(no subject)
Just in time for the first of October (it's been a bit of a day... though it finished with coming 6th in a quiz where our stated aim was the top half of the quiz and there were 22 teams!) ANYWAY reading this month has largely been Chinese... but also my introduction to the incredible Italo Calvino.
A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 2) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang) Halfway there... and I only want to strangle two characters in the central love triangle *g* Loving all the sideplots and mentions and I'm starting to see where the plot is going I think but mostly I am completely in love with the troupe of actresses in which the actress who played all the romantic girl parts decided she should be in love with the actress who played all the romantic boy parts and then... well spoilers I guess but it's tragic and lovely and the plot of several pieces of fanfiction I've read only normally not involving ladies.
A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 3) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang) What more in this volume? Well everything seems to be coming apart around the seams a little and I am more sure than ever that I picked the right one of the main three to love best but the fates of some of the peripheral characters have been very hard and I don't think they're going to get better. I've enjoyed all the drinking games though, perhaps I should be keeping a list.
A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 4) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang) Posted this and then realised I never said anything about the last part! It went exactly where I expected with the loss of fortune for the central family but I was almost surprised it didn't go as far as I thought. I still think two out of the three central characters/love triangle need shaking and I feel horrible for the third *cuddles her tight* I'm incredibly glad I read this and there are characters I wish I could go back and just read their storylines... and I might have nominated some very minor characters for Yuletide.
I feel like I should say more about this book/s but it might have to wait till I've had time to analyse them and my reactions to them.
An Awfully Big Adventure - Beryl Bainbridge Picked this up in a charity shop because I remember quite liking the film/TV version with Alan Rickman & Hugh Grant. I remembered the broad brushstrokes of the plot but not the detail and it's an interesting story.
If on a winter's night a traveller - Italo Calvino The reviews of this on GoodReads are brilliant because most of them attempt to match the style of the book which is... I mean it made my head hurt with the stories within stories within stories and also the fact that despite being thrown by it's 2nd person narrative clearly being about a man it was still terrifyingly accurate as to my state of thought and being and my general interest in reading at various points. If you haven't read it then the blurb on the back is probably the best introduction: You go into a bookshop and buy If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino. You like it. But alas there is a printer's error in your copy. You take it back to the shop and get a replacement. But the replacement seems to be a totally different story. You try to track down the original book you were reading but end up with a different narrative again. This remarkable novel leads you through many different books including a detective adventure, a romance, a satire, an erotic story, a diary and a quest. But the real hero is you, the reader.
The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu What to say? I really loved this book and I'm ashamed it took me so long to get to and really glad that part two is already out in translation because I need to know more... it definitely repaid all my hopes about looking at an SFF world from another cultural point of view (and kudos to the translator for the really helpful footnotes especially about the Cultural Revolution). I don't often read SFF books where I really can't tell (beyond broad strokes) where the plot is going but that was what happened here. I see why it won the Hugo!
- A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 2) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang)
- A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 3) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang)
- A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 4) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang)
- An Awfully Big Adventure - Beryl Bainbridge
- If on a winter's night a traveller - Italo Calvino
- The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu
A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 2) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang) Halfway there... and I only want to strangle two characters in the central love triangle *g* Loving all the sideplots and mentions and I'm starting to see where the plot is going I think but mostly I am completely in love with the troupe of actresses in which the actress who played all the romantic girl parts decided she should be in love with the actress who played all the romantic boy parts and then... well spoilers I guess but it's tragic and lovely and the plot of several pieces of fanfiction I've read only normally not involving ladies.
A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 3) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang) What more in this volume? Well everything seems to be coming apart around the seams a little and I am more sure than ever that I picked the right one of the main three to love best but the fates of some of the peripheral characters have been very hard and I don't think they're going to get better. I've enjoyed all the drinking games though, perhaps I should be keeping a list.
A Dream of Red Mansions (volume 4) - Cao Xueqin & Gao E (translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang) Posted this and then realised I never said anything about the last part! It went exactly where I expected with the loss of fortune for the central family but I was almost surprised it didn't go as far as I thought. I still think two out of the three central characters/love triangle need shaking and I feel horrible for the third *cuddles her tight* I'm incredibly glad I read this and there are characters I wish I could go back and just read their storylines... and I might have nominated some very minor characters for Yuletide.
I feel like I should say more about this book/s but it might have to wait till I've had time to analyse them and my reactions to them.
An Awfully Big Adventure - Beryl Bainbridge Picked this up in a charity shop because I remember quite liking the film/TV version with Alan Rickman & Hugh Grant. I remembered the broad brushstrokes of the plot but not the detail and it's an interesting story.
If on a winter's night a traveller - Italo Calvino The reviews of this on GoodReads are brilliant because most of them attempt to match the style of the book which is... I mean it made my head hurt with the stories within stories within stories and also the fact that despite being thrown by it's 2nd person narrative clearly being about a man it was still terrifyingly accurate as to my state of thought and being and my general interest in reading at various points. If you haven't read it then the blurb on the back is probably the best introduction: You go into a bookshop and buy If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino. You like it. But alas there is a printer's error in your copy. You take it back to the shop and get a replacement. But the replacement seems to be a totally different story. You try to track down the original book you were reading but end up with a different narrative again. This remarkable novel leads you through many different books including a detective adventure, a romance, a satire, an erotic story, a diary and a quest. But the real hero is you, the reader.
The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu What to say? I really loved this book and I'm ashamed it took me so long to get to and really glad that part two is already out in translation because I need to know more... it definitely repaid all my hopes about looking at an SFF world from another cultural point of view (and kudos to the translator for the really helpful footnotes especially about the Cultural Revolution). I don't often read SFF books where I really can't tell (beyond broad strokes) where the plot is going but that was what happened here. I see why it won the Hugo!