Daren
Added to listFiction Short Story Ieswith 236 books.
Simply written, likely for young readers, this short story by Ruskin Bond is a charming tale of a girl with an umbrella. Out in the hills of Garhwal Binya is herding her family cows when she comes upon so wealth city picnickers. One of the women wants Binya's lucky leopard's claw, and eventually, albeit petulantly agrees to give her a blue sink umbrella in exchange.
Binya adores the umbrella and from this point it goes everywhere with her rain or shine, despite the fact is is mostly decorative.
The beautiful silk umbrella is not an item seen before in the village, and Binya becomes the envy of all the villagers, not least shopkeeper Ram Bharosa, who wants it at all costs.
The short story has a charming twist at its end, and becomes a moral tale.
An easy read, but worth the effort, typical of Ruskin Bond's simple writing style.
4 stars
Simply written, likely for young readers, this short story by Ruskin Bond is a charming tale of a girl with an umbrella. Out in the hills of Garhwal Binya is herding her family cows when she comes upon so wealth city picnickers. One of the women wants Binya's lucky leopard's claw, and eventually, albeit petulantly agrees to give her a blue sink umbrella in exchange.
Binya adores the umbrella and from this point it goes everywhere with her rain or shine, despite the fact is is mostly decorative.
The beautiful silk umbrella is not an item seen before in the village, and Binya becomes the envy of all the villagers, not least shopkeeper Ram Bharosa, who wants it at all costs.
The short story has a charming twist at its end, and becomes a moral tale.
An easy read, but worth the effort, typical of Ruskin Bond's simple writing style.
4 stars
This has been kicking around my shelves for years. I have read a lot of Colin Bateman's novels when I was more fiction focused, but I never got around to this one.
A few days ago I finished a Gavin Maxwell book which was particularly depressing - I haven't tackled a review of it yet, but I needed something easy and light. I forgot how easy it is to read a 400 page novel, compared to a 200 page non-fiction book, and I feel a little less guilty about my low page count year on year, and my reading of short books.
Dan Starkey, formed journalist, now offers 'a bespoke service for important people with difficult problems'. He has been kicked out of his house by his wife (again) and has no clients.
In the first chapter, he is visited by old acquaintance, radio shock-jock Jack Caramac, who is always stirring things up and courting controversy. In the past days his 4 year old son was abducted (for an hour) and returned with a note, albeit a cryptic threat. So he asked Starkey to help.
Of course, this is only the beginning of an overly complex web of events that take place in Belfast post IRA, but with the UFV still playing terror, selling drugs, and dealing with internal power struggles. Caramac has been giving them grief on air about a 14 year old boy they kneecapped, and Starkey ends up mixed up in it all, dragging long suffering wife Patricia in too.
In typical Bateman style it is high octane with all manner of twists and turns as Starkey pieces together events, taking beatings as the story rolls out.
Short and sweet, enjoyable and easy. Not for those with objections of wanton violence, serial cheating and lots of sexual inuendo (par for the course with Dan Starkey).
4 stars.
This has been kicking around my shelves for years. I have read a lot of Colin Bateman's novels when I was more fiction focused, but I never got around to this one.
A few days ago I finished a Gavin Maxwell book which was particularly depressing - I haven't tackled a review of it yet, but I needed something easy and light. I forgot how easy it is to read a 400 page novel, compared to a 200 page non-fiction book, and I feel a little less guilty about my low page count year on year, and my reading of short books.
Dan Starkey, formed journalist, now offers 'a bespoke service for important people with difficult problems'. He has been kicked out of his house by his wife (again) and has no clients.
In the first chapter, he is visited by old acquaintance, radio shock-jock Jack Caramac, who is always stirring things up and courting controversy. In the past days his 4 year old son was abducted (for an hour) and returned with a note, albeit a cryptic threat. So he asked Starkey to help.
