One of my all-time favourite films, Nick Hornby's 1998 novel About a Boy is a book that I'm pretty sure could be read in a day. It's fast-paced, lively, amusing and interesting, all in one.
For anyone who hasn't seen or read it, I'll provide a small back-story. Will is a 36 year old Londoner who, apart from the odd day here and there, has never worked, not been married and is childless.
Marcus is the weird kid everyone avoids at school.
About a Boy is what happens when they meet.
Set in London around 1993 younger readers may find the book a little outdated. However, older readers who remember the 90s may just like the travel back in time. Along with this there is also the death of Kurt Cobain featured near the end.
As a casual read, this book is extremely entertaining, funny and heart-warming. I'd recommend it to anyone who has (or hasn't, for that matter) seen the film version. If easy reads are your thing, this is probably a book for you. It's also very easy to follow and doesn't contain any complicated plots anywhere.
I seem to recall myself cringing at some of the characters' comments or actions, most notably Marcus's who, before he meets Will (followed by Ellie) is extremely awkward, sings in class and listens to people like Toni Bennett. However, his meeting and hanging out with Will results in Marcus becoming somewhat 'cooler' and dressing a bit better.
Through my reading of About a Boy I did sometimes find a couple of characters (notably Will and Marcus) to be a little annoying in their comments or attitudes. I'm not sure if this was intentional from Hornby or not, but nonetheless, it didn't stop me from enjoying the book and being one I feel I'll be reading again sometime.
I found it to be well-written and researched and Hornby certainly knows how to put together a book that a lot of people will enjoy.
Overall rating: 4.5/5
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Deadline by Simon Kernick (review 2)
A few weeks ago I was at a friend's place sat on her sofa and waiting for said friend to get ready so we could go out and have a few drinks for her birthday. On that day I'd brought a spare copy of 'Deadline' round as I've been trying to get said friend to read some SK. Whilst waiting, I started reading the book and when I got home later that night I continued reading it, except it was a different copy.
Andrea Devern is a well-paid, middle-class business woman who gets home one night to find the house is unusually quiet. And then she recieves a phone call which turns her world upside-down. Some kidnappers have taken her daughter and they want half a million pounds in cash or the daughter dies.
The reader is then presented with an extreme game of Cat & Mouse. Like all of SK's books, 'Deadline' is well-researched with characters you both like and dislike. This was a book I had trouble putting down, constantly finding myself reading until 4-5am, wanting to know what happens in the next chapter as, like with all Simon Kernick tales, this one is filled with cliffhangers at almost every chapter-end.
Another thing I liked about this book was that it had some of my favourite Kernick characters in it, notably Tina Boyd and Mike Bolt. Along with this it had a number of scenes in the City in areas that I knew or recognised. This meant that I could easily picture certain roads and areas. Failing that there was always Google Maps.
I wouldn't say this is SK's best book, but it comes pretty close. If you're a fan of fast-paced action and the London ciminal underworld 'Deadline' is well worth a read.
This one gets a tidy 4/5 from me.
Andrea Devern is a well-paid, middle-class business woman who gets home one night to find the house is unusually quiet. And then she recieves a phone call which turns her world upside-down. Some kidnappers have taken her daughter and they want half a million pounds in cash or the daughter dies.
The reader is then presented with an extreme game of Cat & Mouse. Like all of SK's books, 'Deadline' is well-researched with characters you both like and dislike. This was a book I had trouble putting down, constantly finding myself reading until 4-5am, wanting to know what happens in the next chapter as, like with all Simon Kernick tales, this one is filled with cliffhangers at almost every chapter-end.
Another thing I liked about this book was that it had some of my favourite Kernick characters in it, notably Tina Boyd and Mike Bolt. Along with this it had a number of scenes in the City in areas that I knew or recognised. This meant that I could easily picture certain roads and areas. Failing that there was always Google Maps.
I wouldn't say this is SK's best book, but it comes pretty close. If you're a fan of fast-paced action and the London ciminal underworld 'Deadline' is well worth a read.
This one gets a tidy 4/5 from me.
Monday, 2 July 2012
Severed by Simon Kernick
Yes, it is yet another Simon Kernick review, and so soon after the previous review. This time, however, it is his 2007 release, Severed.
Before going into the book/review I'll give a little background on why I read this. As you'll notice, I've been reading a few 19th Century novels for my uni course. After finishing Silas Marner I decided that before I go into next semester's reads, I'd devour something simple yet worthy of a long sit down. And so I chose Severed, a book I've read once a few years ago, but knew was good.
I always find that SK's books are simple to read, yet filled with fast-paced action, and not lacking a large amount of death, fear (in the characters) and general carnage. A good head-clearer, if you will. I also wouldn't need to focus on or think about theories (i.e. Psychoanalysis, post-modernism, imagery, characterisation amongst others), I can just sit down and read, which I did with this.
Moving on, Severed is the story of a successful car salesman who wakes up next to his girlfriend. But there's a problem: she's dead. And not peacefully either. She's been brutally murdered and now the protagonist, Tyler, must find out who killed her and seek his revenge.
