Notes from a Big Country | Review

I first picked up this book about 3 years ago and I just couldn't get into it. I found it difficult to read more than 20 pages at a time and it was taking me a lifetime to get through it. That bugged me so I put it down. However, I really wanted to read it. I've read a couple of Bryson's other books, not his travel writing mind you, and loved them so I was determined to try this again. My TBR jar seemed like the perfect opportunity to force myself into picking it up again.

Our Endless Numbered Days | Review

★★★★

In recent months I had heard a lot of good things about this book. It had appeared in a lot of my favourite BookTuber's hauls and also seemed to be sticking in the top seller list. So when I saw it in Sainsbury's during my weekly grocery shop for £3.99 I could hardly walk past it. 

It's always a concern, that with a book like this, that has been doing the BookTube rounds and hanging around in the best seller list, that maybe it's a case of over-hype. However, in this case it definitely wasn't over hype. 'Our Endless Numbered Day's is a beautifully written, enchanting book that is hard to put down and hard to believe it's over - not because there are unanswered questions but because you don't want it to be over.

We first meet our main character, Penny, 1985 when she has returned to London from Die Huitte where she has been living with her father for 9 years. However, the story really starts in 1976 when her father takes her away from her comfortable home in London out to the middle of no where, Europe, to live in Die Huitte, where he tells her that the rest of the world, including her  beloved mother Ute, is dead. 

The story goes back and forth between Penny's time Die Huitte with her father and returning to London with her Mother. The twist and excitement isn't in the fact that she does indeed return home, of course because this would mean the excitement is over, but in how and why she gets to return home and her learning to deal with the fact that her father is a liar and why he decided to take her away.

Claire Fuller's writing is beautiful. It's so descriptive that everything is so vivid and easy to picture. The forest and the mountains and Die Huitte are all described within an inch of their life, which, if you don't like pages and pages of description, you won't like. It may sound boring but Fuller's writing makes it engaging and easy to read and not once did I feel like I was going to nod off.

Her characters are also beautifully written and described. Each is it's own and they are well rounded and I had very few questions about each character and what their role was within the story and what they added. The twists and the plot go in an unexpected direction towards the end and suddenly everything you've read before you realise has added up to this and suddenly you realise all the way through Fuller has been dropping little hints without shoving it in your face. 

The slightly annoying part is the big reveal of the major plot twist, two pages before the end. It's very soap-opera esque and takes away a bit from all the beautiful, well crafted prose that went before it. Obviously the book is still wonderful and one little flaw is not going to make it an awful book but it is something that was a little annoying. 

This book wouldn't be for everyone. For me I wanted to carry on reading to confirm suspicions and follow Penny's story to the end, it wasn't easy to put it down especially during the last 1/4 of the book. However, for some people the middle section, that is mainly set in the forest and is very heavy on description with little plot movement, would be dull and boring and hard to get through. All though I love this kind of story telling I can see that others wouldn't. 

As well as this, although the plot reveal is a shocker it's also unexplored after that. For me the actual reveal was confirmation of what I already suspected, however the implications of that were never explored. Which for me was fine, but for others may be irritating. As well as this some may find the plot twist, as well as other themes and points of narrative disturbing, which may put some off the book.

Overall, for me the book was brilliantly crafted and a great read to kick of my reading year. 

Have you read 'Our Endless Numbered Days' what did you think? If you haven't read it go pick it up and let me know what you think.

Until next time,

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Eleanor & Park | A review

On Goodreads | Buy

Eleanor and Park is a young adult novel about two teenagers who find their first love in one another during their bus trips to school. Eleanor stands out from the crown with big, red hair and odd clothing where as Park is quite happy blending in and not being noticed by anyone. Despite their differences, among comic books, mix tapes and secret meetings they manage to find that all consuming first true love.

