Apart from one book over this last four or five weeks of reading, they have all been rather spooky reads. I must say I've enjoyed them all, but for the purpose of this review I'll start with the non-spooky one: The wonderful
Water for Elephants
by
Sara Gruen
Set against the backdrop of the great Depression in the 1930s the main protagonist of this delightful book is Jacob Jancowski.
There are two stories of Jacob in this book, both brilliantly intertwined. Jacob the old man who is suffering and finding his aged body almost intolerable to live with. Then there's the story of the young Jacob, which is told in brilliant, vivid retrospect.
After the death of his parents and loss of his inheritance, the young Jacob runs away and eventually finds himself attracted to a travelling circus. He joins the circus and there he discovers a world that at first gives him feelings of alienation. As he struggles to fit in, he comes into contact with types of people he has never known before; misfits, freaks, and the lovely Marlena.
And so begins a love story told by an old man who is now basically lost and forgotten, and who looks back over his life as a young man, reminiscing with his attentive and charming nurse Rosemary.
A lot of research has gone into this book. The circus is described very vividly and the result is that it comes over to the reader as exotic and colourful.You are thrilled and often shocked simultaneously at the way the people and the animals are treated.
It's an obvious page turner and the character of Jacob is extremely well written. Marlena, August and Walter the clown are more two dimensional but even so, they are fascinating characters in their own right and help to make the book the riveting read that it is.
I have to say I was slightly perplexed when a few of the characters seemed to "disappear" from the text with little or no explanation. Maybe it was something to do with the old man telling the story? Having said that, the book is so well written that all the characters truly bring the book to life and for me the wonderful Rosie the elephant and the circus itself were the true heroes of this book.
It's a great read, a page turner that will thrill and shock the reader at the same time as it twists and turns it's way to the climax. I also loved the archived circus photographs, and I would have liked to have read it in one sitting, but alas for me it was not possible.
P.S. This book was also reviewed for the
P.S. This book was also reviewed for the
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And so on to the spooky reads.....
Everything's Eventual
By
Stephen King
I'm not sure how he does it, but what would otherwise be the most bland and mundane text and dialogue takes on a life of it's own under Stephen King's masterful pen. Somehow the words jump from the page and you are hooked.
Maybe it's the dead pan and often black humour that's so skilfully interwoven in the text of most of his stories; often cropping up when you least expect it and to which the reader can instantly relate. For instance in The Death Room: "the woman.....black hair with striking white streaks. Flying up from her forehead as if blown by a gale force wind ....Bride of Frankenstein....," and the often hilarious maitre d's dialogue in "Lunch at Gotham Cafe"
And then, we wait with bated breath for the punchline, the climax and Stephen King rarely pulls any punches. The only author I know who can simultaneously scare the living daylights out of me and have me in fits of giggles.
And so, in this collection of 14 short stories, he delivers a rib tickling ride as well as a thrilling and scary one.
My favourites were - in no particular order:
Riding the Bullet~~ A young man gives a ride to a bizarre hitchhiker. A tense, poignant and often scary ride for the reader.
In the Deathroom ~~ A men is under interrogation in the depths of South America. Probably the one to give the reader nightmares as it seems it is not too far removed from reality.
Everything's Eventual (from the book title): A thought provoking essay.
Lunch at Gotham Cafe~~ Enter the maitre d from hell. Horrific yes, but with a delightful comedy dialogue that gives a delicious sense of balance to the grisly, culinary goings on.
The Little Sisters of Aluria~~ A dark and fascinating love story, quite different from the others in the collection. And although you can more or less guess the ending it's still a bitter sweet joy.
1408~~ Stay in this hotel room at your peril...it's not so much haunted as alive...
Autopsy Room Four~~ Another nightmare inducing ride this time to the autopsy
room...........
The Man in the Black Suit~~A young boy meets a stranger on day whist he is fishing. Eerie and compelling
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away~~ And here the humour is 'toilet humour,' as we go on a sort of road trip, but it's still pretty good and carries the story giving it credibility .
LTs Theory of Pets ~~ A good Yarn.....maybe with an underlying mystery.
The Road Virus Heads North~~ A man is attracted to a weird painting at a yard sale. Downright scary.
The Feeling you can only say it in French~~ I have to say had me a little baffled but intrigued.
I didn't care too much for The Death of Jack Hamilton; the story of a gangsters draw out death, a bit overlong, (no pun intended). Also Luckey Quarter: Quirky and a little too short? Could have been expanded a little? Having said that, they were still excellently crafted.
