Books #1 and #2
First post here! I'm going to count from June 2007. I really have no hopes to reach this goal, but reading hasn't ever killed anyone, has it?
(99% of my books have been read in Italian, 'cause, surprise!, I'm Italian. Anyway I'll list them with the English title whenever it's possible)
1. The Gun Seller (Hugh Laurie) - I've bought it after reading the first chapter online. As a first chapter, I thought it could be taken as an example for a manual of writing, since it's catching, fast and really, really makes you want to go on with the story. (You can still find the excerpt here).
Thomas Lang is an ex Scots Guards officer who refuses to kill a man for money and then runs telling it to the soon-to-be-dead one. Then, as a consequence, he finds himself trapped in a big conspiracy involving arms trafficants, terrorists, CIA and corrupted politicians; through the story Lang reveals himself as being some way obsessed with "doing the right thing", that seems to the reader (and to Lang himself) quite the source of all his problems.
All the novel is marked by Lang's (and Laurie's) priceless humour, which makes an amazing job pointing out the ironical side of every situation. Although, around the middle the novel seems like losing part of this shiny humour and going on repeating itself now and then. The second half is definitely less interesting than the first one; the plot becomes more complicate, new characters appear and disappear without any apparent reason, the old ones seems like being forgotten and then called back forcedly to support Lang's scenes.
(For the ones who can speak Italian, some more thought of mine about the book here.)
2. The Falls (Joyce Carol Oates) - I had not read anything written by Joyce Carol Oates before, just a small excerpt from Foxfire during a writing class, but I felt strongly intrigued by her style. It's rare to find the author who matches perfectly with your tastes, and I think I found mine.
This is one of the best family sagas I've ever read. Settled between 1950 and late 70s, it's the story of Ariah, a not-so-young bride who goes with his husband to Niagara Falls for the honeymoon. The very first day after the first night together, he throws himself over the Falls, unable to stand the disgust he feels for sharing his life with a woman he doesn't love and he married just for the social appearance.
Ariah, shocked, waits patiently for the body to be taken off the falls, assisted by Dirk Burnaby, a handsome, rich lawyer of the town who quickly falls in love with her. After a month, he proposes her and they go and live together back in Niagara Falls.
This is the starting point of the family saga, marked by Ariah's obsession with his husband leaving her alone, that seems to be the reason why she insistently asks him for children. Ariah's obsession grows up more and more into wild jealousy when Dirk starts working on a big case of corruption involving indiscriminate chemical discharge, the "Love Canal" case (which has been brought up by a woman Ariah thinks Dirk has an affair with). The third part of the book, called "The Family", is developed with the mixed points of view of the children, now grown into young adults, who try to find out the real story of their family.
The style is powerful and clear and focused on the action, even if it's always supported by a strong psychological research. Thinking back, there are lots of parts dedicated just to the thoughts of the characters, with no action at all, but the rythm never slows down. There's no big space for lyrical contemplation, yet there are many parts that I find very, very poetic, in their own way. Personally, I love it. ♥
2 / 50
(4.0%)
840 / 15,000
(5.6%)
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge and 15000pages
(99% of my books have been read in Italian, 'cause, surprise!, I'm Italian. Anyway I'll list them with the English title whenever it's possible)
1. The Gun Seller (Hugh Laurie) - I've bought it after reading the first chapter online. As a first chapter, I thought it could be taken as an example for a manual of writing, since it's catching, fast and really, really makes you want to go on with the story. (You can still find the excerpt here).
Thomas Lang is an ex Scots Guards officer who refuses to kill a man for money and then runs telling it to the soon-to-be-dead one. Then, as a consequence, he finds himself trapped in a big conspiracy involving arms trafficants, terrorists, CIA and corrupted politicians; through the story Lang reveals himself as being some way obsessed with "doing the right thing", that seems to the reader (and to Lang himself) quite the source of all his problems.
All the novel is marked by Lang's (and Laurie's) priceless humour, which makes an amazing job pointing out the ironical side of every situation. Although, around the middle the novel seems like losing part of this shiny humour and going on repeating itself now and then. The second half is definitely less interesting than the first one; the plot becomes more complicate, new characters appear and disappear without any apparent reason, the old ones seems like being forgotten and then called back forcedly to support Lang's scenes.
(For the ones who can speak Italian, some more thought of mine about the book here.)
2. The Falls (Joyce Carol Oates) - I had not read anything written by Joyce Carol Oates before, just a small excerpt from Foxfire during a writing class, but I felt strongly intrigued by her style. It's rare to find the author who matches perfectly with your tastes, and I think I found mine.
This is one of the best family sagas I've ever read. Settled between 1950 and late 70s, it's the story of Ariah, a not-so-young bride who goes with his husband to Niagara Falls for the honeymoon. The very first day after the first night together, he throws himself over the Falls, unable to stand the disgust he feels for sharing his life with a woman he doesn't love and he married just for the social appearance.
Ariah, shocked, waits patiently for the body to be taken off the falls, assisted by Dirk Burnaby, a handsome, rich lawyer of the town who quickly falls in love with her. After a month, he proposes her and they go and live together back in Niagara Falls.
This is the starting point of the family saga, marked by Ariah's obsession with his husband leaving her alone, that seems to be the reason why she insistently asks him for children. Ariah's obsession grows up more and more into wild jealousy when Dirk starts working on a big case of corruption involving indiscriminate chemical discharge, the "Love Canal" case (which has been brought up by a woman Ariah thinks Dirk has an affair with). The third part of the book, called "The Family", is developed with the mixed points of view of the children, now grown into young adults, who try to find out the real story of their family.
The style is powerful and clear and focused on the action, even if it's always supported by a strong psychological research. Thinking back, there are lots of parts dedicated just to the thoughts of the characters, with no action at all, but the rythm never slows down. There's no big space for lyrical contemplation, yet there are many parts that I find very, very poetic, in their own way. Personally, I love it. ♥
2 / 50
(4.0%)
840 / 15,000
(5.6%)
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge and 15000pages