dreynoldsbook's reviews
110 reviews

August Blue by Deborah Levy

mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Deborah Levy has definitely forged her own niche in contemporary literature. She’s the kind of author who you could read a paragraph by and know she had written it. And you also know that elements of her novels will stick with you.

As with TMWSE the novel focuses in on details that repeat and change. And there is the same quite magical quality. It’s not speculative fiction or magic realism. It’s more metaphysical and slightly surreal. A lot of it could seem random and banal if she wasn’t such a good writer.

Trust by Hernán Díaz

dark informative mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A novel about an objectionably rich fraud and his continual deceptions. Very timely! His wife seems a bit too idealised. Which is quite ironic. (Too idealised in a different way to Bevell’s creation.

Ultimately it’s an indictment of laissez faire capitalism, if you still need one, and the kind of limited philistine who benefits from and manipulates it.

The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I started this novel I fully expected it to be another of the many books I abandon part way through. But the more I read the more I become engrossed. About half way through, when more is revealed and you get the jist of what is going on, I was thoroughly enjoying it.

I like the way the novel focuses and refocuses on a few key moments in the narrator’s life and the way they become clearer and the way they change. It’s quite sad and very touching. And very vivid.

Having just finished it I know it’s a book I’ll be reflecting on for a long time to come. It’s a book that will stick with you.

It’s like this Deborah Levy: it’s the first of your books I’ve read, but won’t be the last!

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

adventurous reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It’s a couple of years since I read the first of the series so I wasn’t completely up to speed when I started the novel. But it seemed like a bit of a detour. It’s clearly a not particularly disguised critique of colonialism. Maybe a bit too on the nose with tea plantations and slavery chucked in.

The world building and subtle politicking lifted it above the too obvious though. I often found it difficult to follow  the implications of what was happening but wasn’t sure how much of that was due to my having read the first a while ago and how much was due to Leckie’s writing which can seem obfuscating at times. 

It’s all very well conceived and convincing though.

The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’ve read 6 or 7 of Ambler’s novels now. I wouldn’t say this was the best despite being the most famous, along with Journey into Fear, but it’s still a top rate thriller. It’s a bit too detached initially but soon you’re in familiar Ambler territory - a man out of his depth in an unfamiliar underworld.Great characters, sharp dialogue and typical, paranoid Ambler atmosphere.

Ambler has become one of my favourite authors in recent years. I intend to read more.

The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I felt I’d been duped reading this novel. It seemed like a family drama dressed up as a police procedural. Also I found the novel repetitive, banging on the same drum constantly. But I gradually became hooked and I’m thinking of reading the next in the series. It does have something of a cliff hanger. Partly due to the lack of closure, which will annoy a lot of readers.

Never Go Back by Robert Goddard

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Passably entertaining piece of nonsense. A lot of wasted words though. It could have been much sharper with decent editing.

Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was quite well written but I found the plot confusing and not very interesting anyway. The main protagonist seemed to spend most of the time doing police work rather than forensics and got far too personally involved to be plausible, I think this is a problem with writing a mystery series with a forensic scientist as main protagonist. Keep to the forensics and you won’t have much story.

Also I found the romance element too melodramatic and that it didn’t add anything. Except more personal involvement for Scarpetta. In a way the novel does nothing for female equality as she can’t seem to just be a professional. She is too emotionally involved.

The Railway Detective by Edward Marston

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I wanted something lighter to read as I make my way through Magic Mountain. But this proved to be too light. The characters are simplistic and archetypal, the dialogue clunky and corny and the author insists on telling you why a character is doing what he’s doing or saying constantly.

Also, if you think it’s going to be a whodunnit in the classical sense you’ll be disappointed. The main culprit is revealed just over halfway through as you are introduced to the character. There’s nothing wrong with police procedurals but this doesn’t feel very authentic and it’s too shallow to be interesting.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Merricat is a great invention. Jackson manages to portray her as a sadistic psychopath whilst making her sympathetic and endearing. I kept thinking of Highsmith’s Ripley, but Jackson’s invention is far darker. And far more amusing. It’s really a dark comedy and very entertaining read. 
There’s a kind of twist but not really. It’s clear from the start and it doesn’t matter because it’s not a whodunit. I think you’re meant to work it out early on. 
Maybe the last quarter of the novel wasn’t as strong as the rest but it still had its moments. I’d say it’s a better novel than Hill House.