Format: Audiobook

Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry

Posted February 24, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: Books: A Memoir (Goodreads)
Author: Larry McMurtry
Published: Simon & Schuster, 2008
Pages: 259
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: Personal Copy

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Larry McMurtry is known for his novels Terms of Endearment and his 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove, among many other things. But what people might not know about Larry McMurtry is he is also a rare-book scout. Owning many second hand bookstores called Booked Up, McMurtry is always on the hunt for good books. Book is a memoir of adventures as a book seller.

Let’s face it, I love a good book memoir so I thought I had to check this one out, but I’m a little disappointed. At times in this book it felt more like bragging than actual book scouting; I don’t really enjoy reading a whole lot of “I found a book that was worth hundreds of dollars and brought it for mere dollars”. There needed to be a bit more about his love for the books and less showing off to really make this book enjoyable.

I think it would be cool to be a book seller or scout and it was interesting to read about his journey as one. I did actually visit all the second hand book stores in search for gems so maybe this book did have an effect on me. The only difference was, gems for me are the books I really want to read and not books that would make me money. I also would have enjoyed some more about Larry McMurtry’s reading life as well amd the books he was passionate about or recommends, but this just wasn’t there.

I think this book just lacked passion overall; I felt like Larry McMurtry saw books as money makers and there was no love for them. It’s an interesting book but now I know what to look for in a book about books, I don’t think I would pick up another book like this; unless recommended to me. Book sellers or book scouts may get more out of this book but I have a feeling that most would probably share my opinion.

The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams

Posted February 23, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Fantasy / 0 Comments

Title: The Dirty Streets of Heaven (Goodreads)
Author: Tad Williams
Series: Bobby Dollar #1
Published: Hodder, 2012
Pages: 416
Genres: Fantasy
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Bobby Dollar is an angel, his role here on earth is to advocate for the souls caught between heaven and hell. As a result of this, Bobby knows about sin, in fact, he wrestles with a few himself; pride, lust and anger. Whether it’s pride or just instinct, Dollar can’t trust his superiors or his fellow earth bound angels so when souls start disappearing, things are bound to get bad; end of the world bad.

Like the Dresden Files, The Dirty Streets of Heaven blends urban fantasy with hard-boiled crime. Bobby Dollar is a great character, but while he isn’t fully hard-boiled he plays the role really well. I don’t think I would want him to be more hard-boiled; as an angel he does need to have a bit of a moral compass and he does have to try to be good, so in this aspect I think Tad Williams got the balance right.

I’ve never been much for fantasy novels, but I really like these urban fantasy novels that take old hard-boiled and noir styles and blend it; I just can’t get enough of them. I believe this is Tad Williams first attempt at this genre but he has done this masterfully; the conflict between heaven and hell with Bobby Dollar and not knowing who to trust makes this novel. I will admit the Angel and Demon warfare aspect of this book is what I enjoyed the most; Williams added some interesting concepts and blended some theology in as well and I think it balanced out nicely.

I wasn’t sure if The Dirty Streets of Heaven was going to turn out anything like Dogma or The Dresden Files, but I think the author took parts of both that he liked and made it his own. It’s dark and gritty, fully of sex and violence but there is also pop culture references and humour with this book. The humour within this book was great; it didn’t over shadow the darkness of the novel and often came unexpectedly.

“You show me what someone listens to; I’ll tell you everything you want to know about his soul. (For instance, a bunch of Nickelback albums would have indicated he never had a soul in the first place.)”

I’m pleased this is the first book in a new series for Tad Williams; currently there are another two in the works and I am excited to be thrown back into this world. The more I discover these Urban Fantasy Noir novels, the more I want to read them; I really should read some more from the Dresden Files while I wait for book two. Does anyone have any recommendations for books like this, because I really enjoyed this book, more than I ever expected.

Truth by Peter Temple

Posted February 19, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Crime / 0 Comments

Title: Truth (Goodreads)
Author: Peter Temple
Published: Text, 2009
Pages: 287
Genres: Crime, Literary Fiction
My Copy: Personal Copy

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Inspector Stephen Villani stands in a luxury apartment, a young woman dead in the bath. He finds certainties of his life crumbling after the discovery of this murder. His four months as the acting head of the Victoria Police homicide squad have not gone well; first, two Aboriginal teenagers are shot dead and there is also no progress on the killing of a man in front of his daughter. A novel about murder, corruption, treachery and ultimately the Truth.

I didn’t realise this was the sequel to The Broken Shore when I started this novel but seeing Inspector Stephen Villani was only a minor character in the first book I thought it was ok to continue. But I wonder if I should have read them in order, because Truth never really clicked with me.

