ARC, Books

Book 121: The Absolutist – John Boyne

Where to begin…seriously. I finished this novel Monday night after a whirlwind read—I could not put it down. I stumbled across this novel on Net Galley and requested a copy from the publisher and I am incredibly glad I did! The following is my honest response and the views/opinions are my own. I did not receive compensation to review the novel.

I’ve divided my response into three parts: my response to the novel, a brief comparison and my (rambling) thoughts and questions to those who have also read the novel. If you have any desire to read the novel (WHICH YOU SHOULD ALL BE!), don’t read part three. I’ll try not to say explicitly, but it may give some parts away. Sorry it’s such a long post, but it’s such a good book! I will definitely have to re-read it as I didn’t come close to discussing everything I wanted to discuss!

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2012 Challenges, Books, Quotes, The Classics Club

Book 119: Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

So sometimes it sucks to be well read, or at least appear so. A friend visited last weekend and she mentioned the ending, thinking I was re-reading it, which marred the ending for me. I had no idea how the story ended and although I would’ve had a good idea leading up to the moment she mentioned, I spent more time wondering when ‘it’ would happen rather than enjoying the story for the last 300+ pages.

Anna Karenina counts for the Mount TBR, Tea and Books, Back to the Classics and The Classics Club – and more importantly it puts me over the 50% mark on ALL 2012 challenges. (Right on goal for the year!)

Overall I’m really glad I read this. If not for the challenges I joined this year I doubt I ever would have gotten around to reading it. Not only did it make me have a new desire to learn more about Russia and it’s people, but it made me want to actually visit Russia. (At least theoretically, I’m still leaving Doctor Zhivago on my Back to the Classics as a place I realistically won’t visit.) What was probably most surprising about the novel was that they were just normal everyday people like in all the other classics I’ve read – and that Russia isn’t all snow and ice! Russia has farming and society and all the things I never thought it had. I enjoyed Tolstoy’s various characterizations of Russian high society – some desperately wanting to be European, and some desperately wanting to stay independent/non-European, especially when they travel in Europe.

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Books

Book 112: The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

This is one of those situations where I’m glad I don’t read the backs of books carefully each time before I start reading a book. I went to the library knowing there was a book about a book thief I wanted to read. I assumed this, The Book Thief, was the correct title as a few people have blogged about it recently and I’ve a friend who also recommended it…

About a quarter of the way through the book I realized this was definitely not the book I thought it was, but kept reading. Whoops! When I finished The Book Thief I went back to my handy list of books to-be-read and found the book I planned on reading was actually called The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett. A stretch, but same basic premise – a person who steals books – but completely different stories and tales.

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2012 Challenges, Books

Book 104: People in Trouble – Sarah Schulman

So far of the books my boss lent me last September this is by far my favorite. Although I enjoyed Donoghue’s Hood and Schulman’s first novel After Delores was good, this one just stands out as a moving piece of the time and serves as a great commentary. This goes towards my Mount TBR Reading Challenge putting me at 11/25 (44%).

What was great about this novel was from the opening line you knew it was going to be about voyeurism (or I realize that looking back). Schulman opens her novel with one of the greatest opening lines I’ve read in a long time. If it’s from something else PLEASE let me know! She opens with, “It was the beginning of the end of the world but not everyone noticed right away.” and from that point on takes you on a fascinating journey threw the AIDS underground of New York City.

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2012 Challenges, Books

Book 89: Hood – Emma Donoghue

Hood is the first of the 40 books I’ve committed to in Reading Challenges for 2012. It comes from the Mount TBR Reading Challenge and it feels good to cross one book off those three lists. And as mentioned sometime in the past, this is one of the novels my boss brought in for me to read – and it was interesting, not sure I would want to talk about it with her – see my reaction in the last paragraph before the recommendation. But regardless, on to the review!

Written by the author of Room and Slammerkin, Hood is a moving story of love and loss. Taking place during the week of Cara Wall’s funeral, the reader finds themselves at the mercy of Pen O’Grady’s, Cara’s lover of 13 years, sometimes tumultuous, most of the time lacking emotions. Using flashbacks and the days of the week, Donoghue tells the story of Pen and Cara’s relationship while showing Pen’s coping (or lack thereof) with Cara’s death.

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