Sunday 12 August 2012

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared: A Review

My goodness this book was amazing, the title alone had me drawn in like a fat kid to candy. We have seen great success with this one at work and I have been waggling it in the faces of anyone that asks me to recommend a good book! So a big thank you to the people at Hesperus that sent me a copy of this!

Jonas Jonasson introduces us to Allan, a centenarian no less, who has decided he does not wish to attend his hundredth birthday party at the nursing home in which he currently resides, oh no. So Allan takes it upon himself to climb out of his window, in his pee slippers of course, and embark on one last adventure across Sweden. It soon emerges that Allan is not quite as insignificant as one might think, he has had his hand in some of the major incidents in the past one hundred years of world history, and so follows a tale of atom bombs, murder, gangsters and a lovely elephant called Sonya.

You couldn't ask for a book with a more varied host of characters, not to mention some very famous historical figures and tyrants (such as Stalin, Mao and Churchill).  Allan is such an endearing, vodka swigging old chap whose influential adventures across the world will have you in fits of giggles, even if, like me, some of the historical references are a bit lost on you (I need to brush up on my history).

The light, playful humour throughout also offers a darker edge which will leave you pondering some of Allan's wise words and actions.  This novel is the perfect read for a lazy afternoon and it is easy to pick up again even if you have had to pop it to one side for a few days. Jonasson pokes a great deal of fun out of useless law officials and puts a cynical twist on anything even remotely political, Allan does not believe in politics you see. It is just pure black comedy genius.

My favourite part? When the rather lovely Sonya (the elephant) shows off her understanding of the word 'sit' to her new friend Allan, whilst a rather nasty chap is waving a gun around behind her. Brilliant. I was also quite fond of Albert Einstein's illegitimate brother, Herbert, a man of rather limited intelligence.

Essentially this novel is a completely bonkers road trip across Sweden, on the run from gangsters, police, journalists and the head of Allan's nursing home, it is also a glorious, humorous rewriting of some of the last century's key events. There are so many memorable moments in this novel you will be waffling to your friends about them for weeks. Jonasson's masterpiece has been, quite aptly, likened to the film "Forrest Gump" and I can't help agree with that perspective, but I loved this novel more because of its ability to be a story that just about anyone could enjoy!


The Teleportation Accident (an 'almost' review)

I never lay claim to having a vast level of intelligence, but, I am not uneducated.  So I thought nothing of it when I read the blurb for Ned Beauman's "The Teleportation Accident", it looked fun and unusual, always a good indication of an enjoyable read.  There is a slim chance I was very wrong here, this book made me feel rather uneducated as I would need to have a dictionary on my lap to make sense of Beauman's descriptive, rambling musings.

I am being a little unfair here, I didn't get far with this novel so there is a chance it is a work of complete brilliance and I shall never know of its delights.  I am a big fan of a good story, and when in the first few pages of a novel it doesn't feel as though a story really begins, I am unlikely to continue reading.  This is sadly how I found this novel, it is more a case of an author showing off his masterful grasp of language and vocabulary right from the starting line, and I just don't get on with that sort of thing.

I am sure Mr. Beauman is very deserving of being nominated for the Man Booker Longlist this year and I wish him the best of luck the running of the prize.  Maybe I shall revisit this when I can focus a bit more and have a little more time on my hands because the write up on the back sells it as a fascinating novel, but for now, I will stick to some lighter reads more suited to my level of understanding.

Perhaps this is a good read for someone that has inhaled a dictionary, so enjoy!

Tuesday 7 August 2012

"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller (An unsung love story)

Well it's been a while since I have graced my keyboard with a good rat a tat tat but I just couldn't neglect writing a review for Madeline Miller's "The Song of Achilles".  Having won the Orange Book Prize this year I thought it would be rude not to dust off the proof copy adorning one of my bookshelves and give it a bash as I have yet to really indulge in any contemporary prize winners (I usually take one look at them, blink and walk away).  Why was this one different, well it's about the ancient Greeks and although I do love a good action movie based on the many myths and legends of Greece I am ashamed to admit I know very little about this era beyond the surface of sun bronzed, muscular Olympian demi gods and frequently savaged women. I wanted to learn a little bit more about the rich era of the Ancient Greeks.  From what I gather (and I say this because I have never read it) this is a retelling of Homer's great work "The Illiad", a tale of battles, godly intervention and great tragedy.


