House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland

 44%

21.04.24

Unusual, intriguing, unflinching, atmospheric, carefully plotted... and totally ruined by the (authorial? editorial?) decision for a British narrator, living in London, to use American English. And it wasn't just the extensive US vocabulary - there were references to graduating high school, to teachers 'failing' a student in a subject and to paying health insurance. Why? Again and again, it jarringly brought me out of the story's world. Surely American readers, brought up on Harry Potter, can cope with British English. Or just set it in America - it wouldn't have mattered much to the story. And the author is actually Australian. It made me so angry that I've deducted 20 points from the score it would otherwise have had. That'll teach 'em!

Holes - Louis Sachar

59%
23.10.18

My daughter was initially reluctant to read this but, once she started, she finished it in two sittings. As we were on holiday with no other books, I then had to lend her my Kindle and re-read my old copy. It's neatly written, of course, but I'm not sure it's quite as clever a fable as it would like to be, and I was left wondering what exactly it was trying to tell me.

Here's my review from 16 years ago. It seems my tastes have changed.

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

62%
07.05.16

Beautiful and terrible - that's the world of the admirable Patrick Ness and a painful mirror on the real world. This fable is spun from delicate words and difficult circumstances - a tour de force, I suppose, but lacking a core emotional engagement that would really have drawn me in.

After Me Comes the Flood - Sarah Perry

51%
30.09.15

Understated to the point of tedium. Did I not get it or was there simply nothing to get?

Flight Behavior - Barbara Kingsolver

69%
29.10.13

Kingsolver is a wise and lyrical writer specialising in razor-sharp characters and a passionate sense of place. Here, she takes the apocalyptic environmental message of Prodigal Summer a step further, and if she hammers it home a little hard, well, at least she cares. Her skilled use of narrative echoes and metaphor, mixed with a surprisingly intriguing (if over-long) story makes this enjoyable on any level you want to take it. And you're guaranteed to find yourself Googling monarch butterflies.

The First Book of Calamity Leek - Paula Lichtarowicz

73%
17.10.13

This is an extraordinary book, in every sense, though many will lose patience with its initial world of confusion. But if you stick with this macabre, quirky, odd story, you're likely to find it oddly satisfying. I think a lot of its success revolves around the choice of Calamity as narrator, and in its twisted Britishness, which here seems far more representative of the dark, crazy heart of the UK than Rowling's stereotypes. That and its subversive ability to make musical theatre creepy (Bex, you'll love it!). Thanks to Leeswammes for the recommendation.

The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson

55%
23.02.13

I know this is an international humorous bestseller but it just seemed underwhelming to me. It's an emotionally detached fable about a man who accidentally influences 20th century history, handily unencumbered by romance or self-awareness. Lots of political history cleverly hidden in the narrative but I don't think I'll remember much about it tomorrow.

And if you're going to the trouble of translating something, can't you make the title grammatical?