Review: The Book Thief, Markus Zusak.

The Book Thief. *****

This book is put simply, a masterstroke. It encapsulates a side of the second world war that we, (the victorious allies), in particular give little if any thought to. It humanises 3rd Reich Germany, it's inhabitants and gives a totally unique perspective on death. Oh and it's gut wrenchingly moving - here on Planet Beth we do not cry at fictional accounts unless we are very very very tired, or moved beyond words, many books/films and such like that are meant to reduce you to tears leave me cold, often thinking "awww how sweet, but really why is the individual next to me crying the metaphorical river? Are they incapable of separating reality from fiction?" - yet whilst sat on a northern rail bucket service from Leeds to my home town yesterday evening I found peculiar salty excretions pooling in my eyes, blurring the text in front of me. I immediately put it down and fired off a text to The Brown informing her that this book was now a member of the elite group of books that made Beth cry and ignored the book for a few hours until I could read it objectively.

The story is told to you by Death, who only wears a cowl when it's cold out and finds the notion of him carrying a scythe hysterically funny. Death's narration makes it immediately obvious that he is going to be rather busy in this book. And indeed the book begins with a death, the catalyst for the book thief's, book thievery and the first time death meets Liesel Meminger, the titular thief. Already a victim of the Nazi regime separated from her communist father, (who were the first victims of Hitler seen as the great political enemy) and now being separated from her mother, Liesel's brother dies on the way to their new home, the small town of Molching outside Munich, where Liesel will spend the rest of the book. The book is beautifully written with lovingly crafted, realistic characters, from the lemon haired Rudy, to the on going neighbours spat (punnery! You'll have to it read to find out why), between Rosa and Frau Holtzapfel, the haunted Ilsa, and the warmth and love of Hans, the exploits of a young girl discovering not only a love of words and books, but their infinite power to both good and evil, Hitler's oratory ability and memoir Mein Kampf providing the foil. This is not just  a coming of age of tale, this is a book of love and loss. It is a challenge to the way we think not just of war but of those on every side of what our ghostly narrator terms the seven sided dice, a narrator who is not interested in the outcome because for him the ultimate outcome is always the same, but how it gets there. In this way, Zusak on purposely reveals the ending long before it comes, yet it has little effect on the impact and emotion that pummels the reader like a machine gun barrage as the book reaches its heart wrenching yet life affirming conclusion. Despite the aching sadness and grief, hope shines through... it is the end but not the end Liesel's adventures are not over, not all is lost. It deals with the many facets of the human condition in a way that few books manage, exploring our reactions to both evil and kindness, and how we then behave in the face of them, something particularly evident in Max's story.

Damnit this book is superb. I started reading and with the exception of having to do pesky things like seminars and changing trains I didn't stop. Until it made me cry on public transportation, and then I put it in a bag and started fiddling with non existent eyelash irritation...

Zusak's use of German words and phrases throughout only served to make the book more real, and personal, gave these eclectic mix of barbarians an authenticity and depth that in lesser hands would have felt tacky and unnecessary. As a speaker of German, there were certain turns of phrase that tickled my linguistic funny bone that might be lost on the average reader, but that does nothing to lessen the book's appeal, but rather heighten its quirky beauty.

Next Wednesday sees the general release of the film adaptation. As regular readers will know, I approach it with much fear and trepidation, as I have a crippling anxiety over what will be lost, it's probably good I'm not a screenwriter, the translation of death's narration from the page to the screen is going to be a tricky one... to cut him from the film would lose much of the beauty of the book.

So whilst this gem is still only 99p in the Kindle store go and buy it SOFORT! (German for immediately), one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Simply awesome.

Review! The Atopia Chronicles.

A book must take you to places unseen,  must imagine the unimaginable, see a world beyond this , and meet extraordinary people. Usually the best are those are seen most fleetingly. Tantalising you with tales as yet untold. Books should not be mundane, books are by nature escapist and therefore should not be boring, it should be a pacy, roller-coaster ride through another realm.
The Atopia Chronicles promised me this, and then failed to deliver, getting bogged down often in its own clever concepts. You see in the end the Atopia Chronicles for all it's clever puns in the title was left wanting. A brilliant concept that left a hole of disappointment. Like the consciousnesses of it's far too many protagonists the narrative splintered itself too far and fell over itself. Lacking a clear threat and antagonist the final denouement far from being a great reveal just adds to the confusion. There had been little to no indication that this individual was the individual behind it all. Though by the end the reader is so baffled as to what is reality and what isn't you're not entirely sure as to what "it all" even is.

