Snowdrops by A. D. Miller

Nick is a British Lawyer working for his firm in Moscow. Until recently he had kept himself to himself and just soaked in Russian life. He then meets the enigmatic Masha and discovers that for her he would maybe consider staying in Russia. Slowly Nick uncovers Masha's secrets but only too late. By then he is too entranced by Masha to do anything about it.

This book has been on my radar ever since I saw it on the Man Booker short list last year. I am fascinated by Russia and I loved Russian history at University (the very little we got of it). However, this book has to be one of the most depressing views of this country I have ever come across. Granted the country has gone through some tough times and the people there have had to do what they can to survive. This book paints such a bleak view though. Everyone in this book is corrupt and the impression that we are given is that the same is said for everyone in Russia. There is no such thing as a good deed or sympathy for fellow mankind. I am sure that this is a scoured view. Every country has it's good and bad.

Getting away from that and going to the plot itself I wasn't at all impressed. I guessed early on what was going to happen and did think the character was either naive or kidding himself not to know either. I expected some big twist at the end because it was so obvious and then that didn't happen. As I reached the end I wanted to toss the book across the room. I also never really too to Nick. He was selfish, arrogant towards his family and completely blind to what was going on around him.

The books saving grace is the writing. It is well written despite all that. Very descriptive and the words had a nice flow to it. It was also easy to read. Had everything else come together this could have been a great read.

Pigeon English - Kelman

Harri is a young boy from Ghana living in London. He loves life in the city although still misses his old home and hopes that his dad, gran and baby sister will soon join him, his mum and sister. One of his class mates has been murdered and he and friends decide to investigate to find the murderer. When he isn't working on that case he is trying to teach the local gang that their missions could be done for good but first he has to join them. He loves a girl in his class, trainers that make him run fast, Haribo and the pigeon that comes to visit.

I'm not sure how old Harri is meant to be but I assume he is quite young. Possibly about to reach his teens (anyone know what age Year 7's in England are). It's written from his point of view and it could be that he just seems younger because of the cultural differences. He has such an innocent way of looking at the world and believes that everyone is capable of doing good things. Then at the same time he is like a typical boy from London. It's almost as if he is trying to bring the two versions of him together.

It is quite a sweet story almost as Harri is very endearing. You can't help but like him. About half way through though I began to find that the writing seemed repetitive and Harri's continued naivety was starting to grate a little. I think it had more to do with reading the thoughts of a young boy.

The story did pick up again and I think for the last 70 pages or so I didn't want to let the book go. We know early on from Harri's own investigations who killed the young boy but Harri himself seems unawares and is slowly but surely getting himself into bother. In the end it was a good read and I have to admit that the ending surprised me. This book was longlisted for the Man Booker prize last year but didn't get further than that. Having since read a couple I don't think it was one of the stronger contenders but again it was an easy read which seemed to be the theme last year (in my humble opinion).

July Overview/ Month Ahead.

Surely it isn't August already? That actually means my blog is coming up for two. I would have organised a giveaway but this blogaversary has crept up on me unawares. I will come up with something in a few weeks when I have actual time to myself. So watch out for that.

Another quiet reading month. I spent far more time than I wanted on Century Rain. Not in a good way. It was annoying me how slow it was. So I blame that for another low book count. Still some books in there that I very much enjoyed though.

1. London - Edward Rutherfurd
2. The Leopard - Tomasi Di Lampedusa
3. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
4. The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
5. Century Rain - Alastair Reynolds
6. Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman
7. Snowdrops - A. D. Miller

As much as I enjoyed most of these books it is fairly easy to pick a favourite. It has to be London by Edward Rutherfurd. It was a fantastic historical fiction. Not quite as good as his New York but I still loved it. A book that took me a few weeks to read as it was so huge and I didn't mind it for a moment. My least favourite was Snowdrops. I haven't reviewed it yet so I won't go in to detail but it was a fairly bleak view of Russia with a dull plot.

Challenge Overview

 Last month I chose to read the Leopard which I loved. I would say it's a nice change for a classic but this year I have been reading a lot of classic authors that I have never read before. I even participated in the classic prompt this time. I will definitely be taking part this month too as I will have more time on my hands very soon (two weeks and counting). I am now reading my next classics choice which is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I am loving it so far. Hadn't planned on reading it this month but a fellow blogger highly recommended it (thank you FBT).

 I was so down on this challenge last month and hard to feel motivated. I was actually tempted to give up. Thankfully I didn't and surprised myself by very much enjoying The Phantom of the Opera. A book I didn't enjoy the first time I read it a few years back. Next up is The Invisible Man. Have never read this so I am looking forward to it.

 It was the horror category this month and I probably stretched it a little by choosing Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. It does have some element of horror though and it was a good read. This months category is sci fi/ fantasty. I have decided to go with fantasy as I have a book that's been lying there for years. The Sorcerer's Treason by Sarah Zettel. I may also read the travel category as I don't think I can wait to read the Bill Bryson.

