Books 6 – 10

by | Jan 31, 2006

6 – Everyone worth knowing Laura Weisberger
This is the second novel by the chick who brought us The Devil wears Prada. Now I’m generally not a fan of the chick lit genre – anything with a pink sparkly cover generally doesn’t appeal – but I did enjoy the first novel – particularly because she once worked for Anna Wintour!

This one isn’t nearly as engaging – guess not having the same experiences to draw on. It’s very much a genre piece – not bad, not great… If you like chick lit and are looking for something fluffy then by all means 😉 read with a Grey Goose martini!

7 – Go Tell It on the Mountain James Baldwin
I got the Penguin Banned Books Box for xmas – and this was the first one I read. Published originally in 1955, this is the story of a religious black family in Harlem. It draws on the experiences of several members of the family; the stern father who is a preacher; the son who is expected to follow in his footsteps; the non-religious aunt…

A very powerful book that gives a great insight into the heightened emotions of the Temple of the Fire Baptized and the secret sins of the holy…

8 – Across the Nightingale Floor Lian Hearn reread
Genre fiction – fantasy
I read this when it came out and was casting around for something lighter to read and decided on reading this again. Fairly fluffy set in a world that looks a lot like feudal Japan. Good fun

9- Till We Have Faces C.S. Lewis
This is one of C.S.Lewis’s adults books… It’s based on the greek myth of Cupid and Psyche but rewritten from the perspective of the ugly sister who causes all the problems in the original story.

Fabulous book that expands the tradition and explores issues of faith vs reason and even the powerful earth goddess getting transformed into pretty Greek versions. In many ways reminds me a lot of later authors like Tanith Lee and Gregory Maguire who have retold tales we all know.

10 – Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe
Another from the Banned Book Box
First published in 1958 – the title is taken from the poem by W.B.Yeats… and deals with a traditional African villager in West Africa. He returns from exile to find that missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in his village.

In a way this is a companion to Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible as it comes from a totally African perspective to colonisation. Much of the book is set in a pre-colonial environment where the white people are a rumor… Very much a classic novel.