The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters

“And perhaps there is a limit to the grieving that the human heart can do. As when one adds salt to a tumbler of water, there comes a point where simply no more will be absorbed.” ― Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger

"The subliminal mind has many dark, unhappy corners, after all. Imagine something loosening itself from one of those dark corners. Let's call it a--a germ. And let's say conditions prove right for that germ to develop--to grow, like a child in the womb. What would this little stranger grow into? A sort of shadow-self, perhaps: a Caliban, a Mr Hyde. A creature motivated by all the nasty impulses and hungers the conscious mind had hoped to keep hidden away: things like envy, and malice, and frustration..." ― Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger


Those of you who are partial to a little Downton Abbey may quite like this spooky piece of fiction. This book is set shortly after the first world war. We're introduced to an England that is licking its wounds, an England that has been victorious but found themselves in a worse state than during the war. The festivities have passed and the sons of Britain have made their slow way back.

Waters introduces us to an old aristocratic family. A family that is falling apart. Their estate is crumbling around them, they have no money left and the Master of the house is the only man and has come back from the war with nervous problems and probably post-traumatic stress disorder. 


The Audiobook
I was pleasantly surprised by the narrator in this novel. It was narrated by Simon Vance, and I honestly felt that I wouldn't be able to enjoy his narration. He is a well paced, even quite slow but he does the voices pretty well and I found his voice to be perfectly suited to the voice of Dr Faraday. I'm not sure that he will be everybody's cup of tea, but I was whisked away to post-war England!


The Story
This is a story written, at least in my opinion, in the 19th Century Gothic vein. I've seen much discussion with people disputing this, but although the setting is a modern one, I feel that Waters uses conventions that are so recurrent in the genre. Conventions such as pathetic fallacy and personifcation (the attribution of human feelings upon inanimate objects or animals), weather features greatly within this novel as does the personification of the crumbling house. We are introduced to Dr Faraday who is the narrator of the novel and so the once removed narrator we often find in Gothic novels eg. Dracula, Wuthering Heights, The Woman in Black etc. Dreams also feature within the novel (which may also be a clue to the ending... but shhhhh... I can't give anything away!) as they do in pretty much every Gothic novel I've read. Ambiguity, a feeling of dread, the supernatural and damsel in distress are all found within this novel, and so I'll contest that this is a Gothic novel and that it does mimic literature from the 19thC. 

Anywho... now that my false little essay is done, I'll move on! Haha!

So, we have the narrator Dr. Faraday from a working class background. His parents worked hard to make sure he could go to a fantastic university and become a doctor. Although Dr Faraday is a successful doctor he is aware that he has been unable to break in to treating the gentry. 

His chance comes though, when an emergency at Hundreds Hall calls him out. The house had once been an important part of the community but the war had left both the family and the estate in tatters, not to mention the class system and society in general. Dr Faraday's mother had previously been employed at the house and so he has memories of visiting it as a child. Now though, as an adult, he returns to the hall and becomes close to the family.

Things start to happen at the hall, strange things, and Dr Faraday plays the ultra cynical and logical narrator. How reliable he is... I'm not quite sure, but that's for you to come up with your own conclusions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it was great to return to the Goth genre and seeing it done so well. The first couple of hours of the book were hard to get in to, but I recommend it none-the-less. If you can get past those it is pedal to the metal and if you're lucky you'll get as many bouts of goosebumps that I did!


P.s. I'm currently laptopless, so I'm afraid my access to the blog has been hindered! Please bare with me during this technical hitch!

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Wool - Hugh Howey

Hello everyone!
I'm back! Please forgive my extended holiday. It was the end of the school year and well, it gets super busy in schools as we try to prepare for the new academic year!
But yes, I'm back - with a long overdue review!
________________________________

“We are not the people who made this world, Lukas, but it's up to us to survive it. You need to understand that.""We can't control where we are right now," he mumbled, "just what we do going forward.” Hugh Howey, Wool Omnibus 

Maybe you read this a few years back? Maybe. I only recently came across it and I am absolutely glad I did!

This is a post-apocalyptic thriller that takes place in a silo buried deep in to the earth. Stairs run through the silo connecting the hundred or so levels. 

The only contact the people of the silo have with the toxic outside world is through a camera. A camera peers outside at the bland scenery and the population are able to see out. Any questions regarding life in the silo can see the perpetrators sentenced to 'Cleaning'. Cleaning is a death sentence... the prisoner is strapped in to a suit and is sent out to the outside world to clean the camera lens. The strangest part of the cleaning process though, is how always, without fail, perpetrators always, ALWAYS go and clean the camera.

Inside the silo they have farms, livestock, mines, hospitals etc etc. It's a very organised machine where people know their place and rarely venture out of them.

The Audiobook
Susannah Harker was the narrator for this particular version of the audiobook. There's another one narrated by Minnie Goode too, she did the omnibus version. 

Harker was ace though, I was strangely surprised as I usually like a more passionate performance and she was very slow and steady. There have been times where I've not been able to listen to an audiobook because of that type of pacing but Harker owned her voice and I thought she was magnificent. Of course she was also aided by excellent writing, and a great production too!

The Story
Okay, I admit it, I have a soft-spot for post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels. I just do, and this was right up my street!

The pacing is brilliant, the writing is awesome and although it is an exploration of a very popular genre - I found it re-imagined, unique and wholly entertaining.

