North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Original title: North and South
Pages: 521
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no 
Format: e-book
Genres: Classics, Romance, Drama
Goodreads

Name: North and South
Year: 2004
Director: Brian Percival 
Cast:  Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Tim Pigott-Smith, Sinéad Cusack
Genres: Classics, Drama, Romance
Language: English
Country: UK
Time: 235 min (4 parts) 

    Blurb:     
     When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction.
My thoughts:
      I really liked the book: its slow pace and detailed scenery and characters description. The main character Margaret Hale is not my favorite and did not agree with her judgements on many points, but she is quite likable and worthy of our sympathies. Sometimes I was really irritated by her and had a wish to stop reading but in the end I continued and am very glad I discovered such a writer as Elizabeth Gaskell. I am looking forward to read more novels by her.
     I absolutely loved the movie and though I did not find the first acquaintance of Margaret Hale and John Thornton to my tasting, the rest of the movie was great! The portrait of John Thornton in a movie is a bit harsh in comparison to the book, I imagined his manners a bit different, but altogether Richard Armitage was an excellent choice for this role. I did not quite like Daniela Denby-Ashe performance, I did not picture Margaret so shy and putting her gaze all the time down. I found it hard to put together her appearances with her actions and state of mind. I would prefer her less shy and more dignified, as she seemed sort of ashamed all the time in a movie. Sinéad Cusack's role as Mrs Thornton was astonishing, she was truly inspiring.

Rating:

    4,5/5 

Shark's Fin And Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop

Author: Fuchsia Dunlop
Original title: Shark's Fin And Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China
Pages: 554
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: Kindle Edition
Genres: Cookbook, Travel Writing 
Goodreads

Blurb:
English woman moves to Chengdu, China for post-graduate study only to end up as the first Westerner to train at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. The author’s following 14 years of Chinese culinary exploration is recounted in this memoir/travelogue/cookbook. This is a very informative book about Chinese food culture and particularly Sichuanese cuisine.

My thoughts:
      For no reason this book took me ages to finish: a memoir about China written by a western woman. In the end, I was so happy finally to finish it. Dunlop really knows Chinese cuisine and culture, but in her book she does not say much about herself. When she spent all that time in China, was she sick? Did she experience homesickness? She tells us she had a tough time in the beginning of her year in Chengdu, but then stops telling about anything apart from her culinary experience. I find the first parts of the book, which are mostly a memoir of her early experiences in Chengdu in the 90s is interesting and inspiring, while the second part of the book was less gripping.
    The author's love of food really comes forward, and it goes without saying that this is not a book you should read if you are hungry. It's also not a book you should read if you have a soft sport for animals and you are quite conventional in food.
  

 A well balanced Sichuan meal ‘will awaken your tastebuds through the judicious use of chilli oil, stimulate your tongue and lips with tingly Sichuan pepper, caress your palate with a spicy sweetness, electrify you with dry fried chillies, soothe you with sweet and sour, calm your spirits with a tonic soup’.

   The only thing I can say for sure I did not like are the recipes. First of all, I do not find a mix of memoir and cookbook very enchanting idea. Here I am reading about delicious meal in a train and the next page is actually the recipe. So what I am supposed to do with it in the middle of nowhere? Next thing is cooking itself: to cook Sichuanese dish you need Sichuanese spices and ingredients. I know you can find anything in the shops now, but really anything? So I find this part of Dunlop’ writing is useless and absolutely out of place.
      Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Firstly, I liked Dunlop’s style of writing. Secondly, I think she does a great job of explaining some things about Chinese food that is not immediately obvious to many Westerners. And finally, she does do some interesting exploration of some sensitive political areas as the legacy of Mao and situation in removed regions; as well as spiritual matters:  believes, habits, superstitions. This book let me know the Chinese culture more, even though it is only about ther Sichuan region and through the taste and smell perspective

Rating: 

    2/5   

Stay Close by Harlan Coben

Author: Harlan Coben 
Original title: Stay Close 
Pages: 416
Edition Language: English
Series: no 
Format: Paperback
Genres: Crime, Thriller, Mystery 
Goodreads

Blurb:
Megan is a suburban soccer mom. She’s got two kids, a perfect husband, a perfect house and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at age forty he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Jack is a detective who can’t let go of a cold case - a local husband and father disappeared seventeen years ago. As the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realization that they may not want to forget the past at all.