I went with my own choice this month which was Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds. I picked it because I had read the group choice, Fahrenheit 451, plus I have a few sci fi books that have been sitting a while on my tbr pile. Glad it's out the way. Whilst I did like it I think I have gone off the whole space opera theme. Not sure what the group choice is but I think I am going to go with a book I picked up last week. It's Peter F. Hamilton's short stories, Manhattan In Reverse. I realise he is also a space opera writer but it is from a series of his books that I loved. Plus it will let me know once and for all if I have went off Alastair Reynolds or the genre.


Other than that I have no plans. I enjoyed a wee unplanned trip to the library last month so maybe I will have another this month. otherwise it's a case of working through my tbr pile which I seem to be getting there with.   In case you haven't guessed I have some time off in a few weeks and I plan to read my head off. I have a few chunkies sitting there so I might dust those off.

Any one got some holiday reading plans?

Century Rain - Alastair Reynolds

Verity Auger is an Archaeologist who spend her time searching Paris for tokens from the past. The Earth has been desolated after humans tried to clean up the atmosphere using nanotechnology. It all went horribly wrong and the nano's took over. The Earth is covered in a sheet of ice and to come in contact with the nano's can mean death. Verity almost kills her team in one of her searches and is afterwards given a choice. Face a tribunal or head through a portal to Earth2. On Earth2 it is 1959 although it is much like the 1930's of Earth1. There was no WWII and as a result technology isn't where it should be and fascism is once again on the rise. Verity must go there to collect the belongings of murdered agent, Susan White.

I used to love Space Opera novels and Reynolds was one of my favourites. Like the last one I read I found that whilst I liked it I was also a little bored by it and the book didn't push on fast enough. In this case there was just far too much going on. There was a war between two species of humans, conspiracies, an Earth2 human investigating Susan White's murder and then Verity's own investigation. It was just too much with long boring periods in the middle and a rush at the end. In all honesty the rush at the end was the best part.

There were still parts of it I enjoyed. I liked the Paris setting with it's 1930's feel. Every so often you would get a reminder that it was supposed to be 1959. When Verity finally arrived on Earth 2 and the action started I enjoyed that too. I think maybe because then the pace picked up and the story became interesting.

In any case I think I will leave off Reynolds for a while. This was the last of his books in my tbr pile. I have a few Peter F. Hamilton's there. So I will see how I feel about those before I leave off the Space Opera novels all together. It's definitely not the sci fi itself though as I have been enjoying that over the last year.

I read this for the sci fi challenge hosted by Ellie of Curiousity Killed The Bookworm. The book was supposed to be Fahrenheit 451 but as I have read it before I picked out one from my tbr pile. Almost wish I had read it again. Anyways, you can read what others read here. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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

I have been slow in reading only to do almost nothing but read over the weekend. I have been very lazy in my book reviews though and done none so have a little bit of catching up to do this week.

This week I read;

Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds. I read this as my choice for the sci fi challenge. Could have been a good book but far to much going on.

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman. Found the child narrator to be irritating at first. Also a little repetitive but in the end I liked it.

Snowdrops by A. D. Miller. Was disappointed with this one. Painted a very bleak picture of Russia and in the end the plot was boring and obvious.

Just now I am reading;

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone. I am reading this for the classics  challenge. I have only just started it but I am enjoying it so far.

Next I plan to read;

The Sorcerer's Treason by Sarah Zettel. I am reading this for the mixing it up challenge. It's for the sci fi/fantasy category. A friend bought this for me years ago which is why I decided to pick it up for this rather than my usual sci fi. It's about time I read it.

Honestly, I spent most of my weekend reading. Anyone else have a reading weekend or have you been glued to the olympics?

July Book Purchases!

I seem to stick to buying four books a month. I think I can keep up with that and still get my tbr pile down. Here are this months book purchases.

11.22.63 - Stephen King
The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Manhattan In Reverse - Peter F. Hamilton
A Walk In The Woods - Bill Bryson

The King book is one that I have heard a lot of good things about. It has to be better than Under the Dome. So I am very much looking forward to that. I saw a review of The Scarlet Letter on FBT's blog, Kill Me If I Stop (a great blog, especially if you like classics). It sounded right up my street so this is going to be my choice for next months classic challenge. The Hamilton book is again one I have been looking forward to. As for the Bryson, I have enjoyed his autobiography and thought it is about time I tried some of his travel. I am keeping it though for the travel category in the Mixing It Up challenge.

On a whim I also took a wee trip to the library and got out these books. I'll be reading them next.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a meme hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. It's a fun way for everyone to share their reading week. I'm going to do two weeks in one as I got distracted last week.


The last fortnight I have read;

The Leopard by Tomasi Di Lampedusa. An Italian classic which I read for the classics challenge. I loved it. It had such a sad atmosphere.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I read this for the Mixing It Up challenge. I very much enjoyed it. Been a long time since I came across a YA this good.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. I read this for the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen challenge. This was my re-read. I liked it better this time round than I did the first time.

Just now I am reading;

Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds. This is my choice for the sci fi challenge. I am enjoying it but have been slow in reading it as I have been distracted by other things (such as crafting).

Next I plan to read;

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman. I picked this up in the library over the weekend. I read a couple of pages and I think I will very much enjoy it. Looking forward to it. Plus it's not for any challenges.

What abou you? What have you been reading the last few weeks?