So all in all a great collection of stories by the master of the macabre. Recommended
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What the Night Knows
By
Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz goes back to his early days of writing supernatural thrillers after years of writing novels where mainly psychopathic killers take centre stage. Of course you can have supernatural psychopathic killers too, and we have one in this book.
As a teenager, homicide Detective John Calvino is the only survivor from one horrific night when his entire family were massacred. John killed his family's murderer, (who had also massacred three other families besides the Calvino family.) But now twenty years later the killings start again, being near replicas of the original ones.
The characters are stereotypical Koontz characters; flawed and guilt ridden main character with a beautiful and perfect wife, perfect intelligent, near genius kids, one of them psychic, and of course the "best ever golden retriever in the whole world." In contrast there's the evil villain, often without motive who's only main purpose is to kill, maim and cause maximum distress.
So we have a story of obsession, possession, murder, revenge and inherent evil. Often cruel, with little if any humour to lighten the load. It's also an allegory with quite a few existential questions lurking beneath the text; and so like another reviewer here, I too found it a little heavy going in parts.
Up to around chapter 23, there are some really spooky goings on and it has the makings of a very fine ghost story. However it changes drift a little as the spirit of the psychopathic killer "goes to town', as it were, causing mayhem and murder. At this point it becomes less of a ghost story and more of a teenage slasher story.
Also, I would have liked to have seen the character of Calvino's detective partner developed more and playing a bigger part in this story. As it is, he appears to have no real purpose in the book. After an almost nondescript start, he briefly turns up from behind the scenes again when the action is nearing it's climax, but then inexplicably disappears altogether from the story.
But in spite of a few misgivings I liked this book. Yes I would recommend it to seasoned Koontz Fans. If you're not familiar with Koontz, read some other novel of his too so you can get a broader idea of what My Koontz is capable of. And you may consider reading his novella "Darkness Under the Sun" which is a kind of prequel to this novel.
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Christine
by
Stephen King
Christine
by
Stephen King
My son who is Autistic (he has Asperger's Syndrome) carried this book around with him throughout his teenage years, most everywhere he went. I remember we replaced it a time or two with a new book when the old one started falling to bits! He may even have a copy to this day.
I was always amused as to why this book was so important to him, his fixation with it. And although I was familiar with the story and the film, I could never see why it was so special to him. Well, I never did really find out and so had to draw the conclusion that the fuss was about a car with a girls name.
Anyways, I have just read the book myself and I have to say I thought that it was just great. Okay, maybe a little long before any action really gets going, but at the end of the book I realised that every word is necessary if you are to fully appreciate the toxic atmosphere behind the story.
Christine, the car herself, brings mixed emotions. You love her and you hate her at the same time, even through the murderous rampages. Stephen King brings her to life on the pages of his book and you feel the need to see her, to touch her, to let your fingers trail along her shimmering body work. You almost feel like running out of the way when she revs her engine and leaps forward - for this is a car like no other. I got a perverse pleasure at the end of the book. Analyse that!
Yep I loved it. Only Stephen King can lead me through page after page of dry text, (eg, his description of a high school football game,) and I manage to get a thrill out of it.
Quality stuff. Very enjoyable.
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Frankenstein: Lost Souls (book 4)
By
Dean Koontz
This is the first Frankenstein book I have read by Dean Koontz. Although I am fan of his, it was with some trepidation that I bought it, not really knowing what to expect with this one, not having read the previous three in this series. But I'm glad I did buy it. I found it quite a good and entertaining piece of hokum. It's full of suspense and kept me gripped right up to the last page. Also Mr Koontz "brings you up to speed" as it were early on in the book.
I particularly liked the characters Bryce Walker and Travis - a poignant bond forming between an elderly man and a young boy as they go on the run for their lives. Also the equally comfortable and often humorous pairing of Mr Lyss and Nummy. Crooked wise guy meets 'intellectually challenged' boy, also on the run for their lives.
However I have to admit I was a little irritated with former detectives, turned private investigators Carson and Michael, finding most of the dialogue between them tedious and redundant, especially when their young child Scott was involved. Maybe it had something to do with me not having read the first three Frankenstein books and thus not being familiar with Carson and Michael. But apart from this I did enjoy the book and thought it was a good read even as a 'stand alone' novel.
Well, half a 'stand alone' novel, that is. I was a little perplexed that we did get only half a novel and have to wait until later this year for the second half and this story to be finished.
But wait I will. As the saying goes: "I've started so I'll finish."Dean
