What I'm reading, about to read
I finished Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively and really enjoyed it. Claudia is dying, looking back on her long and eventful life. She's prickly, not much of a mother. She's always been a woman who's done what she wanted. She thinks about history, people she's loved, people who were part of her life and have become part of her. Some relationships were difficult or unconventional but all part of life's rich tapestry.
Her memories of childhood, war years when she was a correspondent in Egypt, motherhood, her writing career - all are vivid and evocative. I loved this book.
Then I read The Girl with All The Gifts, M. R. Carey. I usually hate zombie stories but this one had so much more going for it. The relationships among the characters were what make it so good, and I'm still thinking about them, wondering what happened to them. It reminded me a bit of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. I had some problems with the ending that I won't detail. I feel a bit bad that the gruesome and cruel aspects of the story didn't bother me much but I had a hard time with the road trip part, where there's so much danger and suspense.
Now I'm reading The Patrick Melrose Novels, Edward St. Aubyn. I'm not one of those people who can't enjoy a book if the characters are unlikeable which is a good thing because nearly everyone is horrible. But very entertaining - why are they doing the things they do? what are they going to do next?
Her memories of childhood, war years when she was a correspondent in Egypt, motherhood, her writing career - all are vivid and evocative. I loved this book.
Then I read The Girl with All The Gifts, M. R. Carey. I usually hate zombie stories but this one had so much more going for it. The relationships among the characters were what make it so good, and I'm still thinking about them, wondering what happened to them. It reminded me a bit of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. I had some problems with the ending that I won't detail. I feel a bit bad that the gruesome and cruel aspects of the story didn't bother me much but I had a hard time with the road trip part, where there's so much danger and suspense.
Now I'm reading The Patrick Melrose Novels, Edward St. Aubyn. I'm not one of those people who can't enjoy a book if the characters are unlikeable which is a good thing because nearly everyone is horrible. But very entertaining - why are they doing the things they do? what are they going to do next?