Top Ten Best Books of 2011

The other I realised that I haven't done a top ten list of my favourite books of 2011. Shame on me. So without further ado I will dive straight into it. 

10) "The Collector" by John Fowles
In the review I wrote: "It is a fascinating read because both Miranda and Frederick call for pity even though both of them are really quite annoying and caught up in their own webs of self-deceit."

9) "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz
In the review I wrote: "What really caught me about this book was not the style or the story as much as Oscar himself. At some points, especially during his college years, I was moved to tears because he is such a sweet boy. Such a good man and so lonely, so misunderstood and so sad. I wanted to put my arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. That, for me, is the must impressive part of the book."


8) "My Last Duchess" by Daisy Goodwin
In the review I wrote: "This is a lovely book, it is a great escape into a different time and as a romance it works really well without becoming too much." 


7) "The Heart-Shaped Box" by Joe Hill
In the review I wrote: "It is a bit of gem really, different from any other book I have read - the only book that it reminds me of is "Horns", also by Joe Hill, but I liked "Heart-Shaped Box" better, mostly because of the characters."

6) "The Last Samurai" by Helen DeWitt
In the review I wrote: "I loved the plot and the two characters. The hapless Sibylla who can hardly take care of herself not to mention a small wonder boy and who values books over anything else including food, is endearing! And Ludo, the clever little fellow who really really wants a father figure to look up to, is cute. The isolation that his intellect leads to is difficult to read about even though he doesn't completely understands it himself and his hunt for a dad is an emotional journey both for Ludo and for the reader."

5) "Forbidden" by Tabitha Suzuma
In the review I wrote: "By the end of this book I was ready to adopt the lot of them. They were so real to me and I felt so horrible for them, I was so sad when the book was over, I just wanted more. Which is why I am very happy that Tabitha Suzuma has written several other books that I will definitely be reading soon!"


4) "London Fields" by Martin Amis
In the review I wrote: "Capturing all of the details in this amazing book is impossible in a blog post. I had a hard time keeping track of it all as I was reading it but that was actually part of the attraction. It made me lose myself because I had to concentrate to follow the action and though none of the main characters are really likeable, they are all intriguing!"

3) "The Pregnant Widow" by Martin Amis
Didn't realise there were going to be two Martin Amis novels on this list. Really enjoyed both books though and they deserve their places here!
In the review I wrote: "It is a fantastic book if you ask me - I read it and loved it and some day I will read this in Italy on a warm summers day and it will feel like I am almost there with Keith as he faces the difficulties of youth and the conundrums of women. "

2) "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness
This one was so good that I couldn't actually figure out how to review it... So instead I wrote a Ten Things I Love About... instead. And here one of the things I loved about it:
"The fact this this is the first in a trilogy! I was so worried that this was a stand alone because I want more! Luckily Harkness is already working on the sequel "Shadow of Night" and though I don't like that title as much as I loved "A Discovery of Witches", I am still really looking forwrad to getting my hands on it."

1) "Purge" by Sofi Oksanen
The best book of the year, no doubt. 
This is what I wrote in the review:
"The strengths of "Purge" are many. It is not sugarcoated, everything is exposed, all human flaws are there in plain view and even the main characters that as a reader, I sympathized with, are full of flaws. Another strength is the historical aspect. As a historical story, it works really well because it envokes an Estonia of the past (luckily) that is so different from modern-day Estonia, yet gives you a better chance of understanding Estonia and the other countries that suffered during the dark days of communism and Stalin. It is truly a scary read on so many levels, from the explicit violence and the vulnerability of the women in this story to the political environment and the men that will do anything for money, power, status or a casino."

Review: "The Pregnant Widow"

There were so many reasons to pick up "The Pregnant Widow" by Martin Amis. First of all, I really like "London Fields" by Martin Amis and I quite enjoyed "The Rachel Papers" so it seemed like a reasonable assumption that I would enjoy "The Pregnant Widow" as well. Also I think the title is really cool - the paperback cover on the other hand I am not too keen on but hey, you can't get it all and I chose the hardback cover to accompany this review as I think that is quite pretty.

