Reading Round-up: August

 
This month I got through a lot of novels, despite August being pretty busy work/social wise. Reading is just one of those things that fits naturally into my routine most of the time. A lot of people say to me 'I wish I had time to read', which is a phrase that can grate on me. It can give off a superior air and can seem like you're saying this: 'I'm too busy/important to spend my time reading. You, who do, obviously have nothing better to do with your time.' That couldn't be further from the truth with a lot of people who love reading. Take almost anyone who works in publishing or academia, for example. Most of the time it's just a matter of your priorities. Prioritising reading, in my opinion, is always worth it.

 
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

The Casual Vacancy was the first novel published by J.K. Rowling under her own name, since publishing Harry Potter. The Casual Vacancy is a novel about the small English town of Pagford, and the drama, politics, infidelities, drug use and secrets that often go on undetected. The novel opens with the death of parish councillor Barry Fairbrother, and the vacancy of the title refers to his now empty seat on the council. Barry's death has far reaching consequences that no one could have predicted, and soon the whole town, from the elderly to the teens of the council estates, are embroiled in Pagford's small-town politics. Reading The Casual Vacancy was not a pleasant experience- the subject matter is miserable, gritty, incredibly contemporary, and realistic. It almost reminds me of the British kitchen sink realism of the late 1950s/early 60s. Despite the subject matter, reading the beginning of the book was like coming home- as a firm member of the Harry Potter generation, Rowling's writing style is incredibly familiar and nostalgic to me. Overall, I am glad I read this and in doing so, gained more experience of where Rowling might be headed after Harry. You can view my full review of the novel here.

 
The Island by Victoria Hislop

I was interested in this novel for its descriptions of Spinalonga, the Greek island of the novel's title. I visited Spinalonga and it's neighbouring island, Crete, in June, and I was interested to read more about the former leper colony's history. This novel would be a good beach read if you were holidaying in Crete and wanted to feel more connected to the island. It was Hislop's debut novel and she has since written more popular fiction in a similar vein. I felt fairly let down by this book. The writing is some of the worst fiction I've ever read. It is plain, creative writing 101, terrible. The dialogue is particularly bad, although fortunately it is used sparingly. When characters speak, instead of gaining a personality, they loose one. Their dialogue doesn't seem natural, they speak the obvious, and their speech adds nothing to the reader's understanding. Aside from dialogue, the attempts at metaphor are simple and fall extremely flat. Often it reads like a child's creative writing exercise. I would only recommend this book to those whose desire to learn more about Spinalonga is strong enough to conquer the effects of reading bad writing.

 
Virago is 40: A Celebration

This is a collection of writings on the topic of the number forty, from a number of female authors all published by Virago. This was a nice collection to dip in and out of- the pieces are fairly short, and include personal experiences, creative writing and poetry. There are a fair amount of pieces on what being aged forty entails, the symbolism of 'forty winks', and, of course, the 'f' word (feminism), as many of Virago's writers are second-generation feminists reflecting back on Virago's founding principles and its achievements so far. 'Virago is 40' was a good way for me to get a taste of the writing style of some of Virago's authors, and I look forward to reading more of some of these authors in the future.

 
The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan

I've read a lot of Ian McEwan, but this was one I'd never picked up before. It's pretty old-style McEwan; very dark, and very disturbing. His writing is beautiful, and every time I read him it's such a pleasure reading someone who has such great command of the English language. McEwan's writing is very atmospheric, and you can feel the tension building without knowing why you feel this way, until right at the end of the novel when he reveals the full extent of the horror. The novel is about an unmarried couple holidaying in what we assume to be Venice, who are befriended by a native couple. It is easy to draw parallels between The Comfort of Strangers and Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, both in its style of writing and heavily in its themes, namely: the mystifying pull of dark erotica in a foreign European country. It is obvious that McEwan drew inspiration from Thomas Mann, but all writers do, and The Comfort of Strangers is no less for it.

 
The Devil's Double by Latif Yahia

This is a book I've been interested in reading ever since I saw trailer for the film, starring Dominic Cooper, whose look for the film is excellent and convincing. The story is about an Iraqi soldier, Latif, who is forced into becoming the body double, or 'fiday', of Uday Saddam Hussain, Saddam Hussain's eldest son. Sadly the film didn't live up to expectations, and it's one that I would actually recommend seeing before reading the book. The book was gripping, often fast paced, and hard to put down. It was also incredibly graphic in parts, when describing Uday's more sadistic acts, including the rape of a bride on her honeymoon and the murder of her groom, the capture, rape and torture of a 14 year old girl, and the murder of his father, Saddam Hussain's trusted friend, Kammel Hannah, at a party. Although I learnt a lot about the Saddam regime at the time of the Gulf war, it is hard to say exactly how much of the novel is true. Some events, like the murder of Kammel Hannah are verifiable, but how much of Latif's story is true is up for debate, as even he is sketchy with the details when pressed by journalists.

 
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

It is hard to read Perks for the first time without any preconceptions, especially if you have a Tumblr account. The hipster crowd have commandeered many phrases from the novel, such as "I feel infinite" and "We accept the love we think we deserve." As a self-identifying non-hipster my opinion is that these phrases are one of the weakest parts of the novel. Perks doesn't need them, and they are philosophy-lite, which, as a philosophy major, tends to get my back up. However, I loved this novel. Charlie was an identifiable and interesting main character who you understand more as the story progresses. The novel, although set in high school, hints at more serious issues throughout the novel. Teenagers would respond to this novel well, but anyone not in high school would also enjoy it, and that's the beauty of this novel. It reminds me a little of What Maisie Knew by Henry James. Both novels show the perspective of a child seeing things that adults do, but not understanding the implications of them until later. I would like to go back and read this again, knowing what I know now, and see if it improves upon further reading.