More Than Two And Less Than Four

The People Of Paper by Salvador Plascencia

The citizens of El Monte declare war on the author, who they call Saturn, so that they can live free of his continual, invasive presence. While writing about the characters, the author's girlfriend leaves him because he is absorbed in the book. She says that she doesn't want to be associated with it and he must not write about her within it. His sadness at her leaving permeates every page and a few of the female characters leave their partners, for different reasons but the leaving is the significant point. The book follows many characters and has them all linked incredibly well. The woman made of paper might be my favourite of the characters. Every act of physical intimacy between her and the men she cares for always leaves them scarred (they end up with deep paper cuts) and so she moves from man to man, never content because she knows it can't last.

I absolutely love it when the characters in a book are aware of the author and it was so well done here. It wasn't even just that they were aware of him and all we got was there side of it, we also read about his girlfriend leaving him and his bottomless sadness and how he fights back against the characters. Beautifully written.

10/10

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The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

The bulk of the book takes place on a boat over a period of 21 days. Three young boys explore the ship and discover the peculiarities of their shipmates. It was easy to read and at parts was quite interesting but overall, I wasn't that taken with it. It didn't really grab me or make me think in any different sort of way.

6/10

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The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

We experience moments in the lives of various members of a family in India. And we see how a tragedy can pull apart something fragile. The words and all their combinations were excellent. The descriptions are so well written that it's impossible not to form elaborate images in your mind. Actually a delight to read.

9/10