Archives for November 2007

At M and R’s 50th birthday party in Spain, I met one of their friends who stood a good chance of becoming an Australian MP.  If it hadn’t been for her, I probably wouldn’t know there were Australian elections on.  But, I see from the internet, that she has got in.  The excitement.  Well, all I can say is those people in Freemantle have got themselves a great bargain.  There has been some quibbling but clearly the electorate didn’t buy it; good for them.  She’s lovely.  And clever and competent too.  Bet she gets made a minister sooner or later.  Oooh thrill.

NaBloPoMo – The moment you’ve all been waiting for – W is for Wyndham, Wells, Wodehouse,Weldon, Welsh, Waugh, and Wolff.

John Wyndham is probably my favourite science fiction author.  His books seem very old fashioned when I read them now (he is not a big believer in non-traditional roles for the sexes, our John) but I still really enjoy his clever, clever plots.  “The Trouble with Lichen” and “Chocky” are my favourites but, of course, “The Midwich Cuckoos”  and “The Day of the Triffids” are very good too.

I don’t fancy H.G. Wells’s science fiction much but his “A Short History of the World” is responsible for everything I know about history.

P.G. Wodehouse is great.  Of course he is.  For some reason, I like the golfing stories best.  I am not an enthusiastic golfer, but I love it when the oldest member clears his throat to attract general attention.  Somebody once borrowed one of my P.G. Wodehouses once and didn’t give it back.  I am still scarred.

I used to love Fay Weldon and I thought all her books were exciting and novel and interesting but my passion has waned.  I’ve put her in for old time’s sake.  “Go to work on an egg”.

Irvine Welsh is very brilliant and quite disgusting.  After reading “Filth”, a story wherein you realise that the most appealing character is a tapeworm, I gave up on him.  But I still do think he is an extraordinary writer.

I heard on the radio that when “Brideshead Revisited” was first published, it was a huge critical failure.  The critics were hoping for something as entertaining as his previous work.  I know what they mean.  It’s probably my least favourite of his  books (though I haven’t read “Helena”, I just couldn’t face it).  Most of the rest of his books are funny and poignant.  “Brideshead Revisited” is too serious for me and it has all the signs of zeal of the convert as well.  This criticism can I know be applied to the “Sword of Honour” trilogy but, I feel, that at least there, you know what you’re letting yourself in for and there’s more of a point to the exercise.  I have a special fondness for “Decline and Fall”.  Many years ago I had a very exciting 6 months as a trainee in Brussels (there is a reason I came back, you know).  It was a time of constant socialising and all very exciting. I was in my early 20s.  A bit like starting at university but with more money, more nationalities and more organised parties.  It was great fun but sometimes it felt like being on an out of control merry go round, clinging on for dear life going from party to party (I imagine this must be what Paris Hilton’s life is like, yes, me and Paris we are like that – crosses fingers).  I read “Decline and Fall” for the first time then and it seemed very apposite.  Whenever I reread it, I remember that very exhausting, great fun and slightly insane time of my life.

I like Tobias Wolff.  I particularly enjoyed his two volumes of memoirs “This Boy’s Life” and “In Pharoah’s Army”. Magic.

My husband points out to me that following this exercise, he has realised that I appear not to like three quarters of the books on our shelves. My sister-in-law says I am difficult to please. Looking at the list below, I think they may be right. Here are some of the books I have that I didn’t include in my favourite books list for NaBloPoMo. And also some that I should have and forgot. But mostly, they’re books I hate, yet won’t give away.

Albom, Mitch – I bought “The Five People you meet in Heaven” before boarding a plane because Waterstone’s had put one of those “our booksellers like” handwritten labels on it. It is the worst book I have ever read. Never trust Waterstone’s. I’d give it away to anyone.

Alcott, Louisa May – Fine but certainly not a favourite.

Ali, Monica – “Brick Lane” was not enjoyable. I just didn’t like it. I don’t care if my consciousness was raised.

Amis, Martin and Kingsley – Very readable, funny in places and, if their names began with Z, they would definitely have made the cut.

