Audible

Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

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2163164Not only did I love the writing style of Mohsin Hamid, I absolutely loved this story. Yes, I even loved the ending that I just KNOW many people will absolutely abhor.

I won’t do a long review on this book. I wouldn’t want my political opinions to effect how you go into reading this book. I wouldn’t want them to effect how you feel about this book.

I will only say, with all the distrust and bias towards Muslims this day and age post 911, people seem to forget that they are, in fact, individuals. They are not an idea, a symbol, or some inanimate objects. I think that society in general has taken them as just that. Inanimate objects or like a small child that has no idea what others are saying right in front of them.

That, no matter what your views are, is heartbreaking. It is also widening the chasm of ignorance that is the base root of so many problems.

The ending of this novel just confirms this.

So read it…and then tell me….what do you believe really happened at the end? What facts do you have to support that belief?

Brilliant book….

Until next time…
Urania xx

Buy it now The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

Review: White Teeth by Zadie Smith

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4200Parts of this I really loved…I loved how “English” it was….however, overall I couldn’t wait for it to end…and at the end I was reminded why I don’t really enjoy contact with people very much….I much prefer the company of my tarantulas and solitude….this book and the characters in are exactly why…

People just annoy me. If I spend too much time with them, I get, not only annoyed, but highly agitated. I just want them to leave.

That’s how this book was. By the end of it, I was just glad I no longer had to spend any more time with these people.

As funny as it is, this was still my favourite quote in the book…I can’t help it….

The whole plan’s so high on the cheese factor it’s practically Stilton.

bwhahahahaha….now that was brilliant….

Until next time…
Urania xx

Buy it now White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Review ~ Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

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Phewf! Well, that was an intense week of listening! I’m going to hold my hands up shamefully admit that I’d held off from reading anything by the super popular author Liane Moriarty, simply because her fiction was so often labeled as chic lit. I conjured up aspersions of a bodice ripper type novel, empty angst or some other unfair generalization. Well, if this novel is classed as chic lit, then sign me the hell up! 

Big Little Lies follows a group of parents in a seaside Australian town. They have their rituals, meet at the school drop-offs, and have their cliques and issues. A new parent moves to town and soon makes fast friends, and indeed enemies. 

The novel starts off in an interview type manner, and we soon learn that something has happened at a school PTA quiz night. As we hear witness accounts of may or may not have happened that night, we are taken back to when Jane first arrives on the scene. 

What makes Moriarty’s novel such a hit, is not the plot; the plot, while good, is not one so unique that you wouldn’t ever see in a novel. No. Where Moriarty excels, is in her characters and their interaction. There is such razor sharp authenticity in how these parents and friends talk and act, that you really feel like you know them, and are there living with them. 

This is a brilliant novel that will keep you glued until the very end. If you’ve yet to start reading Moriarty, then Big Little Lies is a great place to start. 

~ Pegasus 

Big Little Lies

Review – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

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22557272There’s nothing I find more eye-roll inducing than lazy marketing campaigns that rely on previous successes. So when I heard that this book was “the next Gone Girl” (a book I enjoyed quite a bit), well, you can safely assume that the eye-rolling commenced! This is why I left it a looonnnggg time before I decided to read this one; I wanted the hype to die down and to not be bombarded and influenced by all the reviews.

The book has three different narrators – all with their skewered version of events. We have Rachel, Anna, and Meghan. All three women have cause to be labeled an unreliable narrator – a trope that seems to have utilized tenfold since Gone Girl was published to international praise. However, for me, it turns into a bit of pity fest, and I lose a connection with the characters.

As mentioned above, perhaps my biggest gripe with this novel was indeed the portrayal of the characters. Without giving too much away, one group of the characters were given these complex, emotional issues (that quite frankly didn’t get the depth of exploration they deserved), and another group are painstakingly 2 dimensional. Having equally flawed and indeed, despicable, characters was one of the reasons I really enjoyed Gone Girl (Yes, I know, I keep comparing the two – but hey, the comparison was already made by the marketing), and in this case, Hawkins tries to get you to dislike certain characters, but just doesn’t have the necessary push-off-the-cliff-dedication.

I will give Hawkins her dues though: The Girl on the Train did keep me reading (or listening in this case), and it is entertaining. It might not be a When Harry Met Sally “I’ll have what she’s having” kinda experience, but it is definitely a quick entertaining read. Give this one a go, and if you’ve also read Gone Girl, let us know in the comments how you think the two compared and if you thought that maybe it is an unfair comparison.

Until next time,

Pegasus

The Girl on the Train

Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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01 ill This book is the epitome of roller coaster. I have no words. When I first heard about this book, I was doubting all these people who said it was the best book they’ve read in a long time. I mean, c’mon, how can a book, with not a single “real” page, be the best book?? Well, I stand corrected.

Illuminae is not like anything I’ve ever read before. The pages are amazing. At first I wasn’t sure if I could understand it, but it took just a few minutes to get the hang of it and to realize what was going on. Then I was instantly sucked into the story. The interactions between all the characters completely sucks you in. Kady and Ezra especially, had my heart tugging. Here’s a pair of teenagers thrown into a war with nothing but their brains to keep them alive. They desperately want to find each other and are doing everything they can to stay alive until that happens. With the plague all around them, they must make decisions that will affect not only them, but the 1000s of others who’s lives are at stake as well.

To be honest, I almost didn’t finish it. I was so angry. Like legit furious and book burning angry. But again, roller coaster. My friends talked me down and back into my seat. I buckled down and held on tight. So many ups and downs. One minute my heart was racing with nerves and the next I was tearing up. Lots of love and loss.

I tried listening to the audible but, one, there are no chapters to tell where you are, so it’s hard to find where you left off, and two, so many pages get lost in translation. To fully enjoy this unique story, you must read the DTB. (DTB=dead tree book=”real” book) That being said. the audible is FANTASTIC. I mean, the talent of the three narrators is amazing. You felt like you were right in the action. You could feel all the emotions and that made this book even better. I was reading along with them, because I wanted to experience it fully. I can’t wait until it’s on the big screen. To see the full action will be almost as good as what I just experienced.

I am quite looking forward to the next book. If it has half of the emotion and excitement as this one did, I think I may need to take a chill pill beforehand. WHOA.

~Melpomene

Buy Illuminae (The Illuminae Files)

Audible Review: Restless Waters by Jessica Park

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01 aud Just when I thought a book couldn’t get any better… Man, oh man! I just finished listening to the audible version and I’m a puddle on the floor. Since I’ve read the story, I knew what was going to happen. But nothing could prepare me for actually hearing this heartbreaking story. Between the super talented narrator’s voice and the beautiful music that was sung throughout, I was overcome with emotions. I tend to get that way when I read anyways, but this was more. It’s hard to describe, but when you actually hear the words, they have more of an impact. In fact, my husband was laughing at me, as the tears fell down my face, more than once last night. I was a mess.

Arielle DeLisle was fantastic as the narrator. She made me forget everything and drew me in. Her voice brought so much emotion, I could feel Sabin’s torment and pain. It gutted me. And then to add Troy’s music and voice in the mix, I was sunk. Totally sunk. He captured Sabin’s emotions perfectly.

I know that Audible members can get 50% off right now, before the holidays. So if you’re on the fence about getting this, trust me. You want to hear this.

~Melpomene

Grab the audible version HERE.

Grab the kindle version HERE. It’s actually free on KU!

Check out my review HERE.