Fevre Dream - George R. R. Martin

I've worked in a library for three years, but I don't think you have to be a librarian (or even much of a book worm) to know that the market is saturated with vampire fiction - either new or re-released. I freely admit that I haven't read much of the recently released vampire fiction... but I am very much aware of it and the ingredients usually involved - a young woman being pursued by a brooding, handsome vampire - and, to be honest, I've been a little put off by it. That's not to say I think it's bad, or that I don't appreciate the escapist nature of these books. I just think there's so much of it that it's nice to find an author that will do something different with the vampire genre.

So I bought Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin. After hearing that it was about vampires and also because I was impressed by his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, I thought I would see how he approached vampire fiction. I was sure I was on safe ground... partly because Fevre Dream was written before the big boom in supernatural romance novels, but mostly because Martin definitely does not seem the type to write a formulaic vampire love story. And I was right.

Fevre Dream is the story of Abner Marsh, a steamboat captain working the great Mississippi river during the late 1850s. Having fallen on hard times, he receives unexpected support from the mysterious Joshua York, who gives him the funds to build a new steamer, the Fevre Dream, the finest steamship to sail the Mississippi. But things grow complicated as rumours of York's unusual habits begin to spread - his odd eating habits, his strange hours and his even stranger companions. And as the Fevre Dream sails downriver, leaving dark tales in its wake, a confrontation soon becomes inevitable.

Reading this book firmly cemented my opinion that George R. R. Martin is a brilliant writer. If you had told me a few weeks ago that I would be getting excited about a race between two steam boats, I would have laughed. But that's exactly what happened, so invested was I in the lead character of Abner Marsh, who loves his boat and his profession like nothing else on earth. He's brash, ugly and about as far from a romantic lead as you can get, but he's likeable and it was easy to become invested in his dream. Given Martin's "anyone-can-die" approach to writing, I was praying that Marsh survived his ordeal. The other characters all have their own unique appeal and the relationships that develop between them give a wonderful depth to the story without the need for any overblown romance. I can't say too much about the supporting characters without giving away the story, but I will say that Martin keeps you guessing as to what everyone is up to, what their motivations are and, by the end, even the villains have a terrible tragedy to them that makes them more than the cardboard cut-outs they might otherwise have been.

The setting is also inspired for a number of reasons. The Mississippi river provides an excellent backdrop for the story and the steamboat Fevre Dream itself is a great set piece for the action that takes place - from its claustrophobic cabins to the elaborate dining rooms. Also the problem of how vampires hide themselves from humans is obviously greatly reduced by having the story set in the 1850's, though suspicions still inevitably arise to drive the story onwards, and in this regard Martin finds ways of being original while also drawing on some of the traditional vampire stories people know so well. Various other aspects of the time and setting, most notably slavery, add new angles to our perception of the characters, both good and evil.

Thankfully, I have little to criticise about the book. Many of the problems I noted in my review of "A Song of Ice and Fire" are absent here - there are fewer editing errors and there are fewer point of view characters so the narration is blessedly stable. However there were times when I worried that the story was gearing towards an anti-climatic finish and while the end is exciting it's not as exciting as I might have hoped from George R. R. Martin. There's a particular break in the action - a very long break - towards the end of the book which, I felt, detracted from an otherwise good build-up and this may have contributed to my feeling that the end was not what it could have been.

But all-in-all, I would recommend this book to any fan of the vampire genre, especially anyone wanting an escape from the supernatural romances that are still overflowing on the bookshelves.

Teaser Tuesday

Hosted by Should Be Reading

"I am unruly when woken suddenly. I am not myself. I have been known, at such times, to do things I later regret. That was why I was so short with you. I apologize for it, but it would happen again. Or worse. Do you understand, Abner? Never come in here when my door is locked."

- "Fevre Dream" by George R. R. Martin.

The Friday 56

 

Hosted by Freda's Voice.

Sometimes when I visited my family at home I felt awkward telling them anything. My new life was taking over the old.

- pg. 56, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier

Theme Thursdays (Ending)

Hosted by: Reading Between Pages

Then she got down on her knees and prayed to be forgiven.

 - taken from "Scary Fairy Tales" by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

The Friday 56

Here's a fun new meme I'm trying out, hosted by Freda's Voice. If you fancy joining in all you have to do is grab a book, open to page 56 and write down a phrase from that page. Easy peasy!

"There was something fascinating about tall thin men, the way their bones and Adam's apple lurked so unconcealed beneath the skin, their bird-like faces, their predatory stoop." 

