Alterations

Well it is official, I have been a complete slacker with blogging and reviewing. The little book worm in me has not gone anywhere though! It is just time for a few changes. Firstly, I have started a new job so I can no longer get access to charity books. I did start this nearly 4 months ago now (see how I fooled you all that time?!) so it just didn't feel right any longer to go with this blog title, despite how much I loved it! But I didn't want to throw in the towel completely so here is the slight revamp! It looks a bit naff at the moment, but I don't have much time to tweak it completely, so for now, here is Antony Reviews Anything! I shall review a whole load of crap, from TV series to YouTube channels, from my travels to my own personal life, and I shall still continue with the books! See how much I extra I shall be giving you now! So enjoy as I delve into uncharted terriorty for me, and please bear with me during the more personal moments (life can be SHIT- mostly due to my own actions). Let's see if it helps!
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Ciao

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

I didn't really know how to approach this book. I have read one of Mitchell's previous novels, probably his most famous, Cloud Atlas (amazing what a film with Tom Hanks in can do sometimes), and I am still indecisive about it. Did I enjoy it? Did I even get it. More importantly, was there anything to get or was it just a story that stretched across time with a series of links? Who knows. Maybe my English degree didn't rub of on me as much as I thought it had.

So I got a copy of his new novel (yes I know, more charity books are due soon...) and left it for awhile, not knowing when to break it out. I mean the sheer size of the novel put me off for awhile, it is massive! I have read longer books but still, it was huge and when eventually I did decide to put it in my bag ready for the morning commute, And boy did it weigh a ton. So if you are looking for a light read, don't bother reading any further.

A gorgeous cover for Mitchell's latest offering

The Bone Clocks follows the character of Holly across her life, from her naive teenage runaway self right until the dystopian future that Mitchell writes her into. In a style, which to me was extremely similar to Cloud Atlas, where we hop across time, meeting the same characters along the way, Mitchell sure does have some imagination. At first for me as well, The Bone Clocks was a lot easier to read than any other of Mitchell's novels, he wrote the mind of a teenage Holly perfectly, all of the naivety, all of the insecurities and all of those rebellious feelings. It is in a state of anger that in the first part of the novel that will go onto effect the rest of Holly's life. In a talk with a wry stranger in rural Kent when Holly has decided to leave her home, something is implanted into Holly's mind from this beginning. And this is where the novel faltered for me.

I am not a huge fan of fantasy novels, and it is in the middle of the novel, where we encounter many different characters of those who either live off of other peoples' souls or cross into those of people who are dying and need saving. They then go onto to live on as this person until the inevitable happens, and they enter another body. This middle part of the novel, taking up much of the middle of the 6 parts that Mitchell has written. were particularly weak but that is probably because I don't enjoy this genre. I'm not about to start explaining the battle that ensues in the novel between two different groups, not because I didn't understand it, but mostly because to me, it really doesn't matter. It all seemed a bit superfluous. I was lulled into a false sense of security with the first chapter, one narrated by Holly, but he manages to save it at the end.

After a somewhat colourful life, which has seen Holly working in a bar in a ski resort, married to a war journalist and then becoming a best selling writer for the tackier end of literacy (the angels, the mind, all of the crap), she has now settled in rural Ireland. In a world that is running out of oil, things are going backwards. The ways of which society has been trying to stop have all returned. People are having to grow all of their own food again, are having to rely on selling things at markets and exchanging their possessions in order to survive. Mitchell has bought to the forefront an issue that he really should have focused on more. What does happen if we run of natural resources? What if it happens sooner than we think it will?

Of course, in the final chapter there is a sign of Holly's past where one of the souls comes back to save her grandchildren, but everything that I read before, apart from in the first part of the novel, seemed pointless. Mitchell should have focused on one or the other. It didn't work for me. That is not to take away from Mitchell's talents as a writer. His imagination is beyond belief, I can't think of anyone who comes close. The way he writes draws you in, there is just enough detail that is doesn't get confusing, it all makes sense. In a way it does work, but it was my enjoyment that let it down. I have to enjoy every part of a novel to consider it a success, but I cannot say this. I would be lying. And that wouldn't be fair now would it?!

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell is published by Sceptre, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, in the UK. 

Something a bit different...

