughout.
I've just read Frankenstein, more out of curiosity than in real expectation. But this is a seriously good book, and suprisingly modern in many ways.
Quote from: andy popp on March 17, 2014, 08:22:28 amI've just read Frankenstein, more out of curiosity than in real expectation. But this is a seriously good book, and suprisingly modern in many ways.Agreed - I've taken to listening to old classics when I'm driving to Wales and apart from being irritated by dodgy accents that change every chapter, I've been quite impressed by what I've listened too. Bram Stoker's Dracula stood out for some reason too.
Ditto, turns out I had no idea at all what Frankenstein was about. I'll be really interested what you make of 'Last Man'.
Recent reads:The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco - absolutely brilliant, I thought. Beautifully written, nice little story, lots of theology, philosophy and history of an interesting period. Maybe a bit of a contrived ending is the only sour note for me. Strongly recommended to fans of historical fiction or just good novels.
If anyone has any suggestions for good books mixing history, fiction, theology, philosophy....
The Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers. Early spy novel from 1903. I enjoyed the narrative voice on this one - I like when the narrator initially starts out a bit dislikeable and sort of comes good because of their experiences in the book. Perhaps quite a prescient novel as foreshadowed German Imperial ambitions a long while ahead of war; but the plot to a modern reader seems completely unrealistic. Then I read that in 1910 two guys were inspired by the novel and spied on German military instalations off the East Frisia coast just by sailing their yacht about. So it's a snapshot of a different, more innocent world.Don Quixote - I am struggling through this at the moment. There are parts that I'm finding amusing in a slapstick way, but I'm not laughing out loud. In my view it's improved a lot after the first section, which is essentially setting Don Quixote up as a character / stereotype from that era. It's moved onto the sort of stuff that might have formed the basis for a Shakespearean comedy, I'm finding it more palatable. Anyone got any views on this book, is it worth persevering with?
Quote from: andy popp on March 17, 2014, 01:33:38 pmDitto, turns out I had no idea at all what Frankenstein was about. I'll be really interested what you make of 'Last Man'.Just started this - I'll stick it in the post when I'm finished if you like?