                                                                          - pg 56, "On Chesil Beach" by Ian McEwan

George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire (Series)

Well, it's been a little while since my last review, but I like to think I have a reasonable excuse. After hearing so much about George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire from my brother (mostly about how it was the most amazing thing ever written and how I had to read it) I finally got around to it and picked up the first book: A Game of Thrones. It says a lot for the series that I couldn't stop there and went on to read the follow up books: A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows and I am currently waiting for the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, to be released in paperback (in a few days). While I wait, I thought I'd do a review of the series so far.

Well, you might have already guessed that I absolutely loved the series. Heck, my brother (who, by his own admission, is not much of a reader) adores it. It's the kind of series that you have to talk to someone about and I phoned my brother quite a few times to rant about how much I was enjoying it and what did he think of this character, or that plot twist and how did he think the story was going to go from here. Even my dad and my fiance are now involved and we're starting to form a little club of obsessed fans. I don't think my family has bonded over literature like this since Harry Potter!

I won't even attempt to write a proper synopsis for the series. There are too many plot threads to follow, to many characters and too many spoilers that I might inadvertently reveal. I'll settle for telling you that it's a true fantasy epic - bloody battles, family feuding, royal shenanigans, a little bit of magic and mystery... all you could possibly want - and it's done on a truly mind-boggling scale. And at the same time, it manages to avert some of the old cliches that have become synonymous with the fantasy genre. One of the first things I was told about the series was: "Don't get attached to any of the characters. Odds are, they're going to die". Good advice, but nearly impossible to follow, because even if you hate a character... you love hating them and it's almost disappointing to see them go. But that's one of the great things about the series. You really can't anticipate what's going to happen. Sometimes hints will be dropped and you can take a guess, but most of the twists that Martin sends your way tend to leave you re-reading the last couple of pages, in case you hallucinated what was printed there (A Storm of Swords in particular had me doing this... and calling up my brother at the end to ask: "What the hell did I just read!?")

If I must be critical of anything in this series (and I will be, in the spirit of fairness) then two things spring to mind. First, there seems to have been a problem with the editing of some of the books. Sometimes paragraphs appear in odd places (near the end of someone's speech and without the usual quotation marks to show that it was done deliberately to break up the paragraphs). Sometimes words ran together likethis whichwas ratherannoying. One or twice words were repeated like like this. Not often enough for me to give up on the series... but often enough for me to mention it in a review. It seems a shame that an otherwise fantastic series should suffer from poor editing.

The second problem I have is more of a personal quibble. Now, I mentioned earlier about the mind-boggling scale of the series. In terms of setting this is a great thing, but it almost becomes a drawback for the plot and characters. Inevitably, as you go through the series, you find characters that you are more interested in hearing about and plot threads that your are more eager to follow. Unfortunately, the narrative dances between the various characters, and you often have to spend a chapter following a character that, although interesting, is not always as interesting as some of the other characters. It became tempting to skip ahead to chapters that focused on my favourite characters, but I didn't dare in case I missed some new development that would prove important later in the series. As a result, certain chapters dragged a little for me, but this may not be as much of a problem for others, and there's always the possibility that I'll realise (during a re-read of the series) that I actually enjoy some characters a lot more second time round.

So, all in all, an amazing series. I owe my brother a big hug for talking me into reading it (and giving my fiance and I several of the books as Christmas/birthday presents). I highly recommend this to anyone, even those who wouldn't normally think of themselves as fantasy fans.

WARNING -  I'll just add an extra little piece of advice, since it ties in with one detail of the books I really loved: DO NOT READ THESE BOOKS ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. Martin's descriptions of food are mouth-watering and since most of the narrative takes place amongst the wealthy lords of the realm, you're guaranteed plenty of sumptuous feasts, with such delicacies as hot crab pie, quails drowned in butter, honeycakes baked with blackberries and nuts... the list goes on Just remembering makes my stomach rumble.

Embassytown by China Mieville

This is actually the second China Mieville book I've read. The first was Kraken, which just happened to be in the library and, since I was short of something to read at the time, I grabbed it. I enjoyed it - was completely blown away by the imagination of the author - but was surprised to read online that it's not considered one of his best. I thought: "well, if this isn't one of his best, how good must his others be?" So I decided that I would have to try another of his books and, rather than picking up one of his older works, I chose one of his latest, Embassytown, hoping that it would live up to my expectations.

Boy, did it ever!

To summarise... the story is set on Embassytown, a distant planet colonised by humans. Communication between the humans and the native aliens, the Ariekei (or Hosts) is incredibly difficult - only specially bred and trained Ambassadors, working in pairs, are able to speak the language - but they live in relative peace. This all changes when a new Ambassador arrives from another human colony, and The Hosts begin to react strangely to the newcomer's speech.