Let's start my saying Rowell is a brilliant writer and clearly has a good memory of what it's like to be a teenager in high school and fall in love for the first time, because this story is perfectly told and completely believable. The characters were really well developed and easy to connect with. I felt like I knew them and felt them both as individuals and as a couple. What really aided to this was the flaws that both characters had which as always helps to really round a character out and make them seem more human.

The story was both heart warming and heart wrenching and had all the qualities that young adult novel with a love story should have. It dealt with all the trials and tribulations of teenage years and find love. It all unfolded beautifully to create a really fulfilling read that had be grinning like a cheshire cat.

I will be honest it's not hugely original although there are some original elements, the story and concept in itself aren't ground breaking literary work. It's a young adult love story and it's the same at it's core as most other's. If you're into that, or want to try some of it this would be a good place to start but if you're looking for something deep and meaningful I'd look elsewhere.

I also felt the ending was a bit of a let down and a bit of a rush to get there. Overall I'd give this book 3 1/2 stars and I'd be interested to try more of Rowell's writing. 

Have any of you read Eleanor and Park? What did you think? Let me know in the comments along with any book recommendations you may have. Also don't forget to follow me on Goodreads to keep up with what I'm reading. 

Until next time

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A review | The water diviner (2014)

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OPENS 26 Dec (Australia) 3 April (UK) 

Russel Crowe's directing debut was nothing but stunning. The Water Diviner, an Australian made film that will make you reconsider what you thought of Australian film, is the story of a father trying to recover his sons bodies from the battle fields of Gallipoli so they can be buried at home as he had promised his now deceased wife. The film is deep in symbolism and story telling and as he did in Lord of the Rings Andrew Lesnie shows he has a great knack of portraying beauty in landscapes when it comes to cinematography. 

At it's heart The Water Diviner is a story about the grief and loss of war but proves that when it really comes down to it no one really wins at war despite the opening scenes that see Turkish soldiers rejoicing as Australian fleets leave the shores of Gallipoli. When Crowe's character (Joshua Connor) meets the men responsible for his sons death's and eventually comes to view them as friends the film reveals the power of forgiveness had has the same kind of air as 'The Railway Man' in which Colin Firth becomes friends with man who tortured him during WW2. The film becomes an exploration of Turkish culture and respectful dissertation that the Turks were losers too. 

The beautiful scenes of modern day Turkey make the flashbacks to the darkness of the battlefield even more poignant. The switch from faultless, water colour feel Turkey to dark and grainy battlefield is textbook but it's definitely effective. Each time the switch occurs you feel your heart sink as you prepare for death, sickness, and the screams of dying soldiers.

There are problems with the film such as the annoying slow motion scenes that seem completely without purpose. The love interest in the Turkish hotel was also an annoying element that seemed unnecessary and these were the parts I found most boring as they added nothing to the parts of the film that were so well constructed and portrayed. I felt the film had a very rushed ending. Not in that I wanted to know more at the end but I felt the final few scenes were rushed through. 

However, it is all grounded in Crowe's strong performance and a reminder of the power cinema can have on emotions when everything is so in sync as it is here. 

Have you seen the film? What did you think and what other films should I go and see soon?

Until Friday, 

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A Review | Girl Online by Zoe Sugg aka Zoella

Buy Girl Online here

I've loved reading for as long as I can remember. Picking up a book a losing myself in a great story is something I can't resist. So, when Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella), someone who says they love reading as much as I do, released her debut novel I couldn't not purchase it. It isn't on the shelves in Australia yet so I bought it on my kindle (thanks dad) and I loved it just as much as watching her YouTube videos.

The book took me back to being a thirteen year old and it was the type of book I read then but the type of book I love equally as a very nearly twenty one year old. It is clearly a young adult novel, written with teenage girls in mind but I still really enjoyed it.

'Girl Online' follows Penny. A school girl from Brighton who writes an anonymous blog, loves photography and suffers from panic attacks and anxiety. To say I could empathise with this main character is an understatement.

The story was great with a well developed narrator making it easy to read. It was funny, sad and everything in between. It was a proper teenage read - it felt a little like Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging but slightly more grown up. It was fun to watch Penny grow and learn like all teenagers do and I could definitely see myself in her - as most post-teen women will be able to.

