love

Author Topic: Rate the last book you read.  (Read 194232 times)

Junior

  • Bert Macklin, FBI
  • Global Moderator
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 28709
  • What's the rumpus?
    • Benefits of a Classical Education
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #970 on: April 04, 2012, 12:14:53 AM »
Ragnarok: The End of the Gods by A. S. Byatt

A telling of the Norse mythology, at least part of it, wrapped up in a semi-autobiographical frame story about a "thin girl" in WWII England reading about said myths. It's pretty good, covering much of the basic stories we know and a few lesser known stories (Loki's children are super great). The real reason to read this book instead of the wikipedia pages is Byatt's marvelous prose. It borders on poetic, focusing on the forms and functions of the various deities and the supernatural world around them. Rivers flow, rocks move or don't. Loki shifts. It's beautiful in its horribleness. Because this is a book about how evil we can be to each other. The WWII border isn't just there to give the girl something to worry about. It's there to remind us that we're still playing out the Ragnarok as long as we fight each other. "The black thing in her brain and the dark water on the page were the same thing, a form of knowledge. This is how myths work. They are things, creatures, stories, inhabiting the mind. They cannot be explained and do not explain; they are neither creeds nor allegories. The Black was now in the thing child's head and was part of the way she took in every new thing she encountered."

The Infernals by John Connolly

This is a sequel to the YA book The Gates, also by Connolly, who is best known for his crime novels. In the first book, young Samuel Johnson and his trusted basset hound fought off an invasion by Hell's denizens by way of the Large Hadron Collider. In this book, his Hellbound nemesis, Mrs. Abernathy (the demon Ba'al in an Earthly disguise) drags Samuel and his dog and a few innocent bystanders into Hell in order to reclaim her spot at the left hand of The Great Malevolence. It's kind of confusing, I guess, but Connolly writes with a jaunty wit that keeps everything moving. There's less here than in the first book, though the friendship between Samuel and a demon he met as he tried to stop the first invasion is nicely written and quite touching. The book flies from place to place, not stopping long enough to create a sense of dread that a book about wandering around the plains of Hell should probably have. There are a few moments of scariness, including a nicely mythical description of one of Hell's less fortunate denizens, Old Ram, and his torture by twisted souls transformed into twisted trees. It goes by very quickly, being just a little over 300 pages of not-at-all-difficult writing. A fun, if a little too inconsequential, time.
Check out my blog of many topics

“I’m not a quitter, Kimmy! I watched Interstellar all the way to the end!”

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #971 on: April 04, 2012, 12:41:30 AM »
Hmmm.  I've got The Infernals on my shelf.  Sounds like my wife will enjoy it.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Junior

  • Bert Macklin, FBI
  • Global Moderator
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 28709
  • What's the rumpus?
    • Benefits of a Classical Education
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #972 on: April 04, 2012, 12:43:07 AM »
It's fun. There's a science-y aspect that I like. Multi-verses and all that jazz. It is laugh-out-loud funny, too.
Check out my blog of many topics

“I’m not a quitter, Kimmy! I watched Interstellar all the way to the end!”

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #973 on: April 04, 2012, 11:38:25 AM »
On second thought, maybe I'd like it better than she.

The Red Tent

You might think it strange for me to say, but I love the Bible.  I know, I'm a pastor, so I'm supposed to love the Bible, but I am surprised at how few pastors really appreciate the Bible.  Most Christian teachers scour the Bible for their own points of view, or review it quickly for their sermons, or for proof texts.  But I think the Bible is full of not only ancient wisdom, but of some of the best stories ever.  That's one of the main reasons the Bible survived at all, you know, because so many of the stories are unforgettable.  Not only are they memorable, along the lines of Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson, they are short and easy to repeat.  You can just read them aloud in a completely different language and you can get a sense of their impact.

But there are some issues that are problematic with the Bible.  Not only those who claim more for the texts than the texts themselves allow, but also a matter of perspective.  There are only three stories that are told from a woman's point of view-- a spare book named Ruth, the story of Samuel's birth and a thinly told story of Jesus' resurrection.  All the rest of the Bible is told from a male point of view.  Yes, at times women are included, but more often than not, women are treated as possessions of men, with not even their names passed on.  There are certain heroes who are women: Sarah, Esther, Deborah, Abigail, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Tabitha.  But these stories are told from the wrong side of the ancient sexual veil, and their hearts aren't revealed, only actions.

Anita Diamant has written a book which breaks down that veil.  One of the most ugly, deeply disturbing stories of the Bible is found in Genesis, about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, taken by a local prince who was taken vengeance upon by her brothers Levi and Simeon.  But what was her perspective?  And what about the four wives of Jacob, how do they see their co-marriage, their children, their husband's sometimes strange actions?  Daimant does a marvelous job of taking the Bible text and reading between the lines to understand the woman's perspective.  She not only understands the ancient women, but also their pagan perspective, so their stories are not given through the Yahwist's perspective.  The novel is raw, emotional and strangely joyful for all the ugliness of the original stories. 