I usually try and discuss the story in a bit more detail here but I don't want to spoil it. You see, this story is a spider's web and I'm sure that if I give any little parts away and you decide to read it... well, it'll all click too quickly and you'll curse me for it.

All I can say is this, keep in your mind the very strange phenomena of the prisoners being sentenced to go outside but then always choosing to clean the camera lens (CREEPY), and also keep in mind that the silo has everything that anybody needs; Farms, livestock, water, air, coal etc etc.

I really, really enjoyed this book but I will not give away any more than that... I promise!

If you go on to read it, please please come back here and let me know what you think. Maybe you'll agree with me, or maybe you won't at all! Anywho, enjoy and let me know!

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Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

“Young man," he said, "understand this: there are two Londons. There's London Above―that's where you lived―and then there's London Below―the Underside―inhabited by the people who fell through the cracks in the world. Now you're one of them. Good night.” Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere

“Somehow, this was one oddity too many. He could accept "Mind the Gap" and the Earl's Court, and even the strange library. But damn it, like all Londoners, he knew his Tube map, and this was going too far. "There isn't a British Museum Station," said Richard, firmly.” Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere


Richard Mayhew is an ordinary Scot living and working in London. He is so ordinary in fact, that he's boring. He works, he goes home, he goes out with his tempestuous fiancée and then starts that all again, day in, day out. He is also a very simple man. He is not particularly assertive, brave, brash or short-tempered. 

One night, walking with his fiancée to have dinner with her boss, he happens to catch out of the corner of his eye an injured girl. Richard cannot leave the bleeding girl and picks her up and takes her home although his fiancée is outraged. 

Nursing the girl back to health he suddenly realises that things are no longer as they were. Two strange looking men march in to his apartment looking for a girl named 'Door', suddenly his friends and family have no idea who he is... and to top it all off his landlord walks in to his flat with new tenants. 

Unable to live in the real London he is pulled kicking and screaming in to 'London Below' the fantastical London that thrives through the underground. Richard is pulled in to a quest, and whilst trying to go back to his old life, finds himself instead.

The Audiobook
This audiobook is narrated by Neil Gaiman himself. I'll be honest, when I downloaded the book from Audible I was cynical. I thought that this was going to be an author with a big ego convinced that he'd do the voices better than anybody else. I kinda feel embarrassed. I obviously had not done enough research as I had no idea that Gaiman has narrated lots and lots of books. I'd also like to add that he was pretty spectacular! He was well paced, the differentiation between the voices were awesome and even his Scottish accent was excellent!

The Story
This is my first Gaiman novel, and I imagine it'll probably be my last. That sounds like such a negative way to start, but I don't mean it in a negative way in the least.


The novel falls under the 'Urban-Fantasy' genre. Gaiman understands fantasy. He does not feel obliged to go the high-fantasy route, what with giants and fairies, instead he turns something as mundane as the London underground in to something animated and literal. 

It seems silly to say 'literal' when talking about fantasy - but here, let me explain. Each underground station has a different name. He takes those names and forged characters out of them i.e. Earls Court in to the 'Earl's Court', and has a subway train home to the Earl and his court. There's a district in London called 'The Angel, Islington' and lo and behold one of Gaiman's main characters is 'Angel Islington'. I really enjoyed this play on words, I found it witty and comical, and a homage to London.

It's worth noting that you can
also read this as a Graphic Novel!

Although the book is quite witty the protagonist is soooooo annoying, and soooo boring. He's the most unlikeable character in history. He was unsympathetic and just generally wimpy and whiny. In fact, he reminded me a lot of Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and not in a good way considering that I didn't particularly enjoy that book.

The storyline is pretty slow as well. I had to drag myself through it kicking and screaming, and luckily, because it was in audiobook form I could do that, if it had been paper and ink though, I don't think I would have been able to finish it. It finally picked up speed in the last two hours of the audiobook and that is when I found myself finally enjoying the writing and the storyline.

Although both Gaiman or his books will never be favourites of mine, I am pretty certain that for some, his books are on par with Terry Pratchett's fantasy works. If you're a fan of Alice in Wonderland and want a new spin on it, this may just be the book for you! Also, if you liked The Hitchhiker's books I think you'll love this! It exhibits the same wit, comedy and joy. It's worth a try! You may discover a new found love!


Have you read this book? What did you think? Have I missed something? Let me know what you thought/think right here or over on Twitter @OrisiB



P.s. I do plan on watching the dramatisation... OH, OH, OH and if you're a James McAvoy fan I do believe they've put together an all-star cast to narrate the book on BBC 4, so check it out!

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Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell [Book Review]

“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” 
― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

“Spent the fortnight gone in the music room reworking my year's fragments into a 'sextet for overlapping soloists': piano, clarinet, 'cello, flute, oboe, and violin, each in its own language of key, scale, and color. In the first set, each solo is interrupted by its successor; in the second, each interruption is recontinued, in order. Revolutionary or gimmicky? Shan't know until it's finished, and by then it'll be too late.” 
― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

If you're looking for a complex read... read this. 

This novel is split up in to six narratives about novella length. The novellas are then neatly sat within the next narrative. It's kind of like you took six books, you take the first book and slot a second book in to the first, you then take a third book and slot it in to the centre of the second, you then take a fourth etc etc (remember when you used to do that when you were supposed to be reading something and you hid a comic book inside and read that instead? Yeah, it's just like that) and so because that is the make-up of the narrative each story is interrupted by the next. 

