Book Review: The Double by José Saramago

This is a classic that I bought after I read Blindness, a dystopian novel that I loved. The Double is again a non-realistic novel, but closer to reality than Blindness. In fact, the only strange thing is that a man discovers there is someone who looks identical to him living in the same town.

Tertuliano Maximo Afonso, a History teacher, is depressed. His colleague, a Maths teacher, suggests he watches some fun DVDs to lift his spirits. The movie recommended by the Maths teacher includes a man that looks exactly like Tertuliano.

He then tries to find out who this man is, and how he can contact him. What happens next is all the result of him wanting to keep this similarity quiet from the people around him. I wasn’t quite clear why he found it necessary to keep this knowledge from people, but he goes through some trouble in order to make sure it does not become known.

There is of course a bit more to the story, but not a lot. The actual storyline is quite thin. Most of the fun of reading this book comes from the observations and reflections Tertuliano makes on the situation. A lot of it is anticipation of what people might say or do. While this is entertaining, it made reading the book quite slow, not helped by the sparse punctuation (lack of quotes and new lines in dialogs, for instance).

I loved the fact that in this very normal world that Tertuliano lives in, there is this one discrepancy: a man completely alike to himself (including identical scars and moles). It’s a fun but also tedious story, and not everyone will enjoy this. But if you loved Blindness, you must definitely try this book.

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Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Number of pages: 304 (Dutch edition: De man in duplo)

First published: 2002 (Portugese: O Homem Duplicado)

I got this: bought at a secondhand book market

Genre: literary fiction, classic

Extra: My review of Blindness.

Extra: I read this for the TBR Challenge 2013 and for the Eclectic Reader Challenge 

 

Quick Book Review: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (DNF)

Caroline at Beauty is a Sleeping Cat and Delia at Postcards from Asia are organising the Dickens in December event. There is a read-a-long, a watch-a-long and there are of course book reviews.

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After A Christmas Carol, which I really enjoyed, I tried A Tale of Two Cities, which I enjoyed at first, but later found extremely uninteresting.

The back of my book says: “A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Dickens’ greatest historical novel, traces the private lives of a group of people caught up in the cataclysms of the French Revolution and the Terror. Dickens based his historical details on Carlyle’s great work - The French Revolution – and also on his own observations and investigations during his numerous visits to Paris.”

I should have read that first. I just thought “Here’s a book by Dickens I haven’t read, let’s try it.” I have enjoyed some of his other novels, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, and one or two others, and I enjoyed those very much.

I did not finish A Tale of Two Cities and I think my main problem is the main topic: the French Revolution and the complots etc. They did not interest me. I enjoyed the beginning where an English gentleman is rescued after many years from a lowly French establishment (Book 1). This was fun. But then it continued with some different characters, I lost track a little, and I didn’t find anything in the story that made me want to read on.

A pity, but it’s just one of those things. Maybe I’d enjoy the book if I read it at a different time, and maybe I will re-try sometime. For now, a did-not-finish (after 120 pages).

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Rating: did not finish

Number of pages: 321 (I read until page 120)

First published: 1859

I got this book: bought

Genre: classic

Have you read this book?

Did you enjoy it?

Dickens in December Event: A Christmas Carol readalong

Caroline at Beauty is a Sleeping Cat and Delia at Postcards from Asia are organising the Dickens in December event. There is a read-a-long, a watch-a-long and there are of course book reviews.

I participated in the read-a-long of A Christmas Carol. It’s not the first time I’ve read it. I read it a few years ago. Also, I’ve seen movie adaptations more than once so I was pretty familiar with the story before I started reading this time around.

Questions for the read-a-long:

Is this the first time you are reading the story?
This was the second time, I think.

Did you like it?
Yes, I loved it. I found it so funny.

Which was your favorite scene?
When Scrooge calls a boy on Christmas Day and asks him to bring the biggest goose he can get. And he says to himself what a lovely boy this is, and how clever, etc.

Which was your least favorite scene?
In the beginning, when Bob Cratchit is described as having hardly a coal in the fire to keep warm while working. I felt so sorry for the poor man!

Which spirit and his stories did you find the most interesting?
I liked the Ghost of Christmas Present the most. I loved it when Scrooge wanted to join in with the jolliness he saw in the visions.

Was there a character you wish you knew more about?
I was wondering about Jacob Marley, what sort of person he had been. Was he just like Scrooge, or did he have a family? What was he like when he was alive?

