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Can a second novel be better than the first? After reading ‘World Without End’ I think the answer is yes. Although many people may not agree I actually liked this book much better. I thought it showed more maturity and a more satisfying story line.
“World Without End’ takes us back to Kingsbridge Cathedral two centuries after ‘The Pillars of the Earth’. Centered around new characters that almost mimic the heroes and heroines of the first novel this one also adds the exciting historical events of the Hundred Years War and the Black Plague.
With the same backstabbing, power hungry story lines and the constant struggles between good and evil this winning formula works here. However, I found this story much more enjoyable than the first in that unlike T.P.O.T.E. when something good happens and seems to be working in favour of the “good guys” it isn’t automatically destroyed by the “bad guys”. For every up there wasn’t always a down, sometimes the good guys just won. I didn’t find it so much of a roller coaster ride.
If you haven’t read ‘The Pillars of the Earth” don’t stress, you can pick up this book read it and need no background knowledge. That being said, it is still nice to have the advantage of some history and it was nice to have some sort of closure for such and epic story. If you enjoyed T.P.O.T.E. you might even like this one better. Oh, by the way, I can’t believe I haven’t written a review for ‘The Pillars of the Earth” – talk about slack.
I grabbed this book from the bookshelf thinking it was on the top 100 list, only to get home and discover it wasn’t. I still read it and now I believe it should definitely be on the list. Maybe after I have read all the 100 I will create my own.
This book is laugh out loud funny but the underlying current is one of sadness and madness. Set during World War II a group of American army pilots are faced with the routines of daily soldier life while trying stay sane and perform outlandish mission runs.
What made this book enjoyable and funny for me was the characters. Yossarian and Dunbar are sarcastic and have this repartee with each other. However their conversations generally consisted of the horrors of war and the political correct bullshit that goes with it.
Although the story is set in the final stages of World War II the funny and sad thing is that is book is still so relevant today. Wars are still being fought and young men are being sent either to their death beds or the loony bins. How can we read books like this and not learn anything. Yes the story is humorous at times but there is also much deeper, darker side.
This is another treasure I unearthed in my local second hand bookshop. I must have been one of the few people not to have seen this movie and decided it best to read the book first. Now my only hope is that the movie lives up to the book.
This was one hell of a ride. When I first started the book the beginning chapters nearly bored me to sleep. The passages about the scenery and the river nearly had me shutting the book but not one to give up I persevered and I am glad I did.
Hawk-eye (no not the guy from MASH…but isn’t he named after this character?) is a white man who feels a stronger connection to his Mohican friends that to his Colonial American society. While hunting with his companions Chingachgook and Uncas they encounter an English party trying to make it to the safety of the English Fort. Deciding that this is no place for armatures, Hawk-eye and his Indian friends help to escort the party.
This turns out to be a perilous, sadistic road-trip that no one would willingly take. I tore the up pages, I could not read them quick enough. The flowing words and the heat of the battle urge you to read as fast as you can in order to find out what happens next.
Fast moving, bloody and adventurous this is definitely one for the guys and anyone that enjoys a true to life good versus evil story. It does have some horrific scenes but also some very touching ones. I found myself saddened at the decrease/ loss of Indian culture ended the book in tears. I am glad to have read this story. This should have been on the top 100.
Once again unfortunately this is not a book from my list. I found this book in a second hand shop for the bargain price of 1.50 Euro, cheaper than a cup of coffee. I have to say that is satisfied me for longer than a coffee.
Lila Mae Watson is the first black female elevator inspector in history. Not only is she black and female she is also an Intuitionist. In the elevator inspector trade there are two types Intuitionists who feel the problems without inspection and the Epiricists who believe a thorough inspection is the only way. There is a political war waging between these two disciplines and Lila as some how gotten herself in the middle of it.
Lila is an interesting character, she is quiet and dutiful but to me rather dull. Until an incident occurs for which she gets the blame then her life is turned upside and a little more exciting. I think if she hadn’t been caught up in the world of double crossing and suspicion she would have just melted in to the background without anyone knowing she existed.
This book is really unusal and surreal. I would never have thought about elevator or inspectors as the scenes and characters for a book. Now whenever I get into and elevator I think of the people behind it. The book has a Citizen Kane, Big Brother vibe about it and combined with the crampness and obsesivness of the elevators and inspectors this book leaves you with an uneasy sort of feeling.
I liked this book but at times I was not so much confused as mystified with how someone dreamed up the idea. It goes to show that eveyone has a story to tell and we just need to find how to do.
I am reading lots of books and yet my 100 list is not shrinking. There are so many books to read and so little time. I need to get back on track, this however is not on the list but an English classic none the less.
This book reminded me a little of Sister Carrie in the fact that in both books the heroine or female lead is someone that is not particularly nice or easy to warm up to. In Vanity Fair this character is Becky Sharp. She is pretty, quick witted and ruthless when it comes to making her way to the top rung of English Society.
The other leading character is Amelia. As cold and ruthless Becky is Amelia is the exact opposite . Amelia is quiet, loving, a mother like character, soft and round compared to Becky’s sharp pointed edges.
Both of these girls have different goals in life, Becky wants to be known, rich and awed where as Amelia just wants her George. Vanity Fair tells the story of these two women trying to get what they want out of life in very different ways.
I think most women can relate to this book, whether we are a Becky trying to get what we want at any cost or we are the Amelia with a distant friend like Becky. This story can still relate so well to today. I would say it is a must read for every woman. Men can read this two if they want but some how I doubt they will relate.
On a side note after reading the book I decided to watch the movie with Reese Witherspoon as Becky. I was very disappointed, they tried to make her nice and portray that what she did was necessary. The most annoying part was with the Marquise de Steyne but in case you haven’t read the book I won’t tell you what happened you have to find out for yourself.
I fear that I am becoming a book snob. While browsing the bookshelves I turn my nose up at anything that is a romance or a crime novel (the majority of English books available here). I am searching for the book that grabs me, a story that I can relate to. I want something more than a body turning up in a river or the girl meeting guy story. Does this make me a book snob?
I want a challenge, I want,… I don’t know what I want, I guess that is the biggest problem. I dont know what I want but when I find it I will know it. Any suggestions of books, places to find a better selection of English books in Berlin?
“[The Arts] They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”
Kurt Vonnegut – A Man Without a Country.
A little while ago I lent my cousin my favourite book to read. I told her how much I loved it and that I thought she would really enjoy it. A couple of weeks later I saw her and asked how she liked the book. She told me she found it slow, boring and only managed to read the first chapter. Needless to say I was a little dissapointed and confused.
How can I have such strong feelings towards a book while another person can read it and feel nothing? Makes us connect so mentally and emotionally with certain stories?
What are your favourite books and why? Why did you relate so deeply to them?
I have just moved to Germany for a year. A fairly big move considering I don’t yet speak German. It has taken me a little while to settle in but once I am comfortable and refreshed more posts will be coming your way.
I know I have been really slack lately and not posted. I have been reading and I am in the middle of a post. The problem is that sometimes the words flow easily other times I have to force them out, resulting in not the best reading. So please be patient and I will get my butt into gear and post some more (more regularly).