Of course, this is only the beginning of an overly complex web of events that take place in Belfast post IRA, but with the UFV still playing terror, selling drugs, and dealing with internal power struggles. Caramac has been giving them grief on air about a 14 year old boy they kneecapped, and Starkey ends up mixed up in it all, dragging long suffering wife Patricia in too.
In typical Bateman style it is high octane with all manner of twists and turns as Starkey pieces together events, taking beatings as the story rolls out.
Short and sweet, enjoyable and easy. Not for those with objections of wanton violence, serial cheating and lots of sexual inuendo (par for the course with Dan Starkey).
4 stars.
Orwell has been interviewed about this book and given slightly different explanation about the accuracy of this book, presented as autobiography. It is somewhere between 'all the events in the book happened' and 'most of the events are factually presented', which is ok for me. Dervla Murphy writes a very good introduction in my edition, where she explains this and other background.
When he originally tried to publish the Paris section of the book it was rejected, as too short, so he added the London section. The two work well together, but Orwell mentions nothing about his returning to his comfortable family home from Paris before setting out to live in the dosshouses of London. Again, that is fine. I would have ruined the flow of the narrative to have a holiday of luxury I expect. Ultimately Eric Blair decide he would publish under a pseudonym, choosing George Orwell - he was not sure how his family would feel about how he had been living, and wanted to offer separation to those who he wrote about (he changed their names too).
What to write about a book with over 8000 reviews on GR?
Well, I will keep it brief, and although when I read it I thought every second page was quotable, I noted down none, and spent 10 minutes looking for something only to come up short.
I loved this. 5 stars.
Well perhaps not that brief.
The two sections of the book both examine poverty. In the case of Paris, poverty of the hard workers at the bottom of the rung. The lowly dishwasher, or plongeur in a Parisian hotel. In the case of London, it is the tramps without jobs and without the prospect of a job, trapped as they are in the system of the boarding lodges, where they must have no money to stay, and they cannot stay in the same house more than once in a month, meaning perpetual moving from one area to another, removing the hope of finding work.
In Paris, teaching English and pursuing authorship, Eric Blair ends up without work and with very little money, in a poverty spiral. Being robbed of his cash, he ends up with great experiences to write of!
I thought the descriptions were excellent, my nose screwed up at the description of the smells; I cringed at stepping on the rubbish and waste he described on the floor; my skin itched as the bedbugs and other vermin were described. I felt sick for the guests of the hotel when Orwell described what the staff were doing, or even just their lack of hygiene. Some of the things described were foul beyond imagination, the lack of kitchen hygiene, safe handling of food, etc. Makes this reader reassured at the modern health inspectors, who notoriously do a poor job, but something is better than no checks and balances, right?
Orwell's whole relationship with the Boris the Russian refugee is hilarious and was inevitably a downward spiral based on the Russian's eternal optimism and Orwell's constant hunger and eking out of a few centimes to live on.
In London, having previously read the short essay The Spike I knew what was coming. This was a more leisurely telling of Orwell's experiences though, and again the descriptive writing was great. Orwell makes a great play at explaining the system traps those within it by its rules making it near impossible to ever fight their way back out of the system. More than in Paris, in London Orwell is voluntarily exploring life as a tramp. He has a a job lined up upon leaving Paris, as a caregiver for a mentally ill man, but the family go off on holiday for a month leaving Orwell at a loose end! Poverty tourism? Think of it as research I guess. He pawns his serviceable clothes for rags more in keeping with he fellow vagrants. A diet of bread and butter, shuffling from one spike to another, I think filling in days is the best description for his life for this period.
OK at risk of needing to go back and edit the bit about keeping it brief!
Orwell has been interviewed about this book and given slightly different explanation about the accuracy of this book, presented as autobiography. It is somewhere between 'all the events in the book happened' and 'most of the events are factually presented', which is ok for me. Dervla Murphy writes a very good introduction in my edition, where she explains this and other background.
