Freedom - Jonathan Franzen

The Berglunds are the perfect family. Or so it seems to their neighbours who feel that they are maybe too perfect. Behind closed doors that perfection is beginning to deteriorate. Patty is trying to be the perfect wife and mother. Everything she believes her own family lacked. When her son runs off with the girl next door and her daughter seems to disapprove of her Patty begins to think maybe she should have chosen another life for herself. Husband Walter loved Patty from the first day they met. His love though was also a bit of an obsession as he could only see her goodness and none of the failings that make people human. When Patty starts to break down he begins to see that maybe he made his own mistakes and so throws himself into a project that proves to be questionable. Add in to the mix a son who defies him and is determined to believe the complete opposite of him and a best friend he has spent his entire life competing with.

A rather large book which follows one family through their mistakes. A few people have said that the book is about people who are completely unlikeable and so they didn't enjoy it. I have to say that I don't agree. I actually liked the characters, well most of them. I especially liked Patty. All her flaws just made her all the more human as she tried to be the person that Walter thought she was. In all honesty I did like her better as a teenager than I did  when she was a neurotic mother. Walter I liked too although I have to say for someone who is so intelligent how could he not see the problem with his project? I was also a little bored by the constant descriptions of it. Possible a necessary part of the theme but there were times I felt myself skimming over his explanations after having read about it 3 or 4 times already. I even liked his best friend Richard who was selfish and self destructive. Joey is probably the only character I didn't take to. His decision to sell dodgy parts to the army in defiance of his father was deplorable as were the excuses he told himself for doing it. Then his treatment of Connie. I was annoyed at her for not having the back bone to tell him where to go too mind you. Even when he became a good guy again I just didn't like him.

The book dips in and out of the past of all these characters until the moment in time where the book begins. It then moves forward from 2004 to 2007 detailing each of their lives in turn. The point of the book is in the title. Each of the characters is fighting for their freedom but has also given it away. Patty for example, her determination not to be like her mother has meant that she has limited her choices in the future. Joey is fighting against his parents for freedom and has been since a small child. Once he has it he find he can't really break completely away and begins to make mistake after mistake. I could actually sit here all day and write about all the different ways this theme runs through the book. I imagine it would have been a good one to choose if I had still been in school. When an author pointedly makes a theme like that it can come across as a little pretentious I think but this didn't happen here. Instead it tied everything together.

A great book that I found difficult to put down. When I picked it up last week I only meant to look at it as I was determined to finish Angelmaker first. Instead Angelmaker was put aside yet again. If you like large books based round one family and don't mind flawed characters or their constant mistakes then you might like this.

I read this for the modern fiction category of the Mixing It Up challenge hosted by Ellie of Musings of a Bookshop Girl. Like the last one it wasn't really a category I had difficulty with. It was a good excuse to try this author after seeing so many people raving about him last year. Definitely an author I will read again. Next months category is Graphic Novels and I already have that one picked out.

Empire State - Adam Christopher

Rad Bradley is a PI living in Empire State. It's War Time and prohibition is in force. Times are tough for the people as the live under state control. As a result Rad is just making ends meet. After a late night drinking with his journalist friend he is surprised by a young lady looking to hire him. Her lover has gone missing and the police don't care due to the illegal nature of the relationship. Rad agrees to find her and soon comes across her body. She's been murdered and it looks like the murderer was a robot returned from the war. Somehow this is linked to visits from a supposedly dead superhero, an illegal cult. two masked goons and mysterious phone calls from someone called Nimrod. Just when Rad can't possibly be any more confused Kane, the journalist friend, suggests a visit to the scientist Captain Carson might help.

This book got a great review in SFX and it sounded right up my street. Alternate universes, robots, noir and feuding superheros. What's not to like? Plus I did like it. I loved the feel of the book. The image of Empire State was very strong in my mind thanks to the author. I pictured it as a bleak and dark place. Everything in black and white. Exactly the way noir should be. If it was a film it would be visually like Sin City or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Both films I very much loved.

However, I was completely confused a lot of the time. I felt that I could relate to Rad a lot in that sense. The book starts of in New York. Keep in mind that I knew the book was about an alternate New York. When two superheros start fighting each other in front of the Empire State building I think I can be forgiven for being confused when the book switches to the alternate world Empire State. Given that there were superheros in the original I assumed (wrongly) that it was the alternate. Eventually it was clear in my mind why they were alternate because Empire State is almost a mirror image.

