RJ Deeds > Recent Status Updates

This is a strange, ethereal and spiritual odyssey. I suppose it's a kind of "finding yourself" book. Whatever mood I was in, it weaved a spell. I found some of it quite profound (although others may find it pretentious). I'm usually quite a sceptic but find myself strangely engrossed bythis tale that veered between heaven and earth. It's nearly biblical. It basically states a belief in destiny. Comforting, strangely

I bought the book for the title. Now, I wish I hadn't. As you can imagine, if you stay in bed for a year (well, most of it), by definition nothing much happens. And it doesn't. I didn't even get a wry smile out of it. Idea was great - but it didn't work for me. I found it hard to believe that this was the same woman who wrote Adrian Mole, The Cappuccino Years, which did make me smile. Give it a wide berth!

The musings and insights of a dying man. This is a book I wanted to like. However, I found it all a bit twee. I appreciate the man is definitely not trying to impress anyone - he has little to gain. But I just found it a series of trite observations - no better, no worse than any person of his age would have. Maybe I have a heart of stone - but I'm sorry, it just didn't appeal.

What a great book. One I couldn't put down. The story of a poor Indian boy, of the wrong caste, who manages to win Who wants to be a Millionaire (the Indian version). He's uneducated in the formal sense (orphaned for long periods as a kid) but his story - and those he meets - feeds him all he needs to answer the questions. The TV company smell a rat. He never wished to be rich. Close - but not close enough!

This is set around the time of the setting up of Pakistan, part of which became Bangladesh to the east. The viciousness of the war between Moslem and Buddhist is clear. The lasting scars left on account of Britain's withdrawal are drawn out well. The various massacres - by the British, the Moslems and the Hindus - are vivid. It is clear the author has a love of India. It filled historical gaps for me.

An ok novel. Easy read. A guy working as a part-time ambulance man is called out to an accident involving a drunk, beautiful woman. He follows up to see how she is and one thing leads to another, including marriage. While she makes him happy, she's an alcoholic. Gradually, after having a daughter, they drift apart as alcoholism does it's thing. Her leaving is sudden, gnawing at the husband. Will pass the time.

This is an act of penance. You really need to think if you want to commit. I find Salman Rushdie's style so totally pretentious. It's clear he's trying to convey that his mind is so superior to yours. He talks in riddles. I can feel him looking down his nose at his readers - servile numpties. He reaches for eloquence - it comes out as arrogance. Waffle and piffle - written to be compared with Solzhenitsyn. Not!

A moment of weakness ... a friend at a party slaps a brat of a child (whose parents are morons) ... they sue him .. ends up with court cases, long-time friends falling out. The film is good as well, closely aligned to the novel. Wives and girlfriends differ in views to the spouses and boy-friends. The laddish culture of the Antipodeans is clearly spelt out. Modern, poor parenting on trial. Old values better?

This is a book with power. It tells of how the oligarchs eat each other. This American made the mistake of mixing it with the Russians when he started buying up Russian shares in the aftermath of Glasnost and fall of USSR. Dark forces in Russia eventually start to close the doors on foreigners eating into their profits. He evokes a terror in Moscow as he tries to leave. Dark alleys, strangers in the gloom, tension.

This is a great story and a great book. It goes through how Hoover exploited fears in America to create the FBI at a relatively young age. He hid his sexuality from the view of everyone in plain sight. He was indulgent to his overpowering mother at all stages. He easily mixed with all in society, including the Mafia, but all the time watching. The book proved an invaluable source for my daughter's project.

I was reluctant to take up another Montefiore book after Young Stalin. I was hugely surprised and enjoyed this. This book tells how Potemkin weaseled his way into Catherine the Great's affections, how they plotted the expansion of Russia together, how he took off on great adventures to the Black Sea and how she missed him (well, she did but took up with others!). A story, not a historical treatise as Young Stalin.

