Tipping the Velvet
Sarah Waters
My rating: ***
If any Sarah Waters fans are reading, just know that this review will hurt me more than it hurts you.
I know I’m meant to like Tipping the Velvet. It’s a book about a woman’s sexual liberation, her journey into the previously unknown desires of her subconscious.
The main Character, Nancy, was an oyster girl from Whitstable and was such a clichéd example of a ‘good girl’ I nearly cried. She shares a bed with her sister, helps her mother in the kitchen is the ugly duckling of her family. Nancy and her sister are regular visitors to the local theatre, where they enjoy a whole host of entertainments.
One evening however, she sets eyes on a male impersonator, Kitty Butler. Miss Butler wanders around stage dressed as a man, and sings songs from the perspective of men. It’s funny because she’s a woman, and women aren’t men, and she’s pretending to be a man. Yeah. After meeting Kitty back stage in her dressing room, Nancy begins her whirlwind adventure, of sexual discovery, and the journey to London where fame and fortune awaits.
After that however, not a lot happens. We follow Nancy through the brief ups and the overly prolonged downs of her new life. The main characters goals in life are purely sexual, she lacks the depth of feeling and emotion it would take for me to truly fall in love with her. Nancy herself is a shallow, meaningless character who has no other purpose in the book than to provide sex scenes, but Waters has written it so well I feel genuine dislike towards the page.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Sarah Waters. I read her book “Finger Smith” recently, and it was hands down one of the best things I have ever picked up. I believe that Waters writing skill is evident throughout Tipping the Velvet, but the lack of story really lets the book down.
Thursday, 16 August 2012
The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
My rating: *****
When I first started to read The Night Circus, I very nearly put it straight back on the book shelf. I do not generally like books that are written second person, because part of the fun of reading for me is becoming someone else. I do not pick up books to stay myself; I want to be “her” or “him”. I persevered however, and I am so glad I did.
The entire book was not written in second person and Morgenstern has created a world full of characters; there is no one within the circus who I as the reader did not get to know and become. I knew their names, I knew their loves and I knew their pains.
Le Cirque des Rêves (The Circus of Dreams) is a magical arena, in which two unwilling competitors are forced to do battle, with no knowledge as to when, or how, a winner will be chosen. Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair do not know what they are competing for, or how to compete with each other; all they know is that they do not have a choice.
While Marco and Celia are at the centre of the story, they are far from the only interesting characters. Each character stood out clearly from the next, and I think with the amount of care and detail Morgenstern put in, they would be able to carry a book of their own. I do wish that it had been made clearer what became of some characters, but that wasn’t a major issue. The book is set in the early 1900’s, and occasionally the formality of the language got a bit tiresome. I wouldn’t recommend this book for those with a short attention span, but I would recommend it to anyone who wants to believe in magic for a whole 490 pages.
My rating: *****
When I first started to read The Night Circus, I very nearly put it straight back on the book shelf. I do not generally like books that are written second person, because part of the fun of reading for me is becoming someone else. I do not pick up books to stay myself; I want to be “her” or “him”. I persevered however, and I am so glad I did.
The entire book was not written in second person and Morgenstern has created a world full of characters; there is no one within the circus who I as the reader did not get to know and become. I knew their names, I knew their loves and I knew their pains.
Le Cirque des Rêves (The Circus of Dreams) is a magical arena, in which two unwilling competitors are forced to do battle, with no knowledge as to when, or how, a winner will be chosen. Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair do not know what they are competing for, or how to compete with each other; all they know is that they do not have a choice.
While Marco and Celia are at the centre of the story, they are far from the only interesting characters. Each character stood out clearly from the next, and I think with the amount of care and detail Morgenstern put in, they would be able to carry a book of their own. I do wish that it had been made clearer what became of some characters, but that wasn’t a major issue. The book is set in the early 1900’s, and occasionally the formality of the language got a bit tiresome. I wouldn’t recommend this book for those with a short attention span, but I would recommend it to anyone who wants to believe in magic for a whole 490 pages.
Between Shades of Gray
Between Shades of Gray
Author: Ruta Sepetys
My Rating:*** ½ *
Between Shades of Gray is set in 1941, and tells the story of a family torn from their home and from each other by soviet guards, and then deported to work as unpaid labour in Siberia. The book is obviously well researched, giving a name to the thousands of people who were driven from their homes and lives, during the soviet regime.
Sepetys allows the reader to share in Lina’s confusion, by slowly revealing what her family had done to get themselves onto ‘The List’ of people to be deported. The book explores the themes of love, loss, and loyalty, and the true meaning of the word “home”.
The book itself is very slow paced, which means that while it is a very informative account of the plight of displaced under the Soviet regime, it isn’t a very engaging read. While on her way to Siberia, Lina develops feelings for the dark and handsome Andrius. While this love affair adds to the “story” element of the book, I feel that Sepetys should have delved into those feelings a little more, and perhaps given a little more depth to Andrius. We do not see Lina fall for him; rather, we are told it has happened.