When he originally tried to publish the Paris section of the book it was rejected, as too short, so he added the London section. The two work well together, but Orwell mentions nothing about his returning to his comfortable family home from Paris before setting out to live in the dosshouses of London. Again, that is fine. I would have ruined the flow of the narrative to have a holiday of luxury I expect. Ultimately Eric Blair decide he would publish under a pseudonym, choosing George Orwell - he was not sure how his family would feel about how he had been living, and wanted to offer separation to those who he wrote about (he changed their names too).
What to write about a book with over 8000 reviews on GR?
Well, I will keep it brief, and although when I read it I thought every second page was quotable, I noted down none, and spent 10 minutes looking for something only to come up short.
I loved this. 5 stars.
Well perhaps not that brief.
The two sections of the book both examine poverty. In the case of Paris, poverty of the hard workers at the bottom of the rung. The lowly dishwasher, or plongeur in a Parisian hotel. In the case of London, it is the tramps without jobs and without the prospect of a job, trapped as they are in the system of the boarding lodges, where they must have no money to stay, and they cannot stay in the same house more than once in a month, meaning perpetual moving from one area to another, removing the hope of finding work.
In Paris, teaching English and pursuing authorship, Eric Blair ends up without work and with very little money, in a poverty spiral. Being robbed of his cash, he ends up with great experiences to write of!
I thought the descriptions were excellent, my nose screwed up at the description of the smells; I cringed at stepping on the rubbish and waste he described on the floor; my skin itched as the bedbugs and other vermin were described. I felt sick for the guests of the hotel when Orwell described what the staff were doing, or even just their lack of hygiene. Some of the things described were foul beyond imagination, the lack of kitchen hygiene, safe handling of food, etc. Makes this reader reassured at the modern health inspectors, who notoriously do a poor job, but something is better than no checks and balances, right?
Orwell's whole relationship with the Boris the Russian refugee is hilarious and was inevitably a downward spiral based on the Russian's eternal optimism and Orwell's constant hunger and eking out of a few centimes to live on.
In London, having previously read the short essay The Spike I knew what was coming. This was a more leisurely telling of Orwell's experiences though, and again the descriptive writing was great. Orwell makes a great play at explaining the system traps those within it by its rules making it near impossible to ever fight their way back out of the system. More than in Paris, in London Orwell is voluntarily exploring life as a tramp. He has a a job lined up upon leaving Paris, as a caregiver for a mentally ill man, but the family go off on holiday for a month leaving Orwell at a loose end! Poverty tourism? Think of it as research I guess. He pawns his serviceable clothes for rags more in keeping with he fellow vagrants. A diet of bread and butter, shuffling from one spike to another, I think filling in days is the best description for his life for this period.
OK at risk of needing to go back and edit the bit about keeping it brief!
The blurb: "In 1890, two American college graduates set out to travel around the world on a then-new invention, the modern bicycle. In 1893 they returned, have covered over 15,000 miles, at that time the "longest continuous land journey ever made around the world." This is their account their trip across Turkey, Persia, Turkestan and northern China. It described their adventures traveling along through regions few outsiders ever visited."
That is a reasonable summary. Although they travelled for three years, and this book covers only a portion of their journey. The preface says they took some 2500 photos - a selection of which are reproduced in this book. While the quality aligns with expectation from this era, they are interesting and help with the descriptions shared in the narrative.
The writing style is informative, but not excessively detailed. The two authors share a voice - it isn't clear how they contribute to the narrative, but I will use 'they' in my review for the authors. Interestingly, we learn almost nothing of the authors - they share very little of themselves in this book.
Initially they share details of how their bicycles are viewed - with trepidation often, panic sometimes, and crowded jostling occasionally. After a time these reactions become commonplace to them, and they skip over this - so by the midpoint the reader can take for granted that these men were travelling on practically unique machines in these parts of the world. They do seem to run out of descriptive energy as the book progresses. Every aspect and detail in Turkey is gifting line space, but by the halfway point it becomes far more muted on detail. China receives a significant amount less attention that did Turkey, although this is probably reflective of what they recorded in their diaries.