Here we are again. Here I go again apologising for not posting quite so frequently as I first thought I would. To be fair to myself though, I have read 3 novels in the past month that have had more than 500 pages. And I am 100 pages into another long one as well. So instead of writing three individual blogs, here I am throwing three of them at you in one go. And here comes another sorry. They aren't books that I pulled from the charity box, that's right you heard, books that have been out been out recently or in the past year. Look how I am treating you! Back to normal, charitable me soon though...

Round one goes to...

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I always forget that I have a Kindle. I'm not the biggest fan of them, I really prefer the physicality of a book but I still have one. So when I was given the chance to read Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch for free (no it is not illegal don't worry), I jumped at the chance and thought why the hell not. The book has received huge attention recently, having picked up multiple awards, including the coveted Pulitzer Prize, as well as having the film rights for it purchased. So things are looking pretty good for Tartt at the moment.

Donna Tartt's impeccable third novel

I didn't really know too much about the novel when I first downloaded it. Tartt's third novel follows Theo Decker, a man who at the start we can already tell is an extremely troubled young man. The first 50 pages follow him as he is in Amsterdam scouring newspapers and the news for names he recognises. Then Tartt takes us right to the start of Theo's difficult childhood, where he loses his mother in a bomb blast in New York's Metropolitan museum, a blast he also gets caught up in and survives. Tartt injects an eerie emptiness in Theo from the outset, from the stumbling little boy lost in a wrecked museum, to walking through a room full of the dead (the living have been evacuated), there is a sense of something not being right in him from the outset. There is so much tradegy to come for young Theo including not having anyone to rely on except a school friend who he lost touch with.

Words cannot really do this book justice in my opinion, only the ones that Tartt has written so masterfully. There are so many brilliant and original characters, including my favourite Boris, whom Theo befriends when he eventually ends up living in Las Vegas' barren outskirts with his father. It is quite sad to read the lives of two boys who have been abandoned to grow up without any guidance. As they both head towards delinquency, there are flashes of things they are far to young to understand, including taking drugs, selling drugs and drinking copious amounts of vodka. These go onto affect them into there older years, where Tartt pulls them apart before throwing back together once they are older. But in typical Boris and Theo style, they manage to get themselves into more trouble.

Stunning painting, stunning novel.

The whole book also surrounds this image of The Goldfinch, an exquisite painting by Carel Fabritius, which Theo inadvertently takes from the scene of the explosion. It haunts him his whole life, and acts as a constant reminder of the tragedy of his youth and all that was taken from him. The enthralling climax to the book, taking place as it started in Amsterdam, will not disappoint. I won;t spoil it for you, but the painting, this thing that Theo doesn't let himself looks at and is constantly searched for by the art world, plays a central role to the entire ending. The last chapter was some of the best writing I have had the pleasure of reading all year. Please read this book, I couldn't put it down, well the Kindle down. 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is published by Little, Brown in the UK. 

The Secret Place by Tana French

Round two today goes to Tana French's new novel The Secret Place. There has been much hype surrounding the release of the novel, including a brilliant campaign from Hodder and Stougton, carrying the slogan of the entire novel and what kicks off the action 'I know who killed him'. Set in a boarding school where not all the girls stay and no one stays at the weekends, a message posted on 'The Secret Place', basically a glorified pin board, re- ignites an old murder case. A boy was found on the grounds of the girls school, brutally murdered with a garden hoe but no culprit was ever found. A year on, a message is posted on The Secret Place with his photo and the slogan. Doesn't it sound like every school girls dream to have an outlet to put all of your and others secrets? A place to pin up all the gossip? I mean it is a bit Mean Girls, but I'm hardly complaining about that! 

The Secret Place- basically a bitchy pinboar

The two detectives who are put onto the investigation, one from cold cases who has an attachment to the girl who brings him the evidence, and the other a tough bitch who is the new girl from the murder investigation team. They are a slightly cliched, even acting out the whole bad cop, good cop stereotype. But French makes it work, giving the teenage girls someone to stand up to and someone to feel like they have power over. I mean it bloody works in the novel... the girls can't stop dropping new information that was never revealed a year ago.

A bit too Mean Girls?