Yes. Even my description is complex!

So, the first half of the first novella takes place in the 18th Century. We are introduced to a hypochondriac lawyer, Adam Ewing, who is befriended by a doctor who collects and sells teeth. 

The second novella sees us introduced to a young aspiring composer named Frobisher. Frobisher sends a series of letters to his lover in Cambridge, both mentioning the diary he is reading, but also how he is working for one of the greatest living composers in Europe. 

In the future, Luisa Ray comes across those letters and hunts down a rare piece of music by Frobisher and they inspire her to make sacrifices to become an amazing journalist. We are interrupted by Timothy Cavendish and eccentric publisher, and realise that Luisa Ray's narrative is a book he's been sent for perusal. 

Cavendish is victim to a series of very, very unfortunate events and his life is being watched as a movie by a clone, in the distant future called Sonmi-451 who is the unknowing leader of a revolution. 

The next narrative is from a post-apocalyptic future, Zachary a goat-herder and his tribe worship Sonmi as a goddess. A woman from the Prescients has come to study the way his tribe live. 

What do all these characters have in common? The key character in all of the narratives have a shooting-star shaped birthmark somewhere on their body.

The Audiobook
I bought this book from Audible (as usual) and I was very happy to see that they had recruited six different narrators for this awesome job. I think it was necessary so that the book felt as broken up as it should have. Sonmi-451's voice was simply brilliant. She had that robotic quality that we would imagine! Also, Timothy Cavendish's narrator sounded... I kid you not... just like Jim Broadbent (who played Cavendish in the movie); It was genius. The production was excellent! 

The Story
Although the book is complex, it is so very elegant. The book won't be for everybody, I admit, but it is so beautifully crafted I really did feel in awe. Mitchell knew exactly what he wanted to achieve with this book. He did not become lost. Although all the stories are connected and lay over and interrupt each other, he is master of all the characters and does not allow them to run away with him. 

Timothy Cavendish's story is a hilarious one, which I enjoyed so very much. Nearly all the novels are super heavy and so Mitchell offered comic relief to allow the reader to giggle. It was one of my favourites, but my real favourite was Sonmi-451's narrative. It was beautiful. Slightly disconnected but also feeling. 

The most amazing part, I found, about the whole book was how Mitchell managed to forge the English language to suit each time. Of course, the 18th Century Ewing would write in a way that we would expect from the 18th Century. Timothy Cavendish is in present day London and so his language reflects this. Luisa Ray's story takes place in the 70s and so the colloquialism is reflective. But then Mitchell does something extraordinary, he fashions whole new dialects for the narrators in the future. It is incredible. Sonmi-451's language is brilliant. Instead of using words such as 'TV/Television' she calls them 'Sony's'... because it is a super commercialised world she lives in, things are known by their brand names rather than their actual names (kinda like in the UK where a vacuum cleaner is called a 'Hoover'). When we fast forward even further in the future to Zachary's narrative, it takes a little time to get used to the dialect, well, it's just amazing. I'm sure you can tell that I was just so, so impressed.

The only issue I have with this book is that it was difficult to stay interested! For instance, I loathed Adam Ewing, I found his narrative painfully boring! But because it is pretty impossible to even skip a few minutes/pages of this book for fear of missing something crucial I had to painfully listen through it. 

I tried not to extract meaning from the books as much as others have. There is much discussion of the idea that the stories are just repetitions of each other from different time periods including the same soul, but y'know what... I didn't get that. I felt that they were connected because their lives effected both the future and the past, but I left it at that. When I re-read it I will try and decipher it all!

Is the book a good one? Well, it's an amazingly crafted book. The language is amazing, the writing sensitive and in command. The characters are varied and brilliant. But as a story does it work well? I'm not sure... it would all depend on the person I believe. I've seen this book get rated 5/5 but also receive a mere 1/5. This book has the potential to frustrate some, whilst mesmerising others.

If you have a short attention span, or no real love for language or literary craftsmanship I would avoid the book. It'll make you angry! If though, you can be patient, enjoy beautiful writing, and can admire the time, love and dedication an author has put in to his work then I promise this book will definitely enlighten and awe you. 

The movie was released in 2012. I will be offering up a review of it too, BUT I must watch it again before I can! 

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The Boy Who Could See Demons - Carolyn Jess-Cooke [Book Review]

"As I pulled through the busy streets of Belfast in a taxi, I heard her voice. I love you, Mummy. I love you. And then I saw her, clear in my mind. Her chocolate-brown eyes curved with laughter, her thick black hair swept across one shoulder. She was turning to me, the white sheen of a curtain brushing against her face. The hole is gone, she said smiling.
She was only twelve years old." Carolyn Jess-Cooke, The Boy Who Could See Demons: A Novel


I could not put this down. 
I had been reading The Hundred Year Old Man who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared and I just couldn't finish it, and on the day I decided to call it quits approval came through on Netgalley for this little book. 

It is a novel told from two view points. We have diary extracts from the fantastic Alex, a young boy claiming to see a 9000 year-old Demon called Ruen (and his pals), and the thoughts and opinions of his child-psychiatrist Anya. 