I read a digitised version of this, on my phone, over a period of a couple of months, as such the details came and went for me, but my overall view is that the authors did well to describe all they saw, those they met and their journey in sufficient detail, but without being too bogged down in the rigours of daily life, or in deep analysis of something they were experiencing in passing. Thankfully they avoided in depth political analysis (which seldom ages well in a travelogue) or details of individuals beyond common interest.
They share their hardships without playing martyr or pretending they were worse off than others. They extoled the virtues and shortcomings of their bicycles, the running repairs and the spares they arranged for delivery enroute. The roads of course were not set up for cyclists, so there is plenty of angst about the road conditions throughout. The side trip to climb Mt Ararat is also worthy of a mention.
Perhaps this suffers from my infrequent and fragmented reading, but it fell a little short of my expectations (or perhaps hopes) for such a promising title.
3 stars
The blurb: "In 1890, two American college graduates set out to travel around the world on a then-new invention, the modern bicycle. In 1893 they returned, have covered over 15,000 miles, at that time the "longest continuous land journey ever made around the world." This is their account their trip across Turkey, Persia, Turkestan and northern China. It described their adventures traveling along through regions few outsiders ever visited."
That is a reasonable summary. Although they travelled for three years, and this book covers only a portion of their journey. The preface says they took some 2500 photos - a selection of which are reproduced in this book. While the quality aligns with expectation from this era, they are interesting and help with the descriptions shared in the narrative.
The writing style is informative, but not excessively detailed. The two authors share a voice - it isn't clear how they contribute to the narrative, but I will use 'they' in my review for the authors. Interestingly, we learn almost nothing of the authors - they share very little of themselves in this book.
Initially they share details of how their bicycles are viewed - with trepidation often, panic sometimes, and crowded jostling occasionally. After a time these reactions become commonplace to them, and they skip over this - so by the midpoint the reader can take for granted that these men were travelling on practically unique machines in these parts of the world. They do seem to run out of descriptive energy as the book progresses. Every aspect and detail in Turkey is gifting line space, but by the halfway point it becomes far more muted on detail. China receives a significant amount less attention that did Turkey, although this is probably reflective of what they recorded in their diaries.
I read a digitised version of this, on my phone, over a period of a couple of months, as such the details came and went for me, but my overall view is that the authors did well to describe all they saw, those they met and their journey in sufficient detail, but without being too bogged down in the rigours of daily life, or in deep analysis of something they were experiencing in passing. Thankfully they avoided in depth political analysis (which seldom ages well in a travelogue) or details of individuals beyond common interest.
They share their hardships without playing martyr or pretending they were worse off than others. They extoled the virtues and shortcomings of their bicycles, the running repairs and the spares they arranged for delivery enroute. The roads of course were not set up for cyclists, so there is plenty of angst about the road conditions throughout. The side trip to climb Mt Ararat is also worthy of a mention.
Perhaps this suffers from my infrequent and fragmented reading, but it fell a little short of my expectations (or perhaps hopes) for such a promising title.
3 stars
Added to listDigitalwith 120 books.
Added to listFictionwith 1127 books.
Added to listFiction Short Story Ieswith 235 books.
Added to listUkwith 362 books.
Added to listUk Authorwith 1415 books.
Added to list4 Starwith 779 books.
A short story from DH Lawrence, published in 1926. I have read this before, although I can't track down where.
Paul is a boy whose parents are always short of money - his mother says they are unlucky. Paul himself thinks he is lucky, and God has told him so, and what Paul can do is predict the winner of various horse races. He partners with the gardener who puts on the bets for him, although his secret is discovered by his uncle, who wants in on the action. But winning some money is never enough, there is never enough money, more can always be won. But what is Paul's sacrifice for knowing the winner.
No more story, it is too short.
Greed for money over health is the moral in this story.