The abundance of first person narrative protagonists is overwhelming and somewhat repetitive. Rather than a painter adding layers of fine detail, it frequently feels like the author is just rehashing encounters from just another perspective. Some of the best stories are given the least time, and none of the characters are particularly likeable, which is annoying because there's so many of them, whose stories could easily be absorbed into someone else's. Particularly annoying is how the opening hook of the book, just like the end, is left unresolved. Streamlining would benefit this book immensely. Why the author felt that so many perspectives were necessary is just plain weird when 2 or 3 would have done, as the technology demands more than one perspective.
Being science fiction understandably the book gets technological, but it was technological to the point of boring and i found myself drifting off.
The denouement was a surprise even to the antagonist, that they were the antagonist, which was a bit weird, normally there would be some hints that something wasn't quite right, but all the warning signs were easily rationalised, and the normality of the character put the Whaaa?! factor through the roof. I still can't decide if it's a cop out or not.

Despite this, I couldn't help myself, I liked the book. The concept is brilliant and very clever. There were a couple of Characters you felt for, and dammit if the ending, didn't make me want to read the next installation.

Overall the book was annoying but good. I may read it again and see if it works any better the second time round...

3 Stars

Review: Coriolanus (aka that Shakespeare play with Tom Hiddleston in it)

Raise your metaphorical eyebrow in irony as we get all cultural with Shakespeare's Coriolanus....

 

Tom Hiddleston gets serious as Shakespeare's military man ... 

Bethy and I went to see a live screening of the Donmar Warehouse production at our local arty cinema and theatre The Dukes and we were pleasantly surprised. As Beth has pointed put to me it was obviously going to be good "because Hiddles". With that in mind, we went in with no real expectations about how successful the play would be as entertainment as well as a piece of classic drama, but as Coriolanus rookies we quickly found this less popular Shakespeare play surprisingly enjoyable.

For the uninitiated, Coriolanus centres on the proud military man Caius Martius, given the nickname (or agnomen, to be fancy) after fighting off the Volscians from attacking Rome. Aufudius, head of the Volscian bad guys, has a one on one fight with Coriolanus, who only stops after he is dragged away by the other men (cue a strapping Hiddleston fighting a wonderfully northern Hadley Fraser, "a man with a beard as thick as his Leeds accent"- Beth Knight everybody). Following his success, Coriolanus' pushy mother Volumnia (played by the excellent Deborah Findlay) tries to convince him to run for consul and he hesitantly agrees. At first, he seems to have won over the plebians, (commoners of the city) as well as the Senate, but his opponents Brutus and Sicinius look to bring about his downfall...

First things first, Hiddleston's portrayal of Coriolanus has understandably been hyped, with his strong athletic presence during some riveting fight scenes and a strong sense of hidden vulnerability under the arrogant exterior that he puts across so well. At times when Coriolanus does rage and rant about his open disgust towards the plebiscites and their lack of military service, it can be hard not to let his proto-fascist ideals go over your head as you wait for the plot to move along. To lighten the mood of the play are  Elliot Levey and Helen Schlesinger who play the scheming duo Brutus and Sicinius, adding some light to this heavily shaded play, deliver their lines with comedy and depth, giving the audience some laughs in and amongst the proud and serious soliloquys. Adding emotional gravitas to a tense scene of reasoning with the enraged Coriolanus as well as adding some comedy of his own is the seemingly ever present Mark Gatiss, taking time out from being the British government to play the decidedly less successful politician Menenius.

The brutal bloodiness of the play is further emphasised by the sparse nature of the scenery, taking the production away from a literal representation of Rome to a space removed from any real clear historical time period and bringing the events closer to the audience due to the intimacy of the small stage, which even seen on a screen miles away from the actors succeeds in creating a feeling of claustrophobia. Whilst the commentary given by Bella Freud and the director Josie Rourke before the play and during the intermission was at times interesting and also included insightful segments from the actors, their comments regarding the "intellectual space" of the Donmar Warehouse theatre prompted the apt response from a fellow viewer of "what does that even mean"? That, coupled with their ponderous chat over why this particular production is so well received when Loki and Mycroft are in your cast caused us to turn to each other and say "Two words. Tom. Hiddleston" and many eyes were rolling.
Overall, the play, whilst lagging in the first half, comes to a great and exciting conclusion. Not for the faint of heart, this bloody and violent play is entertainment, but not as we know it.

