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jacki_f's review against another edition
3.0
Martha is sixteen and lives in a small Australian town. While I'm not sure when the book was set, my impression was that it was probably in the 1980s. Her parents have split, she is precocious and bored, desperate to escape. An English couple aged in their 30s come to live in the town and befriend her and her mother. To Martha the fact that they are from England makes them exotic and glamorous (she is immune to the fact that they hail from a small town on the Welsh border and his parents live in a caravan park). Martha and Mr Booker begin an affair.
This is a very well written book and I admired it tremendously but the sordid nature of their relationship and the way that everyone in the novel was so dislikeable prevented me from really loving it. This is more a reflection on me than on the book. The author captures Martha perfectly - her world-weariness and sense of sophistication, while being far less sophisticated than she realises. The insights into the Bookers - which Martha is oblivious to - are also well portrayed. A clever and memorable novel. I just wished I'd liked it more.
This is a very well written book and I admired it tremendously but the sordid nature of their relationship and the way that everyone in the novel was so dislikeable prevented me from really loving it. This is more a reflection on me than on the book. The author captures Martha perfectly - her world-weariness and sense of sophistication, while being far less sophisticated than she realises. The insights into the Bookers - which Martha is oblivious to - are also well portrayed. A clever and memorable novel. I just wished I'd liked it more.
maggiemaggio's review against another edition
3.0
I'm having a difficult time deciding if I liked this book more than I thought I would or less than I thought I would. I decided to read it after reading a review in Shelf Awareness and while I enjoyed the story, I wouldn't necessarily say I liked the book.
The story focuses on 16-year-old Martha (although she's called by her name so infrequently in the book it doesn't really matter) and the really screwed up adults that inhabit her life. There's her mentally ill father, the mother who enables her father by not being able to break away from him, and her mother's immature friends, Mr. and Mrs. Booker included. Martha and Mr. Booker start in on an affair and the story is about what happens to them.
I read somewhere that this is a look inside the nymphet mind of Lolita. After reading this I can't really agree. Yes the story was told from Martha's point of view, but she wasn't really a deep character. And maybe that's just how teenagers are? But I wasn't that type of teenager (see over analyzing, can't shut brain off character in [b:Prep|9844|Prep|Curtis Sittenfeld|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320501476s/9844.jpg|2317177] for an idea of how my brain worked at that age).
The book was surprisingly quick to read, I went into it thinking it would be one of those books that dragged along, but I read it in two days of subway commutes. It's a fine book, it's not really funny, it's not really sad, although I guess it is quite sad, I just found the characters too over the top to relate to to really feel any emotion towards them. I can't say I would necessarily recommend it, but I wouldn't not recommend it.
The story focuses on 16-year-old Martha (although she's called by her name so infrequently in the book it doesn't really matter) and the really screwed up adults that inhabit her life. There's her mentally ill father, the mother who enables her father by not being able to break away from him, and her mother's immature friends, Mr. and Mrs. Booker included. Martha and Mr. Booker start in on an affair and the story is about what happens to them.
I read somewhere that this is a look inside the nymphet mind of Lolita. After reading this I can't really agree. Yes the story was told from Martha's point of view, but she wasn't really a deep character. And maybe that's just how teenagers are? But I wasn't that type of teenager (see over analyzing, can't shut brain off character in [b:Prep|9844|Prep|Curtis Sittenfeld|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320501476s/9844.jpg|2317177] for an idea of how my brain worked at that age).
The book was surprisingly quick to read, I went into it thinking it would be one of those books that dragged along, but I read it in two days of subway commutes. It's a fine book, it's not really funny, it's not really sad, although I guess it is quite sad, I just found the characters too over the top to relate to to really feel any emotion towards them. I can't say I would necessarily recommend it, but I wouldn't not recommend it.
cher_n_books's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars - It was good.
Such a strange and raw novel, full of despicable characters and set during a time that is so different from today, despite not being that far away from the present. It kept my interest throughout and would provide a plethora of discussion points for a book club.
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First Sentence: Everything I am about to tell you happened because I was waiting for it, or something like it.
Such a strange and raw novel, full of despicable characters and set during a time that is so different from today, despite not being that far away from the present. It kept my interest throughout and would provide a plethora of discussion points for a book club.