Auster, Paul – When “The New York Trilogy” came out, a number of my friends loved it. I did not. It is baffling.

Bainbridge, Beryl – I read “According to Queeney” and it was grand but I wouldn’t be rushing back for more.

Barker, Nicola – I read “Five Miles from Outer Hope” because it was set in the South West of England and I am very fond of that part of the world and in particular Burgh Island which is fabulous (though the food in the hotel is dear and bad, the hotel is absolutely wonderful). My sister used to work in Plymouth and I visited her there many times. It was a pity that she hated it and doesn’t like beaches. The book is literary and a bit tiring. Great setting though.

Barnes, Julian – A bit clever for his own good, isn’t he?

Bennett, Alan – I know everyone loves him. I don’t. He’s alright.

Bennett, Ronan – I actually really enjoyed “Havoc in its Third Year” but I’m reserving judgement until I’ve tried another book of his. He is has great potential to be gloomy, difficult and unrewarding.

Borroughs Augusten – “Running with Scissors” got such great reviews and it was so disappointing.

Byatt, A.S. – I did like “Possession” but it was so long I just couldn’t face rereading or trying anything else.

Burney, Fanny – I did like “Evelina” in a sort of “look, it’s famous, I’ve read it and it wasn’t too bad” kind of way. I’m not going to rush back for more.

Carey, Peter – I have read two books by Peter Carey. I am now sure that I do not like him.

Carter, Angela – Fine, I suppose. But not earth shattering.

Chevalier, Tracy – I got given one of her books “Falling Angels” by a friend. I felt it was one of those books that deliberately exploits the sentimental. I am sentimental. I don’t like that.

Cooper, Jilly – I finally read a Jilly Cooper. “Wicked” is rotten. I am devastated.

Coetzee, J.M. – Oh God, so hard and so depressing.

Cunningham Michael – I got a present of “Specimen Days” just before the boys were born and took it into hospital with me. It was too weird and science fictiony at the end (and I am a friend of science fiction). It was well written and something of a page turner so I suppose, not too bad when you are in labour. Not great either though.

De Bernieres, Louis – I don’t see it. Why does everyone love these dull, dull books with their twee characters? I bought Kathryn Flett’s “The heart-shaped Bullet” because I really enjoy her journalism but I didn’t like it all. The icing on the cake was when she described going on holidays with her ex-husband and reading bloody Captain Corelli. She felt that that the ex was dreadful because he couldn’t like that book. I really warmed to her ex at that point.

Eco, Umberto – Too hard. “The Name of the Rose” was OK but I am going to draw some sweeping conclusions on detective fiction later so wait for that.

Edwards, Kim – I am a sucker for things that look like they might be readable. I was bitterly disappointed with the best-selling “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter”. I won’t be trying her again.

Eliot, George – We did “Silas Marner” in school. Arguably, it’s not that great a book to do with teenage girls in a convent school. Anyhow, I knew where I stood with George Eliot until, some years later, I got chatting to a handsome man at a party who said “so many people are put off George Eliot because of ‘Silas Marner’ [it’s a standard text in Ireland], you have to read ‘Middlemarch’ it’s wonderful”. It’s not. Or, at least, not for me. And worse, I read it twice because I felt I might not have given it a fair hearing when I read it first. My sister-in-law sent me “The Mill on the Floss” on tape. Now I appreciate that that may not be entirely fair to the novel but it was quite enough to finally convince me that there will be no more George Eliot in my life, I’ve suffered enough.

Faulks, Sebastian – Am I the only person who found “Birdsong” tedious?

Franzen, Jonathan – Not for me thanks. You know, dysfunctional families, they’re fine but how many do you need?

Frazier, Charles – When the Princess was born, I took two books into hospital. One was the wonderful “What I loved” possibly my favourite grown-up book. The other was “Cold Mountain”. God, I hated that book. I don’t care about his trip home, I just wished he would bloody get there and it could all be over.

Fowles, John – I have only one comment on “The French Lieutentant’s Woman”. Why?

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel – I tried three of his books before washing my hands of magical realism for good.

Gaiman, Neil – Oh, so dreadfully disappointing. I had great hopes.

