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I have recently finished A Fine Balance and I aboslutely loved it - it has been a long time since I have read a book so engrossing, so sad, and so moving. The characterisation is unbelievable. I will definately be reading the rest of Mr Mistry's books.

Not really, no. Unless I am missing something obvious, maybe I am being too literal. I suppose it somewhat depends on how you view the ending. I take it from your post that you do? In what way?

How about Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood? Her dystopian themes are more developed that Handmaid's Tale and it has much more of her trademark dark humour than in HT. I am not sure how well it fits the martyr but the tragic hero/hopeless cause is relevant and well worth a read.

Wow, what an amazing book. I had seen recommendations but I never really fancied it much from the back cover/synopsis - it was sitting in my cupboard for ages before I finally got around to reading it but I am so glad I did. I thought the multiple POV storytelling worked perfectly and the...

I have heard quite a few people say that they didn't really like A Widow for One Year - its certainly not what I would class a 'classic' Irving. I would suggest A Prayer for Owen Meany or The World According to Garp to get you started.

This book is one of the few John Irving books that I didn't really enjoy - it had its moments but ultimately felt like too much of a struggle. The Water Method Man is the other 'bad' book that springs to mind but I have loved everything else by him so don't let this book put you off if its your...

I must admit I didn't really like this book - it was ok but I just couldn't connect to any of the characters and I just didn't care that much what was happening to them. Maybe this was because I had just finished reading 'The Kite Runner' which I had been totally emotionally involved in as well...

I did enjoy this book but one of the negative things about it was the unlikeability of the main character. I guess this did improve as the book went on but by then it was a bit too late.

I absolutely loved this book and have never heard of anyone else who's read it to be honest. I can't remember how I came accross it but when I finished I immediately looked into what else had had written and was gutted to find it was only one other book (which I read straight away and also...

Surely if you were organising an outdoor event you would make contingency plans for the weather? When the sponsor guy asked Randall about rain he didn't seem to have thought about it. Maybe he has and it just wasn't included in the show. I thought he was weaker than usual in this task though...

I would definately recommend the other books as otherwise it is just a very depressing story. I don't want to say too much about the other books or I will ruin it for you but I found them to be very inspirational.

Thanks for that Vorian, I will just plunge straight into the next one then :D Nakmeister, I think this is just a two book saga - Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. I actually read Pandora's Star before I read the Night's Dawn Trilogy and preferred it to the NDT so really looking forward to...

I have waited so long for this book to come out that I can't really remember much of Pandora's Star (other than I really enjoyed it!). Has anyone read Judas Unchained yet? Is there some sort of recap and did everything come flooding back?

The Collector by John Fowles.

I just realised that I worded my post really badly but we are watching the current series at the moment. I am in the UK but by OH downloads the episodes so we are up to date with the US. This season is definately action packed and the Habib Mawan (sp?) is the most intelligent and capable...

one of my favourite shows - its fantastic. We watched the first three series on DVD so could watch loads of episodes at once - it is torture having to wait a week between episodes!

that's good but bad - I was hoping it would be a bit more substantial than 96 pages!

the book was a bit like that as well so can't blame the filmakers!

I always thought that this was explored quite well in Orwell's 1984 with the explanation of how new speak was developed and how certain words are elimiated every year as the regime gets more and more oppressive. What about dreams? The reason I always think it is hard to tell someone else...

Thank you everybody :) I have been around but must admit to regressing to my lurking ways .... I have had a lovely day with lots of great presents (but no cake due to inevitable new year diet!) I am getting married in September so really looking forward to my year ahead :)