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First Sentence: Everything I am about to tell you happened because I was waiting for it, or something like it.
thehairyit's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
alisonannk's review against another edition
1.0
I gave up on this. I just didn't like the writing style, the characters or the plot - absolutely nothing about it gripped me.
sarahgb's review against another edition
1.0
Thank heaven I only paid 99p for the kindle copy, Utter drivel.
knowledgelost's review
4.0
Martha is a 16 year old girl stuck in a boring little town with a family that is slowly destroying her. Then one day she meets and falls in love with a married man that will change everything for her; Mr Booker. At first I thought this movie would be like Lolita or An Education, but this took a completely different turn. It turns out this was more a story about Martha discovering who she is and what she needs to do to make her life better.
Me and Mr Booker is a sexy and yet very disturbing novel, with a great sense of pacing. Cory Taylor did an excellent job at describing the boredom of living in a small town, the emotions behind being alone and having an uncontrollable love towards someone you know you shouldn’t and know would end up hurting you. This debut novel was a quick and easy read which is well worth taking the time to read. The whole relationship between Martha and Mr Booker may be hard to take so I can’t recommend it to everyone, but if you think it wouldn’t affect you, then this book is worth reading.
Me and Mr Booker is a sexy and yet very disturbing novel, with a great sense of pacing. Cory Taylor did an excellent job at describing the boredom of living in a small town, the emotions behind being alone and having an uncontrollable love towards someone you know you shouldn’t and know would end up hurting you. This debut novel was a quick and easy read which is well worth taking the time to read. The whole relationship between Martha and Mr Booker may be hard to take so I can’t recommend it to everyone, but if you think it wouldn’t affect you, then this book is worth reading.
jjsho77's review
4.0
I liked this book because it reminded me of me. And I love Australian writing. It seems more raw or forthright or real. This was an easy read and engaging enough but it is almost like an elongated character sketch or something not quite finished. It's like a day on the life but it isn't. Just read it at the beach.
thelibraryofalexandra's review
1.0
review originally posted on my blog / allieereads.com
Oh, Lord.
From the perspective of an Australian reader, I do understand the reasons as to why Me and Mr Booker received critical acclaim and vibrant reviews, not only from Australian critics but global reviewers as well. However, I found it to be one of the most ridiculous novels I have ever read. Claiming it to be a raw and powerful novel, set in a sort-of contemporary world that intends to emphasise the flawed human to its greatest capacity, may be overestimating this book a little. The novel follows the character, Martha, a sixteen-year-old high school student who lives with her mother. Martha is craving adventure and a sense of a life outside of the suffocating boundaries of her small country town. This is where Martha meets the likes of Mr Booker, with no first name, a thirty-four-year-old married man who moved to the country from London, England.
Martha had the capacity to be a wonderfully insightful character, instead, she was portrayed as a woman twice her age. She was lost, and the adults surrounding her, one could say, encouraged an underaged girl to have an affair with a married man. Martha was completely obsessed with the idea of Mr Booker and showed no real emotional maturity one expects from a coming of age novel. It was honestly all about the sex. Consequently, Me and Mr Booker was overrun by the frantic need for adulterous sex. Sex in a motel. Sex in Mr Booker's bed. Sex in the car. The relationship between Martha and Mr Booker was utterly and completely physical. There were no emotional attachments; Martha was a pretty girl and Mr Booker, a predator.
That would be how I would characterise Mr Booker. A predator. He was first and foremost, a boring character who lacked any sort of personal conviction or strength. I was not interested in his character; his personality was bland and as dull as Martha described her little country town. His humour constantly missed the mark and one could not consider it 'black humour' in any form - it was the dialogue of a man who desperately wanted to be someone other than himself. He was not sexy in any capacity and I did not long for him and Martha to have their happy ever after. I'll put it quite bluntly: I found Mr Booker as a character completely pathetic and disgusting. It was not a compelling read and it could be described as mediocre at best. It was paedophilia and statutory rape masked as a 'coming of age' novel. It was not raw, it was absolutely ridiculous.