Golding, William – We did “The Lord of the Flies” in school. I can see that it is good. But I still don’t like it.

Gordimer, Nadine – Good. I suppose. But hard work and depressing.

Graves, Robert – Misfiled. I liked “Goodbye to all that” and the Claudius books.

Grisham, John – Dreadful.

Haddon, Mark – Misfiled. Only read “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” but enjoyed it.

Hardy, Thomas – I loved Hardy’s poems in school but I have never read any of his books. I was given “Jude the Obscure” on tape by my sister-in-law and it convinced me not to try the novels. I could be unconvinced, possibly.

Hollinghurst, Alan – God, wasn’t “The Line of Beauty” tedious?

Heller, Zoe – “Notes on a Scandal” was good but in a way that wouldn’t remotely tempt me to try any of her other work.

Kadare, Ismail – I’ve read a couple of his books because they sound so interesting and I like the Balkans. I think I’ll stop now though.

Kerouac, Jack – “On the Road” is tedious like a long, long trip in the back of the car.

Kundera, Milan – Unbearable. At length. Lots of sex

Kureshi, Hanif – Really unbearable. Lots of sex

LeCarre, John etc. – I have never tried one of Mr. Le Carre’s books. For some reason, I don’t like thrillers. I should because I love plot driven books but somehow thrillers don’t engage me. I have tried authors as various as Patricia Cornwall, Ruth Rendell, Michael Dibden, Rex Stout, Raymond Chandler and Kathy Reichs and I don’t like them. Mind you, I didn’t mind that Robert Harris thing “The Ghost” but I think that was mostly because I was thinking about Tony and Cherie.

Lee, Harper – Misfiled. Everyone loves “To Kill a Mockingbird”, including me.

Lee, Laurie – Don’t like him. Tried “Cider with Rosie” and “As I walked out one Midsummer morning” and I didn’t like him. I also usually blame him for “Fair Stood the Wind for France” but, in fact, that’s H.E. Bates.

Lessing, Doris – I have only read “Ben in the World” and it was brutal, to be honest. Perhaps not one of her happier works. Prepared to give a volume of her autobiography a go. Particularly since I bought it a couple of years ago and it is still in the pile beside my bed.

Lodge, David – Alright, I suppose, can be funny. But, if I’m looking for funny, I’d look elsewhere first.

Lurie, Alison – I feel that I should like Alison Lurie. I have only read “The War between the Tates” and it didn’t exactly encourage me to try anything else.

McCabe, Patrick – Just too weird and disturbing for me. Brilliant and all that but not nice.

McCourt, Frank – Twee.

Mantel, Hilary – I read “The Giant, O’Brien” and I could see that it was very good but I found it depressing and disturbing. Enough thanks.

Mitchell, David – Actually, “Black Swan Green” was very good but “Cloud Atlas”? I dunno.

Morrison, Toni – Now, there’s depressing.

Munro, Alice – I know I should like Alice Munro: short stories, domestic, beautifully written, but I just don’t.

Nabokov, Vladimir – “Lolita” is good but “Bend Sinister” has been waiting for my attention for a long time.

Nazeer, Kamran – Misfiled. A brilliant factual book about autism by an autistic author.

Niffinger, Audrey – I didn’t like “The Time Traveller’s Wife”, it was unconvincing and not for the reasons you might be entitled to expect.

Norton, Graham – I got a present of his autobiography. He’s from Cork, you know. He wrote the book himself (I mean it wasn’t ghosted, don’t be sarky) and it’s very, very good until he becomes famous. Then it’s dull.

O’Connor, Joe – I quite liked his early stuff, the funny books. I most emphatically did not like “Star of the Sea” and I have no intention of subjecting myself to “Redemption Falls” which in a way is a pity because he seems like such a nice man. In fairness, he never ever made anything of the fact that his sister is Sinead O’Connor even when she was famous and he was not. Is he more famous than she is now? I looked up one of his old books and, as far as I know, this is the only mention he ever made of her. It was his world cup diary:

“I am overjoyed to discover that there is a karaoke lounge directly beneath my bedroom. the fans are loudly singing hit songs and inserting the world ‘Ireland’ into them at every opportunity… the high point of the evening, for me, is when my dear sister Sinead’s poignant lament “Nothing Compares 2 U” is sublimely reinterpreted as “Nothing Compares 2 Phil Babb”.

