crazygoangirl's reviews
1082 reviews

This was a hilariously rollicking adventure story that I found through Booktube (can’t remember from whom). Hadn’t heard of it before but I’m glad I found it. It had my kind of humour and was a great pick me up read after The Memory Police! 

We’re following the adventures of Buttercup and Westley, from the farm where they’ve both grown up and first met through their very often absurdly over-the-top journeys involving kidnappings, attempted murders and death itself. Honestly, the characters maybe cliched &  stereotypical, their actions largely predictable, but Goldman’s self-deprecating humour hits my sweet spot every time. There’s rarely a boring moment and I’ve laughed out loud many, many times 😄

Goldman’s imagination is on steroids! He’s invented stuff that I couldn’t imagine nor have I read of before. The Zoo of Death, the Fire Swamp, the Cliffs of Insanity and the R. O. U. S (rodents of unusual size), are all unique and scary. The Machine, whose description is still an enigma to me, is a terrible invention of Count Rugen that painfully sucks the very life out of human beings 😱 My favourites however are Inigo and Fezzik ☺️ Their friendship, loyalty and humour have my ♥️

Vizzini, Count Rugen and Prince Humperdinck make for a fabulous evil trio and although their single-minded dedication to wickedness is horrible, they’re great villains. Goldman thankfully doesn’t reduce them to caricatures (well, maybe sometimes!), but makes them intelligent and in their own way courageous characters. They lend lots of colour and excitement to the narrative. 

Goldman presents the book as an abridged version of a book called The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern, first read to him by his father when he was ill with pneumonia. I must confess I googled Morgenstern to see if he was real which tells you what a great job he’s done with the narrative. His writing is pithy, witty and racy! After a while, the asides (presented in brackets and italics), did become repetitive and the novelty of breaking the fourth wall faded, but by then, I was hooked on to the story. 

All in all, a fun, engaging read with a hint of magic, a touch of absurdity, loads of action and dollops of humour 😄 A great read at all times for fans of adventure tales but especially after more serious, literary reads. The fantastic cover helps! Recommended ☺️

I didn’t know what I expected - actually I do know - something in the strain of Ogawa’s previous book that I’d read, The Housekeeper and The Professor- dealing with time and memory (I think they’re her favourite themes), but with the lighter touch she used in it. 

This one is haunting, relentless, brutal, depressing, tragic, surreal, metaphorical, mesmerising, atmospheric and savagely scary. It’s like a tsunami of emotion and concepts and thoughts has immersed me in a narrative that is at once lucid and baffling. It’s hard for me to separate real from unreal, if indeed unreal is the correct term or are disappearing body parts merely metaphorical? The fact that the main protagonist is anonymous is unsettling. Nobody has names, perhaps they too gave disappeared, except for R, who to be fair has just a letter, and remains mysterious and yet perhaps the most ‘normal’ after the old man, who was my favourite character probably because he was most easily understandable and identifiable.

Vibes of Anne Franke and the Holocaust are evident throughout the dystopian context. There are powerful undercurrents of oppression - physical and mental, grief, fear, uncertainty, helplessness, acceptance and a complete lack of self-esteem and identity. When human beings are stripped of their rights and eventually their identities by consistently and relentlessly attacking their memories, how do they cope? Why do some humans find the will to fight and survive, while others accept defeat and disappear? When does oppression finally turn submission into rebellion? Is the sacrifice of some justifiable for the survival of others? 

This was an extremely challenging book to read, especially since I try and avoid dystopian novels. It depressed and enraged me. I wanted to shake the protagonist and in turn, the protagonist from her novel, until they awoke from the apathy that had overwhelmed them. That was the old man’s job, when he was around - to keep her together, reassure her, uplift her mood and protect her from not only the Memory Police but also herself. He was good at his job. 

