I would give it 3,5 stars, and even if that doesn't sound impressive, I want to read more by this author. What I appreciate the most in this book is tI would give it 3,5 stars, and even if that doesn't sound impressive, I want to read more by this author. What I appreciate the most in this book is the intelligent wit expressed in eloquent passages where I found myself grabbing for the dictionary on more than one occasion. The plot was less impressive, though not bad as such, yet not riveting. I liked the characters (although I'd like to see them developed more), and I loved the time and the setting. Could do with less of the steampunk bit (not really a science buff), and am feeling satiated on the werewolf/vampire front, but it's somehow treated differently here. Oh and the cover is superb: pink pop art superimposed on a foggy London street (or rather, Picadilly Circus) and a Victorian lady sporting a lethal parasol in the foreground!...more
Re-reading this book really brought it home to me how some books deserve to be read more than once. It’s only been about three or four years since I fRe-reading this book really brought it home to me how some books deserve to be read more than once. It’s only been about three or four years since I first read it, but my mind apparently only has so many megabyte available: Having read over a hundred books since then, I don’t remember too many details about it and although that can sometimes be annoying, it also meant I could savor lots of details that I didn’t pay so much attention to the first time (or if I did, I don’t remember).
And there are many, many details to savor in this novel. The first time I read it, I really liked it. This time, I absolutely loved it. What a fine and timeless novel it is. There’s so much humanity and wisdom packed into the pages of this book that it almost broke my heart sometimes, if it wasn’t for the fact that it also made my heart soar.
No need to give an account of the story; almost everyone knows it. If you haven’t already read it, do so at once. It is a stand-out American novel, which has a wonderful narrator in the young girl, Scout, some truly fabulous characters (Atticus Finch is just a marvel) and a sense of setting that just puts you right into small-town Alabama in the 1930s. Harper Lee’s grasp of the dialect was outstanding and made me chuckle many times, not least when represented in the children’s voices.
This is not only a very important book but a thoroughly enjoyable one, too. What’s with the four stars I gave it last time? If this isn’t a five-star book, I don’t know what is! ...more
Although it's been a while since I read this book, I feel compelled to review it as I've just read a few reviews of it that only gave it one star!? ThAlthough it's been a while since I read this book, I feel compelled to review it as I've just read a few reviews of it that only gave it one star!? This is simply unfathomable to me and most unfair to the book. I've read it twice (not many book of 900+ pages I'd read twice), and despite devouring 40-50 books a year, this remains one of my alltime favourites. It's essentially a medieval page turner with a number of interesting key characters who add emotion, action, pathos and evil deeds to a tale of inter-human relationships with twists and turns that leave the reader gasping. I first read it before I had children - in only four days. I went travelling in Asia and recommended it to my travelling companion, who likewise devoured it and loved it. We met an English couple in Nepal, whom we recommended it to; when we met them in the Himalayas three weeks later, they had both read it and were now recommending it to all and sundry. This is Ken Follett's finest novel, and his passion for Gothic cathedrals - the pillars of the earth - never upstages the plot or the characters but makes for an original and interesting, though pivotal, backdrop. I love this book and cannot praise it enough!...more
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