Northern Lights - Philip Pullman

76%
16.02.07




This made a big impression on me when I first read it 6 or 7 years ago. I was afraid that, as this month's reading group choice, it would be disappointing. It wasn't - the details, the characters, and most of all the relentless, subversive storyline, are hard to criticise, although this time round the coincidences and sentimentality grated a little. But it beats almost any other adventure story out there - up with 'The Lord of The Rings' in the serious fantasy stakes.

Woman's World - Graham Rawle

29.08.06
83%




The cover says this is 'a work of genius' and for once the review is right. This book is absolutely brilliant on a variety of levels. Made entirely from collage, with delightful turns of phrase, the story too is a compelling (if slightly obvious) one. Five years of gluing paid off.

The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood

80%
22.12.01



The best book I've read since 'Northern Lights' [Edited: at this point I had not read 'Northern Lights' for a second time]. Complex and engrossing, delicately written and always gracious to the reader. The plot unfolds carefully, so that the denouement doesn't provoke surprise so much as a sigh of satisfaction.