Gem
kickbox
What were your best reads of 2006?
Mine were:
1) The River of Doubt; Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest journey, Candice Millard.
A well written, gripping account of Roosevelt’s journey down the unexplored River of Doubt – a tributary of the Amazon.
The expedition is badly prepared for – so badly prepared that they have to make the journey in some rather dodgy dugouts bought from a tribe that had a reputation of being well..crap builders. To sum it up – everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.
The group itself is made up of the most enthralling men. You have Roosevelt himself who is of course indefatigable (his choosing to discard things like clothes instead of the books he had taken along to read, made me grin) but there is also his son Kermit. A very accomplished, brave young man – who just happens to be a tad bit reckless, and prone to the occasional bout of depression. George Cherrie is leading naturalist, Amazonian expert and all round good guy. The co leader of the expedition is Candido Rondon – Brazilian military officer and explorer extraordinaire. His motto when dealing with indigenous tribes is “die if you must, but never kill” – a bit suicidal perhaps, but this very attitude and his support of the tribes resulted in the creation of the Indian Protection Bureau. A fascinating man, completely barmy but fascinating.
We not only get glimpses into the Roosevelt family and the backgrounds of the adventurers but we are also given information about the the wildlife they encounter – Millard makes the rainforest breathe and rattle and scare the living daylights out of wimps like me.
Well written, suspenseful, unputdownable – very highly recommended.
2) Two Lives – Vikram Seth.
Another non-fiction. Vikram ‘A Suitable Boy’ Seth writes about the uncle and aunt he lived with in London. Sounds a bit blergh? What if I said his uncle was a one armed Indian dentist and his aunt a Jewish refugee from Germany?
Although there were parts that dragged, overall this was a remarkable book – ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times, told in such detail that I felt I knew these people and their story moved me incredibly and gave me such a great deal to think about.
3) Kazuo Ishiguro –
When We were Orphans - Christopher Banks is a celebrated detective in 1930’s London. He is haunted by the disappearance of his parents when he was a young boy in Shanghai. Do not read this if you are looking for a traditional detective story with a neatly tied up ending. If however you like unravelling things, questioning memory and banging your head against the wall then this and in fact all other Ishiguro books are for you. Everytime I finish one of his books I vow that I won’t be reading another one. But then darn it, the evocative writing and the masterful subtlety reels me back in. After reading A Pale View of the Hills I wanted to throw it against a wall – no other book (that i can recall right now) has left me with so many unanswered questions. I loved it.
4) Middlesex – J Eugenides
We already have a thread here for this one, so I’ll just say that it was incredibly engrossing – I read it in one sitting.
5)Coin Locker Babies – Ryu Murakami
Two baby boys are abandoned by their mothers at a train station’s coin lockers. They are sent first to an orphanage where they are experimented upon and then adopted by the same family., before finally they make their way back to the Tokyo , where one becomes first a prostitute and then a pop star and the other a murderous pole-vaulter . Very dark , grim and violent, every gory detail told graphically. But there’s something very compelling about it and I found that each time I put it down, I couldn’t wait to get back to it.
6) NabokovHis finesse is unmatched; the layers to his story give so much food for thought:
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight
Look at the Harlequins
Ada
7)Palace Walk – Naguib Mahfouz
The story of a family living in Cairo at the end of the first World War. The father is a tyrant at home but an easygoing ladies man once out of the house, the mother is intelligent in her own way but completely under the rule of her husband. Through these characters and their children we are shown the way their society works; from the role of women, politics, the day to day running of a household, music and a lot more besides. It’s Very informative and enlightening. The prose though, takes some getting used to – there is much telling in addition to the showing, and a great deal of musing by the author on the traits of various characters.
The last three spots would go to The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck, Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene, and The Hotel New Hampshire – John Irving.
Oh and I can’t leave out A Star named Henry and Oh Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle
Mine were:
1) The River of Doubt; Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest journey, Candice Millard.
A well written, gripping account of Roosevelt’s journey down the unexplored River of Doubt – a tributary of the Amazon.
The expedition is badly prepared for – so badly prepared that they have to make the journey in some rather dodgy dugouts bought from a tribe that had a reputation of being well..crap builders. To sum it up – everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.
The group itself is made up of the most enthralling men. You have Roosevelt himself who is of course indefatigable (his choosing to discard things like clothes instead of the books he had taken along to read, made me grin) but there is also his son Kermit. A very accomplished, brave young man – who just happens to be a tad bit reckless, and prone to the occasional bout of depression. George Cherrie is leading naturalist, Amazonian expert and all round good guy. The co leader of the expedition is Candido Rondon – Brazilian military officer and explorer extraordinaire. His motto when dealing with indigenous tribes is “die if you must, but never kill” – a bit suicidal perhaps, but this very attitude and his support of the tribes resulted in the creation of the Indian Protection Bureau. A fascinating man, completely barmy but fascinating.
We not only get glimpses into the Roosevelt family and the backgrounds of the adventurers but we are also given information about the the wildlife they encounter – Millard makes the rainforest breathe and rattle and scare the living daylights out of wimps like me.
Well written, suspenseful, unputdownable – very highly recommended.
2) Two Lives – Vikram Seth.
Another non-fiction. Vikram ‘A Suitable Boy’ Seth writes about the uncle and aunt he lived with in London. Sounds a bit blergh? What if I said his uncle was a one armed Indian dentist and his aunt a Jewish refugee from Germany?
Although there were parts that dragged, overall this was a remarkable book – ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times, told in such detail that I felt I knew these people and their story moved me incredibly and gave me such a great deal to think about.
3) Kazuo Ishiguro –
When We were Orphans - Christopher Banks is a celebrated detective in 1930’s London. He is haunted by the disappearance of his parents when he was a young boy in Shanghai. Do not read this if you are looking for a traditional detective story with a neatly tied up ending. If however you like unravelling things, questioning memory and banging your head against the wall then this and in fact all other Ishiguro books are for you. Everytime I finish one of his books I vow that I won’t be reading another one. But then darn it, the evocative writing and the masterful subtlety reels me back in. After reading A Pale View of the Hills I wanted to throw it against a wall – no other book (that i can recall right now) has left me with so many unanswered questions. I loved it.
4) Middlesex – J Eugenides
We already have a thread here for this one, so I’ll just say that it was incredibly engrossing – I read it in one sitting.
5)Coin Locker Babies – Ryu Murakami
Two baby boys are abandoned by their mothers at a train station’s coin lockers. They are sent first to an orphanage where they are experimented upon and then adopted by the same family., before finally they make their way back to the Tokyo , where one becomes first a prostitute and then a pop star and the other a murderous pole-vaulter . Very dark , grim and violent, every gory detail told graphically. But there’s something very compelling about it and I found that each time I put it down, I couldn’t wait to get back to it.
6) NabokovHis finesse is unmatched; the layers to his story give so much food for thought:
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight
Look at the Harlequins
Ada
7)Palace Walk – Naguib Mahfouz
The story of a family living in Cairo at the end of the first World War. The father is a tyrant at home but an easygoing ladies man once out of the house, the mother is intelligent in her own way but completely under the rule of her husband. Through these characters and their children we are shown the way their society works; from the role of women, politics, the day to day running of a household, music and a lot more besides. It’s Very informative and enlightening. The prose though, takes some getting used to – there is much telling in addition to the showing, and a great deal of musing by the author on the traits of various characters.
The last three spots would go to The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck, Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene, and The Hotel New Hampshire – John Irving.
Oh and I can’t leave out A Star named Henry and Oh Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle
.