I don't quite understand the reason as to why a novel is considered and labelled as a 'coming of age' when all it is, is an older man preying on an underaged girl. Coming of age novels with female protagonists, and male, should not automatically mean that their maturity and development need to be linked alongside a romantic and physical relationship with a man. I was longing for this book to show us deeper emotional instabilities and the insecurities of growing up as a woman, as a daughter of a single mum, and a father who struggles with his mental illness. A novel that considers emotional and personal growth and not only sexual development. Although, I wouldn't even consider it sexual development. It was a mess.
Thus, I would rate this book 1 star out of 5, because it had words and the writing flowed. But the storyline was horrendous and the characters, even more so. I understand that this book was supposed to be one that shocked, and was meant to illustrate the sinful nature of men and women, but it just was not executed well enough at all. In saying that though, why would anyone want to write about a thirty-four-year-old man and his 'relationship' with a sixteen-year-old girl, and call it romance? Sexy? How? Please, I need to understand!
Allie
Oh, Lord.
From the perspective of an Australian reader, I do understand the reasons as to why Me and Mr Booker received critical acclaim and vibrant reviews, not only from Australian critics but global reviewers as well. However, I found it to be one of the most ridiculous novels I have ever read. Claiming it to be a raw and powerful novel, set in a sort-of contemporary world that intends to emphasise the flawed human to its greatest capacity, may be overestimating this book a little. The novel follows the character, Martha, a sixteen-year-old high school student who lives with her mother. Martha is craving adventure and a sense of a life outside of the suffocating boundaries of her small country town. This is where Martha meets the likes of Mr Booker, with no first name, a thirty-four-year-old married man who moved to the country from London, England.
Martha had the capacity to be a wonderfully insightful character, instead, she was portrayed as a woman twice her age. She was lost, and the adults surrounding her, one could say, encouraged an underaged girl to have an affair with a married man. Martha was completely obsessed with the idea of Mr Booker and showed no real emotional maturity one expects from a coming of age novel. It was honestly all about the sex. Consequently, Me and Mr Booker was overrun by the frantic need for adulterous sex. Sex in a motel. Sex in Mr Booker's bed. Sex in the car. The relationship between Martha and Mr Booker was utterly and completely physical. There were no emotional attachments; Martha was a pretty girl and Mr Booker, a predator.
That would be how I would characterise Mr Booker. A predator. He was first and foremost, a boring character who lacked any sort of personal conviction or strength. I was not interested in his character; his personality was bland and as dull as Martha described her little country town. His humour constantly missed the mark and one could not consider it 'black humour' in any form - it was the dialogue of a man who desperately wanted to be someone other than himself. He was not sexy in any capacity and I did not long for him and Martha to have their happy ever after. I'll put it quite bluntly: I found Mr Booker as a character completely pathetic and disgusting. It was not a compelling read and it could be described as mediocre at best. It was paedophilia and statutory rape masked as a 'coming of age' novel. It was not raw, it was absolutely ridiculous.
I don't quite understand the reason as to why a novel is considered and labelled as a 'coming of age' when all it is, is an older man preying on an underaged girl. Coming of age novels with female protagonists, and male, should not automatically mean that their maturity and development need to be linked alongside a romantic and physical relationship with a man. I was longing for this book to show us deeper emotional instabilities and the insecurities of growing up as a woman, as a daughter of a single mum, and a father who struggles with his mental illness. A novel that considers emotional and personal growth and not only sexual development. Although, I wouldn't even consider it sexual development. It was a mess.
Thus, I would rate this book 1 star out of 5, because it had words and the writing flowed. But the storyline was horrendous and the characters, even more so. I understand that this book was supposed to be one that shocked, and was meant to illustrate the sinful nature of men and women, but it just was not executed well enough at all. In saying that though, why would anyone want to write about a thirty-four-year-old man and his 'relationship' with a sixteen-year-old girl, and call it romance? Sexy? How? Please, I need to understand!
Allie
belinda's review
3.0
Me and Mr Booker is the debut novel from Australian writer Cory Taylor. It is the coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Martha, whose parents have recently divorced and who feels like she is waiting for her life to begin:
It told them about my mother and father.
‘They broke up,’ I said. ‘So now I am emotionally scarred for life. At least that’s my excuse.’
‘For what?’ said Mrs Booker.
‘I don’t know,’ I said. “It hasn’t happened yet.”