How did you like the end?
The end was a big quick. I’d have liked to spend a bit more time with the new Scrooge. Seeing in more detail how he spends his Christmas Day and how he visits his nephew and is all likeable and friendly.

Did you think it was believable?
Well, I don’t believe in ghosts, so: no. Also, I can’t see that someone would be so eadily changed in the course of a (long) night. Most people would begin with defending their way of living, rather than quickly accept it’s not right. He converted a little too easily!

Do you know anyone like Scrooge?
I know people who are the opposite to Scrooge. They like to pay for everything. Which is actually pretty annoying!

Did he deserve to be saved?
Yes, of course. Especially now that he turned out to be a generous man, willing to help out other people.

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Rating: 5 (out of 5) – very good

Pages: 91

First published: 1843

I got this book: bought it secondhand, a few years ago (re-read)

Genre: classic

Book Review: The Collector by John Fowles

This book had been on my wishlist for a while and it was chosen randomly in the challenge I participated in at Shelfari.com. So, I got this book from the library to read it for the challenge. Not long before, I had read Room by Emma Donoghue, another story in which a young woman is held captive by a man.

The Collector: What it is about

Frederick is in his twenties when he wins a lot of money in the lottery. He grew up with his aunt, uncle and his disabled niece Mabel. He’s a lonely town clerk who collects butterflies in his spare time.

He becomes obsessed with a girl called Miranda from the local art college, and he buys a house in the countryside in an isolated location. The house also has a cellar. When he gets the chance, he kidnaps Miranda and puts her in the well-prepared cellar. There she has all the comforts such a situation can give and he treats her respectfully, hoping she will start to love him after a while.

Miranda keeps a diary, and the second part of the book is formed by her diary entries. We find out she has been obsessed with a much older artist, G. P., who she had an affair with.

In the final part of the book, we find out what eventually happens to Miranda and Frederick.

The Collector: What I thought

4 out of 5 stars 

This was a creepy book, especially because Frederick was being very respectful and good to Miranda. The only thing he did wrong, really, was imprisoning her. He didn’t seem to think that was wrong, as long as he treated her well. In a way, she was like the butterflies he collected: he kept them (pinned) in organised drawers and could look at them when he wanted to. Miranda was another item he collected for his enjoyment.

I didn’t like the middle part of the book so much, as Miranda’s relationship with the artist didn’t interest me much. There were some philosophical reflections that I also found less interesting. They may have fitted better in another context, but I was eager to know what would happen to Miranda in her current situation.

There is also the notion of class being discussed. Frederick is working class, Miranda is middle-class. Therefore, Frederick feels inferior to Miranda while she looks down on his use of language and his old-fashioned ways. This book is from 1963 when class differences in England were larger than now.

Overall, this was a scary story because Frederick had a very odd idea about what was right or wrong. He didn’t see anything wrong in keeping Miranda imprisoned and it wasn’t clear for a long time how this story would end.

Rating: 4/5

I read this in: Dutch (De verzamelaar), the original language is English

Number of pages: 272

First published: 1963

Genre: classic, thriller

Book Review: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Genre: historical fiction, classic
First Published: 1937
I read this in: English, the original language
Number of pages: 107
Rating: 5/5

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Of Mice and Men: What it is about

George and Lennie are laborers who have been promised a job on a farm. George warns Lennie not to say much, so no one will find out he’s rather dumb. He has the mind of a child, but is as strong as an ox. They had to flee their previous job because of something Lennie did.

The young boss at the new farm recently got married. His new wife is considered a slut by the farm workers, and they all try to stay out of trouble by ignoring her, but her husband keeps thinking one of the men is after her. He has his eye on Lennie, and Lennie promises George that he will stay out of trouble.

They dream of getting their own small farm house were Lennie wants to take care of the rabbits. This is his greatest ambition in life: to take care of soft, furry rabbits. George likes to dream but doesn’t expect it will ever happen.

Then Lennie gets into trouble after all and everything turns sour.

Of Mice and Men: What I thought

5 out of 5 stars. This was a book that had been on my TBR for ages! I’ve read several other books by Steinbeck and loved them all.

I loved how George looked after Lennie even though he didn’t have to. He was kind to him although without him, his life would be so much easier. George tried to keep Lennie out of trouble and Lennie tried to keep out of trouble, but because of his limited intellectual capabilities he failed every time. This was so tragic.

The book was written very well. The story slowly revealed more of who Lennie and George were and what problems Lennie had. It was clear that things would never be favorable for him. A tragic story that I enjoyed reading.