Patroclus, an unassuming Prince born to a King and his mentally unfit Wife, is exiled to a Kingdom far from his own and stripped of his titles.  It is here, in the court of Peleus, King of Phthia, that Patroclus first meets Achilles, Peleus' son, a Demi god born from the womb of a tempestuous sea nymph.  Thus begins a tale of love that stretches though childhood, into manhood and into the savagery of a war fought for the most beautiful woman of her time, Helen of Sparta.

This novel is just fantastic, it really is.  From the moment the young Patroclus first sees Achilles you are hooked.  Miller draws you in with sumptuous, liquid descriptions of Achilles' beauty and finesse and you can't help but fall in love with him alongside Patroclus as his and Achilles' bond becomes stronger and stronger.  This tragic yet gentle story of love is the focus of the novel and is handled with such taste and subtlety that you can see why Miller choose to write so fondly of such a pairing.  It is of course by no means the only element of the novel that will capture you, believe me, there is plenty of goings on to keep just about anyone happy, but this part of the story is unforgettable and it forms the core of the narrative.

You just know when Patroclus makes the decision to follow Achilles to war, that this is going to be a tear jerker (I was indeed weeping like a small child lost in a supermarket towards the end).  It is at this point in the novel that Achilles becomes what he was always meant to be, a warrior, and the strongest and most fierce of them all.  This shift in the novel is jaw dropping, there is a fantastic scene where Achilles throws a spear directly into the waiting Trojan army and it rips through the chest of an esteemed general.  We see Achilles for what he was truly meant to be, the greatest of warriors. There is no shortage of climatic scenes like this throughout, in one way or another as Miller deftly manages to control the pace of this legendary tale.

Patroclus and Achilles are not the only characters that play an important part here, this is the story of the great war between the Trojans and the Grecians over Helen of Sparta.  We also get to tag along with Odysseus, Menelaus, Diomedes, Ajax and of course the savage general, Agamemnon as they spend a decade fighting a bloody war on the battlefield.  In essence it is Agamemnon that makes us realise that Achilles is not as perfect as we were led to believe.  We learn of the price Achilles is willing to pay for eternal fame and to earn the chance of becoming a God.  It is at these times as well we begin to understand the importance of Patroclus, a mere mortal, yet a man that feeds his humanity into Achilles.  Patroclus' honest and brave nature help to shape Achilles' legend, not just as a warrior, but as a saviour of men and women alike.  It is heartbreaking when Achilles falls into a grievous rage, we know what is coming, Miller never hides that from us, but it still has the power to move you deeply.

There is of course plenty of wonderfully fantastic interventions from gods and mythical beasts, all of which are dealt with in such a manner that you are quite ready to believe that this all really happened.  Miller's description of place, of the sweeping scenes and even of the various smells, plant you firmly into Patroclus' well worn sandals, you feel a part of Greece, of the rich teachings of the gentle centaur Chiron and of the bloody and tragic battlefield of the Trojan War.  Nothing feels overdone, everything seems to have its place even to the point that it is quite easy to picture Apollo throwing Patroclus from the walls of Troy without it seeming fantastical.  This is a novel you become a part of, it is so easy to get lost in.  At no point does it become tedious, this is written with the reader in mind and is just glorious as it shrugs off the academia associated with the study of the ancients whilst remaining a cleverly written piece of fiction.

As you can probably tell, I loved this, it surprised me and I couldn't put it down.  I will be sharing this one with anyone and everyone and have already started to tell customers just how brilliant it is.  What an explosive debut!

P.S. Don't watch the film "Troy" after reading this, it sucks, not even Brad Pitt's bronzed good looks save it. I made the error of watching it and it was wet lettuce in comparison to Miller's decadent novel.