2009 in Books
2008 Count: 20
2009 Count: 17
It starts with the revolting....
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - Patrick Suskind
This book pays tribute to all that is ugly, unredeemable and abhorrent. It follows a man with an extraordinary sense of smell as he works towards possessing perfect scents. It seems to have been written (skilfully so) to be hated. The main character has no sympathetic qualities. All humans are presented as manipulable, stupid, greedy and cruel. It's the kind of book that makes you feel sick inside and gives you no reward for the illness. Damn good book, well written but I wouldn't want anyone else to waste their time reading it.
Breath - Tim Winton
Ever read a Tim Winton? Breath is the same with a surf and breathing theme. Winton does description well. He can place you in a scene and make you think you know what it's like to grow up surfing in an Australian coastal town. What he can't do is write a tight ending. He certainly doesn't leaves you with any lasting, substantive ideas. Not really a big picture man. He also loses points for perpetuating Kevin Rudd's "a fair shake of the sauce bottle" in the campaign to "protect" Australia's publishing industry.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
It was a shaky start to the year after Breath and Perfume. It was also a shaky start to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest due to a number of disconcerting illustrations in my copy. The shakiness subsided and I find myself engrossed. Memorable, worth reading.
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
A farce with a nasty edge. Sadly the jokes get a little tedious and repetitive but there's plenty of substance too. Relevant to all those who socialise with academic and wanna-be academic types.
The Dog of the South - Charles Portis
Like A Confederacy of Dunces, the Dog of the South is somewhat farcical though far more subdued. The main character undertakes a road trip south to retreive his much beloved car from his cheating wife and her lover. Comedy ensues. I really enjoyed this one.
Kingdom of Fear - Hunter S. Thompson
Interesting picture of Hunter S. Thompson's life but at length I got bored. Self mythologising can be like that.
Travels with my Aunt - Graham Greene
English. Quaint. Cute. Unmemorable.
Honey for the Bears - Anthony Burgess
Great for reading out loud in different accents. Nasty, funny, clever. Go read. It's nothing like a Clockwork Orange.
Pnin - Vladimir Nabakov
Pnin follows the gentle and hapless Russian expat, Proffesor Pnin, as he bumbles about his every day life as an aging language teacher in American. He teaches his class, deals with the draughts under his door with exquisite manners and misplaces his lecture notes. Nabakov manages to weave into Pnin's daily interactions with his friends and acquaintances subtle hints of the far less quaint life Pnin left in socialist Russia. You're never quite sure what Pnin went through but you get the sense it was horrific. All hail Vladimir Nabakov.
Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
If you have seen the movie, you've almost read the book. The book has a few extra subtleties. It's good. It's solid. I read it from cover to cover in 2 or 3 train trips. If this book was personified it would get up on a stage, walk up to the microphone and announce "I am structured and well-ordered, admire me!" What you make of that pontificating is up to you.
Vile Bodies - Evelyn Waugh
I think I overdid reading Evelyn Waugh last year. Don't get me wrong, Vile Bodies is good. If you've seen Stephen Fry's film adaptation "Bright Young Things," you'll know what you're getting. Evelyn Waugh, however, is a nastier person than Stephen Fry - the book ending is not nearly as charming as the film's. It's also not as logical.
After ten books of solid literary substance, I vowed the next book I read would be trash.
The Queen's Fool - Phillipa Gregory
And boy did I regret it. Total and utter rubbish. Last night I dedicated a number of minutes to devising some revolting way of describing this book. I came up with shit sputum - that is, shit that has been partially swallowed then spat out again. "Aw but it's a story about learning what real love is." No. "Aw, but it's a story with pretty dresses." Not enough. "Aw but it's about a woman finding her own way in a chauvinistic world." No. No. No.
The Archaeology of Ancient Australia - Peter Hiscock
Good introduction to Australian archaeology.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson - also known as "Mothers' Book Club Book of the Year."
Every middle-aged woman who attends a book club and her daughter has or is reading Stieg Larrson this year. Why? It's a thriller. It's fast-paced. It's got sex, drugs, corporate crime, investigative journalism, serial killers. It's entertaining. It doesn't take long to read. It's got something a little bit different from your Elizabeth Georges. Will it solve world hunger? Only if they donate Stieg Larrson's estate...
The Shackled Continent - Robert Guest
I knew nothing about Africa. I now know a little about Africa and the crazy. I also know a little bit about the political and economic persuasions of Robert Guest, a journalist for the Economist. This is the purpose of this book so it succeeded in its outcome.
Traffic: Why we drive the way we do - Tom Vanderbilt
Light-weight entertaining look at traffic and social behaviour in traffic. It tells me I should merge late, not early and that as a female driver with a P plate I am more likely to be honked at by both males and females. It even gives me some fancy theories as to why this is so.
The Best of Australian Short Stories 2009 - Compiled by D. Faulkner
I can't believe that of the 600 stories reviewed for this compilation these were the best. If they are the best (and not just the outpourings of D. Faulkner's chums), 2009 was a dire year for Australian short story writers. If this is what our publishing industry has to offer then it deserves to drown in the free market.
