Everything You Need by A. L. Kennedy
On a remote island off the coast of Wales lives a little
colony of writers. Among them is Nathan Staples who, almost 20 years before,
was made to leave behind his wife and daughter. His daughter will be joining
the group and he is tasked with mentoring her through her time on the island. The leader
of the group believes that surviving near-death experiences is good for you and
if those near-death experiences don’t happen naturally then you are within your
rights to engineer them for yourself. So the members of the group do attempt to
kill themselves (or rather, survive what others would see as a suicide attempt)
at various points during their time on the island. We’re taken through Nathan’s
attempt when he almost hangs himself in his cottage, which is dangerous enough for
him considering he only has the one lung left over after a fight with cancer.
This book is actually excellent. I knew right off that there
was going to be some kind of odd relationship between Nathan and his daughter
considering he kept putting off telling her that he was actually her dad. At
one point she ends up fancying him and it’s just really uncomfortable but also really
interesting to read. The whole book is depressing and hard work but it’s
absolutely worth it. There are rarely any happy endings but there is darkness
all along the way.
10/10
~
The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy
The idea for this book of poetry is really great. Duffy has
created poems from the viewpoint of the wives of famous men throughout history.
Some of them I really enjoyed but I felt disappointed overall. I was expecting
more than I was given.
5/10
~
The General In His Labyrinth by Gabriel García Márquez
This follows the last journey taken by General Simón Bolívar
in 1830. I finished this book about a month ago so my memory isn’t that
excellent on it but I think that’s because it didn’t really stand out for me. I
had high hopes after reading Márquez’s ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ but this
book is definitely different. That’s not to say it’s bad, definitely not, but
just different in a way I wasn’t ready for. My knowledge of the history surrounding
Bolívar was shocking but the book did spark an interest for me, so that’s
always a sign of a good book.
7/10
How do we get out of this labyrinth of suffering? Maybe you could read Looking for Alaska. I'm not saying it as a recommendation, just that it is kind of connected to that last book.
ReplyDeleteI have read Looking for Alaska, that's what took me to this book to begin with.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think of it? Have you read any other John Green books?
ReplyDeleteIt was alright, I wasn't that taken with it, to be honest. I read it last year some time and I can't really remember all that much about it. I've also read 'An Abundance of Katherines' and 'The Fault In Our Stars'. I'm not sure I liked the Katherine one all that much but I did really like the latter. But I'm a sucker for a sad story. I'm not sure if it's just Young Adult fiction in general but the stories all seem to have a similar feel to them. Despite them being different. I don't think I'll read anymore John Green books but I didn't really dislike the three that I did read.
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