It’s amazing how if disappearances are indeed a metaphor for death, Ogawa has managed to write an entire novel on the subject without once using the word itself! The novel that the protagonist writes in the book is like a microcosm of the world she herself is living in, until Ogawa manages a surreally terrifying crossover that I’m not still sure I’ve understood or that I was even meant to. It’s a complexly poignant narrative that is both in-your face and subtly nuanced - a rouble edged sword that cuts both ways.  This review could easily turn into a thesis on the subjects of memory, life and death - I have so many thoughts swirling around in my head right now. A book that has given me a huge hangover 😵

Every reader will take away their own unique lessons and feelings as indeed happens with every book, bug doubly so with this one in my opinion. It’s just that kind of book. I was unaware before I started reading that it was short listed for the International Booker Prize 2020. I haven’t had the best of reading experiences with the Bookers. This book has  affected me deeply. I love Japanese literature and although this was a difficult and disturbing read, it was worth it.

My previous experience with Michaelides books has been average. My favourite is still his debut - The Silent Patient. His second novel The Maidens was again average as is this one. In my opinion, his books tend to become formulaic and predictable even with the hallmark twists at the end. His reliance on unreliable narrators and unlikable characters doesn’t help.

The Fury is narrated by Elliot Chase, an unreliable and stereotypical character. He’s an abused kid who grows up into an insecure, damaged adult. There’s a horrific scene of him bring bullied in school that I confess I skimmed over. Elliot breaks the fourth wall ever so often, talking directly to us readers, but the contrived tone & cliched thoughts annoyed me. The book has all the usual suspects - unreliable and unlikeable narrator - Elliot Chase; famous theatre and movie star of yesteryears Lana Farrar; her son Leo - an aspiring actor; her second husband Jason and her best friend, theatre actress Kate - a flamboyant alcoholic with a chip on her shoulder. In addition there are Agathi - Lana’s housekeeper and general Girl Friday and Nikos - the reclusive caretaker who looks after Lana’s home on her private Greek island - Aura which on occasion suffers wild winds called The Fury. The island setting and closed circle mystery are reminiscent of Christie’s And Then There Were None, but lacking the sinister undercurrents. In fact, after the murder occurs, there’s an entire tableau in which Michaelides channels Christie’s Poirot in the person of Inspector Mavropoulou!

Michaelides spends a third of the book getting us to the island. He goes back and forth in time which is sometimes a little hard to follow. As always with a cast of shady, obnoxious, unreliable characters, adults act like juveniles and Lana’s seventeen year old son Leo is the most sorted of the lot! The twists when they came felt disappointingly predictable. I had foreseen them all and so there wasn’t that element of surprise. Still, the pace picked up toward the end and that was good. Also disappointing was the lack of atmosphere. There wasn’t the expected build up of sinister vibes given off by an isolated island setting in a storm. It was almost like Michaelides’ words fell short of doing full justice to the wild and ancient beauty of Greece. Don’t get me wrong, he does describe its beauty effectively but I didn't feel it was as atmospheric as it could have been. 

The book improved a little toward the end. I think I would have liked it better if Michaelides hadn’t insisted on Elliot’s breaking the fourth wall to explain and justify himself. It got on my nerves because I knew he was lying. I thought there was too much plot and too little atmosphere. The narrative felt forced like Michaelides was trying too hard. I did enjoy the homage to Christie though!

On the whole, an average read that I wouldn’t have missed if I hadn’t read it. I’m going to take a break from Michaelides for a while. I need the time apart!

Read this immediately after reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Together they fulfil two prompts on my The 52 books Bookclub, of books set in the same universe with different perspectives. As I often do these days, I’m listening to the audiobook while following along digitally on my Kindle. I feel it helps me better retain what I read. The narrator, Dominic Hoffman was excellent and listening to the accents made the tale feel that much more authentic.

Once again, what struck me most was the importance Everett gave to ‘language’ - not just his own as author, but within the narrative, the language slaves use amongst themselves and when talking with white people. The latter he labels ‘Slave’ and it is designed to diminish and demean them in the eyes of their masters to safeguard themselves in what little ways they can against the constant abuse they live with. Apparently nothing scares the white man like a slave who can talk proper English as they do; proved later in the story by a conversation between James and Judge Thatcher. There’s a telling scene at the beginning of the book, in which James is teaching his daughter and her friends the ‘importance of language’ by having them translate sentences from ‘normal’ English to ‘Slave’. Everett uses the dialect Twain used, but the tone though superficially light has dark undercurrents.

