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A review by gh7
2016 on Goodreads by
Favourite read of the year – [b:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|3985|The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|Michael Chabon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479660066s/3985.jpg|2693329]. I was unprepared for how much I loved this.
Worst read of the year - [b:Some Luck|20587777|Some Luck (Last Hundred Years A Family Saga, #1)|Jane Smiley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413128987s/20587777.jpg|36430665]. This is what a novel looks like when the author can't come up with a single drop of inspiration. The equivalent of someone cleaning a house that is already spotless. OCD writing. If you don’t have any inspiration find something else to do.
Favourite character – Lila in Ferrante’s Neapolitan series. A woman who makes no concessions to vanity – a new character in the landscape of literature.
Most irritating character – Zelda in Theresa Fowler’s novel about the Fitzgeralds. This is a daytime TV Zelda, a Zelda whitewashed into middle class respectability, stripped of her dark sorcery.
Most exciting rediscovery – Katherine Mansfield.
Most exciting prose – still Don DeLillo but his middle period books rather than Zero K.
Big thanks to all my wonderful friends for another year of stimulating reviews. As i said in my review of Jane Smiley's 13 Ways to look at a novel the reviews here are often more eloquent and insightful, certainly more honest, than what passes for a professional review. Probably 3/4 of the novels I've read this year have been as a direct result of friends' reviews here and I'm hugely grateful for everyone who takes the time to make their thoughts and feelings known about the books they read. Auguri.
Worst read of the year - [b:Some Luck|20587777|Some Luck (Last Hundred Years A Family Saga, #1)|Jane Smiley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413128987s/20587777.jpg|36430665]. This is what a novel looks like when the author can't come up with a single drop of inspiration. The equivalent of someone cleaning a house that is already spotless. OCD writing. If you don’t have any inspiration find something else to do.
Favourite character – Lila in Ferrante’s Neapolitan series. A woman who makes no concessions to vanity – a new character in the landscape of literature.
Most irritating character – Zelda in Theresa Fowler’s novel about the Fitzgeralds. This is a daytime TV Zelda, a Zelda whitewashed into middle class respectability, stripped of her dark sorcery.
Most exciting rediscovery – Katherine Mansfield.
Most exciting prose – still Don DeLillo but his middle period books rather than Zero K.
Big thanks to all my wonderful friends for another year of stimulating reviews. As i said in my review of Jane Smiley's 13 Ways to look at a novel the reviews here are often more eloquent and insightful, certainly more honest, than what passes for a professional review. Probably 3/4 of the novels I've read this year have been as a direct result of friends' reviews here and I'm hugely grateful for everyone who takes the time to make their thoughts and feelings known about the books they read. Auguri.