My thought: 
     This was a good serial killer mystery with several different past and current stories coming together. Three people all with a hidden past: Megan and Ray are both hiding from it; Broome, the detective, is trying to reveal the past to find peace. Megan, with the help of a friend, come to the point when she cannot run from the past anymore and wants to come clean, so she contacts Jack to give him her version of the murder 19 years ago. So from this point the plot develops really quickly. I was quite surprised that Broome, who could not meet any ends for 19 years, now so easily progresses in the investigation. There are also the strange couple of mob killers to spice up the plot, but does not fit too much, in my opinion. Frankly speaking, I was not impressed by the book, but at the same time I could not put it down. 

Rating:

    3/5 

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer

Author: Amy Schumer
Original title: The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Autobiography, Memoir
Format: audio
Read by: Amy Schumer
Duration: 8h6m

Blurb:
In The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, Amy mines her past for stories about her teenage years, her family, relationships, and sex and shares the experiences that have shaped who she is - a woman with the courage to bare her soul to stand up for what she believes in, all while making us laugh.

My thoughts:
           I truly liked the book. It is definitely not a masterpiece and for sure it is not the read for everyone. But being a grown up woman I can relate to so many things Amy is talking about.
I had no idea who Amy Schumer is when I started the book, and was I shocked by the content of the book at the beginning? Hell yeh!  She speaks freely about many girls' subjects, even about the ones which are discuss in close friendly circles only. Maybe she is too open in revealing her faults and intimate parts of her life, but on the other hand who talks about that really? Mothers? There are some things you cannot even talk with your mom about. Friends? They can be the same inexperienced as you are. But some topics need to be raised. Perhaps the biggest minus of the book is that the narration is too blunt, no hints or reading between lines, Amy delivers her opinion, without much space for discussion, but I guess this is her style on stage and life, so it is not bad after all.
           In any case, if you know Amy Schumer and looking for some fun, this is not the book to choose. Actually it is there is a lot of speculation on many important topics: as domestic violence, parent-children relationship, rape, gun prohibition and gender inequality. Of cause, there are sparkles of humor (how it is without it?) but, I had a feeling that the book is not only aiming to entertain the reader, but educate to some extent.

 Rating: 

    4/5 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Author:  Paula Hawkins
Original title: The Girl on the Train
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Format: audio
Read by: Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, India Fisher
Duration: 11h1m
Goodreads

Blurb:
EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

My thoughts:
      What would I say? I was wrong not to read the book for such long time. Actually, after all those movies based on books I am afraid to pick up the original. I was not taken nor by the book description neither by the movie trailer. How wrong I was.
       The first thing I liked is the 3 women narration. I actually quite love this technique in books, it refreshes the narration and abrupt changes from one character to another keeps you on edge and helps brush up everything you know about the character. Though, in this book only narration of Rachel and Megan were audible and had character development, Anna’s part was rather weak and not credible.
         This book has been compared to "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn but honestly, I don't see any comparison at all besides from them being written within the same genre. Maybe that is why I liked this book so much. I was impressed what with the author’s creation: Rachael – such a miserable drunk head, broken, without self-esteem, useless and paranoid character.  I liked the inner monologues in her head, the perception of reality and despair and loneliness that surrounded her. It felt so real. The hopelessness she felt all of the time and such a severe desolation worked her in a state that the touch of a stranger made her shiver and her stomach flip. Everyone in this book is terrible, especially a drunk and unstable Rachael and as a result, this book delivers good work in character study and development.
       As for the plot itself, it was not so complicated or mysterious: a murder, attempts to get away with it and one unreliable witness – nothing new. But I liked the way the story was revealed: a big deal of manipulation and mistrust, every page throws suspicion on a different character (I actually was suspecting even Anna); the ending fell a little flat for me though.