The next 24 hours are the most telling as he is sent on a wild goose chase around the grim streets of East London. Inevitably he hits many a brick wall yet somehow recovers. I'll stop the spoilers there.
Fast-paced and action-filled, this is definitely one of Simon Kernick's best books. Much like Siege, I managed it in just two sittings (with the odd 20 min break here and there), finding it incredibly hard to put down due to the numerous cliffhangers which leave the reader desperate to know what happens next.
As some people may know, I am a cynical person at times, however, I can find nothing negative to say about the book. The characters are just right, events are described perfectly and the storyline/plot is constantly pushed forward with the skill of Kernick's writing. Or maybe I'm just being biased. You decide.
For anyone who hasn't read Severed and likes their crime fiction, grab this book today. If you haven't read Simon Kernick in the past, also pick up this book. I'm sure you'll become an instant fan. I've probably said that about his other books, but a writer loves their praise (trust me, I know).
This one gets a nice big 5/5 from me.
Before going into the book/review I'll give a little background on why I read this. As you'll notice, I've been reading a few 19th Century novels for my uni course. After finishing Silas Marner I decided that before I go into next semester's reads, I'd devour something simple yet worthy of a long sit down. And so I chose Severed, a book I've read once a few years ago, but knew was good.
I always find that SK's books are simple to read, yet filled with fast-paced action, and not lacking a large amount of death, fear (in the characters) and general carnage. A good head-clearer, if you will. I also wouldn't need to focus on or think about theories (i.e. Psychoanalysis, post-modernism, imagery, characterisation amongst others), I can just sit down and read, which I did with this.
Moving on, Severed is the story of a successful car salesman who wakes up next to his girlfriend. But there's a problem: she's dead. And not peacefully either. She's been brutally murdered and now the protagonist, Tyler, must find out who killed her and seek his revenge.
The next 24 hours are the most telling as he is sent on a wild goose chase around the grim streets of East London. Inevitably he hits many a brick wall yet somehow recovers. I'll stop the spoilers there.
Fast-paced and action-filled, this is definitely one of Simon Kernick's best books. Much like Siege, I managed it in just two sittings (with the odd 20 min break here and there), finding it incredibly hard to put down due to the numerous cliffhangers which leave the reader desperate to know what happens next.
As some people may know, I am a cynical person at times, however, I can find nothing negative to say about the book. The characters are just right, events are described perfectly and the storyline/plot is constantly pushed forward with the skill of Kernick's writing. Or maybe I'm just being biased. You decide.
For anyone who hasn't read Severed and likes their crime fiction, grab this book today. If you haven't read Simon Kernick in the past, also pick up this book. I'm sure you'll become an instant fan. I've probably said that about his other books, but a writer loves their praise (trust me, I know).
This one gets a nice big 5/5 from me.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Join Me by Danny Wallace
This review would have been of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, but after that damn essay, literature was not something I wanted to read, and so, after some thought, I picked up an easy book. That easy book was another Danny Wallace experiment.
In the past I've read 'Yes Man' and 'Awkward Situations for Men' so I knew and expected something good. However, I didn't expect something this good and funny.
'Join Me' is the tale of a 25 year old Danny Wallace who, bored one day decides to put an ad in a local paper saying the simple words 'Join me'. What for, he didn't know, but soon after posting the ad, people of all ages were joining him. Wanting to be like his recently-deceased great uncle, Danny soon decided to try and collect ('not a cult, a collective') 1000 Joinees as it was something his great uncle had attempted but failed to achieve.
Soon, Danny was travelling over Europe to meet and collect joinees, and it was good.
That is all I can really say without giving too much away, but what I can say is that this was another excellent read from Danny Wallace. It was funny, fast-paced and hard to put down, managed in 2 days, if that. It was also easy and a good head-clearer after all the work I've had recently (when people tell you 2nd year is a pisstake, believe them).
Will I become a joinee myself? I don't know, probably not, but only time can tell. In the meantime, it probably can't hurt to try and be a bit like the joinees and perform some random acts of kindness, can it?
Overall a good read, but a bit 'holiday-read'-like. Overall rating: 4/5
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Slugs by Shaun Hutson
Book two of the R.I.P. reading challenge is Shaun Hutson's debut novel "Slugs" - a gripping tale of what happens when eight-inch-long slugs begin attacking the London town of Merton.
It starts with the mysterious death of an unemployed man about to be kicked out of his home and continues with London citizens being killed in some very gruesome and unimaginable ways.
That's until 2 council workers and naturist figure out what's causing the deaths and how to get rid of it.
But there's an epilogue...
As a debut novel this book is extremely disturbing and a good cause of toe-curling and the realisation that there's always someone off worse than you. By using slugs, the fear or disgust is increased as they're nothing compared to snails or frogs. Long, fat, black lumps which slither along the ground, leaving a thick slime trail behind them in search for human flesh and blood.
