Well I finally finished this book. There is a lot that can be read into that sentence.
1) I have been very busy with sick children and sleeping due to late pregnancy;
2) I have been writing a lot on my blog about other stuff so my 'spare time' has been otherwise occupied than reading; or
3) The book just did not grab me sufficiently for me to make the time to read it.
Unfortunately, it is probably point 3 that is closest the to truth. I was all ready to love this book - after all a Booker Prize winning author.
It certainly has a fantastic set of characters and some lovely sub stories to it - but somehow, not until the very end did it all come together for me, such that I felt I 'had' to read the next chapter.
Each chapter looks at a different character on the ship. It is like reading a book of short stories. Yes they are good short stories, well written but it did not drive me to read the next chapter like a normal book would do.
This morning I determined to finish the book so that I could get this book review written (funnily enough some of my most popular, in terms of number of views, on this blog have been my book reviews!). And yes, near the end, it all sort of came together and got a little exciting in its conclusion.
But in thinking about what I would say about this book, I struggled to put my finger on why I really wouldn't recommend this book to someone with my own literary tastes..... And then I got it. It is a dispassionate account of the events. Now indeed the protaganist himself says he has a "cold heart". The writing then is true and in keeping with this - the events and people in the story are described (lovely descriptions) but without any real emotion from the narrator. I 'get' that this is probably half of the skill in the writing if not all of it - but it just means that as a (very ... to a fault) sensitive and passionate person I just did not warm to the narrator or the story.
He describes events that occur to him in such a way that I had to reread it again to make sure I got it right - like recounting dramatic events in a monotone makes the events less dramatic somehow. He writes not as a person would speak the events - but as a boring/disinterested narrator of an unfascinating documentary would be spoken. Just not my style I guess.
Look - some good stories and an interesting twist at the end. If you have lots of spare time and lots of reading resource (aka money to spend on books) this should probably be on your 'to-read' list. But otherwise....
Funnily enough, I never really enjoyed the film of 'The English Patient' - originally a novel by Ondaatje. I thought it was because I was too young or too uncultured. Maybe I am still too uncultured, and wish I was still too young .... but don't think that excuse can apply anymore!Labels: Reading
