The Fury - Alex Michaelides

60%

09.10.24

I think people are getting the concept of an unreliable narrator mixed up with the concept of plot twists. Nothing that happened in this story (within a story within a story) was much of a surprise - information was just withheld and filtered by the narrator. Which made the story more engaging than a third-person omniscient narrator would have been, even if it was, overall, totally farfetched.

Atalanta - Jennifer Saint

57% 

18.05.24

This started out well, with delightful descriptions of life in Arcadia and offering a refreshing, well-researched take on Greek myths. But the author seemed a little stymied by the Argonauts not actually doing much to win the Golden Fleece, and so the story got a little lost and the narrative structure rather linear. Atalanta herself went through the unusual character arc of becoming less sympathetic as the story went on. But these retellings of myth are illuminating and I already have more ready to read.

Into the Blue - Robert Goddard

65%
17.08.20

I usually avoid reading books by white, middle-class, middle-aged men in which I am supposed to sympathise with the suffering of white, middle-class, middle-aged men. And in this case all the white, middle-class, middle-aged men were depicted very vividly, unlike everyone else. But I grudgingly admit that it was unusually well written and cleverly plotted and I found myself rooting for the protagonist despite my prejudices. (It was also amusing to note that the story was only possible because of its late-1980s, pre-mobiles, pre-internet setting.)

Circe - Madeline Miller

66%
23.04.19

An introverted goddess with self-esteem issues reclaims her story from the patriarchy. It's an unusual and absorbing reworking of the Greek myth but its main strength is that its lyricism makes the rather disjointed story and vague characterisations matter less.

Skios - Michael Frayn

55%
01.01.13

I'm keen on Michael Frayn but not so keen on farces, which is a pity because Frayn is regarded as the master of British farce. I just can't be doing with all those mistaken identities and misunderstandings and ridiculous coincidences but if anyone can move them from the superficial to the philosophical, it's Frayn. Well, maybe. There's nothing really deep here, unless it's so deep that it's buried beneath the comic awkwardness. There's nothing noticeably insightful but it's diverting enough - for a farce.