A stirring and evocative book from Tania Brannigan; I read an extract in The Guardian Long Read and knew I had to read it in full. Partly a piece about the Cultural Revolution and how its fallout birthed modern China, Brannigan also considers memory; how the Cultural Revolution formed a collective traumatic memory for those that lived through it and how memory becomes distorted, faded, passed on and appropriated for other ends. Deftly written in cutting prose, each tale from Brannigan’s interviewees is chilling in many unexpected ways. Not exactly a fun read but it is an incredibly informative one that has helped me to understand the foundations of which 20th and 21st Century China built itself.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous funny relaxing fast-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

4.0

The first of Sanderson’s Secret Projects, Tress of the Emerald Sea is a breezy read with some fun, loveable characters and a nice hang-out vibe to the whole thing. The Hoid narration is witty and I appreciated Sanderson flexing his prose somewhat. I don’t think it always works (it’s clearly going for that Pratchett style) but I respect Sanderson certainly trying something new. The narrative has some neat twists to it but it’s definitely not the strongest of the ones I’ve read and I found the ending a little rushed. Still, I’d heartily recommend this to readers looking for a fun sea-faring adventure with a bit of intrigue.

Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray

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challenging funny reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

My biggest trouble with the novel Barry Lyndon is that the film adaptation is one of my all-time favourites and I think the changes made to the film improve the narrative overall. So coming to the book, the film runs largely in my head. But reading the source material was an interesting, and at times enriching, read. Far funnier than I was expecting. The first half is definitely the strongest, Thackeray wryly throwing Redmond Barry into situations far below his perceived station. Book Barry is far more of a charlatan than the film interpretation (who is a likeable yet dim anti-hero); he gets up to some pretty unhinged stuff. I do think the novel loses steam half-way, as I got the sense that Thackeray had a longer novel planned but knew the joke of parodying contemporary literature had run its course at the half way mark. Ironically, by contrast, I think the final portion of the film version is the strongest. Still, I enjoyed my time with Barry Lyndon and certainly enjoyed the witty prose.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-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? Yes

4.25

Sanderson hits a home run with the first book in his sci-fi YA series Skyward. The first person narrative works well and Sanderson has no issue finding Spensa’s voice. And what a loveable f***-up she is. Her plight and eventual ascent is wonderfully riveting. The world-building is excellent as always and the extended cast have their own unique quirks and back-story secrets. Couple this with the thrillingly written action scenes, it makes for compulsive reading.

My only criticism of Skyward really is that it feels very much like the opening salvo for a wider story as opposed to a standalone. Which is fine as I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of the series

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

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challenging dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

4.75

I first came to the world of A Clockwork Orange via the film adaptation. I really like the film but I have cooled towards it over the years because 1) I think Kubrick made better films afterwards and 2) I read the book, which I ultimately prefer. I’m not a “book is inherently better than the film adaptation” kind of person but I think across the novel Burgess is able to more actively explore the themes, the language and actions of Alex in a more nuanced way. I know some bemoan the lack of the final chapter not being in the film but I feel both end on equally ambiguous, yet slightly different, notes; in the book, there’s something terrifying for me about someone like Alex and his ex-droogs becoming part of society. It’s a hard nut to crack, particularly if you haven’t seen the film version first as that acts somewhat as a primer to the dense invented language, but after a while you become acclimatised to it, real horrorshow.

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nincrony1's reviews 61 reviews

nincrony1's reviews
61 reviews