The Reading List.

Oh dear... I was only going through town for supplies,It wasn't supposed to happen it was an accident! At least I got loyalty points, I don't have the time to read them all... WHAT HAVE I DONE!

Yeah, more books on the books to be read list.

LOOK AT IT! And these are only the ones I have with me a) at uni b) in physical form. My kindle is also stocked sky high with reading material.
It's with this in mind, that and the sheer lack of space I have come to this conclusion. I can only read one off stand alone books.
I am a habitual reader of series. Trilogies being the worst offenders... they're so sneaky and look so darn good in boxed sets...  and we shan't even begin to talk about my Mortal Instruments problem, (rages about film adaptations), as such I have said "No More!" One offs only! No commitment required and much easier to review and you get less attached to fictional characters.
This is at least is what I'm telling myself.  Also my unread books pile consists mainly of one offs discounting the two books in German which are part of a series, that which were they in English I would have destroyed in an afternoon... ahh linguistic laziness. So I am going to finish my Divergent series review and then start these.  Also the following composite is of  some of those on my kindle that are as yet unread. I'll start with The Book Thief, I think. After I've finished doing battle with The Atopia Chronicles.

Beth xx

Update:

I went home here's just one of the book piles. This isn't counting the German language titles:

Books I Insist You Read.

Note: Some of these aren't strictly books. oh and if any of you have seen my Bus pass or the sneaky house gremlins what steal things off me please bring it back...

Jane Austen - There are 6 pick one. All of them are excellent - some more than others obviously. Pride and Prejudice is OFC the most well known and useful for pop culture references, swooning, and mooning at your lack of your own Darcy. Well deserved of their status, they shine like jewels :)

The Thursday Next Series - Jasper Fforde - any book lover will love these references a plenty, side splittingly funny, wonderfully wacky and by the end you will, to quote my mother be left wondering who's crazier; you for going along with it, or him for coming up with it all in the first place. It is inspired, wonderful and absolute genius, he is, for my part, the literary version of Douglas Adams. Speaking of....

The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy - the first in a trilogy of five - Absurd, insightful, wonderfully British, tackling life's big questions in not so very subtle ways, all doused in a heavy garnish of mind boggling satire, if your funny un-tickled you need to see a therapist, just make sure its not Gag Halfrunt...

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green - I had to pick a title. But of his four books I can't fault any of them. Superbly written, intelligent, witty unflinching yet sympathetic, Green engages with the ordinary everyday characters more often than not get ignored or even ridiculed, he can take anything - even maths equations- and make it seem gripping. His books are full of the same panache and finesse, warmth and personability that have garnered him and his brother their huge and loyal following on YouTube.

Jane Eyre and Vilette - Charlotte Brönte. The longest lived and most talented Brönte turned out some incredible works, usually overshadowed by her sister's mediocre and frankly irritating Wuthering Heights (quite possibly the Edward and Bella of its time) Jane Eyre is the wild sweeping, Gothic romance, heights thinks it is. And Villette the gentle, beautiful, and enchanting tale of a British governess on the continent, its soft, sweet and full of charm that few books manage without being saccharine.

The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis - Harry Potter stand aside, The original children's fantasy is coming through. Now a definable classic, its period features just serve to make it all the more brilliant, when else do you get to exclaim "By Jove!" these days?  A beautiful yet simple sweeping tale of a world in a dimension parallel to our own where time moves faster and animals can talk is as enchanting now as it was then  and as engrossing on the 20th read as it was on the first. C.S. Lewis' Genius is on fully display in these books which are just as imaginative and yet more accessible and gender balanced than his friend Tolkien ever did, This absolute gem doesn't shy away from the tough stuff and teaches lessons along the way without being either preachy or even obvious. If you were deprived of this as a child, its time to walk through the Wardrobe for the first time. :)

Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - The Stephen Fry if somewhat wilder, of his time. Wilde's Masterpiece is a  cautionary tale like no other. His erudite witty prose never ceases to entertain and engage and its easy to imagine he excising his own demons as he weaves together a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins, Single handedly responsible for the reinvigoration of Young Adult Literature and helping to restore some of the reputation that was shattered by twilight, and spawning a hugely successful Film Franchise, Collins' superbly crafted dystopian novel explores themes with subtle yet devastating aplomb. Although I personally felt like punching her in the face fir the way in which she ended the series, the world and characters that Collins' crafts will remain with you long after you close the book.. even though none of the characters are entirely likeable, this serves only to add yet another layer of grit and realism lacking in many novels. Collins' commitment to realism however descends into pessimism that in my view taints the last book in the series, and caused me to rage all over the place.

Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

You've watched the TV show, seen the films and whether it's The Batch or RDJ that floats your particular boat, (calm down Hannah) it's time to read the book. Headier, twist-ier, and as intriguing as you'd expect. The earlier books are the best, which is understandable, Doyle killed Holmes off only to be pressured into bring him back because the mob demanded it. They are simply fantastic. I can do nothing but rave about the amazing craftsmanship of these books and the level of imagination behind it.

There you go: a list of incredible books I insist you go away and read. I'll do another of these at some point. and I promise that I'll post my Divergent series review at some point, just as soon as I get my head out of them....

New! Top Tens- My Top 10 (Un)Intentionally Annoying Literary Characters

Hi everyone and welcome to the newest post on the good ship Beth'n'Brown...

Like everything else about our lovely blog at the moment, this is new.

We're going to do a Top Ten every so often about literary stuff!

Whether it's about characters, books, film adaptations or whatever we can think of next,this is a little insight into the workings of our minds...

So, down to it then. This week is a staple category: Top 10 (Un) Intentionally Annoying Literary Characters.

I say (un)intentional because whilst some achingly irritating characters are intended to be and are therefore successfully written to be so, there are just some characters who are irritating anyway, even though the author may not have intended it. They are probably the worst... but anyway...

My list goes from most to least annoying due to the fact that the characters at the beginning of the list either realise their mistakes and try to change their ways, or are intentionally written to be irritating and so you could say, we love to hate them. Spoilers alert!

10. Gilbert Markham- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë

       This character as the main male protagonist of the story is just your average young, cocky guy who gets bowled over by the mysterious widow tenanting Wildfell Hall. However, his belief of awful lies spread about her by the jealous Annabel and his subsequent selfishness, narrow minded attitudes and jealousy just make him downright irritating. However, he soon mends his ways as he learns that his lady love, having nursed her abusive and alcoholic estranged secret husband on his deathbed, is back and now a single mother to an adorable child, he is ashamed of his mistakes, ultimately reconciles with her and becomes altogether less annoying.

9. Pip- Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

    Let's get this classic protagonist over and done with, seeing as he is often cited as one of the most annoying people in literature, despite the fact that Dickens probably didn't intend for readers to get as incensed by Pip as they do now. He's young, yes, and foolish and innocent at first and all protagonists, particularly in coming-of-age (or bildungsroman if you like being fancy) novels must go through a period of difficult change.However, that didn't mean he had to be so focused on being a gentleman to hurt his best friend Joe, assume arrogantly that his patron was eccentric Miss Havisham and be revolted at any opinions to the contrary and constantly moon after the horrible Estella. Get over it dude. (He does. Eventually.)

    

8. Mrs Bennet- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

     Whilst Kitty and Lydia are the most embarrassing fictional sisters known to mankind, they don't have a patch on their mother. Written as irritating to the nth degree in private, embarrassing in public, grasping at suitors Bingley and Darcy like meal tickets for her girls and generally ticking everyone off within a thirty mile radius of Longbourn, Mrs Bennet wins the award for Most Annoying Fictional Mother. Written as a scathing indictment on her society, Ms. Austen's constructed object of annoyance is the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) from a host of skin-crawlingly awful characters carefully designed for readers to scoff at. Also, she is the Worst. Mother-in-Law. Ever. (Darcy really does love Elizabeth).

7. Edmund Pevensie/ Eustace Scrub- The Narnia series C.S Lewis
     Admittedly only the seventh most annoying on this list, but out of all the child characters that Lewis ever created, these two are particularly irritating. From their dogmatic inabiliy to accept the fantastcal world that the reader has already immersed themselves in to their spoiled brat attitudes seen the moment anyone tries to help them, Eustace and Edmund are the sceptics turned stroppy little gits that mostly serve to incense me. Thankfully they are reformed by the wild and enigmatic Aslan, so they both evolve following testing times in their stories. As characters, they represent changing attitudes of many people to religion and the acceptance of the seemingly impossible, so they serve as extra layers upon the themes of Christian allegory and childhood exploration, so maybe their irritating ways are not all that bad.  