The themes Zoe chose to deal with were quite unique, I felt, and very well dealt with. It was clear Zoe knew what she was talking about when dealing with the anxiety that featured heavily in the novel but didn't take over from the book. She also dealt well with the up's and down's that come with the online world and finding your first love. All the major ideas intertwined nicely and didn't feel like a jumble of ideas crashed together.

There were a lot of cliches and the plot has seen before but for a teenagers novel, at a debut novel, I'll let that go. It was still a very enjoyable, easy read, perfect for when you want to curl up and feel cosy. I read this in a day when it was raining outside and I curled up on the couch with several cups of tea and candles and felt very content.

I'm not going to lie - I was sad when it came to an end. I wanted to carry on reading the story and Zoe's writing which I loved! It was an excellent first novel and I'm really hoping for more from Zoe, a very talented young lady.

A Review | The Name of the Star by Maureen Jouhnson

Buy the book on Amazon here

In the past few years I have heard so many Booktubers get excited about this book and give it great reviews, so this Halloween I decided I’d make it my spooky read. I’m a great lover of Victorian London in literature and Jack the Ripper is one of my favourite characters from that setting, I think this is both the reason for leaving ‘The Name of the Star’ alone for such a long time and for deciding to pick it up. I was nervous that Jack the Ripper couldn’t be executed in the same way in a modern day setting but I was curious as to how Johnson was going to get round it.

Johnson’s premise for a Jack the Ripper story in modern London was a good one, however it was poorly executed.

From beginning until 95% of the way through I felt disconnected from the plot, as did Rory the main character. The Jack the Ripper element got very lost amongst a boring, unnecessary love story, an irrational twist (which ended up taking the story even further from the thing that made me most want to read it), and general nonsense. There were so many blurry, pointless elements to the book, such as the very pointless love story that achieved very little in the way of plot development, that the exciting part ended up being an after thought - in other words too much faff not enough action.

Half way through the book Rory discovers she can see ghosts. This element allows Johnson to incorporate the Ripper idea nicely into the story but also forces her to include very inconceivable elements which made me stop and think - really though? Really? It also dragged everything further from the whole Ripper element which in the end seemed unnecessary as it all unveiled to have very little to do with Jack the Ripper. I found myself wanting more Ripper and less supernatural on countless occasions.

A lot of the characters felt very half hearted and bland and I’ll be honest easy to forget. Very few of them had much depth apart from the Ripper himself. The dialogue between the characters felt very forced and meaningless, almost used as a device to remind the reader that there is a Ripper in the story when the plot got lost on some other element. Rory’s ‘nemesis’ was rather un-nemsisy. A head girl who’s a bit of an over achiever doesn't constitute a dislike in my eyes and it felt a bit immature and over done.

There were good elements to the story. It was an easy read, it took some time to get through because it was all a bit messy and lost but the writing was easy to read and didn’t need to much brain power. The factual elements included throughout were, for me, one of the best parts as that’s really what I was hoping for. I thought she included them nicely throughout but at times they felt like she was just using them as a reminder that there was  Ripper in London but here’s Rory and she’s not that worried about it all. I’ll hand it to Johnson that she definitely didn't shy away from the gore of the Ripper, the facts included, well, all the facts and again it was all well incorporated.

The book was rounded up nicely, everything was solved and the characters were comfortable though there was enough of a cliff hanger for those who are interested in reading the next book in the series.

Me, I’m undecided whether I will or not as of yet.


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P.S Don't forget to check out my madeit.com.au Christmas gift guide it's under a month away now ladies and gents.

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Books about missing women - which one's for you?

Thrillers aren't normally bag when it comes to reading. I like a book to curl up with in bed that will send me off into a peaceful sleep feeling safe and happy - most of the time. Though I'd like to call myself an adventurous reader (slightly oxymoronic?) I like to branch out and try new things as often as possible so when 'One Step Too Far' by Tina Seskis was send to me earlier in the year I jumped at the chance to read something slightly out of my comfort zone.

