Wednesday 30 March 2011

One Day by David Nicholls (2009)

One-Day

The title is the clue as to the novels theme and structure as it is a love story explored on one day - the anniversary of when Dex and Em first meet – over 20 years. You soon despair and root for them as they struggle in the cultural and economic changes of the period getting ever nearer that one day. Think of when Harry met Sally to grasp the novel’s approach but with different and unexpected twists. The characters allow for strong emotional engagement due to the trick of changing point-of-view between the main and some minor characters so along with the writer’s voice this makes for a rich weave of characterisation. David Nicholls background is in film and TV work so the film adaption is done and dusted. And yes, I laughed and cried throughout so turning the last page left me in mourning.

Amazon_5_star: Exemplar - Its a keeper for reading again. Rush out and buy copies for friends.


Tuesday 29 March 2011

Life develops before living

desktopThe windowpane shattered. As always the shards cut her as they reintegrated. Mals looked out but the street, with its abandoned shops and cars, was empty as usual.

Once she had fought back – all her kind had but who remembered that.

Outside the last immortal knew he wasn’t lonely yet.

 

Random Word: hope has many hues


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Tuesday 22 March 2011

The Spiral Staircase – Karen Armstrong (2005)

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In this book we follow her failures (as a nun, an academic, a TV presenter and finally a teacher) as steps towards the revelation that spiritual experience is wider then Christian belief and practice. Yet this helped her get to the heart of Christianity as she unlocked what the mystics and teachers of other faiths mean through reflection and practicing an idea or argument until its emotional centre is experienced. Her writing is at the heart of the approach  that attempts to move Christianity away from rational literalism and belief to a praxis of compassion and the liberation of myth.

 

 

Amazon_5_star: Exemplar - Its a keeper for reading again. Rush out and buy copies for friends


Monday 14 March 2011

The Church of Dead Girls – Stephen Dobyns (1997)

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Slow build up of tension as three teenage girls disappear from a small town. The story’s focus is on the town folk whose behaviour becomes as extreme and immoral as the killer. The narrative character is a school teacher, a local loner, whose behaviour the reader mimics as we spy into characters thoughts and motivations.

 

 

 

 Amazon_4_star: Good - read it again and loan it out or give to friends when shelves full