2 March 2008

World Without End

I enjoyed Pillars of the Earth immensely and it was with genuine excitement that I picked up a hardcover copy of the “sequel”, World Without End, around Christmas.

Pillars is an all-time classic, a modern masterpiece in my opinion. I guess it’s not easy to follow an epic with an epic, which is probably why it took author Ken Follett 18 years to write World Without End.

I won’t rehash the storyline here. Basically it continues the trials and tribulations of Kingsbridge, its inhabitants and cathedral. The setting is 200 years after Pillars and the narrative is through the eyes of the descendants and successors of the main characters in the original novel.

World Without End is a very good book and well worth reading. It’s probably not necessary to read Pillars first, but that would assist with context.

I don’t think it’s as good as Pillars. It’s hard to describe why I say that, so take it as the subjective statement it is.

World Without End just lacks a certain grandeur compared with Pillars. It’s more like a Mercedes than a Rolls Royce.

Tags: Books, entertainment
1 comment


4 January 2008

Flashman author dies

I was sorry to hear that George MacDonald Fraser, author of the Flashman series, died this week at the age of 82.

I’ve read all the Flashman books and I had hoped there were more to come. As described neatly in The Age:

“Flashman, published in 1969, imagined Harry Flashman, the bullying schoolboy of 19th-century classic Tom Brown’s Schooldays, grown up to become a soldier in the British army. In the book and 11 sequels, the roguish Flashman fought, drank and womanised his way across the British Empire, Europe and the US, playing a pivotal role in great historical moments. A vain, cowardly rogue, Flashman nonetheless emerged from each episode covered in glory.”

He was a self-admitted lucky cad and coward. His adventures included surviving a pit of vipers in Afghanistan, a siege in India, the charge of the Light Brigade and a mad Malagasy temptress monarch, among others.

There are references in a couple of the books to Flashman being in Australia during the gold rush, so I expected a future novel to cover this period. Alas that is not to be.

Tags: Books, culture, news
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21 May 2007

Lamb by Christopher Moore

I’m currently reading Lamb by Christopher Moore. It’s the fictional (obviously) story of Biff, Christ’s childhood friend, and it describes the first 30 years of Jesus’ life.

It’s very funny and the story, although possibly blasphemous in a literal sense, isn’t offensive in my view.

The pair travels the world seeking out the Three Wise Men. I’m at the stage where they are in a Buddhist monastery somewhere in the Himalayas.

They head out with the abbot and some other monks on a winter retreat, stopping in a frozen shelter. Jesus and the monks start meditating and generate enough heat in their trance to stay warm. Biff doesn’t have the gift, so he improvises:

At first I arranged the monks in a large pile, trying to keep their elbows and knees out of the eyes and yarbles, out of respect and in the spirit of the infinitely compassionate Buddha and stuff. Although the warmth coming off them was impressive, I found that I could only keep one side of me warm at a time. Soon, by arranging my friends in a circle facing outward, and sitting in the middle, I was able to construct an envelope of comfort that kept the chill at bay. Ideally, I could have used a couple of more monks to stretch over the top of my hut to block the wind, but as the Buddha said, life is suffering and all, so I suffered. After I heated some tea on Number Seven monk’s head and tucked one of the cylinders of rice under Gaspar’s arm (the abbot and wise man) until it was warm, I was able to enjoy a pleasant repast and dropped off to sleep with a full belly.

There are plenty of classic one liners and examples of Jewish humor.

Tags: Books, humor, religion
5 comments


2 November 2006

Flashman

I’ve just finished reading Flashman by George Macdonald Fraser.

It’s the first in a series of satirical novels based on the fictional character of Harry Flashman, expelled for drunkenness from Rugby School, who goes on to serve with British forces in Afghanistan.

Flashman is the bully from “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” by Thomas Hughes.

He’s also a liar and a coward with enormous good luck. He doesn’t count his luck though while wrestling a dwarf over a snake pit and waiting manacled for a woman he raped to castrate him, but he manages to escape these and other difficulties to become an unlikely hero.

The book is written as a journal and apparently on its release in the United States, 10 out of 34 original reviewers believed that Flashman was a real person.

Fraser’s detailed research gives the book an appearance of authenticity, but Flashman is such a cad that it’s hard to believe anyone could be fooled.

