Book Thoughts: Children of the Alley (Naguib Mahfouz)

Did not quite live up to my (stupidly) high expectations

★★★★★☆☆

Title: Children of the Alley (أولاد حارتنا)
Author: Naguib Mahfouz (Translator: Peter Theroux)
Genre: Fiction / Classic / Arabic Classic
First published: 1959
Edition: Paperback, published by Anchor in 1996

The history of a Cairo alley through several generations. Successive heroes struggle to restore the rights of the people to the trust fund set up by their ancestor Gebelaawi, usurped by embezzlers and tyrants. Mahfouz creates in all its detail a world on the frontier between the real and the imaginary. At a deeper level, the book is an allegory whose heroes relive the lives of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed.

***

First line(s)

This is the story of our alley – its stories, rather. I have witnessed only the most recent events, those of my own time, but I have recorded all of them the way our storytellers told them.

***

I will start by saying this is the fifth novel by this Egyptian author I have read and I have to say it is my least favourite. I still liked it, but I did not quite got sucked into the story like I did with his other novels.

I still loved the writing and way he tells his stories, but the story itself simply did not do that much for me. Sure, history repeats and in the end nothing much changes despite people’s best intentions and deeds, but in the end I found this novel rather a bleak and even a little bit of a depressing read. Even so, reading a novel by this author always feels like a bit of an experience and I like that.

I think this novel will work for some and not for others. For me, I liked the concepts and the way they tie to religion, but I just did not end up loving this one. The writing was beautiful as always, and bits of the story I really enjoyed, especially the beginning, but in the end I did not feel I got enough satisfaction from the narrative as it progressed.

I would still advise anyone wanting to try some Mahfouz to start with his Cairo Trilogy, which I really loved and is a very engaging trio of generational saga books set in Cairo over a period of fifty years or so. I do highly recommend his books in general.

5 out of 7 stars

***

CALSPIE: 7.86

• Characters: 8
• Ambience: 8
• Language: 9
• Story: 7.5
• Pacing: 7.5
• Interest: 7.5
• Enjoyment: 7.5

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(audio) Book Thoughts: Unknown Pleasures – Inside Joy Division (Peter Hook)

A memoir/biography that did what it says on the tin

★★★★★☆☆

Title: Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division
Author/narrator: Peter Hook
Genre: Non-Fiction / (auto)biography / memoir / music
First published: 2012
Edition: Audio

Inspired by the attitude, energy and sound of Punk, particularly the Sex Pistols, Peter Hook and his old school friend Bernard Sumner started a band which continues to influence popular music 35 years later, uniting with a gifted lead-singer and lyricist, Ian Curtis, and a brilliant drummer, Stephen Morris. With some cobbled together instruments and a clapped out old van, four young lads from Manchester and Salford shared the same vision and created their own unique sound in pubs and clubs first across the north-west, then across the whole of Britain, until in 1980 they had released two albums and were on the cusp of touring America. Then Ian Curtis committed suicide leaving everyone around him bereft.

***

I picked this one at random to listen to. I always love a music biography and Joy Division are one of those bands that have always been at the edge of my consciousness. A lot of bands I listen to were influenced by them and I was aware of their story in a general sort of way, but never really dug into the particulars.

Peter Hook did a great job telling the Joy Division story from his point of view, with frank honesty and without holding back. The narrative feels authentic and you can kind of feel the melancholy of what could have been and the sense of coulda-woulda-shoulda. It’s always easier to see what went wrong when you look back and that is definitely the sense I got from him.

This is an honest account of young guys in a band, warts and all, but with plenty of early excitement and optimism.

My attention did drift at points as the narrative meandered a bit too much at times, but overall I enjoyed the listen and I will definitely be making the effort to get better acquainted with Joy Division and perhaps New Order.

5 out of 7 stars

Book Thoughts: The Christmas Lights (Karen Swan)

An enjoyable Christmas read – not too sweet!

★★★★★☆☆

Title: The Christmas Lights
Author: Karen Swan
Genre: Fiction / Contemporary / Chick Lit
First published: 2018
Edition: E-book

Bo lives a life most people can only dream of. She and her boyfriend Zac are paid to travel the globe, sharing their adventures with their online followers. And when Zac proposes, Bo’s happiness is complete. With Christmas coming up, Bo can’t wait to head to the snow-fringed fjords of Norway. Arriving at the picturesque and remote hillside farmhouse that will be their home for the next few weeks, Bo’s determined to enjoy a romantic Christmas under the Northern Lights. Everything should be perfect. But the mountains hold secrets from the past and as temperatures plunge and tensions rise, Bo must face up to the fact that a life which looks perfect to the outside world may not be the life she should be living…

***

First line(s):

The horse stumbled over the rough ground, the air still thic with smoke as they breathlessly picked their way over the muddied rocks, their eyes continually drawn up to the desperate scene of devastation laid out before them.