To say more would probably give away too much, though what I've said here really doesn't do justice to the complexity of the world Mieville has created. I was actually a little sceptical, especially after realising this was a sci-fi novel (I'm more a fantasy/horror kind of girl). For the first quarter of the novel I was a little lost and not 100% sure I was enjoying it. Then, one lunchtime, as I looked at my watch and realised that I was going to have to put the book away, I realised that I really REALLY didn't want to stop reading. It took me a little by surprise how involved in the story I had suddenly become, but it was a good feeling. The kind of feeling you get when you know you're onto a winner.

The story is told in the first person, and the narrator is Avice Benner Cho, who has recently returned to her childhood home and becomes deeply involved in dealing with the problems the new Ambassador creates. She's a fun character, with a bit of an edge, and even though there is an other-worldly quality to her as well (not surprising, since she was born and raised on this strange planet) it is easy to identify with her as she watches her childhood home begin to collapse around her. The secondary characters, including the mysterious Hosts, are equally well-written and the story just gets better and better. I genuinely did not know how it was all going to end, and was pleasantly surprised by the developments in the final chapters.

I was actually quite glad that I read Kraken first, because it gave me a chance to get used to Mieville's writing style, which alternates between long, flowing description and quick, punchy dialogue. Sometimes his way of saying things comes off as odd, but it was easy enough to get used to in Kraken and I was prepared for it in Embassytown, where, coupled with the insane amount of detail, it might have put me off. That would be my only criticism of Embassytown... the book requires a lot of set-up, so that the reader understands the world, the characters and how they live. It was probably the huge amount of detail required that made me so uncertain about the book to begin with, and it will possibly put off some readers. But it paid off in the end. Now, having reached the end, I'm determined to go back and re-read the first section, to try and properly digest all the little tidbits I might have missed.

A hightly recommended read. I look forward to reading many other China Meiville novels in the future.

The King's Speech - Mark Logue and Peter Conradi

Well, it took me awhile, but I finally finished reading The King's Speech. It probably seems like an odd choice, especially after I said in my first post that I don't read a lot of non-fiction. That's generally true... but after watching the film again over Christmas I thought I would give it a try.

For those who haven't heard of either book or film (if there are any), it focuses on King George VI and his relationship with Australian immigrant Lionel Logue, who spent many years as the King's speech therapist, coaching him through the numerous speeches he was obligated to make, first as the Duke of York and later as King, despite a stammer which had plagued him since childhood.

Even before I started I was braced for the fact that the film would have changed certain things for dramatic effect, and that the book would be a little blander (for lack of a better word) by comparison. But having said that, there was plenty to interest me. The book is crammed full of extracts from letters exchanged between the King and Logue, which were fascinating to read. The authors also included plenty of newspaper articles, diary extracts, some photos and even transcripts of some of the speeches made by the King. In terms of story, apart from the details of how Logue helped the King to overcome his stammer, there is plenty of space given to the background of Logue and how he and his family came to live in the UK. We are given a history lesson on the royal family and I particularly enjoyed reading about the abdication of Edward VIII. The detail continues through to talking about World War II and the effect it had on the people of London. Finally, the authors talk about the declining health of the two men and ends on a note from Lionel's daughter-in-law and thoughts on how he was able to so successfully help the King to become the great orator he was known as.

I'd be lying, however, if I said I didn't find certain aspects of the book a little repetitive. Strangely, it was the parts involving the King's speeches which tended to drag the most for me. There are only so many times I can read how Logue was summoned to the palace, helped the King prepare and then congratulated the King on a job well done. It doesn't help that these parts usually contain very little detail, and so nothing makes them stand out. There were a few exceptions, however, such as the speech delivered at the beginning of WW2, which provided the climax of the film and stands out here partly because they include the entire speech.

It was also a shame not to have more detail on the sessions that took place between Logue and the King, although the reasons for this are given early in the book. It would have been interesting to read about some of the techniques used and perhaps gain more insight into the interaction between the two men. Perhaps this expectation is partly due to the film, which shows a montage of various speech therapy techniques and several times had Logue and the King interacting in a more personal way. Obviously most of what is seen is either speculation or outright fabrication, and what we are left with in the book is a more understated friendship which can only really be appreciated when you consider that Logue was a commoner, and therefore even exchanging letters with the King was testament to their closeness.

Apart from these problems, I did genuinely enjoy the book and I was surprised by how many historical tidbits ended up in the film, such as the sadistic nurse, who I expected to be a complete fabrication, and even a bit of dialogue about the King deliberately stammering during a speech so that people would know it was him. It was a glimpse of the warm humour and friendship that the film was able to capture for a more modern audience, and it is these moments, and the historical background given about the abdication and WW2, which are the highlights of the book for me.

