Review - Blindness Jose Saramago

This piece is an apocalyptic thriller in which an epidemic with unknown cause strikes, causing widespread blindness. The book charts the progress of a small group of individuals among those first struck by the illness, from their segregation and quarantine to their eventual escape and re-entry into a world beset by desperate criminality and a shortage of essentials previously taken for granted.

Saramago's writing style is visceral and chillingly graphic, with horrific scenes captured incredibly effectively. Paradoxically, it would therefore seem, is the lack of any character names throughout the entire novel. Indeed, there is a noticeable absence of any proper noun - however, this is not to the detriment of character development. In fact, this reflects the sensory deprivation around which the story revolves. This is merely one of several superb narrative techniques harnessed by Saramago.
Apparently, a less than adequate film adaptation has been made in the last few years. Do yourself a favour and read the novel first. It's excellent.
8/10

Review - 'Millenium People' J.G. Ballard

From the beginning of this book, it was clear to me that it had great promise - I absolutely loved the premise of a middle-class uprising, and there was much to be admired in terms of the style of the writer. However, the main issue I had with this piece was that it failed to engage me fully. Despite the interesting and humorous supporting characters, there was never a sense of urgency for me to continue reading. I often find that the books I enjoy most are those that draw me in and keep me reading, constantly on tenterhooks as to the next development in the plot. 'Unputdownable', though I hate the word.

While these points may seem rather damning, the unexpected twists and turns and the combination of bizarre revolutionary events (ranging from terrorist attacks at airports to a vicious backlash from cat-lovers following a protest - yes, really) and black humour compensated these points to an extent.
Not an exhilarating read, but an entertaining one nonetheless.
6/10

A rather good quote

Time is never wasted when you're wasted all the time.
---Catherine Zandonella

Review - 'Solar' Ian McEwan

My first review! I hope you enjoy it...
So, I've been through a couple of McEwan's pieces in the past, and didn't truly appreciate his writing. However, right from the beginning, there was something a little different with the way I approached this novel. Perhaps something to do with actively choosing to read rather than having it forced on me in A level English...
My early worries proved to be unfounded, though - a combination of black humour and engaging narrative drew me in and I raced through relatively quickly.
There's some fairly complex scientific explanations which demonstrate either the author's vast knowledge of certain areas or at least comprehensive research - so, I suppose if you're looking for something which doesn't engage your brain in any way, this isn't ideal. But don't be fooled, this is merely the background to the story of a man's life embroiled in excess and pocked with moments of utter hilarity. I don't want to spoil any of them for any would-be readers, save that they're masterfully executed.
Enjoy them for yourselves.
8/10

Books. Books, everywhere.

To give you a brief update on the life of a graduate, I am working in a local pub and saving money for my travels.

As you can imagine, I've got an awful lot of time on my hands - I'm looking for something else to supplement my hours which already seem to be dropping worryingly, but otherwise I've been seizing the opportunity to read more. Of course, reading took up most of my time during my degree - but this is reading for pleasure, and not dominated by dry legal concepts and the presence of a looming deadline.

Consequently, I've rattled through more books in the last few months than I have done in the last few years, and I'm happy about it!

I thought I'd start doing mini-reviews - mainly for my benefit so I can look back, but it would also be pleasant thought to realise that I'd led someone to a book I enjoyed.

So, the next few posts will (hopefully) be littered with said mini-reviews.
Peace!

Word of the day

Cenosillicaphobia: fear of an empty beer glass

Excellent stuff.

As I pass my spare time looking for a job, I've decided to embark upon a new venture.

Whilst many moons ago I tried to write a book (a crime-thriller, if you're interested), it never really took off for me. However, recently, I've had my head submerged in book after book, rattling through all of the books in the 'Ice and Fire' series at a rate of knots.

Thence flows my inspiration; I'm starting a fantasy novel. Sitting here at 1.45 a.m. this might seem one of those wild plans which falls apart quickly. Oh no, my friends. I'm developing background as we speak. I have states, I have races, I have politics and monarchies and coups in my mind - I've even started thinking about the climate of my fantastical land.

In brief, I am excited. I hope this can be the start of something rather excellent ...

The internet is SO GOOD sometimes.

A situation has occurred whereby I found something, and it's so brilliant that I just want to show it to anyone and everyone.

Do follow this link.

http://www.gomezbutton.de/

It's inexplicably great.

It's almost July. Why am I still wearing a coat indoors? Ergh.

Llama Farming

So this week I've been pondering the rest of my life. While I struggle and to-and-fro between journalism and law, a dark horse has suddenly come up from the back of the field. It's so simple, yet genius. I should farm Llamas! Brilliant!
Why?
1. They're a source of tasty meat
2. They're damn awesome. Look at this one:


As if to convince me further, I've discovered that there is a band known as the Llama Farmers. It is quite evidently a sign and one that I would be foolish to ignore.

What I found intriguing when I was in South America was that Llamas belong to a family of animals which also include Al-Pacas (which most people would know, I'm sure) but also the far rarer 'Vicuna'. In fact, these are so rare that all of the animals are owned by the government which then sells their fur, which is worth a lot more than the fur of the first two families. Why all of this llama-related information, I hear you ask? Well, why not! Although if you want to follow my exact train of thought, I'll lay it out beneath this lovely vicuna diagram:

Firstly, I was looking for a job and came across a pub known as the 'Goat and Tricycle'. Now, I have an irrational soft-spot for goats. But even with this in mind, it struck me that this was one of the best pub names I'd ever heard, far outstripping the 'Anchor' and 'George' which crop up in every village across the U.K. So then it occurred to me - if I were to name a pub, what would it be? Stealing the goat-ish theme would feel akin to plagiarism, so I went farther afield for my animal-based muse.


I'm waffling a bit.

Sorry!

Right,
Totally hasn't been a year since I've blogged.

Many things have happened:
- I'm only to be a student for a month longer
- This terrifies me
- I've decided to go on an epic adventure across Asia
- I've discovered I rather like tiger bread and hummus. How middle class.

So, I only have two exams til' the end of my university life. Surely this is a good thing, I hear you say! Well, I'm certainly looking forward to a couple of months revision and essay free. However, I haven't got a job yet, which means I'm facing the wide world and my next voyage with a little bit of trepidation at how I'm going to manage. Hence, I've been having a little bit of a think about what I could do short-term.

Selling books! Yes. That's what I came up with after a period of deliberation.

I love reading, which partly inspired my choice of law as a degree. But, the wonderful truth about law is that it takes up a lot of time with reading materials which aren't as gripping as I might like. In fact, for a short while, I was actively avoiding reading because law had left me utterly disenchanted.

Thankfully, I've recently read most of the Game of Thrones books, which have re-inspired my passion for literature.

So, I'm going to go look for jobs at book shops. Wish me luck.