The main culprits for the murder come down to two sets of girls, all of whom are supposed best friends, and they totally hate each other. French has that bitchy girl tone down to a t, I can't help but think she probably has or has had a teenage girl at some point in her life. But the naivety of the girls actions shines through, their reliance on boys and their appearances never falters. French has written such believable characters all of whom have traits that make them all different from each other. Sometimes it is hard to see differences in girls nowadays, but French brings them all to the forefront.

I have to say, it was very difficult to put this book down. The story takes place over the course of one day and in that day we learn about the entire case, new evidence not previously known and by the 10pm, we even know who did it. I didn't care for the detectives much, but the setting is perfect, there is always a sense that the detectives are being watched, whether it be distant parents, prying teenage girls or the stern mistress. Well done Tana French, well done for making me interested in crime fiction again.

The Secret Place by Tana French is published by Hodder and  Stoughton in the UK.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J.K Rowling)

The third and final round today goes to The Cuckoo's Calling. Now this book hardly gained any attention until it was revealed that it was actually written by J.K Rowling. I find that quite sad really. But hey that is the world we live in. When it eventually came out, sales figures rose by a massive 500%, and it confused me as to why she bothered. I know she wants to change direction and not get pigeon holed as that woman who wrote Harry Potter, but I think that's a badge she can never lose. Stick to your name love, it clearly sells better. 

A.K.A J.K Rowling

The Cuckoo's Calling marks yet another departure for Rowling as she moves on from young adult fiction from Harry Potter, to contemporary drama with The Casual Vacancy, to crime drama in her latest offerings (she has written a second after this one called The Silkworm). Set at a failing detective agency, the novel opens with new temp Robin starting a new job, fulfilling a childhood dream. With a weeks' work with Coromon Strike, the ex- military man turned private detective, Robin goes into her new job rather looking forward to it. She hardly has her expectations met when her boss, a man who sleeps in his office and receives constant death threats, is the private detective at hand.

The case that makes up the plot for Rowling's first venture into crime surrounds that of the apparent suicide of a supermodel called Luna. Coromon is hired by her step brother John Bristow to re- investigate, as he thinks a murder has taken place. Everything points to suicide, that is until Coromon begins to dig deeper and deeper, going over everything again and interviewing everyone involved. It can become quite tiresome reading endless question and answer, and Rowling slips into this repetitive structure every now and then. She has is obssessed with racial stereotypes it seems. I said the same about The Casual Vacancy. It just feels awkward J.K.

Better luck next time for crime writing?

I can't quite put my finger on what I didn't really enjoy about this novel. But I really didn't. I was trying to give it the benefit of the doubt but there is just far too many cliches in it for me. From the gay fashioner designer, to the supermodel who likes to party and has a loser boyfriend or the poor black birth mother who lives in Hackney, there is something that doesn't read write about it. I get it is her first stab at a crime novel, and of course there s plenty of dramatic and entertaining moments, but I found all of the characters annoying and much of the structure the same. If you like your crime fiction, then it is perfect for you. It has everything you need. It has murder. Lies. Red herrings. Dead endings, Christ it even has the cliched ending of the big reveal, and even the overdone meeting between murderer and detective to the end the whole thing. I get what you are trying to do Robert or J.K or whoever the hell you are, and it was a nice first try. But it just didn't do much for me. Maybe it's just me, but I wasn't a fan. I'll give The Silkworm a go at some point to see if the writing has improved, but for now, thank you J.K, thank you for making me lose interest in crime. Again. 

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith is published by Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown in the UK. 

So there you go. Three very different books, but all brilliant in their own ways. For me I would pick The Goldfinch as the stand out book, I was still thinking about it for days after. But then the two crime novels also have their own methods of entertainment. The Secret Place is pure entertainment but not stupid and over the top murder, just plain, simple girl power becoming too much. 

The Puppet Boy Of Warsaw by Eva Weaver

I really don't like to read books that involve the Holocaust and the second world war, mostly because of their depressing nature, but also because I always think just how many more ways are there looking at it? Are there any other ways that highlight the devastation that was caused? With everything that is happening in Gaza at the moment as well, where the Israeli military and government are continuing to bomb Gaza and Hamas, war is slowly coming to the forefront of every news channel and newspaper.