Alex is a bodacious and charming child. He lives with his clinically-depressed mother (Cindy) who self-harms and regularly attempts suicide. Because of his experiences he is alienated by his peers, and has no friends of his own age. His only friend is a 9000 year old demon who comes in four different shapes. An old man, a child, horn face and a monster. Ruen has told Alex that the demons that lurk in his house are there studying him, because Alex is not affected by them like other humans. Alex and Cindy live in a run-down house, and Alex wears the clothes of an old man who lived in the house previously - things like old too-big suit jackets and bow-ties. 

Anya, the psychiatrist is an assertive and successful doctor. She is serious about her work and his highly professional. Anya though is still mourning over the loss of her daughter who commit suicide at the age of twelve, four years before. A social worker invites Anya in to Alex and Cindy's case, and Anya finds it hard not to take the case to heart... especially as she suspects that her own daughter and Alex are suffering from the same medical condition. 

I'll be honest... I judged this
book by its cover

The story is fast paced, addictive and will completely sweep you away. Some pieces of prose are just so beautifully executed that they can catch you breath. Carolyn Jess-Cooke sets this story with a backdrop of Belfast. The Troubles is a recurring theme throughout the novel, and it is sensitively explored. I believe I could not give Cooke enough credit for how she explored The Troubles within this novel. Y'see there was nothing judgemental about it, not even a political stand-point. Instead we see The Troubles both through Alex's eyes and Anya's. At the same time it is not the main theme. It is not bigger than the story. It is in the background and I imagine it would have felt that way living in Ireland at the time. That something wasn't quite right under the surface though everything seemed to be going on as normal on the surface. It also explores the idea that even when The Troubles were over, children were still traumatised by it because their parents not only lived through it but were also changed by it.

Ruen plays a very uncomfortable part in the novel. He is Alex's only friend but he is also eerie and Alex is both afraid of him and in need of him. Ruen promises Alex things constantly and takes credit for good things that happen to Alex. This leads to Alex slowly becoming tempted in to things by Ruen but it is a slow decline, and his giving-in to the demon's suggestions are always done out of self-sacrifice and love for others.

The story, as a journey is a magnificent one. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Unfortunately the ending was just absurd. Whilst I was sure I would five-star this book, unfortunately the ending flopped and made me a little frustrated. 

SPOILERS below!

So we're taken through this absolutely AMAZING whirlwind psychological adventure. We have this charming boy called Alex who we're not sure if he's mentally ill or if he's truly speaking to a demon. On the other hand we have this dedicated and pretty awesome psychiatrist who is desperately wanting to help Alex and Cindy. We're following, we're in the grips of it. Ruen is freaking us out a bit by now, he's actually telling Alex that he's gotta murder Anya and how he has to do it. We're completely entranced. We watch as Anya slowly starts dying and then suddenly she wakes up in the next chapter. We're then told... yes... it's revealed to us that actually Alex, Ruen and Cindy don't even exist and some how Anya is a schizophrenic doctor who actually hallucinated the whole lot of them and well... it all didn't happen!

Say what?

Yes. Cooke pulled an Alice in Wonderland on us. I was outraged if I'm honest and so disappointed. Y'see, it came out of the blue. I don't feel that there were enough hints through the book to make me go 'awww... yeaaah I get it' at the end. Instead I just felt that I had just finished reading a story where the novelist became so entangled that they brushed it all away with '...and then I woke up'. I was gutted to say the least.
I was waiting for a big reveal... and it was big alright, it was just the wrong type of reveal. I had thought I was reading a book about the paranormal, and although I LOVE the idea of exploring mental-health and schizophrenia, I still wanted an aspect of the paranormal at the end of the book.

I couldn't give it five out of five I'm afraid, though the journey itself was worth it, the end was such a let-down that it ended up knocking the rating.

Anywho, let me know what you thought! Am I being melodramatic? Were you disappointed too? You can comment below or message me on Twitter @OrisiB

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The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

“My greatest enemies are Women and the Sea. These things I hate. Women because they are weak and stupid and live in the shadow of men and are nothing compared to them, and the Sea because it has always frustrated me, destroying what I have built, washing away what I have left, wiping clean the marks I have made.” Iain Banks, The Wasp Factory

This book is just so gross. By gross, I mean recurring graphic descriptions of animal torture and deaths of children. Avoid this book if you have a weak disposition, do not have a thing for gore or if you love fluffy bunnies, because I kid you not, some of the stuff in this book is just awful.

Frank, who's sixteen, lives with his father, some old brilliant ex-university professor. His brother Eric is in a psychiatric hospital and we begin the book hearing of Eric's escape. The story is written in first person and to be honest not much really happens. We know that Frank's's father has an office that he always keeps locked. Also, Frank receives crazed phone calls from Eric every day or two, frequently becoming hysterical and overly sensitive. All the while there are a good too many scenes of animals being killed and tortured, we have to listen to endless, monotonous internal dialogue by the incredibly boring Frank, which all culminates to what you think will be an epic struggle and battle but instead a huge freaky secret is exposed.


The Audiobook
The book is narrated by Peter Kenny. He is a master of many voices and to be honest listening to him reading in Eric's voice is eerie - he encapsulates the fury, hysteria and lunacy in Eric's voice, I'm not exaggerating, you can practically hear the spit shooting from his mouth as he rages! It's scary! Unfortunately though, the voice he chose for Frank was just so boring, coupled with Frank being quite boring it was like pulling teeth listening sometimes. 