"The Pregnant Widow" is Amis's 12th novel and in my opinion it is a really great one. The story is quite interesting and multi-facetted with lots of details that kept me fascinated and with beautiful descriptions that made Italy - where the story is set - really come to life.

The narrator is a 20-year-old male with all the trouble and issues that come with being way too focussed on sex and at the mercy of women... Poor guy! Keith Nearing is quite the anti-hero, he is a days away from his 21st birthday and far away from home on a holiday in Italy. It is the 1970's and girls are intent on behaving like boys and being liberated which means that Keith's relationship with girlfriend Lily is not going to well, she is too liberated and to little in love with Keith, who sees her as some sort of sister. Instead he has his eyes on her friend, the gorgeous upper-class girl Sheherazade with the amazing body who is starting to understand exactly how much power she has over the male gender. As if that wasn't enough to cook up a dramatic story, Amis then throws a bunch of interesting minor characters into the mix - such as every-girls-dream the Italian count (with only with drawback that keeps him from ever getting Sheherazade) and the depressed twentysomething who is hiding out in shame. It is a dangerous mix and Keith is too messed up by a mix of his own hormones, feelings and dreams to take caution. He spends his days in a frenzy of reading - only disrupted to have conversations with the girls or looking at their breasts.... It is a summer that he will always remember and that will change his life forever.

It is a fantastic book if you ask me - I read it and loved it and some day I will read this in Italy on a warm summers day and it will feel like I am almost there with Keith as he faces the difficulties of youth and the conundrums of women.

Read it if: You love early Martin Amis - or if you are no longer a teenager but remember how difficult being hormonal was...

But why?

Some books are just perfect for being made into epic films that add another dimension to the book. And some are just not... And it is a bit of a rule of thumb if you ask me that if a book doesn't work as a book then it probably won't work as a film. I know there are exceptions (not that I can think of any right now but I am sure they are there) but usually I would think that a good book has a better chance of a becoming a good movie than a bad one. Which is why I do not understand why on earth "Gods Behaving Badly" by Marie Phillips is now being made into a movie!

It has been a while since I read this one but when I read it, I absolutely disliked it. Really disliked it. The premise that it is a bunch of Greek gods and goddesses are living in a crumbling house in modern-day London is interested and though it is a bit tacky, I thought that it could probably be a fun read if executed elegantly. Turned out it was about as elegant as an elephant in a shop full of antique china. Not a pretty picture and not a good book. So why has somebody rounded up a cast including Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken and John Turturro and why is it being filmed?

If someone in the movie industry is reading this blog: there are many, many books out there that are so much more worthy of being filmed than this one (in my opinion at least). So why not pick up the rights for "Purge" by Sofi Oksanen (see last post), "The Pregnant Widow" by Martin Amis (review coming soon) or "The Darkangel" by Meredith Ann Pierce?

Teaser from "The Rachel Papers"

I am almost done reading "The Rachel Papers" by Martin Amis and I really really like it! During my reading I stumbled over a cool quote that defines the book for me and that I want to share with you as a teaser:

"One of the troubles with being over-articulate, with having a vocabulary more refined han your emotions, is that every turn in the conversation, every switch of posture, opens up an state of vernal avenues with a myriad side-turnings and cul-de-sacs - and there are no signposts but your own sincerety and good taste, and I've never had much of either."

Page 154, "The Rachel Papers" by Martin Amis

Top Ten Tuesday: Dazzling Debuts

Right so after a few intense working weeks with lots of traveling and on the homefront lots of ilness (why do those things happen at the same time? Flying with a migraine is very very unpleasant...)
Things seem to be going better now and what better way to celebrate that than to participate in today's Top Ten Tuesday?
This fantastic meme was created at The Broke and The Bookish - http://www.brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/ - a blog that you must visit!

This weeks subject is Favourite debut novels (from any author, any year). I have not included one-hit-wonders because that just didn't feel fair...
Here we go:

10) Evelyn Waugh: Decline and Fall
Satirical and extremely funny, making a fool of almost every character in the book, Waugh somehow manages to make this more than a comedy. A great reminder of all the trouble, naivety, pretentioness, laziness and greed can get you into.

9) Tamora Pierce: Alanna: The First Adventure
Pierce demonstrated from this first novel about Alanna and the kingdom of Tortall that she has a gift for making fantasy worlds come to life. From this book onwards the world of Alanna, her friends and family become better and better.