The pacing was spot on as well, with the steady buildup of tension as the story progressed. It was fascinating to see how Everett wove his own tale using Twain’s narrative as a building block. So though the basic story remained the same, what was adventure in Huck Finn became a dark and disturbing tale of escape and survival. The encounters that felt light-hearted in Huck became terrifyingly real. The casual way in which abuse was portrayed was chilling. There is a haunting quality to Mr. Everett’s prose that sent chills down my spine even when the language on the page was not overtly violent. I was terrified to read on for fear of what may happen but compelled to read because I had to know. Rape, beatings, shootings, lynchings - all were mentioned with the terrible nonchalance with which they must have occurred at the time. No overtly dramatic prose - just cold, hard, heartbreaking words. Brilliant writing!

There is a singular matter-of-factness to Jim and his friend’s encounters with white adult males that is absolutely terrifying. The episodes with Daniel Emmett and the Duke and the King were particularly difficult. They laid bare the evil bones of slavery and what seemed relatively harmless from a child’s point of view in Huck Finn took on sinister and dangerous tones when seen from Jim’s. He is compelled to constantly conceal his intelligence, his rage, his desperation, his loneliness, his fear, his guilt and often his very humanity. He must by needs also keep a constant check on his tongue, his speech, his very thoughts - all of which is terrifying and humiliating but crucial for survival. It is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit that even in these harshest of circumstances there is a semblance of hope. There is a form of friendship even if it often feels transactional. Sammy, Young George, Norman - friends, of a kind, all of whom suffered much but helped when they could. Trust is rare and precious and Jim and his ilk have precious little of it and yet they persevere. With Huck, Jim shares a deeper bond, a smidgeon of ‘affection’ even, if one may call it that although there is an inherent and inevitable unpredictability too. They share what trust a young boy and a slave may share - fragile yet on occasion comforting - to us as readers and to them. Huck’s character isn’t very different from Twain’s original, except perhaps for less mischief. He is brave and loyal but inconsequential because he’s a child and doesn’t have many rights either although he isn’t classified as ‘property’.

There’s an interesting twist toward the end that changes everything for the reader but not much for the characters. The interactions between Huck and Jim in the aftermath of the revelation are singularly authentic. There is guilt and anger and distrust. How could there not be? Meanwhile, America is on the brink of civil war as Jim fights his own internal demons. Is murder an acceptable form of justice? Is it evil to end evil? In the journey from Jim to James, these are some of the questions he grapples with, but the times and the answers are at best ambiguous. Yet there is no ambiguity in the love he feels for his wife and daughter and his desperate attempts to find them. It is impossible for us humans untouched by the horrors of slavery to truly understand the darkness that enveloped James’ life and the lives of the thousands of slaves like him. The abuse and indignity that humans inflict upon one another are inconceivable. Our ability to choose evil is incomprehensible. And yet, somehow, here we are, still surviving. Perhaps there is a reason. Perhaps in time, it will be revealed.

This is a brilliant book. It is deep, dark and disturbing but brilliant. Reading it after reading Huck Finn considerably enhanced my reading experience. Dominic Hoffman further improved it with his brilliant narration. It moved and angered me and forced me to think. I loved the way Everett illustrated the power of words - how they can unite, divide and redeem. It has left me with a massive book hangover of the best sort. James as a character has left an indelible mark on my soul. What more could one want from a book? This one has become a new favourite. Highly Recommended ♥️

Just a few of my favourite quotes:

I’ve read several abridged versions of this beloved classic as a kid, but the richness of Twain’s language was lost on me then. Not so now. Listening to the audiobook enhanced my reading experience considerably, since the narrator is great with all the various accents! There are so many narrators and so many audiobooks including one read by Elijah Wood. I spent some time trying to find one which seemed to feel right to me intuitively and this version felt right 🤷🏼‍♀️ Am following along with an illustrated digital version on Project Gutenberg which means I’ll hopefully retain more detail. I’ve chosen to read this in preparation for reading James by Percival Everett next. I want to read them one after the other since they're set in the same universe. They also fit Prompts number 28 & 29 of my 52 Books Bookclub.