So for taking all this into consideration, I think this is what attracted me to read this book. To remind myself of the devastation that the Jewish population suffered in WW2, and to try and see if the novel made me look at the war at yet another angle. The book is split into two different time periods where the protagonist is Mika, a Jewish boy in the war in the 1940s and a grandfather telling his story to his now grandson in 2009. If you are educated in all of the facts of the war, then you always feel that impending sense of terror that is beckoning on the Jewish population of Warsaw. And it is not long until Weaver throws us straight into the terror of the Warsaw ghettos, when the Jews were all placed into one area of Warsaw, a space that was far too cramped for the amount of people forced to live there. Weaver cleverly purveys this sense of cramped conditions by letting a lot of the action spill out onto the streets, where all the evil is happening, where all the killing is occurring and where everyone is slowly starving.

Mika soon inherits his grandfathers coat that has a complex pattern of inner pockets allowing him to hide things inside them. This includes his grandfathers puppets and Mika soon becomes enthralled by them, making his own puppets and then slowly his own shows. More people are forced to move into his and his mothers flat, meaning he now rarely has time to himself. We follow Mika putting on shows for chilrdens hopsitals, orphanages as well as birthday parties. Soon his shows attract Nazi attention and he is made to put on shows, forced to down pints of beer and become part of the rough and manly culture. He soon befriends a soldier called Max, but there is such an air of tension between the two that Weaver subtly writes into it that is makes you always feel a sense of danger for Mika, a sense that Max is always just doing what he is told by his Nazi superiors.

The rest of Mika's journey during the war is much as would expect, full of death, full of loss and full of a fight that you never really think they will win. But of course, eventually the allies do win, he is given the chance for freedom, we already know at the start of the book he has made it to the USA. He is one of the lucky ones. There are some truly heart wrenching moments in the book with Mika, especially for me when the Nazis are making a film about life in the ghetto and they make Mika perform one of his shows. To pretend that life is all dandy in the ghettos, when really all the weak ones are being killed off before all the strong ones are shipped off to concentration camps. I got so mad reading it, why did no one help the Jewish people at the time? And then reading the current news straight after, how can a mainly Jewish population in Israel not understand what they are currently doing? I just don't get it.

Images from the Warsaw ghetto

One side of the book that really worked for me was when the book looks at life after the war for Max, the German soldier. Sent off to a prison in Siberia, we follow his complex journey and inner thought processes. Why are the German soldiers taking all the punishments when they were just following orders from people who have gotten away with it? It is an extremely debatable and hard to determine subject that it is almost too hard to call. Should the soldiers have been so severely punished for merely carrying out orders? When you read everything Mika saw and heard, it is hard to reason with Max and his comrades. But his journey for me was all the more fascinating as I have never really thought about what German soldiers went through after the war. All the lies they were fed for no reason, for no purpose. Truly devastating on any sole.

Just some of the three million German POWs in USSR

I apologise for the somber tone to this review. It's just the subject matter at hand. And the topical nature of war at the moment across the world doesn't help. I realise that WW2 and the Gaza/Israeli bombings are two totally different situations, but can people not learn from past situations? From situations that didn't even happen that long ago? From situations that people who are alive today were alive back then? The sheer ignorance of those in power will sometimes never cease to amaze me.

The Puppet Boy Of Warsaw by Eva Waver is published by Phoenix, an imprint of Orion books, in the UK. 

The Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling

Well I am just disgusted in myself and how long it has been since I have decided to sit down and write one of these things. Can I just defend myself before you hit that big red cross in the top right- hand corner? I HAVE BEEN ON HOLIDAY. As well as being particularly busy with fascinating things including recovering from tonsilitus, spending some much needed time in the sun and getting a new phone. Riveting right? Now in the past 6 weeks, I don't want you to think that my self proclaimed title of official book worm has been lost. Oh no. Train journeys have still be filled with the written word. So brace yourself people. Reviews will be coming at you thick and fast from now on. Whilst I may try and do some catching up on ones I have finished, I may just start from now... I'm still fickle, I'll let you know.

SO in my own style of writing things late, why not give you a review for a book that has been out for quite sometime now? In it's own streak of luck however, J.K Rowling has recently been back in the spotlight, what with her new crime novel being published, as well as finding time to squeeze out a Harry Potter short story. I have not read this, sorry J.K but you must be JOKING if I am signing up to Pottermore just to read it. So this review will focus on her first, well lets say probably first published attempt at an adult novel, The Casual Vacancy.