8) Alan Warner: Movern Callar
I think cool is the word to describe this novel about Morvern, a Scottish girl who steals her dead boyfriends unpublished novel and goes on a lifechanging journey.

7)Martin Amis: The Rachel Papers
Have just read this one and will review it this week. A really good novel about a teenage guy who falls in love or becomes infatuated with the slightly older and infintely more sophisticated Racel.

6) Dodie Smith: I Capture the Castle
A magical coming-of-age tale about Cassandra and her bohemian family. Smith later wrote "101 Dalmatians" and I still feel cheated that she did not write more.

5) F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
More of a literary institution than a novel really. This book came to define an age and I think almost everyone who have taken a literature class has heard about it.


4) Michel Faber: Under the Skin
A seriously scary and uncomfortable read that nonetheless is fascinating and hard to put down. My stomach still turns when I think about it...

3) Karen Blixen: Seven Gothic Tales
Originally published under the name Isak Dinesen to disguise the gender of the author, this collection of short stories is a masterpiece from one of the greatest storytellers ever!

2) J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
From the very first HP novel, Rowling had her Hogwarts universe created down to the very last hair on Dumbledore's head. The magic began in this book which certainly did not seem like the work of a beginner!

1) Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility
This one is defitnitely one of the best debut novels ever. Full of emotions with enchanting, real characters and a great plot. The strength of this novel is the characters and many authors can only dream of bringing to life characters with as much skill and charm as Austen does in this her debut novel.

So which ones are your favourite debut novels of all times?

And then I began yet another book...

I need your help! Sometimes I get so happy when I get my hands on an anticipated book that I "forget" to finish the one that I was already reading. And this month it has really gotten out of hand. I have begun reading what seems like a plethora of books - and finishing none of them. So now I need your advise? Have your ever found yourself in this kind of situation (bet you have...)? And how do you handle it? All advise welcome...

Here is a list of what I am currently reading - shame on me!

Javier Marias: All Souls

Martin Amis: The Rachel Papers

Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White

Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights

Iris Murdoch: The Unicorn

Review: "London Fields" - City of lies

"London Fields" is one of those books that I have had waiting for me for a loooooong time. Like a really long time. i remember seeing it on a friend's shelf about five years ago, then I bought it probably about a year ago and I finally started reading it last week. And then it went fast because I completely lost all time and priority to this book. It is cool. It was published in 1989 but apart from the odd mention of leg warmers and the political situation I never felt that. It seems like it could have been written last year, it felt somehow modern and it is cool, so cool.

The plot is really complicated and it thickens as you turn the pages. The narrator, Samson Young, is a writer with a heavy writer's block and a bad health. He is also very unreliable and keeps mixing up his own life with the story that he is trying to tell. A love story, a murder story, a mystery, a thriller. And - he tries to convince - the utter truth. It is the story of the murderee Nicola who knows that she will die on her 35th birthday and who ventures out to meet her murderer. In a smoky pub she meets Keith Talent - whose talents including small time crimes, violence, cheating on his wife and playing darts - and Guy Clinch, a rich man with a snobbish wife and a violent toddler. Samson Young gets his hands on Nicola's diaries and from then on he chronicles the action that plays out among Nicola, Keith and Guy as she entangles them in her web of lies to get them to play the parts she has laid out for them.

Capturing all of the details in this amazing book is impossible in a blog post. I had a hard time keeping track of it all as I was reading it but that was actually part of the attraction. It made me lose myself because I had to concentrate to follow the action and though none of the main characters are really likeable, they are all intriguing! Nicola has all men in her thrall, they seem unable to resist her and she uses her power, yet she is constantly somewhat sad. Keith is a crook and a thug with no regards for other people who will do anything to become a local/national dart champion - even if it means sacrificing his friends, wife and child. Guy is basically naive and lets himself get caught up in Nicola's web, he has no backbone, no resistance. Samson Young is... difficult. A man close to the end of his life who has been disappointed too many times. None of them are truthful, all of them are egoist. Combined they make a powerful cast who had me confused about the ending until the very last page.
I will definitely be reading more of Mr. Amis's novels because this was a great pleasure to read!