So I'm no literary critic, but with a lot of commuting to do I have plenty of time to do some reading so I thought I'd give some quick thoughts and opinions on what I've read lately.
Being a big fan of One Day I was excited to give David Nicholls' most recent offering, Us, a go. This tells the story of Douglas trying to save his marriage through re-establishing his relationship with his son. It's classic Nicholls in that it reflects ordinary and everyday relationships perfectly, finding that ideal balance between humour and heartbreak. It's a lovely easy read and unlike a lot of these genre of novels the ending isn't predictable, but wholly realistic and believable at the same time.
This wasn't a book I was at first hugely excited to read but did so off the back of my mums recommendation, and I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting this to be a schmaltzy romantic story (probably unfairly after watching the trailer for the movie) but there's much more to it then that. Told through emails, letters, diary entries and interviews this tracks the extraordinary story of the quest to introduce salmon fishing into the Yemen, a seemingly impossible task. It touches on themes like war, hope, love and faith through all the different characters which are all well developed. The ending is definitely not what I was expecting which made the whole experience even more interesting, don't judge a book by its movie adaptation ah?
I ordered this off Amazon on a whim based on the good reviews (and the fact it was described as a cross between One Day and Sliding Doors both of which I adore!) The idea is the book traces three different narratives based on the different paths two characters could have taken upon their first meeting each other. I guess the book does a good job at looking at chance and destiny as its main themes and it definitely had me considering which out of all the outcomes was the best, was there even an obvious best choice? However I couldn't love The Versions Of Us, it just felt like every new chapter in all three narratives was just one bad thing after another, there seemed to be no joy or laughter in anyone's lives. Yes life has its bad points but also its great bits so I wish the novel had chosen to include a bit more of this.
Moving away from "chick lit" now The Accidental is a bit of a weird one. It tells the story of a family's stay in Norfolk one summer, with the book split into three parts and then each of those parts split into four as the narrator focuses on each family member. The prose in The Accidental is pretty flawless, it's almost poetic at times and shifts between each character and changes its tone and style accordingly which gives you an extra insight into the characters themselves. The story itself is pretty strange, all about a stranger called Amber entering and affecting their lives and revealing things about themselves etc. It's pretty dark at times and I think it's one of those books you read more for the characters and their details rather then for a plot or story.
I bloody love this woman. Seriously, she's hilarious. Half autobiography, half rant (mainly around feminist issues) Moran takes on questions covering things like porn, pubic hair, fashion, abortion and what sexism and feminism even are. I personally think every woman - and heck every man too - should read this. She managed to discuss serious issues in a hilarious way including anecdotes to illustrate her points. Though I don't necessarily agree with everything she says there were loads of parts I found myself nodding along to, and to be honest it doesn't even matter if I agree with her, it's a great book to get yourself thinking about modern day feminism that won't bore your tits off.
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