The real events in this book concern the disastrous retreat from Kabul in 1842 of which only a few hundred survived out of 14,000 due to General Elphinstone’s incompetence.

In the novel, before deciding to retreat, “Elphy” sent for his pistols. His servant dropped one, firing a bullet which grazed the general’s buttock. A fellow officer remarked:

The Afghans murder our people, try to make off with our wives, order us out of the country, and what does our commander do? Shoots himself in the arse — doubtless in an attempt to blow his brains out. He can’t have missed by much.

The book is filleded with gems like that one and I can’t wait to continue the series.

Tags: Books
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10 September 2006

Google Book Search

Google Book Search has been launched. It’s possible to download full copies of out-of-copyright books to read at your own pace.

According to the Google Blog you’re free to choose from a diverse collection of public domain titles, from well-known classics to obscure gems.

“To find out-of-copyright books that you can download, simply select the Full view radio button when you search on books.google.com.

“Of course, this is just the beginning. As we digitize more of the world’s books — whether rare, common, popular or obscure — people everywhere will be able to discover them on Google Book Search.”

I like this. I searched for Chaucer and it quickly delivered The Canterbury Tales with an option to download the whole book as a PDF (18MB).

Tags: Books, internet
0 comments


24 July 2006

Hooked on history

I’ve always enjoyed reading historical fiction. It’s an entertaining way to step back in time and to experience events as an observer or imagined participant.

Just recently I’ve discovered the works of Bernard Cornwell, who is both talented and prolific.

I’ve read several of the Sharpe books, all of the grail series and now the first two of the Saxon adventures.

Cornwell creates characters who are actively involved in great events, but they’re unsung heroes because they are not part of the ruling elite.

Sharpe, for example, starts in the army as a private and wins promotion through valour.

Thomas Hookton is the bastard son of a mad noble priest. Uhtred in the Saxon series is highly born, but displaced from his lands.

Cornwell writes well and it’s nearly impossible to put these books down before they’re finished. I just have to be patient now and wait for the paperback version of Lords of the North to be released.

Tags: Books, History
1 comment


19 January 2006

The Fifth Woman

The Fifth Woman is the first novel that I’ve read by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankel. I saw a positive review of his work in The Age last year and purchased the book while in Melbourne between Christmas and New Year.

His main character, Inspector Kurt Willander, is a thoughtful introspective man who reflects on societal change while solving murder mysteries.

This particular book was different to anything I’ve read by British or American authors. There wasn’t a build up of suspense, but more an unravelling of why certain things had to be.

Willander gradually comes to understand that three brutal murders were committed by a woman seeking revenge against men who abuse women. Read more »

Tags: Christmas, crime, humor, Melbourne, murder, police, PR, Sweden, work
0 comments


24 October 2005

Comment on idealists

I’ve been reading a lot lately. So much that I haven’t had time to write any book reviews here! I’ll get around to commenting soon on Scottish author Christopher Brookmyre. He’s an interesting character.

I’m currently reading “In the Moon of Red Ponies” by James Lee Burke. The Daily Mail described Burke as the “most literary” of modern crime writers, and I have to agree.

It’s not often a single line in a book stands out in my mind. I came across this gem tonight:

But Johnny was also an idealist, and it’s the idealists who, given the chance, will incinerate half the world to save the other half.

Harsh but true!

Tags: crime, list, world
1 comment


22 September 2005

The Last Templar

So you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code? You’re browsing a bookshop and see an impressive cover design for a new release called The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury.

You’re teased into buying it by the back-cover summary, which alludes to historical fiction and modern mystery.

Dan Brown has perked your interest in this subject, so what the heck, you fork out $20 and look forward to a good read. Wrong! Read more »

Tags: Books
0 comments


6 August 2005

Cloudstreet comments

My blog comments have been dominated by opinions on Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet. I’m in two minds whether to close comments on this subject or go with the flow.

I’m currently leaning towards the latter. I find most of the posts interesting and entertaining. I’ve had to edit a few for language, but most are clever and witty.

Cloudstreet, I now know, is a Year 12 text and there must be hundreds of students searching the web for references. I think most of the comments are from students and teachers.

Tags: blog, cloudstreet, language, opinion, war, winton
1 comment