A good short read.
4 stars.
A short story from DH Lawrence, published in 1926. I have read this before, although I can't track down where.
Paul is a boy whose parents are always short of money - his mother says they are unlucky. Paul himself thinks he is lucky, and God has told him so, and what Paul can do is predict the winner of various horse races. He partners with the gardener who puts on the bets for him, although his secret is discovered by his uncle, who wants in on the action. But winning some money is never enough, there is never enough money, more can always be won. But what is Paul's sacrifice for knowing the winner.
No more story, it is too short.
Greed for money over health is the moral in this story.
A good short read.
4 stars.
A re-read, by accident. This was sitting in an 'unread' section of my shelves, and on perusing it, I recognised several of the short story names, but assumed this was just because I have read several of his collections of short stories. By the time I got halfway through I realised I had read it in its entirely before, but because I was quote enjoying it, I finished it off. My original review below stands up to the second reading.
---
Twelve short stories selected by the author himself for this publication. The stories date from between 1923 and 1990, and are set in various locations. For me this wasn't necesarily Greene's best, I found the stories a bit hit and miss.
The Last Word - Set in the future, after religion has been abolished, this story explains why an elderly man with no memory of his past is taken to meet The General, and his vague but comforting relationship with God. 4/5
The News in English - Set during the second world war, Lord Haw-Haw is off the air, and a new man is broadcasting from Germany in his place. (Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to the Second World War-era broadcaster William Joyce, who made pro-German propaganda broadcasts that opened with “Germany calling, Germany calling”, spoken in an affected upper class English accent.) His wife, listening from home is initially distraught at his traitorous behaviour, but notices her husband appears to be passing a message. 4/5
The Moment of Truth - A waiter makes a bond with some regular customers. 3/5
The Man who Stole the Eiffel Tower - An absurd story about the theft and reinstatement of the Eiffel Tower. 3/5
The Lieutenant Died Last - A minor invasion of an English village by Germans takes everyone by surprise, and it is left to an old poacher to save they day. 4/5
A Branch of the Service - A food critic who is recruited into the secret service, but must retire because he has lost his appetite for food. 4/5
An Old Man's Memory - A terrorist attack on the opening of the Channel Tunnel train changes the future of the rail link. 3/5
The Lottery Ticket - A man visiting Mexico wins a lottery and discovers he can't take the money out of the country. He decides to make a charitable donation, but things don't turn out the way expected. 4/5
The New House - A tale of an architect and his change of opinion. 2/5
Work Not in Progress - Play script about bishops, Not for me. 1/5
Murder for the Wrong Reason - A murder mystery, but it felt far to long and didn't hold my attention. 1/5
An Appointment with the General - Set in Chile, a French female journalist meets and interviews a military dictator. I think I might have missed the point of this one. 1/5
Overall far more hits than misses, but some of it felt a little dated.
Overall 3.5 stars, rounded down.
A re-read, by accident. This was sitting in an 'unread' section of my shelves, and on perusing it, I recognised several of the short story names, but assumed this was just because I have read several of his collections of short stories. By the time I got halfway through I realised I had read it in its entirely before, but because I was quote enjoying it, I finished it off. My original review below stands up to the second reading.
---
Twelve short stories selected by the author himself for this publication. The stories date from between 1923 and 1990, and are set in various locations. For me this wasn't necesarily Greene's best, I found the stories a bit hit and miss.