The Story
I'm sure you can tell just from my rating that I wasn't a big fan of this story. There were parts in the tale that were interesting. For instance, Frank is evidently crazy himself. He divulges the three murders he planned and perpetrated as a child with a quiet detachment, and consistently shares with the reader his obsessive compulsive behaviours and his inability to control his habits.

Frank's OCDish behaviour manifests in his creating a sort of religion. Everything he does has, in his eyes, greater meaning. The animals he tortures and kills are always done in a ritual manner, he believes himself to be able to see in to the future with these killings. We hear references of his alter, the animals being called sacrifices, and his premonitions... there is even one point where he thinks that he can reach his brother telepathically and is pretty sure he did. 

I found the story repetitive and so frustrating. It was just a constant reminder of how nuts Frank is and how much he loves torturing things. Frank does not grow. He is stagnant, and bizarre, and I'm sure Banks thought that it would all be worth it in the end with the twist, but it wasn't. I walked away flabbergasted and annoyed.

The story's twist, which I shall not give away can easily pass even the most focussed reader, but the clues are there, all along, so let me know if you catch them. I unfortunately already knew the twist at the end and I am sure that it removed some of the intrigue from the book that others would experience. All in all though, I'm not a fan of excessive gore, or animal torture or child murders, so it was a difficult read for me, and the only reason I finished reading it was because I'd started. I also like to read writers that are clever about being pretentious... I don't like it shoved in my face.

It's a coming-of-age type of story set on a tiny Island in Scotland. It has pacing that is very, very typical of the Gothic. No goblins, ghosts or ghouls though I'm afraid! You may like it, I won't be unreasonable, I mean on GoodReads The Wasp Factory has done very well indeed and so it really just depends on your tastes. For me - no, I didn't enjoy it at all, it was like pulling teeth.

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Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

'Anyway, as long as there is oil in the Middle East we will never have peace' Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis 



If I hadn't had work the next day I would have easily been able to finish both books in one sitting. Unfortunately I actually had to pause, and spent work-days, outings with friends and family thinking about these books. 

The books are written by the fabulous Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian lady who happened to witness both the ousting of the Shah, and the revolution that lead to Iran becoming an Islamic Republic. To save her from the continued horrors her parents send her to Austria to study. Satrapi details her experiences as a child, as a teen in Austria, what happened when she decided to move back to Iran and eventually her acceptance and celebration of her identity and emancipation from guilt.

It is awesome.
By awesome I mean it is great.
Okay. I'm a fangirl now.

Just in case you don't know, Persepolis is a graphic novel. The art work is black and white in a straight laced comic strip form... y'know, with windows and such. The pictures are stark, but then so is the topic. 

She does a wonderful job at highlighting how cultural and national identity can become difficult issues for immigrants. Even those of us who have first generation immigrant parents pretty much spend our early lives trying to unite the many sides of our personalities, whilst also trying to withstand the pressure. I found that part of her narrative absolutely fantastic and poignant, it was so relevant to my own upbringing. The pressure she feels from her national and cultural identity is beautifully expressed, as it is not only the guilt of escaping a war that oppresses her but also the pressure of living in a country of luxury; she's been given a great opportunity... she needs to make something of herself.

I got hold of this version.
Both books in one!

Satrapi as a child is also brilliant and her experiences can, at times, be chilling. Her rebellious nature as a child is one that could not possibly survive when the new regime comes in. Satrapi uses foreshadowing throughout the novels which means that she is perfectly in control of the tension, fear and anxiety she's trying to make us feel. She throws them on the reader in much the same way a good novelist will. 

I borrowed this book from a cafe a few kilometres away. I was very impressed that this was openly available in the United Arab Emirates, but then again, the regime in Iran is very different to the politics in the UAE.

I have yet to watch the movie. It is on my to-watch list though and I will post a movie review very soon.

Why this comic is so excellent is that it is not preachy in its tone. I avoided it for a long time because I thought it was going to just end up being another 'Muslim-Bashing' piece of literature, but it isn't that. It isn't a criticism of religion, it is a criticism of fanatics of all sorts (racists, royalists, anarchists, communists, 'religionists' etc etc) masquerading behinds constructs that allows them to control others. It didn't seem didactic... just honest. 

So, what did I give it. I gave it 5 stars. Marjane Satrapi has a refreshing voice that I've not had the pleasure of reading before. It is a highly personal memoir with beautiful and stark art work. I recommend it. Greatly.

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How to be a Woman - Caitlin Moran

“I’m going to lie this one right on the line, right here, right now: I’m pro big pants. Strident feminism NEEDS big pants. Really big. I’m currently wearing a pair that could have been used as a fire blanket to put out the Great Fire of London at any point during the first 48 hours or so. They extend from the top of my thigh to my belly button, and effectively double up as a second property that I can escape to at weekends. If I were going to run for parliament, it would be solely on a platform of ‘Get Women In Massive Grundie’s’.” Caitlin Moran, How to Be a Woman

I read English at university. Feminist essays, theory, history and literature were mandatory and I gorged on them until I'd have mental heartburn. Some were easy reads, others were so dense in academia I would spend so much time reading and re-reading paragraphs that I would eventually cast aside whole essays and theory. The literature side was a little easier, but I had never really been of the opinion that all men are out to penetrate, rape, violate, oppress and destroy women-kind and so although I respected the arguments and would cite them regularly, I kept finding that I needed something a little level headed; a writer who was angry at the same things as me. A feminist of the common-folk... 

Cue Caitlin Moran.