The first thing that struck me was the richness and 'colour' (pun not intended), of Twain's language. Since I'm writing this review after having read James by Percival Everett, the stress that both these authors put on the language of their craft is astonishing. Words matter. The method of their use matters, and Everett especially stresses that in his narrative. Twain has more opportunities to inject humour into his narrative, after all his narrator is a young boy and his story is basically one of  imagination and adventure. There's courage, bravery, sacrifice, compassion, love, friendship, mischief, and grief along with every other human emotion, but the social commentary that deals with slavery and racism, though present, is tackled with subtle irony and nuanced sarcasm that is much easier to read than the gut-wrenching, heart-rending narrative that is Everett's. The focus in one is the coming of age of a young boy through a series of events that Twain turns into one rollicking adventure; whereas the other is the hard-hitting, gritty, horrific tale from the perspective of a runaway slave.

Huck is a delightful character, made wise beyond his years by his hard life and an abusive father. He is resourceful, imaginative, compassionate and loyal! He's a wonderful friend who suffers Tom's (Tom Sawyer) self-aggrandizement and acknowledges Jim's fears with equal patience & panache. The journey from Huck's Jim to Everett's James is one of remarkable transformation, almost an adult coming of age in the latter! I love Huck - with all his chutzpah and devil may care attitude! He’s smart but impulsive like any boy his age would be and his confidence in his own ability is endearing if unrealistic! Jim is not the best of role models, but is rather endearing himself too! Tom Sawyer however got on my nerves especially toward the end with all the over-the-top dramatics! He's lucky to have friends like Huck who love and respect him despite all the nonsense! The relationship between Jim and Huck was heart-warming but largely morally  ambiguous on both sides I felt. Huck is a young boy and has a lot to learn, but he’s fundamentally a ‘good’ boy with his heart in the right place, trying hard to overcome the prejudices he’s grown up with. Jim is on the run and is essentially 'property', without any basic human rights, a fact that Everett underlines in his much darker narrative. Is 'true' friendship possible between two such troubled individuals? Or is this just a bond forged purely out of convenience without true respect? Huck certainly has a deep fondness and sense of responsibility toward Jim even if it’s at a subconscious level that he’s unable in the moment to acknowledge or recognise. It's hard to tell in Twain's narrative but Jim's character arc is crystal clear in Everett's. It’s easier for Jim. He’s an adult and his genuine affection for Huck is quick to form and increases steadily as the tale progresses, very different from Everett's story where his affection feels uncertain initially. Everett's Jim is darker, full of rage and as the story progresses - a ticking time bomb, although he does put himself in danger to rescue Huck several times. 

What shines through are Twain’s remarkable storytelling skills! His ability to create atmosphere is legendary and as Jim and Huck navigate down the river to the Free States, I feel like I’m right on board that little raft with them! The escapades keep getting wilder and more fascinating - whether it's their encounter with feuding families, ship wrecks or the King and the Duke, two confidence tricksters who cause them no end of trouble and prove exceptionally hard to get rid of! Interspersed in between are chilling scenes of murder, numerous attempts at thievery, and even an attempted lynching that are compelling and terrifying not the least because they're narrated so matter-of-factly and are accepted as such by Huck and Jim, that one regards them as almost normal before the shock factor sets in and the true nature of what slavery actually meant sinks in. Since this was written primarily for children, the tone and mood are lighter than Everett's tale which is deeper, much darker and very disturbing.

The only reason I didn't give this one a full five starts is because, Tom really annoyed me in the end and his attempts at solving Jim's problems felt unbelievable! There were times I would have happily whacked him! Also, I thought the Duke and King section stretched on for too long. Other than that, I enjoyed every mad, chaotic moment with Huck and Jim and was rooting for them all the way. Before i sign off, I want to once again stress the importance of language and how it shapes our lives and indeed our destinies. Both Twain and Everett use it effectively in telling their stories and reminding us to tell ours.

I’m a huge fan of the Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel and Teahouse Detective series featuring, ‘the man in the corner’ and Polly Burton, the up and voting reporter. When I came across Simon Stanhope’s YouTube channel where he reads short mysteries mostly from the Victorian and Edwardian periods, I thought I’d try this one out.

