book meme, part two.
Where did i get to, most recently read, ah ha so now we're on to favorites. I am not going to put them in order because i think its abit like asking which one of your children you love the most but here they are; "The Magus", by John Fowles, a friend (who was slightly older and a whole lot better read than me) lent it to me when i was about thirteen, it was probably my first venture in to more mature literature ( i nearly said adult literature then and that is not what i mean at all) and it was fantatastic, i literallly drank in the story. It provided me with a wonderful escape from the constraints of my own reality, (boarding school) and i just remeber feeling a huge affinity with the central character, Nicholas, ( who nic my husband is named after, not that you care) although i can't quite remeber why, as i now seem to recall he was a bit of a bastard. oh yeah and Leo i'll have my copy of that back cheers.
"Everything is illuminated" and "Extremly loud and Incredibly close", by jonathan safan foer, I love how he writes, I love how the lay out of the text is reflective of narrative. i think its great that he was couragous enough to use 9/11 as a central issue within his book. Some might consider this exploitative but as an american writer it could have spelled potential literary suicide, particuly as he used it within a fictional context.
"Sky burial" and also "The good women of China" by Xin Ran. I find China a hugely fasinating subject, it has such a dark history and a culture that is so far removed from my own cultural perspective. Xin Ran is one of the few Chinese writers whose writing allows pause for what i as a westerner would consider to be a normal emotional response. So many writers that have come out of china eitheir write of there own experiences in a very clinical and factual manner which although insightful makes for greuling reading material, or like Amy Tan they are american chinese and they refer to the attrocities in china's history with revulsion rathar than understanding and compassion. Xin Ran seems to find this balance easily, and she offers honest insights into the lifes of chinese women, with out portraying them to be one dimensional charaters. Can i have one more? Perfume, by someone i can't remember. Fantastic, horribly dark and yet utterly beautiful all at once, very evocative. And everyone should read the bang bang club, -we can't ignore to the horrors of this world, just because they are in the past.
And finally i know i've used up my five and more but i can't not say it "Harry Potter" by j k Rowling, I'm not about to tell you why its worth a read, if you were going to you would have done by now.
"Everything is illuminated" and "Extremly loud and Incredibly close", by jonathan safan foer, I love how he writes, I love how the lay out of the text is reflective of narrative. i think its great that he was couragous enough to use 9/11 as a central issue within his book. Some might consider this exploitative but as an american writer it could have spelled potential literary suicide, particuly as he used it within a fictional context.
"Sky burial" and also "The good women of China" by Xin Ran. I find China a hugely fasinating subject, it has such a dark history and a culture that is so far removed from my own cultural perspective. Xin Ran is one of the few Chinese writers whose writing allows pause for what i as a westerner would consider to be a normal emotional response. So many writers that have come out of china eitheir write of there own experiences in a very clinical and factual manner which although insightful makes for greuling reading material, or like Amy Tan they are american chinese and they refer to the attrocities in china's history with revulsion rathar than understanding and compassion. Xin Ran seems to find this balance easily, and she offers honest insights into the lifes of chinese women, with out portraying them to be one dimensional charaters. Can i have one more? Perfume, by someone i can't remember. Fantastic, horribly dark and yet utterly beautiful all at once, very evocative. And everyone should read the bang bang club, -we can't ignore to the horrors of this world, just because they are in the past.
And finally i know i've used up my five and more but i can't not say it "Harry Potter" by j k Rowling, I'm not about to tell you why its worth a read, if you were going to you would have done by now.
posted by Lorna at 3:43 AM
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