Monday 28 February 2011

February Book Review

You're going to like this one peoples.

There's only one book to review!
Because I've already done the other two. Marvellous.

February has been designated a Month of Classics and I've managed to read and finish Midnight's Children and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and obviously you've already read those reviews.

The only other book that I've read this month has been Salley Vickers - Instances of the Number 3.

I really don't know what to say about this book. It left me a little cold to be honest. Peter Hansome has died in a car crash, and for some inexplicable reason his wife and mistress become friends. It's all very strange. I feel like it's the kind of book you would read at A-level, I kept finding myself subconsciously coming up with potential essay questions as I read it.

In a way I almost got insulted. These instances of the number 3 start to get a little heavy throughout the book and I started to feel as if Vickers was ramming it down your throat, as if there were flashing arrows pointing and screaming "Look! Here's another 3!" and I wanted to say "Yes. Thank you. I'm not a moron. I see that." I'm sure that wasn't the intention but it wasn't exactly subtle.

Yeah I don't really know what to say about it. "Meh" is the most apt description I can come up with at the moment.

I know. My eloquence knows no bounds. Sorry Instances of the Number 3, but you're going straight to the charity shop.

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Book of the month? - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

5 comments:

  1. You're obviously made of better stuff than I - Nowadays, if I feel like I'm trying to swim through treacle with a book, I just put it down and walk away. I'm probably missing out on some fab books, but my tiny brain cells can no longer cope with trying to struggle through.
    I've managed to read one book so far this year - Ree Drummond's Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. Not a classic, just a fun read.

    PS - get your skinny butt over to my blog before the end of today and comment on my giveaway. You wouldn't want to miss out would ya?? Of course you wouldn't.

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  2. I find her very hit and miss as an author. I really liked Miss Garnett's Angel and found Mr Golightly's Holiday ok but a bit obvious. I've read the psychiatry one but nothing about it sticks in my brain and I got about 10 pages into the Freud one before giving up and taking it straight back to the library.

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  3. Oh dear - I'll give that one a miss then!

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  4. To be honest? Salley Vickers isn't the nicest person. She's a bit of a primadonna and full of her own self-importance. I had to deal with her in my first job. One of my first lessons in publishing 'You do not say no to Salley Vickers'. I said no to her, I was warned not to but I didn't see why it would be a problem. She wanted to speak with the head designer for her latest book and the designer was busy. I told her she was busy -what's the big deal? Why was everyone else so timid about saying this to her?

    Later my boss hurled me into his office to tell me off. Supposedly I should have lied and said the designer was out picking up her kids or in hospital or something...

    Great...clearly a nice lady if you had to tiptoe around her...

    But yeah she's a professor or lecturer or something so I can imagine her books being a bit academic...

    Anyway no love lost I guess...xxx

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  5. Well that is quite a relief because my The-Girl-inspired reading list is getting a bit long anyway. Philip Kerr is next...

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