September and October journeys in literature
September and October seem an age away now. I was going through a transitional work period so read slightly less than usual, and a tad more eclectically. You know the drill by now- book title and review excerpt below.
Mister Roberts by Alexei Sayle
This is the first book by Sayle I’ve ever read, and it won’t be the last. The storyline is pure science fiction, but the characters are so recognizable that you soon forget we’re talking about aliens wearing human suits as a disguise. A young boy discovers a discarded human ‘suit’ left by aliens and enjoys wearing it to scare people. His mother nicknames it ‘Mister Roberts’ and treats it as a person- and a money making scheme. Set in Spain the novels delves into the ex-pat relationships the close mindedness of small towns, and just how messed up the parent-child dynamic can be. Touching and funny, this book was devoured very quickly.
Aphrodite’s Workshop for Reluctant Lovers by Marika Cobbold
The title kind of says it all doesn’t it? A read that’s pretty much a letdown from the word go, where the story line is blah, the book is blah- do you see the general blahness that I’m sharing with you?Romance novelist has fallen out of love with love and Aphrodite needs to step in. Cue lots of Greek god shenanigans, a rather paltry love story and a sulky Eros. Yesss, exactly. Don’t waste your time.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
I’m glad I’m vegetarian. If I wasn’t a veggie reading this book would make me one. I never really think that much about how food gets onto plates, but this book reveals all, in horrific gory detail. The worst part is that it’s not even trying to be that gory, the bare facts are enough to have you forswearing meat forever- like when you learn that fecal matter on chickens is called a ‘cosmetic blemish’ to allow them to sell it. Eww. It exposes what organic and free range actually mean, and it’s not good, not good at all. The book is a little long and can be a bit tedious at times, but the subject mater is very engrossing and the research seems immaculate- especially as a quarter of the book is footnotes that quote the various sources used. Read more…