I would have read this book a lot quicker than the 10 or 11 days it took but I've been so busy with moving and uni that I haven't had the chance to sit down properly. Like most of Shaun Hutson's novels this would usually be a very fast read at only 200 pages but, for the aforementioned reasons, it wasn't to be.
Now that I'm back at uni I won't have much time to do some casual reading so I may have to risk saying that this is the last book of the R.I.P. challenge unless I count I Am Legend, Children of Men, Frankenstein and Paradise Lost book 4 as horror and treat them as casual reading also. Reviews of all four will follow in the next few weeks.
Overall rating: 4/5
It starts with the mysterious death of an unemployed man about to be kicked out of his home and continues with London citizens being killed in some very gruesome and unimaginable ways.
That's until 2 council workers and naturist figure out what's causing the deaths and how to get rid of it.
But there's an epilogue...
As a debut novel this book is extremely disturbing and a good cause of toe-curling and the realisation that there's always someone off worse than you. By using slugs, the fear or disgust is increased as they're nothing compared to snails or frogs. Long, fat, black lumps which slither along the ground, leaving a thick slime trail behind them in search for human flesh and blood.
I would have read this book a lot quicker than the 10 or 11 days it took but I've been so busy with moving and uni that I haven't had the chance to sit down properly. Like most of Shaun Hutson's novels this would usually be a very fast read at only 200 pages but, for the aforementioned reasons, it wasn't to be.
Now that I'm back at uni I won't have much time to do some casual reading so I may have to risk saying that this is the last book of the R.I.P. challenge unless I count I Am Legend, Children of Men, Frankenstein and Paradise Lost book 4 as horror and treat them as casual reading also. Reviews of all four will follow in the next few weeks.
Overall rating: 4/5
Location:Kempton Rd,Stratford,United Kingdom
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Deadline by Simon Kernick
With Simon Kernick being one of my favourite crime/thriller writers it was going to be obvious that I'd like this book as he makes much of it seem like a true crime tale with his knowledge and connections with the Anti-Terrorist Branch and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Using this knowledge and connection he can incorporate many authentic operation tactics into his writing.
Deadline tells the story of an abduction of a child with a ransom of half a million pounds cash. Bringing in his main characters (whom appear in all of his books) Tina Boyd, Mike Bolt, Mo Kahn and "Big" Barry Freud Kernick creates a story that is gripping and page-turning with many twists and turns which we wouldn't have guessed would happen.
As the story goes on Mike Bolt takes control of the op. However, as with most of Kernick's novels, Bolt's actions go very wrong or the criminal gets the better of SOCA and Deadline is no exception.
Reading on Kernick drags us deeper into the criminal underground of London and how a place that many people adore can become a place in which serious crime and dangerous gangs are just around the corner. This novel really makes you realise how dangerous 'da streets, innit' can be and may make you take a double look over your shoulder at the quietest of sounds and with the knowledge which Kernick has this adds to the authenticity of the story.
Although the story is intended to be completely serious we can't elp but shake our heads at some of Bolt's actions i.e. Suspension from SOCA yet he chooses to undertake his own investigation thinking he has a lead.
There are many twists and turns throughout with a conclusion which will make anyone go from "Ooh" to "WTF?!".
I may be bias in saying this book is a good read but it is still one I'd recommend any fan of crime/thriller should pick up as rather than tip-toe round the edges he digs right in to the point. I can simply justify this by saying that I own all of his books and have now read all but two of the 10 he has written.
To conclude this review let's just say that Kernick has done it again and managed to write yet another gripping tale of crime, death, destruction, suspense and humour.
Overall rating 8.5/10
Deadline tells the story of an abduction of a child with a ransom of half a million pounds cash. Bringing in his main characters (whom appear in all of his books) Tina Boyd, Mike Bolt, Mo Kahn and "Big" Barry Freud Kernick creates a story that is gripping and page-turning with many twists and turns which we wouldn't have guessed would happen.
As the story goes on Mike Bolt takes control of the op. However, as with most of Kernick's novels, Bolt's actions go very wrong or the criminal gets the better of SOCA and Deadline is no exception.
Reading on Kernick drags us deeper into the criminal underground of London and how a place that many people adore can become a place in which serious crime and dangerous gangs are just around the corner. This novel really makes you realise how dangerous 'da streets, innit' can be and may make you take a double look over your shoulder at the quietest of sounds and with the knowledge which Kernick has this adds to the authenticity of the story.
Although the story is intended to be completely serious we can't elp but shake our heads at some of Bolt's actions i.e. Suspension from SOCA yet he chooses to undertake his own investigation thinking he has a lead.
There are many twists and turns throughout with a conclusion which will make anyone go from "Ooh" to "WTF?!".
I may be bias in saying this book is a good read but it is still one I'd recommend any fan of crime/thriller should pick up as rather than tip-toe round the edges he digs right in to the point. I can simply justify this by saying that I own all of his books and have now read all but two of the 10 he has written.
To conclude this review let's just say that Kernick has done it again and managed to write yet another gripping tale of crime, death, destruction, suspense and humour.
Overall rating 8.5/10
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