Part of the pleasure of reading, for me, is the process of discovery and it would have been nice if I’d have been allowed to do this with Andrius and Lina’s love affair. Over all, I feel that this book was one that needed to be written, and is written well, but it could have been done a lot better. I never truly feel for the characters, I do not get the know them as people, rather than as prisoners. Because I never know them outside of their struggle, it is hard to appreciate how much their experiences change them as people.
I know that thousands of people would disagree with me on this, but this is why I can only give this book 3 and ½ stars. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book, I just don’t feel like it engaged me enough. There was no suspension of disbelief, I never felt like I was fully immersed in the story, which is a shame, because it was such a good story.
Author: Ruta Sepetys
My Rating:*** ½ *
Between Shades of Gray is set in 1941, and tells the story of a family torn from their home and from each other by soviet guards, and then deported to work as unpaid labour in Siberia. The book is obviously well researched, giving a name to the thousands of people who were driven from their homes and lives, during the soviet regime.
Sepetys allows the reader to share in Lina’s confusion, by slowly revealing what her family had done to get themselves onto ‘The List’ of people to be deported. The book explores the themes of love, loss, and loyalty, and the true meaning of the word “home”.
The book itself is very slow paced, which means that while it is a very informative account of the plight of displaced under the Soviet regime, it isn’t a very engaging read. While on her way to Siberia, Lina develops feelings for the dark and handsome Andrius. While this love affair adds to the “story” element of the book, I feel that Sepetys should have delved into those feelings a little more, and perhaps given a little more depth to Andrius. We do not see Lina fall for him; rather, we are told it has happened.
Part of the pleasure of reading, for me, is the process of discovery and it would have been nice if I’d have been allowed to do this with Andrius and Lina’s love affair. Over all, I feel that this book was one that needed to be written, and is written well, but it could have been done a lot better. I never truly feel for the characters, I do not get the know them as people, rather than as prisoners. Because I never know them outside of their struggle, it is hard to appreciate how much their experiences change them as people.
I know that thousands of people would disagree with me on this, but this is why I can only give this book 3 and ½ stars. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book, I just don’t feel like it engaged me enough. There was no suspension of disbelief, I never felt like I was fully immersed in the story, which is a shame, because it was such a good story.
My sister lives on the Mantlepiece
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece
Author: Annabel Pitcher
My Rating: ****
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is a highly moving, and highly relevant account of one family’s struggle with grief. Pitcher writes her story from the view of 10 year old Jamie, a boy whose sister died in a fictional terrorist attack in London.
Though told from Jamie’s point of view, the book revolves around Rose, Jamie and Jasmine’s deceased sister. Jamie’s father is used to represent those in the public who hold the entire Muslim community responsible for the recent terrorist attacks. The book deals with a very sensitive subject matter, but manages to do so in a way that does not paint any party in a bad light. Jamie’s father is not presented as a racist bigot, which would have been easy for Pitcher to do. Instead, he is shown as a grieving father, unable to gain closure on his daughter’s sudden and violent death. The Muslim community, shown through Sunya and her mother, are presented to be as much the victim of terrorism as the rest of the world, something it is easy for the world to forget in today’s society. When Jamie makes friends with the only Muslim girl in his School, Sunya, Jamie’s begins to scrutinise his father’s view on the Asian and Muslim community, and struggles to come to the same conclusions as his father.
My only criticism is that we never see any part of the story through the eyes of Jamie’s father. Pitcher includes a bonus short story, explaining Jasmines views on the story, and I think it would have been very interesting to see the story through the eyes of the father. All in all, Pitcher did a very good job. Not many people could handle such a subject matter as well as she did, and I think the book deserves to be widely read.
Author: Annabel Pitcher
My Rating: ****
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is a highly moving, and highly relevant account of one family’s struggle with grief. Pitcher writes her story from the view of 10 year old Jamie, a boy whose sister died in a fictional terrorist attack in London.
Though told from Jamie’s point of view, the book revolves around Rose, Jamie and Jasmine’s deceased sister. Jamie’s father is used to represent those in the public who hold the entire Muslim community responsible for the recent terrorist attacks. The book deals with a very sensitive subject matter, but manages to do so in a way that does not paint any party in a bad light. Jamie’s father is not presented as a racist bigot, which would have been easy for Pitcher to do. Instead, he is shown as a grieving father, unable to gain closure on his daughter’s sudden and violent death. The Muslim community, shown through Sunya and her mother, are presented to be as much the victim of terrorism as the rest of the world, something it is easy for the world to forget in today’s society. When Jamie makes friends with the only Muslim girl in his School, Sunya, Jamie’s begins to scrutinise his father’s view on the Asian and Muslim community, and struggles to come to the same conclusions as his father.
My only criticism is that we never see any part of the story through the eyes of Jamie’s father. Pitcher includes a bonus short story, explaining Jasmines views on the story, and I think it would have been very interesting to see the story through the eyes of the father. All in all, Pitcher did a very good job. Not many people could handle such a subject matter as well as she did, and I think the book deserves to be widely read.
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