The Last Word - Set in the future, after religion has been abolished, this story explains why an elderly man with no memory of his past is taken to meet The General, and his vague but comforting relationship with God. 4/5
The News in English - Set during the second world war, Lord Haw-Haw is off the air, and a new man is broadcasting from Germany in his place. (Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to the Second World War-era broadcaster William Joyce, who made pro-German propaganda broadcasts that opened with “Germany calling, Germany calling”, spoken in an affected upper class English accent.) His wife, listening from home is initially distraught at his traitorous behaviour, but notices her husband appears to be passing a message. 4/5
The Moment of Truth - A waiter makes a bond with some regular customers. 3/5
The Man who Stole the Eiffel Tower - An absurd story about the theft and reinstatement of the Eiffel Tower. 3/5
The Lieutenant Died Last - A minor invasion of an English village by Germans takes everyone by surprise, and it is left to an old poacher to save they day. 4/5
A Branch of the Service - A food critic who is recruited into the secret service, but must retire because he has lost his appetite for food. 4/5
An Old Man's Memory - A terrorist attack on the opening of the Channel Tunnel train changes the future of the rail link. 3/5
The Lottery Ticket - A man visiting Mexico wins a lottery and discovers he can't take the money out of the country. He decides to make a charitable donation, but things don't turn out the way expected. 4/5
The New House - A tale of an architect and his change of opinion. 2/5
Work Not in Progress - Play script about bishops, Not for me. 1/5
Murder for the Wrong Reason - A murder mystery, but it felt far to long and didn't hold my attention. 1/5
An Appointment with the General - Set in Chile, a French female journalist meets and interviews a military dictator. I think I might have missed the point of this one. 1/5
Overall far more hits than misses, but some of it felt a little dated.
Overall 3.5 stars, rounded down.
Twelve short stories selected by the author himself for this publication. The stories date from between 1923 and 1990, and are set in various locations. For me this wasn't necesarily Greene's best, I found the stories a bit hit and miss.
The Last Word - Set in the future, after religion has been abolished, this story explains why an elderly man with no memory of his past is taken to meet The General, and his vague but comforting relationship with God. 4/5
The News in English - Set during the second world war, Lord Haw-Haw is off the air, and a new man is broadcasting from Germany in his place. (Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to the Second World War-era broadcaster William Joyce, who made pro-German propaganda broadcasts that opened with “Germany calling, Germany calling”, spoken in an affected upper class English accent.) His wife, listening from home is initially distraught at his traitorous behaviour, but notices her husband appears to be passing a message. 4/5
The Moment of Truth - A waiter makes a bond with some regular customers. 3/5
The Man who Stole the Eiffel Tower - An absurd story about the theft and reinstatement of the Eiffel Tower. 3/5
The Lieutenant Died Last - A minor invasion of an English village by Germans takes everyone by surprise, and it is left to an old poacher to save they day. 4/5
A Branch of the Service - A food critic who is recruited into the secret service, but must retire because he has lost his appetite for food. 4/5
An Old Man's Memory - A terrorist attack on the opening of the Channel Tunnel train changes the future of the rail link. 3/5
The Lottery Ticket - A man visiting Mexico wins a lottery and discovers he can't take the money out of the country. He decides to make a charitable donation, but things don't turn out the way expected. 4/5
The New House - A tale of an architect and his change of opinion. 2/5
Work Not in Progress - Play script about bishops, Not for me. 1/5
Murder for the Wrong Reason - A murder mystery, but it felt far to long and didn't hold my attention. 1/5
An Appointment with the General - Set in Chile, a French female journalist meets and interviews a military dictator. I think I might have missed the point of this one. 1/5
Overall far more hits than misses, but some of it felt a little dated.
Overall 3.5 stars, rounded down.
Twelve short stories selected by the author himself for this publication. The stories date from between 1923 and 1990, and are set in various locations. For me this wasn't necesarily Greene's best, I found the stories a bit hit and miss.