***

I quite enjoyed this one in the end. It took me a little while to get into, but it kind of worked.

When I started this novel I did not expect to be dual timelines and having finished it I am not quite sure the dual timeline was necessary, but it worked fine. I guess it did give a bit of extra depth to the story.

We start with an established relationship and the ‘very modern situation’ of an Instagram-famous couple. I have to admit that at the beginning I kind of rolled my eyes at that notion, but by the end I think it gave a positive message about engaging with the actual world rather than a digital one. I don’t think that is a spoiler, because it was pretty clear from the beginning that that was where the story was going to go.

I did feel there was chemistry between the two love interests and I really appreciated a couple of the side characters. However, I am not a fan of cheating tropes or storylines, so that slightly counted against the story. There was a bit of a stalker story woven in as well, but I figured out what was going on there pretty much straight away, which was maybe a little disappointing.

Overall though, I enjoyed this one and I would happily pick up more books by this author. It was good to read a Christmas novel like this that was not sugary sweet.

5 out of 7 stars

CALSPIE: 7.79

• Characters: 8
• Ambience: 8
• Language: 8
• Story: 7.5
• Pacing: 7
• Interest: 8
• Enjoyment: 8

(audio) Book Thoughts: Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)

A surprisingly engaging classic, especially on audio

★★★★★★☆

Title: Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Translator: Louise & Aylmer Maude
Narrator: David Horovitch
Genre: Fiction / Classic
First published: 1878
Edition: Audio & Paperback, published by Vintage Classics in 2017

Acclaimed by many as the world’s greatest novel, Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature – with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author’s own views and convictions.

***

First line(s)

All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

***

This may well be one of the biggest achievements and surprises of this year. I started off trying to read this in paperback and I struggled to get into it. Switching to audio was a gamechanger. David Horovitch does a fantastic job narrating this sweeping book and I fell in love with it.

Of course the book concentrates partly on Anna, who is a fascinating, but tragic, character. Her choices brought to mind the saying: You made your bed, now lie in it. But this novel is not only about Anna. In fact, it shows us the lives of a variety of characters, all connected to each other in one way or another. The characters, especially Anna and Levin. Levin was probably my favourite character, which is interesting as he is supposed to be a reflection of Tolstoy himself.

Anna clearly had some mental health issues and the way her thought process was represented was very interesting. Yet, she was not the only one having erratic thoughts. Most of the characters were full of self doubt and insecurities. I guess as we all are. Their solutions to their problems were often rather rigorous and I found myself wondering whether that was reflection of the times Tolstoy wrote this novel in.

What definitely was a reflection of the times the novel was written, were the descriptions of the countryside and city alike, of politics and social situations, of nobility as well as the peasant class as seen from the nobility’s eyes. It questioned morals and class and I found that particularly interesting. Some of the commentary would still be relevant today. There were definitely some parallels with today’s society.

The novel did drag a bit towards the end, and I am not sure I quite loved the religious element at the end, but up until then I had thoroughly enjoyed it. I suppose it was just about 100 pages too long. However, I am far less scared of picking up big classics in the future and I do feel audio can really make the difference if the narrator is a good one. This one was included in my Audible subscription and if it is in yours, I would highly recommend it.

6 out of 7 stars

(Poetry) Book Thoughts: I Have More Souls Than One (Fernando Pessoa)

When poetry speaks to your soul

★★★★★★☆

Title: I Have More Souls Than One
Author: Fernando Pessoa
Genre: Poetry
First published: 1974
Edition: Paperback, published by Penguin in 2018

Dramatic, lyrical and ranging over four distinct personae, these poems by one of Portugal’s greatest poets trace a mind shaken by intense suffering and a tireless search for meaning.

***

This is a small poetry book from the Penguin Modern series. I wanted to give this Portuguese poet a try and this seemed like a nice way to dip my toes into his work. I have no hesitation about dipping in further I can assure you. These poems were taken from the Selected Poems, also published by Penguin, and I will be looking into buying that one.

Pessoa published poems in four distinct personalities, each with their own name. There is a section from each in this small book and my favourites in this small volume were the ones published under his own name and the more simple, wide eyed poems that he publsihed as Ricardo Reis.

