some reading
May. 20th, 2001 09:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gerbie69. Mario Vargas LLosa - In praise of the stepmother
Found it on a market in South Australia (meadows to be exact) for cheap. I am a sucker for South American literature and bought it almost blindfolded. It turned out to be some sort of erotic novel, though I must warn all perverts before they run of to their bookshops now, that it is quite a dificult read. Whole chapters are dedicated to old paintings and the description of them, somehow relating to the main characters of the book, especially the father and his second wife. Throughout the book her stepson is taking centre stage though. Interesting book, proving again that Eroticism is in the mind, not on pictures or films as so many still seem to think
70. Bill Bryson - Notes from a small island
Found on the same market as the one above, after reading his first one I am convinced of his class. This one just confirms what I thought. It's the story of the author travelling around his adopted country, where he has been living for so many years, on the eve of his return to the states. He is an insider, but remains the outsider. Again some very interesting observations, again we share some opionions (Durham!), again he sees things that other people take for granted. It makes you understand the British a bit better, that is if you haven't been there yourself.
71. Arundahati Roy - The God of small things
For her debut novel this Indian author won a big literature price in the UK (can't remember which I have to admit). She still hasn't written a second book. Talk about coincidence. I have been carrying this book with me since Hastings, New Zealand (that'll be mid february I guess) and on the day I started reading it, I found an article in the newspaper that she might face a jail term in India, after protesting against something. This book relates through flash-backs and afterthoughts a series of tragedies, are interlinked offcourse, happening to an upper class Indian family. India being a very class aware country, this obviously comes back in a lot of things in the book. Sometimes difficult to follow, especially in the beginning, when a lot of names are thrown at you, eventually I found the feeling for this book and enjoyed reading it. It might not be easy to read, but it was good to read about a country with a very strong culture, especially since I don't know much about it. But who said books have to be easy?
Found it on a market in South Australia (meadows to be exact) for cheap. I am a sucker for South American literature and bought it almost blindfolded. It turned out to be some sort of erotic novel, though I must warn all perverts before they run of to their bookshops now, that it is quite a dificult read. Whole chapters are dedicated to old paintings and the description of them, somehow relating to the main characters of the book, especially the father and his second wife. Throughout the book her stepson is taking centre stage though. Interesting book, proving again that Eroticism is in the mind, not on pictures or films as so many still seem to think
70. Bill Bryson - Notes from a small island
Found on the same market as the one above, after reading his first one I am convinced of his class. This one just confirms what I thought. It's the story of the author travelling around his adopted country, where he has been living for so many years, on the eve of his return to the states. He is an insider, but remains the outsider. Again some very interesting observations, again we share some opionions (Durham!), again he sees things that other people take for granted. It makes you understand the British a bit better, that is if you haven't been there yourself.
71. Arundahati Roy - The God of small things
For her debut novel this Indian author won a big literature price in the UK (can't remember which I have to admit). She still hasn't written a second book. Talk about coincidence. I have been carrying this book with me since Hastings, New Zealand (that'll be mid february I guess) and on the day I started reading it, I found an article in the newspaper that she might face a jail term in India, after protesting against something. This book relates through flash-backs and afterthoughts a series of tragedies, are interlinked offcourse, happening to an upper class Indian family. India being a very class aware country, this obviously comes back in a lot of things in the book. Sometimes difficult to follow, especially in the beginning, when a lot of names are thrown at you, eventually I found the feeling for this book and enjoyed reading it. It might not be easy to read, but it was good to read about a country with a very strong culture, especially since I don't know much about it. But who said books have to be easy?