The Last Word - Set in the future, after religion has been abolished, this story explains why an elderly man with no memory of his past is taken to meet The General, and his vague but comforting relationship with God. 4/5
The News in English - Set during the second world war, Lord Haw-Haw is off the air, and a new man is broadcasting from Germany in his place. (Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to the Second World War-era broadcaster William Joyce, who made pro-German propaganda broadcasts that opened with “Germany calling, Germany calling”, spoken in an affected upper class English accent.) His wife, listening from home is initially distraught at his traitorous behaviour, but notices her husband appears to be passing a message. 4/5
The Moment of Truth - A waiter makes a bond with some regular customers. 3/5
The Man who Stole the Eiffel Tower - An absurd story about the theft and reinstatement of the Eiffel Tower. 3/5
The Lieutenant Died Last - A minor invasion of an English village by Germans takes everyone by surprise, and it is left to an old poacher to save they day. 4/5
A Branch of the Service - A food critic who is recruited into the secret service, but must retire because he has lost his appetite for food. 4/5
An Old Man's Memory - A terrorist attack on the opening of the Channel Tunnel train changes the future of the rail link. 3/5
The Lottery Ticket - A man visiting Mexico wins a lottery and discovers he can't take the money out of the country. He decides to make a charitable donation, but things don't turn out the way expected. 4/5
The New House - A tale of an architect and his change of opinion. 2/5
Work Not in Progress - Play script about bishops, Not for me. 1/5
Murder for the Wrong Reason - A murder mystery, but it felt far to long and didn't hold my attention. 1/5
An Appointment with the General - Set in Chile, a French female journalist meets and interviews a military dictator. I think I might have missed the point of this one. 1/5
Overall far more hits than misses, but some of it felt a little dated.
Overall 3.5 stars, rounded down.
I tried to enjoy this, I wanted to enjoy this and in isolated spots I did, which is why I gave it three stars. For the most part however it was dry and dense and went too far into politics and complexities that didn't hold my interest.
The entire book is frames around 'short walks' for each chapter (pretty much) he ends up on a walk somewhere, and his narrative fans out from that - perhaps the people he meets, the person accompanying him, the history of the location etc. Sometimes more than one string to the chapter.
Supposedly this is Colombia after it evolved from the narcostate, when it is more tourist friendly, when it is on the rise. For all that Feiling finds plenty to be grim about and plenty to wrote about the cocaine trade, even if it is the former cocaine trade! It is largely a series of grim tales and continues to focus on the experiences of the past, not the future as promised. People he meets include former guerilla's, former paramilitaries and loads of other random people with stories to tell. He delves into history - recent and the times of the conquistadors.
I skimmed in parts, the density wore me down, made it hard to immerse in the read. The sidelines he sets off on don't always feel relevant to the narrative (in fact for me the narrative is hard to identify for too much of the book), and it becomes that hard to enjoy combination of dense and disconnected.
Feiling's The Candy Machine
was excellent, but it had focus. It was also dense, but it ploughed a straighter line.
3 stars
I tried to enjoy this, I wanted to enjoy this and in isolated spots I did, which is why I gave it three stars. For the most part however it was dry and dense and went too far into politics and complexities that didn't hold my interest.
The entire book is frames around 'short walks' for each chapter (pretty much) he ends up on a walk somewhere, and his narrative fans out from that - perhaps the people he meets, the person accompanying him, the history of the location etc. Sometimes more than one string to the chapter.
Supposedly this is Colombia after it evolved from the narcostate, when it is more tourist friendly, when it is on the rise. For all that Feiling finds plenty to be grim about and plenty to wrote about the cocaine trade, even if it is the former cocaine trade! It is largely a series of grim tales and continues to focus on the experiences of the past, not the future as promised. People he meets include former guerilla's, former paramilitaries and loads of other random people with stories to tell. He delves into history - recent and the times of the conquistadors.
I skimmed in parts, the density wore me down, made it hard to immerse in the read. The sidelines he sets off on don't always feel relevant to the narrative (in fact for me the narrative is hard to identify for too much of the book), and it becomes that hard to enjoy combination of dense and disconnected.
Feiling's The Candy Machine
was excellent, but it had focus. It was also dense, but it ploughed a straighter line.
3 stars
Added to list5 Starwith 205 books.
Added to listNauticalwith 184 books.