Book Review: The Lover by Marguerite Duras

I only read this book because I “had to”, but actually, it was quite good!

I’ll explain: On Shelfari.com, in the group Play Book Tag, we’re playing a game where we have to read the top-200 tags in alphabetical order, starting at a tag randomly assigned to you. Tags are things like “crime”, “parenting” and in this case “erotica”. When a book covers more than one sequential tag (say, “crime” and “crime fiction”) you can cross them both off. So you don’t need to read a book per tag if you choose your books strategically. At the end of August, the winner is the one that finished the most tags.

“Erotica” isn’t something I read often, but a classic like The Lover seemed a good choice. And it was. Not much erotic going on anyway. I remembered quite soon after starting reading that I’d seen the movie a few years back, which was very enjoyable too.

The Lover: What it is about

This short book tells the story of a fifteen year old French girl in Vietnam who meets an extremely rich Chinese man who becomes her lover. He is ten years her senior and very much in love but his family does not allow him to marry her. Doing so would make them break all ties with him.

The girl is based on Duras herself who lived in Vietnam as a child. She lives with her mother and brothers in very poor conditions and the weekly restaurant trips for the whole family, organised by the Chinese lover, are very welcome.

The Lover: What I thought

This book is beautifully written and a pleasure to read. The story was familiar to me since I’d seen the movie. I didn’t approve of the story itself – a fifteen year old having an affair with a much older man in a relationship that seems to be very close to prostitution.

But the back story about her circumstances, poor, with a mentally unstable mother, was interesting. There wasn’t much that would make even the prudest person recoil – I would not call this an erotic book at all.

The way it was written made this a good reading experience.

Rating: 4.5/5

I got this book: from the library

I read this in: Dutch, the original language is French (L’Amant)

Number of pages: 143

First published: 1984

Genre: literary fiction

Book Review: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

When I heard about World Book Night, I was so jealous! The British were having a wonderful giveaway of great books while me, in the next country, could only sit and watch the BBC’s World Book Night programme, or read on various blogs how bloggers had been giving away 48 books each.

So when I came across a giveaway by Little Interpretations of a World Book Night book, I was interested straight away. Especially when the book turned out to be The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark. I had heard a lot about it, and was keen to read it. And then I won the giveaway!

As this book is meant to be shared, I will give it away during the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop at the end of June. If you want to be part of this blog hop as a giver, check out this post.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: What it is about

Miss Jean Brodie is a teacher at Marcia Blaine girls’ school. She is different from the other teachers in the way she teaches her pupils. In particular, she has formed a small group of girls around her that she takes out to the theatre or invites over for tea, in order to draw them close to her, and to shape them in her own way.

The “Brodie set” are six girls who stay befriended with her from their 11th year until about 17, when they are about to leave school. The head teacher, Miss Mackay, is looking for an excuse to throw Miss Brodie out, but is finding this hard to do, as the girls won’t speak a bad word about her.

Miss Brodie is in her prime and this means that her time is now and not later. She’s unattached although in love with one man and in a relationship with another. At the time the novel takes place, the 1930s, this is frowned upon. Miss Brodie teaches her pupils art and life lessons, mainly, but has instructed the children to keep proper course work at the ready, in case Miss Mackay happens to enter the class room.

Slowly we find out more about Miss Jean Brodie, and although she seems like a prim teacher at first, it turns out she is  a more complex character than that and full of her own intrigues.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: What I thought

The book was quite funny, in a quiet sort of way. There were no real jokes, but the situations were amusing and the further I got into the book, the more it dawned upon me that the Miss Brodie as we first meet her, is not all she seems.

The book went back and forward in time, often even in the same paragraph. I found that very confusing, but also a brilliant way of putting the story into perspective.

The girls were rather indistinguishable to me. Only Sandy, who played a larger role, stood out. Unfortunately, I never cared much about the girls, nor about Miss Brodie.

The writing was very good, very literary, which made for a slow, but beautiful read. I think this book of 125 pages took me as long to read as the average 350 page novel of lesser literary quality.

I appreciate the cleverness of Muriel Spark in writing this little novel, but I wasn’t enthralled with it. It’s especially suitable for people that like classic literary fiction.

Rating: 3.5/5

I got this book: from a giveaway by Marie from Little Interpretations

I read this in: English, the original language

Number of pages: 128

First published: 1961

Genre: literary fiction, classic