He reads decently, although he doesn’t use ‘voices’ for different characters. The mystery itself is fairly straightforward - a married woman being blackmailed by her former husband whom she believed dead. A short quick read with my first morning cup of coffee!

I re-read this book because I realised I hadn’t reviewed it the first time around. This is a novella from Louise Penny’s Three Pines series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.

I enjoyed this well-paced and well-plotted novella. Penny has done a good job, especially with the pacing which in her full length novels can be tedious at times. A dead man is found hanging in a tree in the woods outside Three Oines. Gamache and Beauvoir must identify him and investigate his death. Is it suicide or foul play? Gabri and Myrna, both Three Pines residents appear, along with Dominic the owner of the Inn & Spa where the dead man was a guest. I love that Penny managed to slip in a few scenes inside Gabri’s Bistro which is hands down my favourite hangout in Three Pines, with its warmth, cosy old world atmosphere and mouthwatering wholesome food! Enjoyed the factoids that Penny included. The Arthur Ellis angle was particularly original & interesting in an otherwise straightforward mystery.

I enjoyed this short, quick and decent mystery more than I expected to, especially since the narrator too had a voice well suited to Gamache’s gravitas.

I never imagined Plays would bring me such joy this year! This is my third Oscar Wilde play and although I found it a tad more serious than the other two - The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband, it didn’t lack in Wilde’s signature satirical wit and incisive social commentary. This one explores a parent - child relationship as well as the bond between husband and wife, Lord and Lady Windermere, who must navigate the challenges presented to their marriage by suspicions of infidelity. It examines themes of trust, honour, sacrifice and love through a tightly plotted narrative and well crafted characters - a Wilde specialty - as I’ve discovered!

I enjoy his prodigious skill with language and dialogue - so witty, laden with the perfect amounts of sarcasm and irony. His one-liners are delightful and this one has the famous quote,

I love how Wilde is merciful to his characters. He walks them on tortuous paths and brings them to the precipice, only to save them before they fall. Some are weak or should I say ‘good’ and others ‘bad’ but worthy of redemption. In the end, they’re all recognisable for the deeply flawed humans they are. I listened to the play while following along on e-book, the way I’ve done with the two previous ones I’ve read. I find this the perfect reading experience. I enjoyed the cast in the audiobook. For once they were perfectly cast with no annoying voices! 

So far, I’ve enjoyed all three of Wilde’s plays. They are extremely entertaining, his humour matches mine, always lightens my mood and makes me laugh out loud. I’m off now to find a movie adaptation I like. That’s another advantage with Wilde, one is spoilt for choice, there are so many!

This is a humorous account of an intrepid couple on a cruise around Ireland with stops in Amsterdam and London. The fact that I’m related to them lends deeper context to their adventures 😀 I recognise more than a few shared idiosyncrasies, particularly with Mugdha - bathroom paranoia comes immediately to mind 😂 It’s the shared DNA!

I enjoyed going on this cruise with them. If anything it’s equipped me with more than a few tips on attempting one myself! In Shrinivas and Mugdha I see several parallels to Hubby and I - both doctor couples, me fond of travel, Hubby not so much. In fact the similarities between Hubby and Shrinivas as travellers are surprising - both lovers of ‘desi’ food, avoiders of shopping, not the greatest ‘culture vultures’ and basically happier at home, be it ever so humble, than anywhere else! 

Reading about London and Amsterdam made me nostalgic! Her visit to the Anne Frank Museum and the Rijksmuseum brought back fond memories. I remember being awed by Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ and discovering the magic of Klimt! London is my favourite city in the world, like it is Mugdha’s and the descriptions of Hyde Park, Harrods and Hempstead made me yearn to visit again soon! I enjoyed how Shrinivas weaves in memories of Mumbai through the narrative, both contemporary and of his childhood. I learnt a few things about him that I didn’t know before.

Although this book is special to me for reasons more than its contents, I feel, every traveller will relate to its pithy commentary about the vagaries of travel and travellers and chuckle at remembered memories as they cruise along with Mugdha and Nivas ☺️