mercredi 16 avril 2008
So here we are welcoming baby George
A huge Hello and Welcome to the latest addition of the family, my little cousin George Isaac Marshall ! Congrats to Joe, Lisa and Alfie!
mardi 8 avril 2008
So here we are back from the dead
Welcome back to me! Wow, has it really been that long? Incredible... yet so much has gone on, from the French local elections to the Sarkozy visit to Queenie, from eating at Senderens to a trip to Oxford, from stopping work to starting work to deciding on a thesis to deciding to write a novel! Oh well.
To start the old blog up again, here are some of the recent book reviews I have been writing on facebook... A tres bientot!
Ghost by Robert Harris
In a nutshell : An anonymous narrator is the ghostwriter of the former British Prime Minister's memoirs. he gets the job after his predecessor was found dead, washed up on the beach at martha's vineyard. We follow the narrator from Matha's vineyard, where the PM's entourage is, and back to England and NY and Washington as the PM is accused of war crimes and doubt falls on the accidental nature of the previous ghostwriter's death...
The blurb : This novel deals with the job of a ghostwriter and the political plot surrounding the British PMs involvement with war crimes (totrture with the aid of the CIA). The 'fictional' PM is a damning replica of Blair, complete with 'charm', 'lack of ideology' and 'the war on terror'. The narrator introduces us slowly to the circumstances in which the memoirs are being written and the suspicious circumstances of the death of the first ghostwriter. The narrator then turns detective as he follows his predessor's footsteps and discovers dark secrets about the man he is suposed to be writing about.
IMHO I thought this was a terrific thriller, Harris's best since fatherland. The pace is slow, the characters are interesting and credible, especially the PM who is Blair. The plot is dark and builds up to a sinister denouement.
The Kite runner by Khaled Hosseini
In a nutshell : two small boys, separated by their positions in society and in the household, grow up together as best friends in 1970s Afghanistan. A single day of kite flying will turn both their worlds upside down : one is sacrificed in the name of friendship, the other is damned for his cowardice. Twenty plus years later it is time for redemption.
The blurb : this is written from the point of view of the richer, socially privileged, selfish child, Amir. We see his early life in his big house in Kabul, meet his formidable father, and learn about his brotherly relationship with his servant Hassan. One day of kite flying highlights the faults and qualities of both children, and will change both their lives. You cringe and grow up with Amir, emigrate to America and follow his growing guilt and need for redemption.
IMHO this is a very good, well written, evocative and honest book. The relationship between the children is wonderfully described, full of the brutal honesty (cruelty ?) that goes with kids relationships. Hassan is perhas a bit too perfect, but that only makes the events that follow more heartbreaking. Someone had a point : the author pulls every string imaginable to make your heart bleed, but it does work. If anything, I would say that the pace of the book is a bit fast towards the end, but I probably just wanted it to last longer.
The book thief by Markus Zusak
The blurb : nine year old Liesel moves in with adoptive parents in 1939 near Koln in germany. With Death as a narrator we are told the story of the "book thief" and the times she lives in.
In a nutshell : Death follows Liesel closely and we learn about her relationship with adoptive parents, Hitler Youth, the bombings, the persecution of the Jews (though always on her scale, ie in her town). The book spans the duration of the war.
IMHO this is a book which can't make up its mind whether it was written for teens or adults. I thought it was pretty bad. Death is a rather etherial, soppy character with a taste for the pathetic. Liesel is rather boring, passionate about books and loyal to her friends. The "events" (the hiding of a jew, the bombings, the ambience of the hitler jugend) do not provoke much emotion, except for the rather obvious "tear jerking scenes". Doesn't feel like a lot of research went in to understand the times and way too sugary for me.
The God delusion by Richard Dawkins
The blurb : Religion in many forms exists, but why ? Dawkins puts forwards philosophical, physical, biological, moral and social arguments to argue that God is probably a load of tosh.
In a nutshell, this is less of a "passionate" argument that God doesn't exist than a series of detailed and well researched hypothesis that demonstrate that God/Religion is at best unlikely, at worst dangerous. Dawkins is a scientist and bases his arguments on evidence. He also does not categorically say "God is not true" (where's the evidence ?), he simply shows that their are plenty of theories, and relevant evidence to back them, that show a plausible alternative to God and what religion has been telling us.
IMHO this is a great book for people who can't quite make up their mind and who are interested in the many arguments that can make or break God. There is a lot of material here : we define scales of theism to atheism, see the different ways of bringing together (or not) science and religion, theologist's philosophies, physicist's theories, some of the scenes of the Bible explained, the evolutionary argument for morals and a lot more. I thought it was brilliant, lots of food for thought.
The interpretation of murder by Jeb Rubenfeld
In a nutshell : 1909, Freud is set to give a series of lectures on his first trip to NY. While there a young girl is murdered, the first of a series of similar crimes. Freud and the narrator, a young psychoanalyst, investigate.
The blurb : Murder mystery is set in a changing New York where the biggest buildings in the world are growing and a new hyper rich class of society is thriving. Murder/torture of a young girl takes place, then another. At first this is a straightforwardish murder mystery but around halway it turns into an analysis of the nature of the relationships of those involved, victims, shrinks, parents, friends and esp Freud and Jung.