How to be a Woman is an interesting memoir. It is a selection of memories, collated as a sort of scrap-book of her womanhood. Okay, that sounds a little complicated, it's like, scenes from her life that lead to her being a woman, does that sound a little easier? She discusses this in both a biological and psychological sense. 

She is aware that feminism has stagnated, and that it needs to be wrestled back from the academics, the university debates and PHD theses. She is also calling for women, all types of women, from all sorts of backgrounds, educations, classes, races, cultures, religions and nationalities to actually start TALKING about feminism and the role of women in our society. It shouldn't be left to just the academics, it should include all women, and men can join in too! This isn't feminism as it is shown to be by the media... man-hating and all that jazz, it is how it should be, a movement that allows a platform for all types of women to be represented.


Caitlin Moran has been writing for the Times since she was in her teens. Her articles are known for their sarcastic and comedic tones. What makes Moran so good is that she talks about things that we have all thought about or commented on, things we have complained about or laughed at, and discusses it openly, without shame or modesty and says things in ways we probably wouldn't have the guts to. 

How to be a Woman though is not for everybody. I readily admit that. I enjoyed it so much because I found her writing witty... I may not have agreed with everything that she said but I still enjoyed the insight into her experiences. There are stories in this book that are just so funny. I mean, I actually laughed out loud because they were so brilliant (her wedding, for example, the episode of her and her sister dumping her then, musician boyfriend) and there are stories which are uncomfortable (her abortion and childbirth experiences, eating disorders, and sexism in the workplace). She tells her stories openly, and then sprinkles a little feminist theory over it... by sprinkle I do mean like a few grains here and there - I promise, you won't even know it's happening. 

Some of her theories, assumptions and conclusions I sometimes find a little floppy but I can overlook it because she writes with such pizazz, because writing is really what she does best. There are a few paragraphs in this book that I'm just awed by. She is a word smith extraordinaire and if Moran is to be celebrated for anything it should be that!

In effect, Moran has managed to write a feminist manifesto... and it kinda feels like she didn't really mean to! I enjoyed it greatly, and by greatly, I mean... GREATLY. I hope you enjoy it too. There is crass and vulgar language throughout and some detailed scenes that may make you laugh, cry or queasy, but I'll tell you something, the fact that it is coming from a woman kind of makes it refreshing. I promise, although the book is distinctly British, it is not alienating in the least. Also, men may like this too (hint, hint)... I'm just saying!

Let me know what you thought if you've read it, or what you think once you do.  
I imagine I'll be re-reading this in the near future.

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The Shining - Stephen King

“...he looked to her like an absurd twentieth-century Hamlet, an indecisive figure so mesmerized by onrushing tragedy that he was helpless to divert its course or alter it in any way.” Stephen King, The Shining

Holy moly. I think I almost had a bookish heart-attack reading this book. 'Fo realz yo' I actually had to turn it off a few times and start listening to something completely different so I could ACTUALLY sleep (y'know, because some people actually have to go to work!).
I'm not sure whether The Shining just had a pulse and expressed my own deep rooted and illogical fears, or whether it was the coming together of the movie with the book that was freaking me out. Either way, I really was biting my nails for a week. It took me so long to listen to this, and the real reason, the honest reason was some nights I was just feeling a little too vulnerable (haha, I sound like a lunatic) and needed something light hearted. 

It was absolutely impossible not to think of this face every time
Jack Torrence was mentioned

So the book goes like this. The Torrance family, on the verge of being down and out, take up temporary residence in the Overlook Hotel. Jack, the patriarch, is the Overlook's newest caretaker. He is in charge of looking after the building and its grounds during the winter months when snow pretty much cuts it off from the world. Danny Torrance, a child with psychic abilities is not feeling too thrilled, and in fact is being haunted by terrifying dreams about the Overlook, and what may be waiting for them. Jack loves the Overlook, desperately, but the Overlook is a personality in itself, and it is greedy and wants Danny, and it will do anything to get him.

The Audiobook
Campbell Scott is the narrator for this book, and what a narrator he is! In fact, as a narrator I'd easily give him 5*, he is EERIE, fantastic, believable and I kid you not sometimes he was able give me goosebumps. In fact, it was weird, there were even times when I would swear he sounded a little like Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance. The presentation is excellent. I downloaded it from Audible and of course, as usual it was delivered promptly to my phone and I  enjoyed it. 

The Story
So, this story is really scary! Not because it is a bare all horror story but because it is almost Hitchcockian in its style, in that less is more, and it had me at my wit's end! Honestly, the parts I found so horrifying really were the parts that just did not reveal too much. Stephen King is just so good at doing it. [The part that had me turn off the audiobook because I was so freaked out was the moment Jack closes the door to 217 and King describes the hurried footsteps of somebody coming after him and then rattling the doorknob... oh my goodness, I almost died.]

The story unfolds at a leisurely pace. King does not rush his narrative at all and gives the reader plenty of time to be slowly terrified. I think the best part of the novel is that growing sensation of dread, the same way that Danny is teased by his dreams we, the readers, are constantly teased by King. When you think something awful is going to happen, sometimes you're right and want to cry a little, sometimes you're wrong and you curse King for freaking you out.