Now if you are as ignorant as I am, you may think that this is a book about either casual sex or a empty hotel  room somewhere in the depths of England. However, you will soon learn, and I mean literally in the first ten or so pages, so this doesn't spoil it, that it for a seat on a local council that has become available after the death of Barry Fairbrother. The town of Pagford soon descends into a state of shock, and we are presented with a multitude of characters immediately, giving the book a soap opera sense of direction. And this does not relent. Rowling does exceed fantastically at chopping and changing scenes in the local town and its surrounding area. We all already knew she had a knack for telling a story, it was just the way she went about it that was sometimes troublesome and at times extremely immature. But this has greatly improved. Gone are the unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, and visible is a sense of a writer who feels much more in her stride.

Do you even need a picture? 

Now this isn't perfect. There are times where, to me, it felt like she was trying a little to hard to reach her mature audience. Some mentions of words like vulva and her sometimes graphic sexual thoughts were misplaced and misjudged. There are times also I feel stereotypes are coming into play slightly, whether it be the troubled teenager Krystal Weedon who is so clichéd it is cringe-worthy, or the pushy Asian parents who bully their children for underachieving, Rowling sometimes slips into boring and unimaginative territory.

But she manages to save it with the other characters. She mixes so well the lives of the people in the small town and displays brilliantly each of the characters internal and family catastrophes. They may all seem like small problems, but if someone thinks it is a problem, then that's all that should matter. Characters including the married cougar Samantha who prays on young schoolboys and boyband members and Maureen who runs a local deli and café with the head of the council Miles, who may or may not have had part of his anatomy somewhere it shouldn't have been, all kept my unrivaled interest, even when a good looking man was standing in front of me on the train. The best character for me was the troubled father and headteacher Colin Wall, who was petrified of even brushing up against his students for fear he would enjoy it too much (if you get me). The sheer panic Rowling has instilled into him almost drips off the page.

All of these domestic issues rotate around the election for the seat, as two sides battle it out to save the Fields, a council estate area that sits on the border. Some want it out of the borderline and some want to keep it. It even starts effecting the teenagers of the local area, as parents run for the seat and they become terrified of what could happen, even meddling with the council website to stop people getting in. What Rowling does so well is to explore each issue in a way that it effects not just one person but everyone around them, truly evident in the run up to the end of the novel where I could simply not put the book down. I wont ruin it for you, but it sure does put many things in perspective for Pagford's residents and Rowling ends it on an extremely bittersweet note.

Now I was extremely cautious about this book. I mean I enjoyed the Potter books as much as the next kid in my generation, but I wasn't the biggest fan. But Rowling surpassed my expectations. Whilst it wasn't perfect and there were a few try hard moments, she writes with an authenticity that has captured modern life in rural towns where urban life is starting to infiltrate, whether it is elder people using the internet, council estates on your doorstep or a multi- cultural community, you get the feeling that things are changing and life for the residents can simply not go on as it has done in the past. A TV series has already been commissioned for the book and I can't help but feel that simply because of the author who penned it, this is why it is going into production. I just don't see it working on screen, it will be far to soap opera-esque. It may prove me wrong, at the end of the day I'm just a poor boy from a poor... Oh wait that's wrong. But you know what I mean.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling is published by Little, Brown in the UK. 

When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan

TWO BOOKS REVIEWS IN ONE DAY I HEAR YOU SCREAM?! WELL KEEP SCREAMING BECAUSE YES, IT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.

I only write in these over the top capital letters to reflect the brilliant book When Mr Dog Bites. Set in a- I hate to say it- special school, we follow Dylan Mint, a 16-year-old boy suffering from Tourette's syndrome. Tourette's symdorme is one of the those conditions that has become some what of a laughing stock in society, mainly down to misinformed television programmes that instead of looking at things from their point, tend to focus on the reactions of other people as they walk past. I'm looking at you BBC3. So it is fantastic to see the condition used in a different way and in another medium where instead of hearing the person shouting and swearing, you have to picture it yourself. It has quite a different effect, you'd be surprised. It makes you feel for Dylan, not feel sorry for them, just want better for him. I never sniggered once. It must be terrible.