The novel opens with Martha meeting Mr and Mrs Booker at an open house party that her mother throws. She begins an intense friendship with the pair, who ‘adopt’ her (they are having trouble conceiving any children of their own), and an affair with Mr Booker. The beginning of the novel is its strength as Taylor captures perfectly the ennui of being 16; feeling trapped and if you are waiting for your life to begin as well as the heady emotions that come from first-time adolescent love. The start of Me and Mr Booker is really fantastic and very engaging.
Unfortunately, after the strong start, the novel just peters out. About midway through the book, the characters who were engaging and provided a strong incentive to turn the pages just get a bit blah, as if Taylor has lost interest in them. It was like her impetus to finish the novel had vanished but she still had a contract with a publishing company that she was obliged to finish, so she pushed on but just didn’t care that much. Elements of the book, like the tension evident in the relationship between Martha’s and her brother Eddie as well as her brother and her father Victor, were hinted at and then never developed or explored. I feel like this book had so much potential but just didn’t reach the heights that it could have, which is disappointing given Taylor’s obvious writing talent.
The most disappointing part of this book was the really poor research. I think it’s supposed to be set in the early ‘70s, so we have references to Five Easy Pieces (1970), the Rolling Stones’ Ruby Tuesday (1967) and the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (1967). However, Martha’s relative marries a gay Asian man so she can have a baby and both the homosexuality and miscegenation, two issues that would have been a Very Big Deal in the early ‘70s, were just mentioned matter of factly. It’s a big enough deal at the start of the book when Martha’s parents separate that her best friend isn’t allowed to play with her anymore but then the divorce scandal is not worth a mention for the remainder of the book? And I strongly question the likelihood of a regional university having a specialist film studies university teacher, although in all fairness maybe it was easier for a new discipline like film studies to become established in a regional university than in a major metropolitan university that was more fixed in its ways. The constant questioning the veracity of the period setting had a jarring effect and disrupted my reading experience.
Reading back over what I have written this sounds like a negative review, but really there’s a lot to like about this book. I will definitely be looking out for Cory Taylor’s next novel.
It told them about my mother and father.
‘They broke up,’ I said. ‘So now I am emotionally scarred for life. At least that’s my excuse.’
‘For what?’ said Mrs Booker.
‘I don’t know,’ I said. “It hasn’t happened yet.”
The novel opens with Martha meeting Mr and Mrs Booker at an open house party that her mother throws. She begins an intense friendship with the pair, who ‘adopt’ her (they are having trouble conceiving any children of their own), and an affair with Mr Booker. The beginning of the novel is its strength as Taylor captures perfectly the ennui of being 16; feeling trapped and if you are waiting for your life to begin as well as the heady emotions that come from first-time adolescent love. The start of Me and Mr Booker is really fantastic and very engaging.
Unfortunately, after the strong start, the novel just peters out. About midway through the book, the characters who were engaging and provided a strong incentive to turn the pages just get a bit blah, as if Taylor has lost interest in them. It was like her impetus to finish the novel had vanished but she still had a contract with a publishing company that she was obliged to finish, so she pushed on but just didn’t care that much. Elements of the book, like the tension evident in the relationship between Martha’s and her brother Eddie as well as her brother and her father Victor, were hinted at and then never developed or explored. I feel like this book had so much potential but just didn’t reach the heights that it could have, which is disappointing given Taylor’s obvious writing talent.
The most disappointing part of this book was the really poor research. I think it’s supposed to be set in the early ‘70s, so we have references to Five Easy Pieces (1970), the Rolling Stones’ Ruby Tuesday (1967) and the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (1967). However, Martha’s relative marries a gay Asian man so she can have a baby and both the homosexuality and miscegenation, two issues that would have been a Very Big Deal in the early ‘70s, were just mentioned matter of factly. It’s a big enough deal at the start of the book when Martha’s parents separate that her best friend isn’t allowed to play with her anymore but then the divorce scandal is not worth a mention for the remainder of the book? And I strongly question the likelihood of a regional university having a specialist film studies university teacher, although in all fairness maybe it was easier for a new discipline like film studies to become established in a regional university than in a major metropolitan university that was more fixed in its ways. The constant questioning the veracity of the period setting had a jarring effect and disrupted my reading experience.
Reading back over what I have written this sounds like a negative review, but really there’s a lot to like about this book. I will definitely be looking out for Cory Taylor’s next novel.
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