What I found interesting about the novel, in comparison to the movie is Wendy. Wendy, played by the wonderful Shelley Duvall is a semi-weak, floundering and unassuming character, whilst King's Wendy has a lot more oomph to her, and speaks her mind... a lot! Although I also greatly enjoyed Duvall's (Kubrick's) version of Wendy, I was surprised by King's version... and much preferred her. There are also lots of different themes and scenes that are added and taken away by Kubrick in the movie, and I know die-hard King fans spit on the movie but y'know what? I think it's an awesome re-imagining of the book. The movie and the book itself are so embedded in our culture now that we should all pay homage to its epicness. Forgive me Stephen King for only just getting around to reading it.

So if I thought the book was so epic why, oh why did I only give it 4 stars? Well, it's actually because when I completed the book (the movie ending is completely different to the book ending) I didn't feel wholly satisfied. I wanted something else to happen. It's not that I like tidy little endings all the time, I don't expect that, but this novel seemed to need it. Anywho, I loved it - and I hope you will too. Please don't message me with complaints about nightmares though... you take full responsibility for any reading you do... (even if I recommended the books, haha!)

Mini-Soapbox Moment
People kind of roll their eyes when you talk about Stephen King - it's as if you consider Mills & Boon novels to be high-literature. I think what is forgotten about Stephen King is that he is an artist, just a study of his language alone would blow your mind. If we forget the excellence of King's command of our humble language, then he can easily become a joke, and I think that's so sad, he's completely taken for granted because the majority of people (I've met anyway) barely consider the language when they read and focus on the story alone (which of course is important! But language is too!!). Rant over. So my point is, is that give Stephen King a chance and just look at the language and I promise you, I double promise and Brownie promise that you'll see King in a different light! 

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Speed Review - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

In a Nutshell:
In a continuation of the previous instalment Harry Potter and his friends set off on a quest to locate and destroy Lord Voldemorte's Horcruxes. At the same time they are all intrigued by the Deathly Hallows, a super-brilliant wand, a resurrection stone and a fabulous invisibility cloak. At the same time as trying to maybe find those three things they also need to try not to be caught by Voldemorte's posse... as they've taken over the ministry and Harry is first on Lord Voldemorte's hit list. What ensues is a lot of popping in and around dramatic landscapes, arguments, a humungous battle as Harry Potter and friends must defend Hogwarts from the oncoming war.

The Audiobook:
Oh Jim Dale... you served me well. You were really brilliant, and if I ever meet you I will applaud right in front of you... on my own, like a cheesy 80s movie. He was awesome. Very good. As good as man with a deep voice can be. I absolutely loved his narration pretty much all the way through. I made a few comments regarding his lady voices - but well, that can't be helped can it?

The Story:
Wow, what an epic piece of fiction. It was great. I enjoyed it immensely. 
The writing was fabulous although at times it did feel a little drawn out, but I totally forgave Rowling just because it was so awesome.
I am glad it ended as it did. It couldn't have ended any other way (I'm not talking about the epilogue by the way). The story was a true coming of age story with the final battle being that fateful moment where they all had to become adults. 
I was quite surprised about how the final battle compared with the movie... and even the death of Lord Voldemorte. It seemed like a total anti-climax compared to the epic movie fight scenes. 
The thing I found hardest and found it a little too much... was the fact that pretty much everybody kinda died. I know there are thoughts a plenty as to why Rowling did this, but I just thought it was just too much. It's like nearly everybody who came from his father's generation i.e. his father's friends all just died. Maybe I'm just a big wimp... but it was overwhelming.

My final thoughts on Harry Potter will be coming up soon! Don't hold your breath though, as it won't be coming up in three minutes, you may have to wait a little longer than that!

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Company of Liars - Karen Maitland

“You've heard tales of beauty and the beast. How a fair maid falls in love with a monster and sees the beauty of his soul beneath the hideous visage. But you've never heard the tale of the handsome man falling for the monstrous woman and finding joy in her love, because it doesn't happen, not even in a story-teller's tale.” Karen Maitland, Company of Liars

This book had been on my to-read pile for... I believe, around twelve months. I started it, stopped it, started it again, stopped again. But this time round, I knew that I would have to start it, and to finish it. It couldn't just sit around on my pile forever. 

Company of Liars is a straight up plague-time, mystery/thriller that is so epically Chaucerian I could barely contain myself. It's very Canterbury Tales(ish) in that it features a party of travellers who have been brought together by fate, each member has a devastating secret and each one is willing to lie to keep their secrets hidden (apart from one). The group is made up of an accused paedophile, a healer, a magician, two court players, a freaky child and a newly wed Scandinavian looking couple, and the leader and narrator of the company, Camelot, who sells relics. Together they attempt to outrun the pestilence (the black plague) that is ravishing Europe, and at the same time keep their secrets close to the chest.

The Audiobook
David Thorpe is the narrator for this book and he actually does a fantastic job; I was really impressed. His regional accents are wonderful as are his international accents. They're caricature accents, but they're what is needed to distinguish nicely between all the characters. The book is a long one, but he doesn't lose his way in his narration and his pace is good. The production is exceptional if course, and even listening through my phone's speaker the quality of the recording is very good indeed. 

The Story
I found the book a little difficult to get in to at first, and felt a little like I just had to persevere for the first few chapters. After the first couple of chapters though I was totally immersed and would find it so very hard not to put it on during my break times at work. Karen Maitland is an expert prose writer and I was greatly impressed the way in which she commanded both the story and its characters. 