Wow! This was a surprise in terms of now louche Parisians were in the 19th century. Bel-Ami. George Duroy is a philanderer and his happy ingratiate himself into high society, taking jobs as a journalist and working his way up - stepping over the dead bodies in his way. He's ruthless and charming. The theme is not unlike The Ginger Man (a horrible book about another philanderer which I hated), told in style this time.

Strange how everyone seems to love this book. I hated it. I found the main character annoying, his sayings annoying, his ability to procrastinate annoying, the style of the book annoying. In fact, I found little or anything to like in the book - except that it was relatively short. Did not like the style of writing or the theme of the book. Not my cup of tea at all.

If you like books with atmosphere and a sense of place, you'll love this. A fantastic novel. Flawed in plot - in parts, yes. Some Deep South stereotypes - yes again. For all that, the sense of place reminds me descriptions in The 39 Steps. Not quite as good as I am Pilgrim. Kya is a great central character. She is alone in the hinterland and we follow her from girl to elder woman. We see what shapes her and why.

Best book I read in years. Page turner. You just want to keep reading on that bit more. Tracking down a terrorist in Asia. Have no idea what is going to happen next. A cracking read with a great plot. I haven't yet seen another book by Terry Hayes but I can't wait. This is as good as it gets if you love thrillers.

Doodle bugs falling on London and tracking them down in Europe - all written on speed. Meandering between imagination and reality - multiple characters. Only way to read this, I would suggest, is high as a kite - like the writer was when writing it. Classic - who says? If you want to be pretentious, go ahead and waffle on about its magnificence. Unless doing penance for something awful, don't waste your time.

Out of nowhere, Tristram is suddenly no longer a chiled - he is a man travelling in France to Italy with his Uncle Toby and Dad. Stories of 2 nuns cursing to get donkeys moving. Very little about Tristram's travels except naming places he goes through. At some point earlier, story of a Pinocchio-like character with an enormous nasal protrusion brings a city to halt. How it ever got published is a mystery. A slog!

The Bell Jar is seemingly Sylvia Plath's only novel. Regarded by some as a modern classic. The story is supposedly a novel but really reflects what happened in her own life. Full of first world problems, she's a girl with a privileged background who ends up unhappy and in various mental institutions. She tried to kill herself a few times. Didn't do anything for me. A self serving book about a selfish person.

What a horrible book about horrible people. The main character is a useless drunk and wife beater. In addition, he sees no problem bedding anything that moves or robs from his friends, equally feckless. Read it as a so-called classic. I couldn't wait for the book to end. Couldn't find anything to redeem it. Classed as comedic, I'm glad I don't have that sense of humour. Horrible book. Hated it from beginning to end

Trim seeks out lead for model cannons. He is creating a model of a battle in the garden for Toby. He removes lead weights from the sashes of the window frames in the house. Tristram is about 5 years old and is accidently circumcised subsequently by a window without weights. His father is more interested in the impact on the boy's place in society than the pain endured - or the panic that ensues in the house.

There is a lovely flow of English throughout the book. Toby, Tristram's uncle, happily waffles on about his role in the wars with Trim. The father shows no interest in the birth of his son upstairs. He is far more engaged in pontificating on the Greek tales of derring do to support all his mad philosophies. Dr Slop, the useless mid-wife, in favour with his father, gets distracted from his role by the conversations.

I've about 170 pages finished. So far, the novel is about a few old gents sitting downstairs - discussing a succession of topics - while Tristram's wife gives birth upstairs. Tristram's father is dead against this new fangled notion of a lady mid-wife (yes - such was the time!) and insists on calling the - in his mind - far superior man for the job. We discover this mid-wife is a complete idiot. Rambling & charming.

A different type of read. A book of whimsy, obfuscation, distraction and tangents to core. It's the love of language in the 18th century. No great story as such but the book has a nearly poetic lilt to it. Its not an easy read but there is a rhythm to it. You will want your dictionary beside you as the ye olde Englishe is in use. A book to exercise the mind and revel in the language of English. Not for everyone