The novel was very difficult to read and hold my attention; the flashbacks, the sheer amount of characters and attempts at complexity made it really difficult to know what is what in this novel. It tried to be a gritty police procedural with some political aspects but never really seemed to click. While the main plot could have worked well, the flashbacks and cast size turned this book into a difficult book.

I’m surprised this book won the Miles Franklin award; I know a lot of people that loved The Broken Shore and hated this book so I can’t help but wonder if this book won based on the love of its predecessor. It was interesting to see Peter Temple’s character Jack Irish making an appearance in the book.

I just don’t see the appeal to this book but it wasn’t the writing style that made this book so hard to read. While this is the first Peter Temple book I’ve read, I can see why he is one of Australia’s better crime writers. I will try The Broken Shore sometime just to see why one was so loved and this one was so hated.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Posted February 14, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Classic / 0 Comments

Title: Les Misérables (Goodreads)
Author: Victor Hugo
Translator: Lee Fahnestock, Norman MacAfee
Published: Signet, 1862
Pages: 1463
Genres: Classic
My Copy: Personal Copy

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This is the story of Jean Valjean, a man seeking redemption after serving nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving relatives. When everyone else turns their back on him, it was a Bishop that showed him immense kindness and inspires him to do the same to everyone else. He finds him eventually appointed mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer but then back on the run hunted by police inspector named Javert.

That is a very brief outline of what this book is about, as the book is about 1400 pages. If I tried to go into more detail it could be too big for a one paragraph synopsis, but I think people are familiar enough with this novel to know the basic plot of this book. I decided to read the book because of the recent adaption; yes I know it was an adaptation of the musical but I still wanted to read the book first so I’d have a better understanding of the plot.

This novel covers some very interesting topics from the nature of the law and the idea of grace, politics, justice, romance and moral philosophy. All this weaved into the plot but then you find yourself reading huge chunks of text outlining the battle of Waterloo, religion, the construction of the Paris sewers and urban design of Paris. These digressions really threw me off with the book and honestly think that if the editor removed them, the book would have been more accessible and readable.

There is a lot to offer within the book and I would say I could easily read it again (not now but in the future) and explore the sense of compassion and love that is in this book. It’s a heart breaking story but I will admit I cried more in the adaptation than I did in the book. I know I haven’t mentioned the French Revolution which is a huge part of this book, but it really is hard to review a book that is so packed with ideas and still cover the plot points as well.

While this book did take a while to get through and at times I was struggling to enjoy it. In the end I found this to be worth the journey. Now that I’ve also seen the most recent movie adaptation I would probably recommend people just watch that. But if you are interested in digesting a book this size and exploring the ideas it raises or you just love to read great literature then make sure Les Misérables is on your to-read list.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

Posted February 4, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literary Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Goodreads)
Author: Milan Kundera
Translator: Michael Henry Heim
Published: Faber & Faber, 1984
Pages: 314
Genres: Literary Fiction
My Copy: Personal Copy

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being is an existential novel about two men, two women, a dog and their lives. The book takes place in Prague in the 1960s and 1970s and explores the artistic/intellectual life of Czechoslovakian society during this Communist period. Tomáš is a womanising surgeon and intellectual, his wife Tereza is a photographer struggling with all her husband’s infidelities. Sabina a free spirited artist and Tomáš’s mistress and Franz is a professor and also a lover or Sabina. Then there is Karenin, the dog with an extreme disliking to change.

I know the synopsis doesn’t really do much to make this novel interesting but that’s just the basics of it. Really, this is a novel challenging Nietzsche’s concept of eternal recurrence. A concept which hypothesizes that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur. This book explores the idea that people only have one life to live and what occurs will only occur once and never again. The book also explores love and sex and whether the two are connected; for Tomáš they are not but for Tereza they are.

There is a lot more philosophical aspects to understand but as I don’t have much knowledge in those areas lets focus on the novel. This was surprisingly easy to read and lyrical and almost dreamlike feel to it but then there is a lot of emotional devastation as well. Not just with Tomáš’s actions but with the communist control over everyone.

From the very start you while see the gorgeous poetic prose within Milan Kundera’s writing and the unique plot concept will initially drive this book for the reader. Then you will continue reading it for the devastating beauty of love, sex, jealously, politics and existence. Once you finish, you might reflect on the philosophical and existential nature of this book. In the end it’s just one of those books that sounds a little weird and unappealing but is really worth reading.

Metroland by Julian Barnes

Posted January 22, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literary Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: Metroland (Goodreads)
Author: Julian Barnes
Published: Vintage, 1980
Pages: 176
Genres: Literary Fiction
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Metroland is the first hand account of Christopher Lloyd, from growing up in the suburbs of London to the brief period after graduation in Paris and then the early years of marriage. As a child Christopher was obsessed with the idea of bourgeois lifestyle with his friend Toni. In Paris he remembers his French girlfriend Annick and now he has a mundane marriage.