2009 Count: 17
It starts with the revolting....
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - Patrick Suskind
This book pays tribute to all that is ugly, unredeemable and abhorrent. It follows a man with an extraordinary sense of smell as he works towards possessing perfect scents. It seems to have been written (skilfully so) to be hated. The main character has no sympathetic qualities. All humans are presented as manipulable, stupid, greedy and cruel. It's the kind of book that makes you feel sick inside and gives you no reward for the illness. Damn good book, well written but I wouldn't want anyone else to waste their time reading it.
Breath - Tim Winton
Ever read a Tim Winton? Breath is the same with a surf and breathing theme. Winton does description well. He can place you in a scene and make you think you know what it's like to grow up surfing in an Australian coastal town. What he can't do is write a tight ending. He certainly doesn't leaves you with any lasting, substantive ideas. Not really a big picture man. He also loses points for perpetuating Kevin Rudd's "a fair shake of the sauce bottle" in the campaign to "protect" Australia's publishing industry.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
It was a shaky start to the year after Breath and Perfume. It was also a shaky start to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest due to a number of disconcerting illustrations in my copy. The shakiness subsided and I find myself engrossed. Memorable, worth reading.
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
A farce with a nasty edge. Sadly the jokes get a little tedious and repetitive but there's plenty of substance too. Relevant to all those who socialise with academic and wanna-be academic types.
The Dog of the South - Charles Portis
Like A Confederacy of Dunces, the Dog of the South is somewhat farcical though far more subdued. The main character undertakes a road trip south to retreive his much beloved car from his cheating wife and her lover. Comedy ensues. I really enjoyed this one.
Kingdom of Fear - Hunter S. Thompson
Interesting picture of Hunter S. Thompson's life but at length I got bored. Self mythologising can be like that.
Travels with my Aunt - Graham Greene
English. Quaint. Cute. Unmemorable.
Honey for the Bears - Anthony Burgess
Great for reading out loud in different accents. Nasty, funny, clever. Go read. It's nothing like a Clockwork Orange.
Pnin - Vladimir Nabakov
Pnin follows the gentle and hapless Russian expat, Proffesor Pnin, as he bumbles about his every day life as an aging language teacher in American. He teaches his class, deals with the draughts under his door with exquisite manners and misplaces his lecture notes. Nabakov manages to weave into Pnin's daily interactions with his friends and acquaintances subtle hints of the far less quaint life Pnin left in socialist Russia. You're never quite sure what Pnin went through but you get the sense it was horrific. All hail Vladimir Nabakov.
Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
If you have seen the movie, you've almost read the book. The book has a few extra subtleties. It's good. It's solid. I read it from cover to cover in 2 or 3 train trips. If this book was personified it would get up on a stage, walk up to the microphone and announce "I am structured and well-ordered, admire me!" What you make of that pontificating is up to you.
Vile Bodies - Evelyn Waugh
I think I overdid reading Evelyn Waugh last year. Don't get me wrong, Vile Bodies is good. If you've seen Stephen Fry's film adaptation "Bright Young Things," you'll know what you're getting. Evelyn Waugh, however, is a nastier person than Stephen Fry - the book ending is not nearly as charming as the film's. It's also not as logical.
After ten books of solid literary substance, I vowed the next book I read would be trash.
The Queen's Fool - Phillipa Gregory
And boy did I regret it. Total and utter rubbish. Last night I dedicated a number of minutes to devising some revolting way of describing this book. I came up with shit sputum - that is, shit that has been partially swallowed then spat out again. "Aw but it's a story about learning what real love is." No. "Aw, but it's a story with pretty dresses." Not enough. "Aw but it's about a woman finding her own way in a chauvinistic world." No. No. No.
The Archaeology of Ancient Australia - Peter Hiscock
Good introduction to Australian archaeology.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson - also known as "Mothers' Book Club Book of the Year."
Every middle-aged woman who attends a book club and her daughter has or is reading Stieg Larrson this year. Why? It's a thriller. It's fast-paced. It's got sex, drugs, corporate crime, investigative journalism, serial killers. It's entertaining. It doesn't take long to read. It's got something a little bit different from your Elizabeth Georges. Will it solve world hunger? Only if they donate Stieg Larrson's estate...
The Shackled Continent - Robert Guest
I knew nothing about Africa. I now know a little about Africa and the crazy. I also know a little bit about the political and economic persuasions of Robert Guest, a journalist for the Economist. This is the purpose of this book so it succeeded in its outcome.
Traffic: Why we drive the way we do - Tom Vanderbilt
Light-weight entertaining look at traffic and social behaviour in traffic. It tells me I should merge late, not early and that as a female driver with a P plate I am more likely to be honked at by both males and females. It even gives me some fancy theories as to why this is so.
The Best of Australian Short Stories 2009 - Compiled by D. Faulkner
I can't believe that of the 600 stories reviewed for this compilation these were the best. If they are the best (and not just the outpourings of D. Faulkner's chums), 2009 was a dire year for Australian short story writers. If this is what our publishing industry has to offer then it deserves to drown in the free market.