All of the poems in this volume were very easy to understand and I found it easy connecting to them. They flow well and the language (though translated) just spoke to me.

I will be seeking out more of his work.

6 out of 7 stars

Book Thoughts: It Ends With Us (Colleen Hoover)

When a book is fine, but just not for me

★★★★☆☆☆

Title: It Ends With Us
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: Fiction / Contemporary
First published: 2016
Edition: E-book

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

***

First line(s)

As I sit with one foot on either side of the ledge, looking down from twelve stories above the streets of Boston, I can’t help but think about suicide.

***

I got this novel on my Kindle a few years back and simply never got around to reading it. In the meantime I had developed prejudices about Colleen Hoover’s books. Not negatively necessarily, but just the kind of books I expected they were, expecting they were not for me. I think this one proved me right, despite dealing with subjectmatter close to my heart.

Pretty soon after meeting our ‘hero’ alarm bells went off in my head, as I guess they were supposed to. I did not like him at all. I did not like the description of him, nothing. I did not even really like our main girl Lily. For me there was no real chemistry on the page, not between the characters and not between me and them. The dialogue soon got tiresome and just did not work for me. About a 100 pages in I kind of knew where the story was heading, but I was intrigued enough to keep reading, despite my only average enjoyment.

I think the conversations in this novel are important and the epilogue told me that the author was writing from experience. I appreciated this novel for sure, having been in a less than savoury past relationship myself. I think the novel and the story would have had made more of an impact on me if I had actually connected to Lily, but unfortunately I did not.

This is not a bad novel by any means. In fact, I liked large parts of it. The writing style in general was absolutely fine and I actually liked the secondary storyline with Atlas, though I wished it had not been told through journal entries as they seemed a bit… unrealistic as journal entries. However, the themes are important to me, even if I am not sure I want to read about it.

So, my conclusion is that I appreciate Colleen Hoover as an author and this type of story. I recognise this really is a decent novel, but I do not think I would read from her again. It simply is not my kind of book.

4 out of 7 stars

CALSPIE: 6.79

• Characters: 6
• Ambience: 7
• Language: 8
• Story: 6.5
• Pacing: 6.5
• Interest: 7
• Enjoyment: 6.5

Book Thoughts: Stay Another Day (Juno Dawson)

A wonderful Christmas read!

★★★★★★☆

Title: Stay Another Day
Author: Juno Dawson
Genre: Fiction / Young Adult / Contemporary
First published: 2021
Edition: E-book

When three very different siblings, Fern, Rowan and Willow, go home for a Christmas reunion at their family home in Edinburgh, it’s not long before some VERY BIG SECRETS threaten their cosy holiday …

***

After reading and loving Clean just a month or so ago I just had to read this Christmas novel. It was fun, it was ridiculous and yet it dealt with important topics. Amazing to have it all cramped into 300 odd pages.

Let’s start with the strongest point. I enjoyed the family dynamics of the McAllister family, the way they clearly love each other despite annoying the sh*t out of each other as well. They look after each other even if it’s hard sometimes.

The writing was excellent. The author knows how to create a multi-dimensional character and (mostly) believable relationships. I felt I connected to the characters easily and I cared what happened to them. However…

Although I enjoyed the read as a whole I felt some of the situations were just a bit too ridiculous. Maybe that’s ok, because we need a cheesy over the top Christmas read sometimes, but I did feel some of the reactions to certain situations did not quite ring true. The bow that it was tied up with in the end may have just been a little bit too neat. I am happy to accept that, as, you know, Christmas read and all that. Peace and joy for all.

Despite those niggles, definitely one of the better Christmas contemporaries I have read!

6 out of 7 stars

***

CALSPIE: 8.21

• Characters: 8.5
• Ambience: 8
• Language: 9
• Story: 8
• Pacing: 8
• Interest: 8
• Enjoyment: 8

Book Thoughts: Three Dark Crowns (Kendare Blake)

Enjoyable, but I don’t need to read on in the series

★★★★★☆☆

Title: Three Dark Crowns
Author: Kendare Blake
Genre: Fiction / Young Adult / Fantasy
First published: 2016
Edition: E-book

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions. But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

***

First line(s)

A young queen stands barefoot on a wooden block with her arms outstretched.

***

This is one of those books that has been sitting on my Kindle for a few years and the synopsis no longer really floated my boat. Due to a TBR game, it came up randomly and I ended up reading it. I am khappy enough I did. It was enjoyable and even if I don’t plan on continuing the series, it did not feel like wasted time. It was a fun read.