Before delving into 'One Step Too Far' the most thriller/crime book I'd read was probably 'Great Expectations', so that gives you an idea of my wanderings in the genre. I was excited to read it and I wasn't disappointed

'One Step Too Far' is the story of a woman who disappears of her own free will in order to escape the life she's been living. Told from mostly Emily/Cat's (same person) point of view, we see her leave her happy, comfortable life and begin life as a slightly reckless Londoner. The question of what drives her to live in squalor with too many flatmates is what drives the novel, Seskis throws clues around - her rebellious twin sister, the possibility of a dark secret, just a path to find herself again. The 'big secret' isn't really necessary as a plot device other than to keep you turning the pages but without the book wouldn't be a mystery/thriller esque book and Seskis uses the device well.

There's snippets of the book told from Emily/Cat's mother, father, sister, best friend and husband Ben which give the book a more rounded perspective and aid in keeping the reader guessing and turning those pages. All the characters are well fleshed out each with their own story and all pretty dark which makes for fun reading.

So it sounds like a great read huh? Shame about the ending.

For me the ending was too contrived, extremely far fetched and out of keeping with the rest of the book. 80% of the book I loved reading and couldn't put it down but the ending just let it down, though I'd still recommend reading it if you're thinking of dipping your toes in this genre or if you're already a big fan and want something a little different and a not quite as thriller-esque as say Gone Girl.

Oh what a smooth transition.

I read 'Gone Girl' in August after being given it by the farmers daughter of the second farm I was working on. When Sarah gave it to me she said 'It's a bit slow to begin with, I couldn't stop reading the middle but the end was crap.' And after reading, if I wasn't writing a whole blog post about the book, well half a blog post, I'd leave it there because it sums it up quite nicely.

The movie for this book has just recently hit cinemas, and has probably finished now, but if you haven't seen it read the book before you pick up the DVD because, although I'm not sure, but I'd assume the film would completely ruin the book for you.

Similarly to 'One Step Too Far', 'Gone Girl' is the story of woman who is, well, gone. Amy Dunne disappears on the day of hers and Nick's anniversary. Nick finds the house a mess showing signs of a struggle. The narrative starts from Nick's point of view and flicks between that and Amy's diary. Parts of Amy's diary added to clues the police keep finding seem to suggest that Nick has caused Amy's disappearance.

The first part of the novel unravels through Nick's story telling and Amy's diary to reveal that Amy and Nick's marriage wasn't all as perfect as it seemed. Nick becomes more and more unlikeable as a character and as a reader you pity Amy though you feel you probably shouldn't. I personally felt slightly uneasy reading this part of the novel. Nick was an uncomfortable narrator and as Sarah had said it was slow, but she had promised it would get good and she was right.

The second part of the book is the part that kept me reading. It's wicked twist changed everything. It kept me hooked and kept me engaged as a reader. I literally didn't put it down for two days. The narrative voice changes, probably for the better, and the story picks up a lot. Sides of the characters were revealed there shocking but also completely entertaining and the story infinitely more dark. Flynn revealed her talent for writing, dark, gritty, unlikeable, crafty women and I loved it.

After all that excitement the ending was bland and boring - simple as that.

Again the book is worth reading for the exciting middle part and I would still recommend it to most people but you have to be willing to plough through the beginning to get to the good stuff and you have to read the end to work out all the little tricks within the middle.

Out of the two I feel 'One Step Too Far' was a more enjoyable read and was more suited to me as someone who was just entering into this genre. It was an easier read and the excitement I got reading it made me want to read more into this genre which I am intending on doing soon. Perhaps the issue with 'Gone Girl' was that I had high expectations for it as I heard a lot of people raving about it and I was quite late on the particular bandwagon.

What's your favourite book in the genre, any recommendations or thoughts on the books let me know in the comments?

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