lynnenad's reviews
156 reviews

Imperium by Robert Harris

informative inspiring tense 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? No

4.5

Not at all the kind of book I would normally select to read but I loved this. Harris is a terrific writer and all his main characters leap off the page in glorious 3D. Looking forward to book two when the time is right. 

The Dust that Falls from Dreams by Louis de Bernières

emotional funny sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

A charming book about the First World War, although that sounds like an oxymoron. The scenes from the trenches were nauseating, because the trenches were nauseating. The rest of the book was charming, light hearted, amusing and witty. I enjoyed it very much. 

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

4.0

A charming book. Nice people getting on with their lives the best they can. A simple writing style that enhanced the ideas presented. Lovely. 

One, No One & 100,000: A Fresh, Modern Translation by Kevan Houser by Luigi Pirandello

challenging funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed reading this book. I doubt I would have enjoyed it so much in the earlier translations. This translation was deliberately modernised so that a 21st century English speaker could get the best of the ideas innit, and it has worked. 
The basic premise is stuff any ruminative teenager has discovered for herself but the consequences of understanding fully that there are multiple truths of you depending on the observer, when carried through to a (reasonably) logical conclusion are funny and engaging. The book was written in 1923 of thereabouts and I can hear echoes of the ideas of Samuel Beckett and TS Eliot. 

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

What’s going on? I love everything I’ve ever read by Ann Patchett but did not understand the point this book was trying to make. In fact, as I finished the last page, I literally thought by “what was the point of that?”  
Lovely use of language and the expectation that a great reveal was imminent kept me reading. 

Milkman by Anna Burns

challenging dark funny slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

I found this book unique. It was hard to read for the first 70 odd pages because of the unique writing style but once I had got the hang of that I really enjoyed it. It was very funny in parts. It gave me a lot to think about the Troubles in Belfast. The narrator seemed authentic and interesting. 
I guess I found it a tiny bit slow moving, with insufficient action to sustain my interest in some parts, but overall I found it worthwhile and enjoyable. 

The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson

emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

1.0

Cliched and sentimental claptrap. Romance novels are not for me. 

Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman

challenging emotional reflective slow-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

5.0

An extraordinary book by an extraordinary writer. It is very dense and intellectual with many profound ideas within it. It’s also, in a way, a psychological and courtroom drama. Read it when you have both time and energy to concentrate. 

The Porcupine by Julian Barnes

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I generally like Barnes’ writing but I didn’t really enjoy this book. It felt dated (not the author’s fault, obviously) as we are now in our own “end of times” that has nothing to do with the fall of communism. I thought the arguments presented by the socialists and the anti-socialists were persuasive but also missed the point. Through it all, the common people continued to starve. Perhaps that was the point Barnes was trying to make. I feel like there are more ideas to be extracted from this book if I read it again at a different time. 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Buckets of fun. A worthy classic. I’m surprised at how well the humour stands up over the many decades since this was written.