I got a decent bit of reading done last month after falling behind last year. I’m determined to make a hefty dent in my to-read list in 2014. The reviews below can be found on Goodreads also, but I’ve extended them here. These three books are written my male authors, unusual for me. The vast majority of books I read are written by women.
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The Road to Woodbury
I saw this book facing out in a second-hand bookshop in town one day and grabbed it. I enjoy the TV show, The Walking Dead, and this seemed like it could be a fun companion novel.
Hmm. The zombie deaths, attacks and hordes were described well, but I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters. There came a point when I thought to myself if Josh (who is one of the few decent guys) calls Lilly “baby” or “baby doll” one more time, I’m throwing the book out the window. I was missing The Walking Dead on my TV screen when I started reading this, but it didn’t fill the void.
The romance, what little there was, just didn’t do it for me. Women write romance better, as far as I’m concerned anyway. In this book, the love scenes are less than great. One line, when Lilly and Josh finally sleep together just made me roll my eyes and groan. It went something like, “It was better than they had ever dreamed…” Oh, dear.
If you’d like to learn more about The Road to Woodbury, (remember the zombie scenes are great, it was just the romance side really that let this book down for me), you can check it out on Goodreads and Amazon.
I realised when reading The Road to Woodbury I don’t read many books by men. Growing up, I read some Stephen King and lots of the Point Horror books, but I’m struggling to think of any other male authors I read these days. Is this normal? Do women tend to mostly read books written by other women? In my experience men tend to almost always only read books by men, at least the men in my life. They will rarely pick up a book by a woman. I’m curious to hear from others on this. In your experience, do you find the same? I’ve gone totally off the point of the review now, so I’ll stop right there, but if anyone wants to talk about this in the comments, I’d welcome all opinions.
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Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
If I had to describe the atmosphere in this book in just one word, I’d have to go with “rainy”. I pictured this story in grey while reading this, which is fitting, because the characters aren’t considered real people by the vast majority of society. The dreary English weather, the cold brick building of Hailsham, the slow pace of story-telling… Rainy, grey tones permeated Never Let Me Go, but that’s not to say this book was lifeless and stark. I found it quite the opposite.
Hints as to the disturbing and sinister nature of this world are dropped from the beginning, as Kathy, now a thirty-one year old woman and a “carer”, heading towards being a “donor”, takes us back through her life, starting with her time at Hailsham, her childhood home, a boarding school type institution. There, we get to know three best friends, the headstrong and bossy Ruth, angry, football playing Tommy, and the quiet and observant Kathy.
I cried even before I got to the end. A profound sadness saturates the pages of Never Let Me Go. It seems so unfair, yet this is their world. They’ve known nothing else. They don’t even say the word “die” or discuss heaven or what happens after. They just willingly “complete”. There is no talk of running away or trying to avoid what lies ahead. They don’t have surnames, just a letter, like Kathy H. They wouldn’t have birth certificates or passports. They are almost non-human, as far as the world is concerned at least.
Poignant, well-written, sad, heartbreaking, real. Check it out on Goodreads and Amazon.
I had to go back and watch the film after reading. It does the book justice for the most part. In the movie, Kathy is played by Carey Mulligan, Ruth by Keira Knightley and Tommy by Andrew Garfield.
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Dark Curtains by Evans Light
A short and creepy read. I love haunted house stories, and this one was on the disturbing side – the description about human nails being a part of the decorative curtains? Gah, gross.
I particularly enjoyed the details of the grand Victorian house. If you like your ghost stories on the dark side, this one’s for you. The author also includes an alternative ending, which was great to read. I’m still not sure which ending I preferred.
Check it out on Goodreads and Amazon.
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I’d love to read another Kazuo book. Which one would you recommend?
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Emma's Ramblings on Supernatural Fiction 