We come into Dylan's life at a difficult time, when his ticks are out of control, he is getting into fights at school and his mother is acting strange. Dylan receives some, what he thinks, is bad news at the doctors where he convinces himself that he is due to die in March. To me, I always got the sense that he wasn't going to die, especially because his mother seems more concerned about herself. So it is quite sad to see Dylan planning his final few months, even writing his bucket list, or as he calls it "Cool Things To Do Before I Cack It". I think everyone should call it this from now on. 

There are of course times when you are reading the book that you feel uncomfortable when he is shouting racist and rude things, but at the end of the day you know he can't help it. There are some heart warming moments too, like when he is writing letters to his absentee father, who he believes is at war fighting terrorists. But you always get the sense his mother is hiding something from him about where is really is. And this is confirmed later.

Conaghan gives such a realistic insight into the world of those with conditions such as Tourette's that you find yourself not feeling sorry for them. You just realise that they are normal 16 -year-old boys. Boys who at time can be very crude, sexist and stubborn. They just all seem like normal kids. That's what Conaghan does so cleverly, making you notice that whilst they may be at a special school, they all go through the same things at school that people at other schools go through. This includes bullying, where he meets two other boys from the supposed 'normal' school in the park. That chapter will soon make you realise, who really is the considered the 'freaks' in society? Ignorant arseholes. Sorry. 

I sometimes don't know how far young adult novels can go with their realness but with things like Tourette's and addressing something they may misunderstand from other representations in the media is important. And something else that he does so well is to not focus the entire story on how he copes with Tourette's but giving him other stories such as his relationship with Amir, his best friend and his eventual finding out about what his father is really like. There is a beautiful letter at the end where Dylan expresses himself in the most honest way I have had the pleasure of reading. 

So when you get used to the times when 'Mr Dog Bites' or basically where Dylan Tourette's shines through, you see a completely normal 16-year-old boy. A boy who constantly thinks about women, football and his father. You can't but help see that no matter what people say in society, what is normal? And who is anyone to say what is normal?

When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan is publishing by Bloomsbuty in the UK. 

The Sorrows Of An American by Siri Hustvedt

Well it has been quite awhile since I sat down and wrote one of these. Life has been rather busy and not overly fantastic in the past couple of weeks. But the sun is out and it's time to review again. I can hear you all cheering in the stands. Please, please I am not worthy. I have realised how this blog can sometimes be a mix of me telling you about my life as well as reviewing books. I'm thinking maybe I'll change the description a bit, so as not to lure you book fans into a false sense of security... SO on with the review.

I am going to put this out there from the outset, I think this book goes into my top five favourite books of all time. I couldn't put it down and I truly loved it. I have always been a massive fan of American literature, especially the classics like In Cold Blood and Tender Is The Night. Even though this was released in the 2000s, it felt like it was written in that 1900s era, minus the use of aeroplanes and mobiles phones of course.

The Sorrows Of An American follows Erik Davidsen, a psychiatrist who is struggling to cope with lonliness, his new tenant as well as his complex family. Having recently divorced from his wife, Erik struggles to deal with being lonely, slipping into the typical male mind set of fantasising  about women. It is quite hard to describe this plot and do it justice, but reading it is a completely different story. Hustvedt writes with such ease and beauty that demonstrates the weaknesses of the human mind set, that the plot fades into the background as we become enamored with the thought processes in all of Erik situations, be it the family side, his relationships or his relationship with his new flatmate Miranda.

There are some great moments to do with his job too, when we get an insight into his patients and how they end up effecting him at a low point for Erik. But it the issues with his family that eventually take precedence, as him and his sister discover a letter from their recently deceased father and they go on the trail for discovering the lady at the centre of the content of the letter. It goes onto effect their relationship with their mother, each other and even other relationships. There is so much plot that I can't even go into detail about with confusing you, but Hustvedt handles it with such care and attention, you are never confused and always wanting more.

Considering that it is written by a female author, Siri Hustvedt sure does know how to get into the male psyche. She has for sure written in some of her own life into the book, crossing over the Norwegian family living in America, so bringing a real authenticity to the book. The images of their father during the war through his diary entries is also truly touching. It is not often I am moved by a book, but I couldn't help be by this beautiful book. I think even just writing this review has moved it up into my second favourite book of all time. There I said it. I apologise for the brief review, but I just don't think I can do it proper justice. The beauty is in the words.

The Sorrows Of An American by Siri Hustvedt is published by Sceptre, an imprint of Hodder and Stoughton in the UK.