Scan barcode
andrewspink's reviews
465 reviews
A Column of Fire by Ken Follett
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Despite the book being so very long, I wassrry that it came to an end. An enjoyable read.
De Camino by Anya Niewierra
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The book tackles the theme of how come normal people can commit war crimes. A brave attempt, but I'm not sure I was convinced enough. It was also a strange plot for several reasons. One that all the time you could see what was going to happen next, so there were no real surprises. I don't know if this was on purpose, with deliberate hints so that wr could guess, or that there was meant to be more success.
The book did make me wonder what it would be like to walk (or perhaps cycle] the Camio. Who knows, maybe it will have a lasting impact that way?
The book did make me wonder what it would be like to walk (or perhaps cycle] the Camio. Who knows, maybe it will have a lasting impact that way?
The Lost Rainforests of Britain by Guy Shrubsole
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.5
In some ways, this was quite a nostalgic book for me. I remember taking the biology students from Glasgow University to the hanging valley of Glencoe and getting excited about finding the filmy ferns there. The horror of the students in their city shoes who were not used to being out of an urban environment discovering just how wet everything was in that rainforest (not that we called it that back then) was also pretty memorable. Going further back in time to 1982, when I was a first year botany student myself, we visited Yarncliffe Wood (in the Peak District just outside Sheffield) where our lecturers were rightly proud of the 30-year experiment which had just been published. I still remember the dramatic difference between the thickly vegetated plots with a fence around and the plots with only older trees and no fence. It was drummed into us that this proved that you normally don't need to plant trees, just create the right conditions for natural regeneration. Apparently this is a lesson which still needs teaching. I also remember crawling through some amazing Devon and Cornwall rainforests searching for Ranunculus omiophyllus up in the headwaters of the streams running through them.
So, it was an enjoyable experience to read the book. It was clearly very well-researched and also very nice that it gave attention to so-called lower plants as well as the trees and other 'higher' plants in woodlands, though a little more on the mosses would have been welcome.
It is not a dry academic volume, Guy Shrubsole communicates his enthusiasm effectively. It reads easily and In parts, it was quite thought-provoking as well. I was struck by his comment that bringing back Britain's rainforests can be seen as a decolonial project. We have no problem pointing the finger at countries like Brazil and India and saying that they should preserve and restore their forests, including the top-level carnivores, so why should we not do the same here as well? If they have to find a way of living alongside tigers, why should we not find a way of living alongside wolves?
So, it was an enjoyable experience to read the book. It was clearly very well-researched and also very nice that it gave attention to so-called lower plants as well as the trees and other 'higher' plants in woodlands, though a little more on the mosses would have been welcome.
It is not a dry academic volume, Guy Shrubsole communicates his enthusiasm effectively. It reads easily and In parts, it was quite thought-provoking as well. I was struck by his comment that bringing back Britain's rainforests can be seen as a decolonial project. We have no problem pointing the finger at countries like Brazil and India and saying that they should preserve and restore their forests, including the top-level carnivores, so why should we not do the same here as well? If they have to find a way of living alongside tigers, why should we not find a way of living alongside wolves?
Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is the sort of book that I would not normally choose, but our book club had picked it, so I read it. It is a family drama, running over the best part of a century, not really my thing. That shows how useful book clubs are, without them, I would have missed a treat. The reader is swept along by the tide of history, seen from the perspective of one family. As the book progresses, we pass from the mother to the son to his daughter. Several key themes are dealt with, including trauma (and how childhood trauma can affect later life) and migrating between cultures. These are discussed effectively, raising interesting thoughts and questions.
It is a real page-turner, I was keen to know what happened next. To some extent, the plot was quite predictable though, given that it was driven by historical events, so that in global terms the reader often knows what will be coming next.
The book is written in a straightforward style, which makes it very readable. There are a few odd features, such as the consistent use of 'quieten' instead of 'quiet'. I suppose they were meant to sound Chinese, but I'm not sure whether that worked. It was over-sentimental in places for my taste, but perhaps that is unavoidable given the subject matter.
China has been giving out signals that it wants Taiwan 'back'. This book is also a useful reminder of the history behind that claim.
It is a real page-turner, I was keen to know what happened next. To some extent, the plot was quite predictable though, given that it was driven by historical events, so that in global terms the reader often knows what will be coming next.
The book is written in a straightforward style, which makes it very readable. There are a few odd features, such as the consistent use of 'quieten' instead of 'quiet'. I suppose they were meant to sound Chinese, but I'm not sure whether that worked. It was over-sentimental in places for my taste, but perhaps that is unavoidable given the subject matter.
China has been giving out signals that it wants Taiwan 'back'. This book is also a useful reminder of the history behind that claim.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Rape, Violence, and Racism
De belofte by Damon Galgut
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The book is divided into four parts, each named after the person who dies in that part. Nevertheless, it is not a miserable book. There is plenty of misery recounted, in the family and in society, but for reasons which are difficult to define, the book is positive. Perhaps because it is overwhelmingly the humanity of the characters, with all their flaws, that comes over.