Okri, Ben – I have been reading “The Famished Road” for well over a year. Maybe Ben and I should call it quits.

Orwell, George – Yeah “1984” and all that. Hmm.

Oz, Amos – Have only read his immensely depressing autobiography. I suppose I learnt a lot about Israel and Eastern Europe.

Pearson, Harry – Misfiled. “Tall Man in a Low Land” is the funniest book I have read about Belgium.

Picoult, Jodi – “My Sister’s Keeper” is very readable in an exploit the sentimental reader kind of way. “Vanishing Acts” didn’t even have the page turning thing for me. I’m full thanks.

Plath, Sylvia – I read “The Bell Jar” when I was in college. It’s that kind of book. Gloomy. I know, what do I expect?

Proulx Annie – “The Fishing News” had its moments but I didn’t think much of “Brokeback Mountain” and “Accordian Crimes” is very much at the bottom of my pile to read.

Pynchon, Thomas – “Vineland”, oh God, even the memory is painful.

Rushdie, Salman – Quite liked “Midnight’s Children” actually but not enough to want to try anything else.

Salinger, J.D. – I don’t like “The Catcher in the Rye”. Anyone else out there? Anyone at all?

Sebold Alice – I thought that “The Lovely Bones” was grim and not really very good either.

Sebold, W.G. – Too vague in Austerlitz, too detailed in “The Rings of Saturn. At least I can see why other people like him, even if I don’t go for him myself?

Sittenfield, Curtis – Wasn’t “Prep” a very smug novel?

Smiley, Jane – I did like “A Thousand Acres” though my knowledge of King Lear is not extensive [Why do you think my father calls me Goneril?]. I did not, however, enjoy “The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton” and I’ve given up on her.

Smith, Zadie – “White Teeth”, very clever and insightful for a 22 year old or whatever but I did not love it.  I am heartless.  Didn’t even like it much.

Steinbeck, John – Is it bad to say that I think he’s a bit sentimental?

Strachey, Lytton (or do you think that’s actually a double- barrelled surname?) – Misfiled. “Eminent Victorians” is a fantastically entertaining read. In fact, I think I’m going to haul it out again and contemplate his destruction of Florence Nightingale over the weekend.

Tan, Amy – I read one of her earlier books and quite liked it in a mild way but I thought that “Saving Fish from Drowning” was disappointing.

Tartt, Donna – I came to “The Secret History” under the inexplicable misapprehension that it was going to be about the hidden histories of women over the centuries. After that, it took me a while to get into it and I never really stopped wondering when they were going to talk in more detail about the serving women at the Bacchanal and what their back stories were.

Tremain, Rose – I found “Music and Silence” a bit slow though I now know a lot more about Denmark. Since I’m touching on Denmark, I didn’t like “Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow” much either. Well, not after she went off on that boat about half way through, anyway.

Trevor, William – A brilliant writer who writes dreadfully depressing stories.  I’m sure he’s a very nice man.  Somebody should gather up the courage to tell him that the young people don’t smoke Sweet Afton any more, see “Felicia’s Journey” for details.

Tolstoy, Leo – “War and Peace” had much too much war and not enough peace. I found the descriptions of endless battles dreadfully tedious though, as my then boyfriend unkindly pointed out, I had an added element of excitement as I was unsure whether Napoleon would or would not take Moscow, something most readers might be expected to know.

White, Edmund – The beautiful room is completely empty.

Wolfe, Tom – “The Bonfire of the Vanities”? Please, no. Good title though.

My God, are you still here? Well done. As I went through this list, I kept thinking of other books that displeased me, but you will be delighted to hear that I decided that, surely, this is enough.

You may also have noticed that I haven’t included any poets. I don’t dislike all poets; I am saving them for next November.

Tomorrow, I will gather together your suggestions and maybe I’ll have read at least a selection by next year.