W... W... W... Wednesdays

The first meme I've taken part in, hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

1. I'm currently reading The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi - a little foray into non-fiction, which is unusual for me, but I'm about half-way through and it's fascinating, especially after watching the film over Christmas.

2. The last book I finished was The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. See my previous post for a full review.

3. Well, I'm a little torn on what to read next. I have The Help by Kathryn Stockett downloaded onto my Kindle, so that will probably be my next book. But I am starting to miss my horror and fantasy books too.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. All the book links should lead to the Amazon.co.uk Kindle editions (unless I've messed up the links by accident).

Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending

I'm always a little wary of books that have won awards, perhaps because of the danger that it will not live up to the particular accolade it has received. There is also the worry that there is something lacking in my own taste if I end up disliking the book. But I was eventually talked into buying Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending, the winner of the Man Booker Prize 2011, after a family friend recommended it to me, and said he wanted someone to discuss the book with.

And there is certainly much to discuss.

The plot revolves around the narrator, Tony Webster, and his reflections on his youth and the relationships that developed and then disintegrated during that period, in particular with his childhood friend Adrian, who committed suicide in the prime of his life, and Veronica, Tony's ex-girlfriend who was dating Adrian at the time of his death. Now in his sixties, Tony unexpectedly receives a letter telling him that he is to receive his former friend's diary. Curious as to the reasons for Adrian's suicide, which was never fully explained, Tony is eager to get his hands on the diary, but is prevented from doing so by a bitter Veronica. As he continues to dig into his own past, Tony is confronted with some painful truths about his actions and the effects they have had on those around him.

A key theme of the novel is how time erodes the memory, and you're never fully certain how much of what Tony Webster is telling you is accurate. That lends a certain ambiguity to many of the events of his youth, and Julian Barnes doesn't neglect to use this as a stark contrast to the cold, hard evidence Tony is presented with in his search for knowledge (the contents of Tony's final letter to Adrian, which resurfaces years later, made me wince).

In turn, this adds to the impact of the novel's other message - that the smallest of actions can have effects far beyond what we would expect or intend. This theme is somewhat heavy-handed and although it makes for interesting fiction, I did find myself asking whether Tony's ill-thought actions would really have led to such consequences. Perhaps it is just me, but by the time the final twist to the plot was revealed things were starting to feel forced, to the point where my suspension of disbelief was broken. This was disappointing, since up until that point the story had held together well, and I felt that if the ending had been handled differently then other weaknesses in the plot would not have been so obvious (in particular the never-explained reason for why Tony was to receive Adrian's diary in the first place).

Another slight problem I encountered with A Sense of an Ending was the writing style. At first I found Tony Webster's narration frustratingly pretentious, particularly as he reflects on his childhood, although I understand that this is partly because Tony is meant to represent an older generation and so, perhaps, I cannot relate as well to the character's childhood as I would have liked. There is also the possibility that Julian Barnes did this intentionally, since this is meant to be an unreliable narrator looking back on their childhood. There is a sense that Tony Webster is talking himself up a little for the sake of the reader, and since that is part of the character rather than the author's style, it is fair to say that this adds an extra element to our understanding of Tony Webster and is a credit to Barnes' skill as a writer. Still, I found some parts of the text (up until the appearance of Veronica) quite tedious, although it grew on me and eventually I was able to savour some really beautiful writing.

Did it deserve the Man Booker Prize? The general consensus seems to be that yes, it did. Since I haven't read any of the other contenders I can't say, but it certainly won't be going on my favourites list. While I did enjoy the book, it was not a completely satisfying read. Some contrived plot twists, unexplained events and a general feeling of being left in the dark detract from an otherwise interesting plot, complex characters and a well-executed writing style. Several times towards the end, Veronica tells the main character "you just don't get it", and I think the same could be said of me, although debate on the internet suggests that perhaps this may have been the point.

I would, however, recommend this for book clubs. As I said in the beginning of this review, there is plenty of material for discussion, from whether it was worthy of awards to the characters, themes and most of all the plot. It is one of those books that invites debate and for this reason, if no other, it has stayed in my mind long after I switched off my Kindle.

So it begins...

Hello fellow book-lovers!

Welcome to my book review blog. You'll have to excuse me, since I am just starting out here so updates may be infrequent to begin with (though not too infrequent, I hope). I will try to get reviews up as often as possible and I hope you find them useful/entertaining/thought-provoking.

Regarding the material I will be reviewing... I'm reasonably open about the kind of things I read and I'm happy to take recommendations from people, although please try to stick to fiction rather than non-fiction.

My first review will be Julian Barnes "The Sense of an Ending" (winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize). I'll try to have that up in the next few days.

All the best to everyone out there!