Even if you aren't a fan of the Bible, if you like historical fiction in any form, this is a keeper.  It is powerful and dramatic.  In a sense, it might be better without knowledge of the stories of Genesis, because they can impact you better.  5/5
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

verbALs

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 9446
  • Snort Life-DOR
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #974 on: April 05, 2012, 02:49:17 PM »
The Steep Approach To Garbadale- Iain Banks

First time I have read a non-science fiction book by Banks. My initial impression was to wonder why Banks was restricting himself to the prosaic real world. His imagination is so powerful, that describing the delights of a Scottish estate pales next to his description of Sphereworlds and Orbitals. This is the story of a member of a dynasty, who control the rights to a world popular board game, something like Risk. Knowing Banks is to know it is going somewhere gruesome and bizarre. It takes it's time getting there. Banks always does good characters and reminds me of Irvine Welch especially when he gets on to some of the Scots reprobates, the lead associates with. We get a lot of travelogue and location hopping. We also get some heavy liberal wailing at the imperialist tendencies of the USA, and a few nauseating caricatures of Americans, including an evangelist type. There is a total oil and water incompatibility between English insincerity and US bible belt fire and brimstone passion. From a British perspective it is akin to shooting fish in a barrel to ridicule evangelism. Leaves me slightly queasy; it ain't big nor clever.

It has a horrible extended love story that goes unrequited in the most miserable way. I f***ing hate stories like that; especially when it is down to some guy being a complete fop, moping around waiting for the favour of some magically gorgeous creature who usually sleeps with everyone apart from him. There is a stunning tale told of a survivor of the Boxing Day tsunami, another lady who is twice as smart and equally gorgeous but who for some reason, our hero doesn't allow to throw herself at him. Bloody annoying.
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

verbALs

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 9446
  • Snort Life-DOR
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #975 on: April 11, 2012, 01:51:38 PM »
The Man In The High Castle- Philip K. Dick

First, here's a selection of marvellous covers for this book;



Evocative, powerful, disturbing imagination; and a good argument against digital downloads. The crumpled, crinkled ageing paperback has a value of its own.

Oh yeah, the book. It's apt to talk about the feel of objects in relation to Dick. Ubiq was a book all about objects (money, home appliances) not ageing but regressing through time. I mean stuff the explanation for why this is happening, just get on for the ride, as cars age whilst you drive them. In fact don't ignore reason the way Dick so enjoys doing. It hurts his books that so much of his work revolves around either distortions of reality or alternative worlds; slightly undermining the power of his concepts, in a "it was only a dream" sense. The same thing happens here, but this is still the best of his stories that I have read.

Both the distorted reality of an America sub-divided between Japan and Germany, and the subversive book "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" which tells the story of the Second World War won by America, Britain and Russia, are beautifully realised. The West Coast under Japanese rule is culturally subjugated with Tao philosophy and the teachings of the "I Ching" natural elements of everyday life. German Rocket planes whisk you on Berlin- San Fran flights in 45 minutes, and Germans walk on Mars. This is all attractive "what-if"fery. Nobody complains too much, which is the power of the message "History is written by the victors". The alternative history speaks of a world where Roosevelt wasn't assassinated, Britain helped defend Stalingrad to turn the war, and the US and Russia divided the world. From this perspective, with the horrors of American Imperialism never happening (joke), the world doesn't look too bad. The subjugated mind accepts its fate, and surrenders, simply to go back to living day by day. Eventually, the spiritual life of the law-abiding, efficient Japanese master begins to look attractive to even the most hardened warrior.

Dick sets up a divide between "book" reality and our world and sows seeds, in the furrow ploughed, in between. The Japanese are fascinated by Americana. Collectors pay exorbitantly for ads from the 1800s for pills and nostrums. There is a plot to the book bubbling under the surface, but the writer is more interested in his twists of reality. He isn't your standard storyteller and little fragments of tale flutter in and out of the light. It is unsatisfying but because the original premise is so strong, he gets away with it. Passages detailing how the defeated British turn London into a charnel house (from the Germans' perspective), really tug at the racial memory, and it makes you wonder.
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #976 on: April 11, 2012, 08:07:02 PM »
A very good book, but not my favorite of PKD.  Have you ever read the novella The Penultimate Truth?
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Clovis8

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 11719
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #977 on: April 11, 2012, 09:05:47 PM »

Junior

  • Bert Macklin, FBI
  • Global Moderator
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 28709
  • What's the rumpus?
    • Benefits of a Classical Education
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #978 on: April 11, 2012, 11:19:19 PM »
I feel like a Dick book is always like 3rd on my to-read list. The same thing with Dune.
Check out my blog of many topics

“I’m not a quitter, Kimmy! I watched Interstellar all the way to the end!”

Junior

  • Bert Macklin, FBI
  • Global Moderator
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 28709
  • What's the rumpus?
    • Benefits of a Classical Education
Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #979 on: April 11, 2012, 11:31:32 PM »
I am master of all things, except Dick. We've already discussed how I haven't gotten around to him yet. Your day will come, Dick!
Check out my blog of many topics

“I’m not a quitter, Kimmy! I watched Interstellar all the way to the end!”