I then become confused about who exactly is the bad guy. Just as confused as poor Rad and that confusion stayed until the end. Who exactly is he fighting against? Is it the feuding superheros, the goons, the robot, the crazy man, Carson, Nimrod, all of them? Poor Rad is only one man and not a very good PI (although he is a hero). He can't win against all of them. Don't worry that confusion is cleared up to (eventually) but for that you are going to have to read it yourself.

It was entertaining and a little bit different. Plus Rad was a very likeable character (unlike his doppelganger). For that I do recommend it.

I read this as part of the sci fi challenge hosted by Ellie of Curiosity Killed the Bookworm. The months book choice was actually Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear (the book that won the Arthur C. Clarke award and resulted in a rant from Christopher Priest). Whilst I do like Greg Bear I would need to buy it and I am on a book ban this month. Plus I have been dying to read this one. If you want to see what others read you can do so here.

Readathon Books!

Oops, studying for exams has kept me away from the internet. So I haven't been round blogs and I have only just now responded to lots of comments. Sorry!

Anyways, I have finally chosen my books for the readathon. I know, they don't look very exciting thanks to the bland colours. I have chopped and changed my mind so many times over the last week or so. Last night I made my final decision and took a photo whilst my mind was made up. I tried to have a mix so that I wouldn't get bored.

The Grass is Singing - Doris Lessing
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie
Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
The Doctor Will See You Now - Max Pemberton

The only one that has been on every list I have come up with is the Agatha Christie. Was a little sad to discover that there was only one in the pile. I was sure I had two. I also threw a non-fiction in there but it's one that is easy to read. Plus Pemberton is generally very funny and I might need that in the wee hours.

I will be posting updates here, on twitter and on my justgiving page (although that will be limited to photo's). I have now unlocked my twitter account. It will stay open until after the readathon so feel free to follow me. Just remember to say hello and let me know who you are so I can follow back. Mine is Karencrafts.

Have any of you decided what you are going to read?

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

More than anything Huck Finn just wants a quiet life. Sadly everyone is going out of his way to ensure that he doesn't get it. Going from town loser to town hero he has been adopted by a widow and her sister. Both are determined that he will become a gentleman whether he likes it or not. Huck is just getting used to the idea when his dad comes along and Huck is determined to get away from him. So he makes his way down river on a raft with runaway slave, Jim. He is in trouble enough and is just trying to keep out of but sure enough more comes along his way as he is caught up in family feuds, cons, murder and more.

It's not quite as good as Tom Sawyer. Poor Huck doesn't have the mind for mischief that Tom has. He doesn't actually want to do wrong as he has a conscience that bothers him quite a bit. He just wants to be left alone and to spend his days fishing. He is actually a very sweet character and as a reader I just wanted him to get his dream. Whether that was the best thing for him or not. Every time he seemed to settle just a little something would come along and spoil things for him.

I loved the character Jim too. I wanted him to get free and to find his family. I loved how superstitious he was. Saw bad luck in everything. The only mischievous thing about Huck was that he would play on poor Jim's superstitions. In the end though he would tell him the truth and occasionally he would be caught up in the superstitions too. One example is that Huck picking up a snake skin is given the blame for every bad thing that happens to them.

I did get a little bored with the con artists at one point. I was actually quite glad when they eventually left the scene. It's my only criticism of the book and even then it's only miner since I did find them amusing most of the time. I loved the ending too. Seemed apt that Tom would end up buddying with his best friend again.

I read this as part of the classics challenge hosted by Katherine on November Moon. I used the challenge as an excuse to read it after re-reading Tom Sawyer for another challenge. Shocking that I had read one and not the other. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday is a book meme by Sheila of Book Journey. It's a fun way for book bloggers/readers to share their reading week.

I finished two whole books last week. Been a while since I have finished more than one. This week is technically my Easter holidays but as I have exams and essays due straight after I will still be spending most of it in the library. No promises of getting two books read this week.

This week I read;

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain. A re-red for me and one that I read for the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen challenge. I love this book. Funny and full of mischief.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain. I read this for the classics challenge. I chose it this month as I thought it would be perfect to read it straight after Tom Sawyer. Not quite as good as Tom Sawyer but still a lovely book. I did promise to have this reviewed yesterday but completely forgot. Will try to remember to do it tonight. I did do the classics challenge prompt which was about covers. You can see my response here.

Just now I am reading;

Empire State - Adam Christopher. Only just started this one. So far it's living up to it's description of fantasy noir. Set during the 1920's in and alternate New York. I have a feeling I will be reluctant to put it down. I am reading this for the sci fi challenge.