While this is a novel, it’s also a reflection of Christopher Lloyd’s life. As a child he has big plans as well as being obsessed with the idea of having sex. Then he finally meets Annick and has sex and has such fond memories of this relationship. Then looking at his marriage, he sees it’s not perfect and he wonders to himself is he really happy.

Some people call it “growing up” and others “selling out”; this account of Christopher’s life was really interesting, his attitude and angst didn’t end and he just hasn’t let go with his old ideals. While his French girlfriend challenges his ideals and tries to explain that growing up isn’t selling out he never really gets it. It’s not until he reflects on his past that he starts to understand. Sure his marriage has its problems but he is not unhappy; he is content. But while you never find out what happens next, I got the feeling that Christopher has truly started to understand that his life is good and slowly is changing his thinking.

I loved Julian Barnes’ A Sense of An Ending and I wanted to explore more of his writing. I decided to read this one because of it was short and it felt like a similar style. I really thought this book had a lot to offer, in the way of ideals, morals, relationships, love and just the way we view our lives. Looking back on our lives, it’s easy to remember the good and the bad but there is a whole lot in between we tend to forget, so when Christopher is looking at his past, he misses so much.

A beautiful novel, while very short has so much in it to offer. I went and watched the movie adaption of this book as well. While it captured a lot of the books ideas, I couldn’t get past the idea of Christian Bale as Christopher Lloyd and felt it left out a lot of be beauty. Fans of Julian Barnes should check this book out. Christopher Lloyd is an interesting character; a coming of age novel but this hipster took a long time to really grow.

So Much to Tell You by John Marsden

Posted January 12, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Young Adult / 0 Comments

Title: So Much to Tell You (Goodreads)
Author: John Marsden
Published: Walker Books, 1987
Pages: 150
Genres: Young Adult
My Copy: Library Book

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Life is very complicated for Marina. Shipped off to boarding school, in a world she doesn’t fit in with, trying to understand life. She sets out writing a journal for an assignment but she really takes to it and in the journal we find really what is going on within her head. She is socially awkward dealing with a tragic accident that has left her face scarred; and she hasn’t spoken a word since this incident.

I picked up this book on a couple of peoples recommendation; John Marsden really is a stand out Australian author and this is probably the best I’ve read of his works. I like realistic YA novels that features an angsty, socially awkward protagonist. I think it’s just that I relate well with them and ever since discovering John Green I’ve been looking for more books like this.

So Much to Tell You reminds me a lot of Perks of Being A Wallflower, with the way it’s written, slowly we discover these protagonists; all their anger and hurt and frustrations. But there is always a sense of mystery that doesn’t seem to be revealed. With this novel it is how she got these scars and why she hates her father so much. I know she has issues of abandonment but with the scars I know something bad happened; I thought it was a case of her father setting her on fire (but that’s just my disturbing mind).

This is a wonderful story of discovery and understanding. I loved Marina as a characters and finding more and more about her was what really drove this story home for me. But there was one major issue that I had with this novel, without spoiling anything; I had a WTF moment with the way this book ended.

So Much to Tell You is a perfect example of great realistic YA literature and proves that Australian YA authors have so much to offer. This is a very short book but well worth reading. I did feel like this was focused on a younger audience than other YA novels I’ve read. I would have liked it to be a little darker but still a wonderful read.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Posted January 8, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Fantasy / 0 Comments

Title: Rivers of London (Goodreads)
Author: Ben Aaronovitch
Series: Peter Grant #1
Narrator: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Published: Orion, 2011
Pages: 400
Genres: Fantasy
My Copy: Audiobook

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Probationary Constable Peter Grant has big dreams to become a real detective in the London police but has found himself as part of the Case Progression Unit, doing paperwork while his friend Lesley May has landed her dream job. But one unexpected encounter finds him being recruited into a small branch that deals with the supernatural.

At first glance this urban fantasy novel sounds very much like the Dresden Files series and it is; but there is a bigger injection of humour in this series that makes it very enjoyable. The humour is really what makes this novel, it’s funny and at times unexpected; for example the desire to motorboat a river goddess doesn’t occur to everyone does it? Constable Grant is a great character at times, he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed but what do you expect? Becoming the first apprentice wizard in fifty years doesn’t happen every day and it really helps drive him.

Unlike Harry Dresden, Peter Grant is still very new to wizardry and being a detective so he doesn’t have the years of experience and cynicism behind him, which at times can be a little disappointing but for the humour element, it seems to work best. The case that this book is centred around isn’t too well explained so I felt a little lost at times and often questioned the character’s ability to draw conclusions without any information at all. But in the end this is just a fun read.