Maitland has a scarily Stephen King-like understanding of the psychology of her characters, and obviously researched the 14th Century to bits. Superstitions, paranoia and outright nastiness is a recurring theme as the pestilence spreads and the group travel up through England. This travelling gives a brilliant insight in to the many different villages, their views, customs and their own particular brand of superstition and religious practices. Maitland does an excellent job of this. It was a SERIOUS change from the majority of historical novels I come across that always have a bunch of aristocrats, rich people or monarchs at the helm. It was a story about the outcasts of 14 century England and not only how they made money, travelled and lived but also how they tried to survive during the spread of the Black Death.

What I found exceptional in her writing was the way she explored the Black Death. It was as much a part of the story as the characters were, without it being cliched or boring. The book read almost like an apocalyptic tale;the group banded together by necessity, driven on by hope, only to be repetitively let down as more and more villages fall to the plague. 

There is a tiny-lickle bit of magic scattered throughout the novel but it is not such a major feature in the book to call it a straight fantasy, and as the magic is never really one-hundred percent confirmed (I'm not sure whether the narrator could be wholly trusted, as they are part of the company of liars after all) I guess I can say that it has moments of the supernatural?

There were parts of the book that were chilling. Maitland's ability to creep me out was quite shocking. I'm not one to check around corners after a book, or to turn on the lights, or get chills, but I did, and she did this without me even realising until I was freaked out! 

So you may be wondering why I've not rated the book five stars, and I promise, the explanation will be following very shortly. 
The secrets that all the characters possess are secrets that, in the 14 century, would have you killed... and not in a nice way either, and so as a reader I greatly enjoyed trying to guess or unearth from the clues what their secret was. There was one twist, right at the end, one secret, that I just did not see coming. In fact, I spent most of the morning getting ready for work completely concentrated on what I had missed and if there had been any clues at all? The book finishes on a bit of a cliffhanger, and the conclusion all kind of seemed out of the blue for me. 

The only way I can truly explain how I felt about the ending is by using a gif. Yes, a visual representation is the only absolute way I can highlight just how I looked this morning when I reached the end...

So I totally loved the book, I was not impressed with the ending. I can appreciate that Maitland had done so brilliantly to get us to the edge of our seats but it just didn't deliver after that. Books can do that sometimes, but I definitely recommend the novel because truly, the ride is worth the read!

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The Heresy of Dr Dee - Phil Rickman

'At what point this night I became afraid, I'm not quite sure. To a scholar, fear arrives with a certain shame, akin to the same a soldier feels, holding himself back from the heat of the fray as his comrades are cut down before him.
  Not that I'd know. Unlike Dudley, I've never been a soldier, the kind of knowledge I hold having preserved me from bodily conflict. A bargain with the Crown which decrees I must stride out, wearing knowledge like armour, the questing mind thrust forward like to a sharpened blade.' Phil Rickman, The Heresy of Dr Dee

I totally suck. It wasn't until I finished this novel that I realised that it was part of a series, haha! But to be honest, whilst reading it, there were not moments that I felt I was lost because it was necessary that I read previous books to follow the plot. That was a pleasant surprise.

So, pedal to the metal. This is about the very intriguing historical character Dr John Dee. It's right around the time that the death/murder/assassination/accident/suicide of Robert Dudley's (Queen Bess' favourite) wife Amy transpires (check out Wikipedia if you don't know anything about tiny bit of history). Dr Dee is looking desperately for a scrying stone, because, he kinda told the queen that he had one. Although he is a natural philosopher, mathematician and other very smart things, he's suddenly taken a very firm interest in the occult and wants to study such things from a scientific view point. So, Roberty Dudley (who just cannot be seen in court because everybody thinks he killed his wife) and Dr Dee, decide to go on an adventure to Wales to see if they can get hold of one of those fanciful stones. They become entangled in a high-profile court case, Dr Dee meets a strange boy who can sniff out human bones from the ground, and all the while there's a very odd, very violent, potentially possessed criminal cursing everybody. This is a murder mystery played out in a maze, almost. It's all very... obscure. 

There was some beautiful pieces of prose in this book, and some parts were quite haunting. But to be honest I found myself drifting at times, and not really able to focus on it for long periods. It's not that it was boring. It's just that it sometimes got a little distracted... and there are SO many characters that you may meet once... and then not again till so far in that you kind of forget who they are.

I think that having background knowledge of the period and of Elizabethan life was imperative to enjoying this book, and bringing colour to the novel. Without knowledge of the time period, or even characters in the court during that time, I think the narrative would have been a little flat. It was my previous knowledge that filled out details that Rickman left out. 

Part of what I really enjoyed about this book was that the majority of it was set in Wales. This was excellent as Wales is really quite easily forgotten when looking at British history, and so to have a book based in the Elizabethan period and not only acknowledging that Wales exists... but sets it during that time is awesome. I thought that was so refreshing and had a feeling of novelty. 

Phil Rickman did a great job of characterising the main personalities, and I did enjoy them greatly. I very much loved the enigmatic Robert Dudley, and even took a shine to Dr Dee himself (although he can be a little... whiny). Unfortunately it was the author's tendency to go off topic regularly that just put me off and at times made me lose my way. 
Overall - yes, it's a good read if you enjoy historical fiction and if you've previously read any other Dr Dee books. If you're a fan of Elizabethan Britain then I'd recommend it too. It's a mystery, semi-supernatural, historical kind-of novel, but worth reading. 

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