It took me a little while to get into the story. The writing in the beginning felt a bit all over the place and the characters started out a little flat for me. Over the space of the book my enjoyment of the story and the characters definitely improved and though I cannot say I absolutely loved it, it is a solid YA fantasy book.

The story was there, the writing was there in the end and it has all the right ingredients. It just did not quite hook me enough to keep reading, even if I did really appreciate the plot twist at the end.

There were a few things that stopped me from being pulled in. There was some of the girls kissing boys unnecessarily and I did not really get that. I think there were a subplot or two that felt superfluous and kind of pulled me out of the enjoyment of the story as well.

Overall, I had a good enough time with this one, but I am unlikely to revisit this series. One date was enough. However, I would happily recommend it to younger readers.

5 out of 7 stars

***

CALSPIE: 7.64

• Characters: 8
• Ambience: 7
• Language: 8
• Story: 7
• Pacing: 7.5
• Interest: 8
• Enjoyment: 8

Book Thoughts: The Curse of the Raven (Nicholas Kotar)

A strong novella to wet the appetite for the next in series

★★★★★★☆

Title: The Curse of the Raven (Raven Son #2)
Author: Nicholas Kotar
Genre: Fiction / Fantasy
First published: 2017
Edition: E-book

Llun the smith is an artist at heart, content to make the most beautiful swords, nails, and horseshoes in his city. But when his smithy is visited by the grand inquisitor of the secret police, his peaceful life is at an end.

***

First line(s)

Llun the Smith gazed into the fire. The bellows blew, and the sparks exploded before him like a shower of fireflires.

***

The writing felt more to the point, whilst still being beautiful. Of course there’s not much time to tell a story in novella format, but because of that it feels concise and well thought out. I liked the way it connects to the first book in the end. I was amazed though how quickly I cared for the new character introduced at the beginning.

This second book in the Raven Son series is only a novella, but it packs a pretty good punch. This is a worthy sequel to The Song of the Sirin and in fact I enjoyed it quite a bit more. Whilst I struggled with the writing in book one, this one simply worked.

Because of its length and the way it connects to the first book in the end, it does feel a bit like an extended prologue for the third book (The Heart of the World), which of course now I am quite eager to read. Job well done, I suppose.

A strong novella.

6 out of 7 stars

***

CALSPIE: 8.07

• Characters: 8
• Ambience: 8
• Language: 8
• Story: 8
• Pacing: 7
• Interest: 8.5
• Enjoyment: 9

Book Thoughts: Lost Boy (Christina Henry)

Me and retellings seems to have issues

★★★★☆☆☆

Title: Lost Boy
Author: Christina Henry
Genre: Fiction / Young Adult / Fantasy / Horror
First published: 2017
Edition: E-book

There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. Once I loved a boy called Peter Pan. Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter’s idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. He wants always to be that shining sun that we all revolve around. He’ll do anything to be that sun. Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever. Peter will say I’m a villain, that I wronged him, that I never was his friend. Peter Lies.

***

First line(s)

Once I was young, and young forever and always, until I wasn’t. Once I loved a boy called Peter Pan.

***

I wonder whether I knew from the start whether this one was not for me. I am not a fan of retellings or Peter Pan, yet for some reason this one caught my attention and I felt there may be an interesting story to tell. But once the story was told, I found there was nothing really surprising about it and I just found I was not that interested.

The writing itself was mostly fine and I do think this very much a me-thing rather than the fault of the book itself. It kind of did what it said it would do. It turned Captain Hook in the protagonist and is a topsy turvy prequel to the Peter Pan story. I think partly my struggle with the book was not the protagonist, but Peter Pan. Not because he was not the boy from the stories we all know, but because he seemed so one-dimensional compared to our main character. He just felt flat to me, more so than other characters in the novel.

I can absolutely see why people would really enjoy this, but I have to be honest with myself and I just found that I started losing interest in the plot and the story way too quickly and it kind of never recovered. Of course there was only one place the story could go and that was exactly where it went. On a side note, I think that the horror elements in this novel were pitched just right.

I did not dislike it, but it simply was not for me. Despite the fact that I did like the writing style in general, I am not sure I would pick up anything else by this author any time soon. I think she does a lot of retellings and I maybe those types of stories just don’t work their magic on me.

If you do like a retelling you may actually love this one.

4 out of 7 stars

***

CALSPIE: 6.43

• Characters: 7
• Ambience: 7
• Language: 7
• Story: 6
• Pacing: 7
• Interest: 5
• Enjoyment: 6