IMHO this is good for a long journey where you want something long and a bit plodding. Starts off in an exciting way with great descriptions of 1909 NY but then the plot sways about in too many directions with too much psychobull for me.
To start the old blog up again, here are some of the recent book reviews I have been writing on facebook... A tres bientot!
Ghost by Robert Harris
In a nutshell : An anonymous narrator is the ghostwriter of the former British Prime Minister's memoirs. he gets the job after his predecessor was found dead, washed up on the beach at martha's vineyard. We follow the narrator from Matha's vineyard, where the PM's entourage is, and back to England and NY and Washington as the PM is accused of war crimes and doubt falls on the accidental nature of the previous ghostwriter's death...
The blurb : This novel deals with the job of a ghostwriter and the political plot surrounding the British PMs involvement with war crimes (totrture with the aid of the CIA). The 'fictional' PM is a damning replica of Blair, complete with 'charm', 'lack of ideology' and 'the war on terror'. The narrator introduces us slowly to the circumstances in which the memoirs are being written and the suspicious circumstances of the death of the first ghostwriter. The narrator then turns detective as he follows his predessor's footsteps and discovers dark secrets about the man he is suposed to be writing about.
IMHO I thought this was a terrific thriller, Harris's best since fatherland. The pace is slow, the characters are interesting and credible, especially the PM who is Blair. The plot is dark and builds up to a sinister denouement.
The Kite runner by Khaled Hosseini
In a nutshell : two small boys, separated by their positions in society and in the household, grow up together as best friends in 1970s Afghanistan. A single day of kite flying will turn both their worlds upside down : one is sacrificed in the name of friendship, the other is damned for his cowardice. Twenty plus years later it is time for redemption.
The blurb : this is written from the point of view of the richer, socially privileged, selfish child, Amir. We see his early life in his big house in Kabul, meet his formidable father, and learn about his brotherly relationship with his servant Hassan. One day of kite flying highlights the faults and qualities of both children, and will change both their lives. You cringe and grow up with Amir, emigrate to America and follow his growing guilt and need for redemption.
IMHO this is a very good, well written, evocative and honest book. The relationship between the children is wonderfully described, full of the brutal honesty (cruelty ?) that goes with kids relationships. Hassan is perhas a bit too perfect, but that only makes the events that follow more heartbreaking. Someone had a point : the author pulls every string imaginable to make your heart bleed, but it does work. If anything, I would say that the pace of the book is a bit fast towards the end, but I probably just wanted it to last longer.
The book thief by Markus Zusak
The blurb : nine year old Liesel moves in with adoptive parents in 1939 near Koln in germany. With Death as a narrator we are told the story of the "book thief" and the times she lives in.
In a nutshell : Death follows Liesel closely and we learn about her relationship with adoptive parents, Hitler Youth, the bombings, the persecution of the Jews (though always on her scale, ie in her town). The book spans the duration of the war.
IMHO this is a book which can't make up its mind whether it was written for teens or adults. I thought it was pretty bad. Death is a rather etherial, soppy character with a taste for the pathetic. Liesel is rather boring, passionate about books and loyal to her friends. The "events" (the hiding of a jew, the bombings, the ambience of the hitler jugend) do not provoke much emotion, except for the rather obvious "tear jerking scenes". Doesn't feel like a lot of research went in to understand the times and way too sugary for me.
The God delusion by Richard Dawkins
The blurb : Religion in many forms exists, but why ? Dawkins puts forwards philosophical, physical, biological, moral and social arguments to argue that God is probably a load of tosh.
In a nutshell, this is less of a "passionate" argument that God doesn't exist than a series of detailed and well researched hypothesis that demonstrate that God/Religion is at best unlikely, at worst dangerous. Dawkins is a scientist and bases his arguments on evidence. He also does not categorically say "God is not true" (where's the evidence ?), he simply shows that their are plenty of theories, and relevant evidence to back them, that show a plausible alternative to God and what religion has been telling us.
IMHO this is a great book for people who can't quite make up their mind and who are interested in the many arguments that can make or break God. There is a lot of material here : we define scales of theism to atheism, see the different ways of bringing together (or not) science and religion, theologist's philosophies, physicist's theories, some of the scenes of the Bible explained, the evolutionary argument for morals and a lot more. I thought it was brilliant, lots of food for thought.
The interpretation of murder by Jeb Rubenfeld
In a nutshell : 1909, Freud is set to give a series of lectures on his first trip to NY. While there a young girl is murdered, the first of a series of similar crimes. Freud and the narrator, a young psychoanalyst, investigate.
The blurb : Murder mystery is set in a changing New York where the biggest buildings in the world are growing and a new hyper rich class of society is thriving. Murder/torture of a young girl takes place, then another. At first this is a straightforwardish murder mystery but around halway it turns into an analysis of the nature of the relationships of those involved, victims, shrinks, parents, friends and esp Freud and Jung.
IMHO this is good for a long journey where you want something long and a bit plodding. Starts off in an exciting way with great descriptions of 1909 NY but then the plot sways about in too many directions with too much psychobull for me.
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