6. Emma- Emma, Jane Austen
     She's a nosy, interfering, know-it-all who wants to matchmake everyone for her own pleasure, despite never having been in a relationship herself. You'd think this is annoying enough, as she blunders her way through her friend Harriet's feelings and refuses to stop meddling even after her best (and much wiser) friend Mr Knightley warns her to stop with her games. But it's her position as the central character that just exposes how much of stupid smart person she is. She's intelligent, she's definitely a Sassy Independent Woman who don't need no man, which is great and future heroines could definitely learn from that (ahem, Bella). However she is so blind to her own ego I often end up screaming at the page in exasperation, hoping that this will somehow stop her from being careless with other people's feelings. Austen herself said that Emma was the heroine she didn't like, so I admire the effort in achieving a character who is by turns arrogant, vulnerable and totally blind to her own feelings, but ultimately becomes a wiser person by the end. Kudos, Ms Austen.

5. Robert Frobisher- Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
     One character among many in this multi-stranded narrative, Frobisher stands out in the book as the Man Who Constantly Shoots Himself In The Foot (metaphorically speaking). Adultery with your boss' wife, followed by yet more infidelity with her daughter whilst secretly loving your boss, who you betrayed by sleeping with his wife in the first place? Cause that's not weird and incredibly idiotic. It's a lesson to us all: when you live with your boss' family, keep it in your pants.

4. Viserys Targaryen- A Game of Thrones, from A Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martin
     Mercifully, we aren't subjected to this stupid ass for too long, but as I inch along in my quest to finally finish A Song of Ice and Fire series, there are few people who irk me more. Whilst Joffrey will insist on being a spoilt brat of a tyrant, he is so evil and stupid that I wait in a delayed state of glee at his comeuppance. Viserys thankfully gets his and his control over Danerys is finished, setting her off towards the great badassery that she does so well. However, Danerys is haunted by her brother after his demise, attempting to remember him in his better moments. When I am told what better moments he ever had I could maybe feel some sympathy at his horrible death.

3. Bella Swann- Twilight, Stephanie Meyer

    She's annoying. This book is annoying and all the hype around this book is annoying. Why does she pretty much exist to have a choice between boyfriends, both of whom are also annoying? The films are even worse. She should tell 'em to go take their sparkly skinned stalker / overly whitened teeth and seemingly constant need to be shirtless idiocy elsewhere. However, the poor quality of the writing is the main reason why I don't like this book- it's an overrated bad example of YA fiction, a genre already prejudiced against by critics and literary types, and it serves to increase their viewpoint. Bella as a character just gets swept up in this and is lost as a boring main character. And that's the most annoying thing about her- she's boring.

=1. Holden Caulfield- Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
      A classic for all those experiencing teenage angst and in need of a good dose of alienation. Yes, he's a figure of teenage rebellion and we all enjoy a bit of questioning the establishment, exposing the true nature of society, all that stuff. But does it have to be so irritating in the process? I know Caulfield speaks using the slang of youth at the time and that's not what bothers me; it's the endless repetition, the scattergun effect that his words have on the narration. I like a good bit of pace and a strong narrative voice, but his attempts to continually be outside the establishment, coupled with his antagonistic behaviour that keeps causing trouble for him and his seemingly continuous need to say 'and hell/phony/crumby/give her the time' are all so irritating that it's hard to be sympathetic when he is in trouble, and you really need that, especially with a story line as bleak as his.

=1. Hamlet- Hamlet, William Shakespeare 
      Along with Caulfield, Hamlet is one of the characters in literature often considered to be annoying. I couldn't decide which was more irritating out of the two and one of the top reasons is that both of these characters were not primarily created to be annoying, but have turned out to be so. I'm not sure whether it's the passage of time tinting my judgement on these two period characters, but Hamlet's inability to MAKE A DECISION, not have scary Oedipal-like thoughts towards his mum and generally try to understand and sympathise with people a little better ( he doesn't even seem to care about Ophelia's suicide), surely transcends the ages. As two very famous figures in literature, (Hamlet in particular), they get over analysed, but there are plenty other (far less annoying) characters to enjoy. Just please stop inflicting these guys on us. Please.