I will admit when I finished reading this book I immediately wanted to start reading book two which is a good sign of how much I enjoyed this book. I even wanted to read some more from the Dresden Files series but as always I moved onto something completely different. The desire to read the next book is still there and I’m really looking forward to immersing myself into this world again. It was a fun, pleasurable read and I think might make for some good comic relief after reading a dense novel.

On The Road by Jack Kerouac

Posted December 30, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Book of the Month, Classic / 0 Comments

Title: On The Road (Goodreads)
Author: Jack Kerouac
Published: Penguin, 1957
Pages: 307
Genres: Classic
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

On the Road is a semi autobiographical novel about Jack Kerouac’s travels through America. Set in 1947 the novel documents the travels of Sal Paradise with his friend Dean on a quest of self-knowledge and life experiences. This novel is often considered as the definitive ideal of the Beat generation and living life postwar. The Beat movement is a cultural movement which rejected a normal life for a bohemian lifestyle; this movement inspired jazz, poetry and literature. The non-conformity and spontaneous creativity as well as experimentation with drugs, alternative sexualities and interest in Eastern religions lead to the hippy movement in the 1960’s even though there are many differences.

On the Road is a novel of friendship, not just between Sal and Dean but the people that come and go from your life. Hitchhiking through America gives an opportunity to see this quickly; Sal meets new people all the time and just like that they are gone from his life; their impact on Sal may very but it really is a good way to show the effects people have without having to scratch a story over a few years. Then there is the friendship between Sal and Dean, it’s clear to me that Sal is idolising his friend and his need to be just like him is really not helping him to grow. Sal does grow through the book but it never feels like Dean has, this really changes the dynamic of their friendship as the book goes on.

This is also a book on the ideals of the beatniks; they are young and wanting to experience life, learn from their experiences. But underneath it all Sal feels unhappy. Either alone, in a relationship or just having casual hook-ups, Sal is never content. The only time I ever feel like Sal is enjoying himself is when he is having intellectual conversations, but he never really works out how to channel that passion to make his life mean something, I did think he would find contentment in writing but he never really does. The characters feel they should learn from life instead of books and this leads more to sex, substance abuse and even madness seem to be the end results of their experiences rather than knowledge.

While some might think this is a rather boring novel, I tend to think there is so much in the book worth exploring. I like the style and feel of this book, it reminds me of dirty realism and the quest for knowledge and satisfaction in life really hit home for me. My past experiences are nothing like those of Sal or Kerouac’s but there is something so real and raw about this book that I enjoyed. Overall it was interesting to read the book as a manifesto to the beat generation.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Posted December 24, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Classic / 0 Comments

Title: Ethan Frome (Goodreads)
Author: Edith Wharton
Published: Penguin, 1911
Pages: 128
Genres: Classic
My Copy: Personal Copy

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An unnamed narrator from a fictional New England town tells us about his encounter with Ethan Frome; a man with dreams and desires but stuck in a loveless marriage. His wife, Zeena is a hypochondriac whom he married out of a sense of duty. When Ethan falls deeply in love with Zeena’s cousin and their maid Mattie things start truly falling apart.

I’m going to put this out there, this book really reminds me of a Russian novel; the love triangle reminds me of Doctor Zhivago mainly. Then there is the bleak, cold winter climate that makes the book as dismal as the current environment. These elements are what really appealed to me. When Stephanie (from Read in a Single Sitting) called this book the most depressing novel ever written, I was sold, I brought the book right away and spent the day reading it.

Ethan Frome is a working class man trying to make ends meet, he is really struggling financially and having to deal with a wife who is constantly ill isn’t helping him much. He lives with his secret desires but then slowly moves towards taking action, then quietly submitting to life’s circumstances, this seems to be the endless cycle for him. This struggle turned this into a novel of the forbidden, as well as one of morality and duty.

Ethan Frome is full of symbolism; the cat and the pickle dish I believe was a symbol of their failing marriage, the gold locket represents love and finding it in Ethan. Finally there was the most obvious one which was the colour red that I think was used to represent adultery, similar to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. There were some more in the book but I won’t go into all of them, I just found it an interesting literary device to express elements that the narrator left out.

I know this may be the cynic in me, but I felt like this novel was a romance; the passion between Ethan and Mattie was strong and powerful; that’s what made this book so devastating. Zeena was a cunning woman that held all the power and while at times I felt sorry for Ethan for being stuck in a terrible marriage there was a part of me that thought he was just making it harder for himself by putting himself in a situation and dragging Mattie into all this mess.

You will either love or hate this book. It is truly depressing but yet in the midst of all this disaster it remained elegant and beautiful. The words were like poetry, I got swept away with the prose only to find myself heading for a devastating crash. It’s like a horror novel of obligation and no matter which way Ethan or I looked at the situation there was no escape. For a book under 150 pages, I’m surprised just how much it said.