Angelmaker - Nick Harkaway. I really am enjoying this book but because of its size I only read it now and then. As a result I only read 20 pages last week. I haven't even breached the 100 mark. It is very good too so I am going to try and give it more time this week (if Empire State will let me).

Next I plan to read;

Freedom - Jonathan Franzen. I decided to go for this for the modern fiction category of the mixing it up challenge after all. Since I wanted to pick an author that was new too me I would have had to buy a new book for it and I am on a book ban this month. It was it's bulky size that put me off. I'm not normally put off by that but I have been so slow at reading these days that I wanted something easy to read. I am looking forward to it though. Plus after this I will have finished this months challenge reads.

This week I am also going to make a final decision on what to read for the readathon. I promise to post a pic of that when I do.

Hope you all had a good week last week and aren't feeling too ill from lots of chocolate consumption. What was your favourite book last week?

Classics Challenge - April Prompt

This months prompt is all about one of my favourite topics - the book cover. Why is it my favourite? Well it means that I get to rave about how fantastic the covers of the Vintage classics are. I mean it, I have yet to find one that I didn't like. When other publisher print special editions of books I will sometimes go for those first. Like the Penguin cloth editions (how can you not). Otherwise I always hunt out the Vintage edition. If the shop doesn't have it I check to see if it maybe doesn't exist in that edition before buying a different one.

When I first saw this edition of Huckleberry Finn I fell immediately in love with it. I was buying Tom Sawyer at the time for another challenge. I couldn't leave this behind and so used the classics challenge as an excuse to purchase it. I love the freshness of it. It screams innocence. Which is what Huckleberry is, innocent.

From the cover of the book it's easy to see that Huck just wants a quiet life. He wants to spend his days lazing and fishing. In that sense it does reflect the book very well. I also mentioned innocence. Huck is actually quite a soft hearted character whose conscience is always bothering him (unlike Tom Sawyer). So in that way it's also a true reflection. It also depicts a scene of tranquility which is far from what actually happens to Huck but it's what he wishes for.

I'm not sure I would design the cover any differently from that. I suppose one of Huck and Jim on the raft would have been a good one but I am happy with the cover of this one.

Here is something else I love about the Vintage covers. They design themes around them. So that all the books by the same author are similar. That way if you just want the books of one author they are a matching set. This is the Tom Sawyer book and you can see how they match. The boys are out fishing when really they should be in school (well, I am guessing it's from that particular scene). You can see why I couldn't pick up one and not the other. I think most of the books I have picked out for this challenge are by vintage so you can look out for those covers if you are interested.

This challenge is organised my Katherine of November's Autumn. If you want to see what everyone else is saying about the covers of their books you can do so here. 

I've finished Huckleberry Finn and will try to review the book itself tomorrow.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

Tom Sawyer and his brother are living with his aunt Polly and his cousin Mary since the death of their parents. Polly loves her nephews dearly but Tom can be so trying. A loveable boy who seems to find trouble without actually looking. In this short book he manages to find love, become a pirate, see a murder, find treasure, cross his nemesis and get himself lost.

This was a re-read for me and a good one. I was looking forward to reading it again. I loved this book the first time. It was one of many books that I was recommended to read as a kid but since it was about boys I wasn't interested. In all honesty I don't think I would have appreciated it back then for that reason so I am kind of glad that I read it in my 20's.

Tom is definitely one of those characters you can't help but love. He has the best of intentions which always seem to get him in trouble. I can imagine most boys reading this book and being able to relate to most of it.   I was so amused by everything he got up to.

It was all told with such humour too but a sort of dry humour. I loved the incantations Tom whole heartedly believed in. He believed that nothing worked without one and if it didn't work even then a witch must have interfered with it. One (of many) example is he buries a marble says an incantation and this marble is then supposed to attract all the other marbles he has ever lost. Of course every time he does this he forgets where he has buried the marble.

Reading this book you certainly won't be bored as Tom is very rarely ever bored. He is always up to something and as a result I found myself powering through the book. I was actually quite sad by the time it had ended. I am sure that wasn't the end of Tom's adventures.

The reason I read this again is that it is part of the League of Extraordinary Gentleman challenge hosted by Hanna of Booking In Heels. Tom is the character we are focusing on this time. As much as I love him I think he is the odd one out so far. He is just a typical little boy unlike all the other characters in the League. He is the protege in the graphic novel and film. An adventurer which sort of fits but he still stands out among all the others. I wonder why the author picked him. If you want to see what people have thought about the other characters you can do so here.