Published in 1999, when Severin had almost reached 60 years old by which time he probably decided to put his long sea voyages in replica's of ancient ships to one side. This is a slightly different approach from him. He looks at a historic character still, but a literary one - Moby Dick. He looks at Moby Dick's author Herman Melville, and how his experiences fed into the great novel. Also where his experiences fell short and his information was gathered from other sources. But most of all, he looks at the whale - whether a white whale was pure invention, a historic cultural legend or really accurate.
Melville acknowledged that he read a book by the survivor of a ship wrecked by an aggressive bull whale (Owen Chase, of the whaleship Essex) on which he based parts of the general story. Severin wants more though validation - white whales - do they exist?
To find out his answers, Severin decides to visit the last remaining aboriginal hunters of whales - they have regular contact with whales, they have historic contact with whales, they have legends and beliefs associated with whales. And so the story takes him to Nuku Hiva (where Melville spent time, albeit less time than he purported), in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia; to Pamilacan near Bohol in the Philippines; to Tonga and to Lamalera, a remote coastal village on the southern coast of Lembata Island in Indonesia.
In each of these locations Severin spends time with the current whale hunters, as well as the elderly men of the villages, he goes out on boats and sees their traditional hunting methods, learns their many stories and experiences.
I don't want to spoil this excellent book for other readers, so I won't share what Severin finds, but I will say this is an engaging read. There are some nice colour photos of the places he visits, reproductions of lots of black and white paintings and the like as well as some original whale art by Trondur Patursson, a man who accompanied Severin on several of his expeditions, is from the Faroe Islands and therefore is well connected to Whales, and who also visits Severin in Lamalera to share some of the Whaling experiences.
I like all Severin's books, this is certainly no exception, despite it being different from his earlier fare - in that it is more travelogue than expedition and as much a literary investigation as a historical one.
Recommended for Severin fans, for Moby Dick fans, and I expect it will work for those who enjoy the recent literary genre of historical shipwreck non-fiction.
5 stars
Published in 1999, when Severin had almost reached 60 years old by which time he probably decided to put his long sea voyages in replica's of ancient ships to one side. This is a slightly different approach from him. He looks at a historic character still, but a literary one - Moby Dick. He looks at Moby Dick's author Herman Melville, and how his experiences fed into the great novel. Also where his experiences fell short and his information was gathered from other sources. But most of all, he looks at the whale - whether a white whale was pure invention, a historic cultural legend or really accurate.
Melville acknowledged that he read a book by the survivor of a ship wrecked by an aggressive bull whale (Owen Chase, of the whaleship Essex) on which he based parts of the general story. Severin wants more though validation - white whales - do they exist?
To find out his answers, Severin decides to visit the last remaining aboriginal hunters of whales - they have regular contact with whales, they have historic contact with whales, they have legends and beliefs associated with whales. And so the story takes him to Nuku Hiva (where Melville spent time, albeit less time than he purported), in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia; to Pamilacan near Bohol in the Philippines; to Tonga and to Lamalera, a remote coastal village on the southern coast of Lembata Island in Indonesia.
In each of these locations Severin spends time with the current whale hunters, as well as the elderly men of the villages, he goes out on boats and sees their traditional hunting methods, learns their many stories and experiences.
I don't want to spoil this excellent book for other readers, so I won't share what Severin finds, but I will say this is an engaging read. There are some nice colour photos of the places he visits, reproductions of lots of black and white paintings and the like as well as some original whale art by Trondur Patursson, a man who accompanied Severin on several of his expeditions, is from the Faroe Islands and therefore is well connected to Whales, and who also visits Severin in Lamalera to share some of the Whaling experiences.
I like all Severin's books, this is certainly no exception, despite it being different from his earlier fare - in that it is more travelogue than expedition and as much a literary investigation as a historical one.
Recommended for Severin fans, for Moby Dick fans, and I expect it will work for those who enjoy the recent literary genre of historical shipwreck non-fiction.
5 stars
Added to listOwnedwith 2823 books.