Rating: 

    4/5     

Fortunately, the Milk... by Neil Gaiman

Author: Neil Gaiman
Original title: Fortunately, the Milk...
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Pages: 160
Edition Language: Czech
Series: none
Genres: Children, Humor, Fantasy, Sci-fi
Goodreads
 
     Surprisingly I wanted to do a review on this book...
     This is a funny short book for children age under 10. I bought it for my nephew as a Christmas present and you know how it is with children books nowadays; you need to check the content by yourself; as I have already seen so many books with a lot of violence and sometimes really crappy plot that it can be not only disturbing for a child but dangerous. So I sat down to check the book and it was just magic. I was having a silly smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. I just loved the way it was written with all the plot twists and interconnection. It was brilliantly constructed, logical and funny. The illustrations by Riddell are so vivid and witty.
      The mother of one family leaves for a couple of days and now dad's duty is to take care of the kids. But the most terrible thing happens the next morning: it's time for breakfast but there is no milk for the cereals!!! Dad went out to buy some and it took him a little bit longer then needed. When his kids ask him why he was late, he tells them the most incredible story full of pirates, vampires, dinosaurs, UFO and, of course, piranhas.

"If the same object from two different times touches itself, one of two things will happen: either the Universe will cease to exist, or three remarkable dwarfs will dance through the streets with flowerpots on their heads."  

      What a silly funny little sci-fi adventure for children this book is. Waiting for a review from my nephew))

Rating: 

    3/5 

November 2016 Wrap Up

Read books:
read: 2 / listen: 2 / pages: 353/ hours listened: 34h52m
1. Bryan Talbot The Tale of One Bas Rat p.117
2. Jo Nesbø The Snowman 15h32m
3. Jo Nesbø The Leopard 19h22m
4. Ali Smith Hotel World p.236 - My review

Movie watched:
1. Arrival (2016)
2. Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them (2016) 

Theater visited: 
none

Sport watched:
none

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances

Authors:  John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
Original title: Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances
Pages: 354
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: YA, Romance, Family

    I've been meaning to read this for some time. I'm glad I finally did, but I wouldn't say I would recommend it to any of my friends. I found the stories generally interesting enough to keep reading, but I didn't fall in love with any characters, any settings, and any stories.

      This was a sweet Christmas read and set me in a proper winter mood. I also liked the cooperation of three authors and the fact that these stories are linked with each other and you recognize the characters as you read on.

      The book started off interesting and got progressively boring. The best stories are from Maureen Johnson and John Green. The last one seems like non-stop whining. I liked the development of the Jubilee story, lively staff and great weather description, but I did not like her judgments and how easy she is to persuade, but altogether the story was fun with many plot turns.

John Green's story kind of baffled me. I wanted to like this story more, but the main characters seem so irrational and sometimes stupid. Their idiotic actions and the twister game were the only thing that made the plot moving.

     I did not like Lauren Myracle's story mostly thanks to her main character, that was a self-absorbed spoiled girl and the attempts of the author to show that the girls is so ready to change.The last chapter was a killer. I was like watching a second-rate love story from 80s. Terrible soupy ending of the nice book.

    And finally this was surely a quick read; it would be good for anyone who's looking for light reading on Christmas without any deep thoughts to get you in the right winter and holiday mood.

Rating: 

    2/5 

November 30, Top 5 Wednesday

This weekly book meme officiated in November 2013. Every week there is a new topic and your list of 5 nominates will be based off this topic. For further information check out the Goodreads Page.

The theme this week is: Favorite Villains 

1. Long John Silver from Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson

One legged manipulative and fearful pirate, Silver gains the trust of protagonist Jim Hawkins, only to reveal himself to be the leader of a mutiny, planning to murder the ship's officers once the treasure is found. I actually like the guy. Not his cruelty and blood thirst, but his imagination and wit. He was one head above most of the pirates not only because he was feared, but because he dared to do things no one done before.

2.  Count Dracula by Bram Stoker 

  
A picturesque figure of the gothic-fiction world. Bram Stocker sets rules about what a vampire should be and was followed by many authors in gothic-fiction and vampire topic. But only reading the book I realized, how twisted modern vampire fiction has become. So for me Count Dracula is the father of all Gothic villains.

3. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë 

He is not 100% villain as in most of the books. Life makes him such a heartless and vindictive person and he is like a demon for this area and most of his deeds cannot be called anything but evil. He does not show any mercy in his revenge,  but still he encourages sympathy. 

4. Annie Wilkes from Misery by Stephen King

Anne Marie Wilkes, better known as Annie Wilkes, is the main antagonist in Stephen King's 1987 novel Misery. Annie is a severely mentally ill, demented and obsessive nurse and the self-proclaimed biggest fan of her favorite author, Paul Sheldon. This character is so sick and freighting that I like her so much for that.

5. Woland (Satan) from The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Woland is the mysterious foreigner and a professor who is "in Moscow to present a performance of 'black magic' and then expose its machinations". This exposure never occurs; Woland instead exposes the greed and bourgeois behaviour of the spectators themselves. His visit to Moscow sets the plot rolling and turns the world upside-down. This is the most honest and worthy devil I have read about. 

Ali Smith, Hotel World

Author: Ali Smith
Original title: Hotel World
Pages: 236
Edition Language: English
Publisher: Penguin Books
Series: none
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Year: 2001
Goodreads

Plot:
There are five characters, two relatives, three strangers: a homeless woman, a hotel receptionist, a hotel critic, the ghost of a hotel chambermaid, and the ghost’s sister. These women tell a story and it is through this story. The common link between all those characters is the Global Hotel. The dead girl Sara worked there as chambermaid and died in an accident falling in a shaft of a dumbwaiter. It is not clear till the chapter “Future in the past” was this an accident or the suicide. The homeless woman Else is begging in front of the hotel every day. One cold night she is allowed to take a room free of charge by a hotel receptionist Lise. The fourth person is Penny, the hotel critic is disturbed in her room by a chambermaid who is trying to open the shaft. Penny tried to help the girl and looking around for help. Then she meets Else on the flour and all 3 opened the shaft. The chambermaid is actually the dead girl’s younger sister who wanted to see the place of death and find some peace at last.

About the author:  
    Ali Smith is a writer, born in 1962 in Inverness, Scotland, to working-class parents. She was raised in a council house in Inverness and now lives in Cambridge. She studied at Aberdeen, and then at Cambridge, for a Ph.D. that was never finished. In a 2004 interview with writing magazine Mslexia, she talked briefly about the difficulty of becoming ill with chronic fatigue syndrome for a year and how it forced her to give up her job as a lecturer at University of Strathclyde to focus on what she really wanted to do: writing. Openly gay, she has been with her partner Sarah Wood for 17 years and dedicates all her books to her. Taken from Goodreads

Themes: 
Coping with grief and tragedy: After the sudden death of Sara Wilby we can see how the grief affects the people around and how each of then trying to cope with it. The only male character in this book apart from the father is Duncan, the witness to Sarah's death and his character shows that mourning is not exclusive to family or close personal friends of those who have died.

Sexuality/Sexual awakening: This topic is slightly covered. Sara Wilby's sexual awakening starts a week or two before her death when she meets the girl in the watch shop. Sarah is amazed and confused about this side of her attraction and suffering with the first love fears. The shop girl shared interest in Sara, which is only conveyed briefly near the end of the novel—reveal.

The flow of time: We can see a lot of indication through the story about time importance. How fragile the moment might be and how much a small fragment of time can contain.

My thoughts:
I cannot remember a book recently which I was enjoying less than Hotel World. A book without story development, but only emotions and stream of conscience. I hope that all Ali Smith’s fans will ever forgive me, but I found this book utterly boring and unexciting. The anticipation of the story ranged from boring to frustrating. Some days I was forcing myself to get the book and continue reading. The Sara’s sister’s chapter was a total nightmare with 31 pages of unpunctuated stream of conscience writing. This was like I'd read poetry. The story stayed in the fog even though there are 5 main narrators. The only chapter that made any sense was chapter "Perfect". Here was at least some story and character development, some inner wishes and thought shared and some interaction between the characters.

Rating:  

    2/5