It is written in quite a literary style, I had to look a few words up (in the Dutch translation that I read), and there are some beautifully formulated sentences. However, it is not difficult to read and the omniscient narrator helps out all the time. I started the audiobook because, strangely enough, the library only had that format, no e-book, but it was so badly read that I soon gave up and bought the e-book.
The South-African context is conspicuously present and forms the characters and the plot. "Have you any idea what sort of country you are living in? No, she had no idea", is said to a child near the beginning. By the end of the book, it had become all too clear.
It is written in quite a literary style, I had to look a few words up (in the Dutch translation that I read), and there are some beautifully formulated sentences. However, it is not difficult to read and the omniscient narrator helps out all the time. I started the audiobook because, strangely enough, the library only had that format, no e-book, but it was so badly read that I soon gave up and bought the e-book.
The South-African context is conspicuously present and forms the characters and the plot. "Have you any idea what sort of country you are living in? No, she had no idea", is said to a child near the beginning. By the end of the book, it had become all too clear.
Een vrouw op de vlucht voor een bericht by David Grossman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.
This book had no chapters and no structure. It rambled on, jumping all over the place in time, with few clues for the reader about what was going on and not really any plot. A pity. It wa recommended by De Volkskrant as a way to understand Israel, so I had hoped for more.
10 Minuten 38 seconden in deze vreemde wereld by Elif Shafak
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What an amazing book. I read it because it was free in the Club Lees app from the VPRO. I had not heard of the author and was so glad to make their acquaintance. Such interesting characters! Such a bizarre and yet totally believable plot! What a book!
Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book was written 20 years ago, and it is fascinating to see how much it anticipates many of the issues that arose during the pandemic. That 2o-year gap also makes it like reading ancient history. No mobile phones. Limited access to internet. Getting mail means going into a building and picking up envelopes.
Biologically, the central idea of the book is interesting, but doesn't bear close examination. Evolution is indeed much more complex than the modern version of Darwinism, but it is really improbable that if there was a special mechanism, different from that it would only be expressed in one species, and that just happens to be humans. You cannot escape the idea that the author has signed up for the myth that we are the pinnacle of evolution, not just one species amongst others. If there was such a special mechanism, at least it would be in all mammals and most likely in more groups. Nevertheless, there was enough real biology in there that I had no problems suspending disbelief as I read it.
American exceptionalism is also prominent. The NIH wants to ban a conference and it doesn't seem to occur to anyone just to move it to Canada.
But those are quibbles. It was an enjoyable read, a read page-turner and more contemporary than you might expect.
Biologically, the central idea of the book is interesting, but doesn't bear close examination. Evolution is indeed much more complex than the modern version of Darwinism, but it is really improbable that if there was a special mechanism, different from that it would only be expressed in one species, and that just happens to be humans. You cannot escape the idea that the author has signed up for the myth that we are the pinnacle of evolution, not just one species amongst others. If there was such a special mechanism, at least it would be in all mammals and most likely in more groups. Nevertheless, there was enough real biology in there that I had no problems suspending disbelief as I read it.
American exceptionalism is also prominent. The NIH wants to ban a conference and it doesn't seem to occur to anyone just to move it to Canada.
But those are quibbles. It was an enjoyable read, a read page-turner and more contemporary than you might expect.
The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
November by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was very well-written. It was gripping and really enabled the reader to feel empathy with and identify with the characters. The characters were complex, interesting and believable. A Dutch language book being set in America felt a bit odd, it was a bit like reading a translation. But then again, why not? Books can be set anywhere, also in countries where their own writers are frequently translated.
The problem I had with this book was the genre. The horror was convincingly described, and I didn't like that. On the one hand, reading about unpleasant things isn't pleasant, and on the other hand, I have difficultly suspending my disbelief in order to accept all the stuff about devils and ghosts and supernatural powers and so on. I don't really understand that (I've no difficulty believing in impossible things in sci-fi books like faster than light travel and humanoid aliens), but that's just how it is. Maybe my scientific background makes me allergic to superstition. This book was so well written that I did find it easier to believe the plot than normal (perhaps also because of the classical Faustian story), but that only made the first aspect (unpleasant gore) worse.
The problem I had with this book was the genre. The horror was convincingly described, and I didn't like that. On the one hand, reading about unpleasant things isn't pleasant, and on the other hand, I have difficultly suspending my disbelief in order to accept all the stuff about devils and ghosts and supernatural powers and so on. I don't really understand that (I've no difficulty believing in impossible things in sci-fi books like faster than light travel and humanoid aliens), but that's just how it is. Maybe my scientific background makes me allergic to superstition. This book was so well written that I did find it easier to believe the plot than normal (perhaps also because of the classical Faustian story), but that only made the first aspect (unpleasant gore) worse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide attempt