Review: Golden Boy - Abigail Tarttelin

Hello! I am now reviewing the final Holiday Book, Holiday Book 8! This was Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin, the 'T' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015.

This book stressed me out. Like, so much. It was emotional, distressing, and horrifying all at once. It tells the story of Max, an intersex teenager who identifies as male, who, after being sexually assaulted, has to live through horrible tribulations. I was just in shock at this. What a situation to be in! I have never wanted to stab someone so much in my life as I did with the rapist. He is an absolutely abominable libertine and I despise him. And that just shows how good this book is, that I have these thoughts of brutal murder. What else but a good book could draw these emotions out of me?
This book is very important. I was rather ignorant myself to the plights and lives of intersex people before reading this; they aren't as publicised as the rest of the LGBTQIAP community. Considering some of the exasperating opinions I received when I talked about this book, it is important that more people read this and learn about it. 
I highly recommend this book! Do it! Now!

Thanks for reading! Like, comment, and follow, and until next time, goodbye!

Review: Dracula - Bram Stoker

Welcome back to my blog! Today I will be reviewing Holiday Book 7, a rather famous gothic novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker, the 'S' for my A-to-Z Challenge.

Ooh I just loved this! Not only is the cover absolutely brilliant, the story betwixt it follows suit. A chilling, sensual and exciting gothic tale which had me hooked from the very beginning.
I loved the format of the novel. It was written in the form of compiled letters and diary entries, using multiple perspectives and thus creating intrigue for the reader. The story is rather tragic as well, showing love and loss and all the raw emotions which are evoked by it. 
The one thing that did REALLY piss me off was the total dismissal of Madam Mina as a character by the males in the novel. Madam Mina was my favourite character, and she played such a massive role in the formation of the mystery, and then she is just swept aside by the sexist males. I know that this is obviously Victorian literature, but still... what was funny was how hard their plan to protect her backfired. But I shall not divulge for the sake of spoilers.
A brilliant novel! One I highly recommend, especially if you're interested in gothic literature. I was always spotting little details which played to the genre, and it made it all the more interesting to read!

Thanks for reading! Like, comment and follow, and until next time, au revoir!

Review: The Plot Against America - Philip Roth

Hello! I am back with a review for Holiday Book 6, which is The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, the 'R' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015.
This book is set in an alternate time when Roosevelt loses out to Lindbergh in the 1940 election under the mantra of "Vote for Lindbergh or Vote for War". Lindbergh promptly forms an agreement with Hitler and the other axis powers, taking them out of the possibility of joining World War II, but sending shockwaves of concern through the American Jewish community. As anti-semitism becomes more and more prominent and violent in America, Philip Roth tells how his family copes in the struggle to live in an America rapidly becoming fascist.
The premise was very interesting and also quite frightening. The idea of 'The Land of the Free' essentially allying itself with some of the worst fascist leaders of the 20th century and subsequently promoting and institutionalising anti-semitism makes for a thrilling and heart-wrenching read. Tragic and scary, Philip Roth writes eloquently and creates a historic chronology that is tangible and realistic; the perspective is masterful and fascinating. It deeply impressed me how Roth could twist world events and fashion a new timeline which could have happened just the same.
The only issue I really had with it was that the whole book was leading up to a climax that wasn't really that shocking. I was expecting something like the Holocaust to begin occurring from the way it was all foreshadowed and mongered by the characters. Although I did like the ending, I felt like something was missing there. Nonetheless, I commend Philip Roth for this novel.

Thank you for reading! Tell me your thoughts in the comments below! Like, comment and follow, and until next time, adios!

Review: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock - Matthew Quick

Welcome back my lovelies. This is a review for Holiday Book 5, Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick, which was my 'Q' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015. My sister, Kristi, was absolutely raving Matthew Quick's existence ever since reading Silver Linings: Playbook, but she refused to lend me her copy of it to take on holiday because it was the Ring to her Gollum, so I went to the library hoping to find it there. Of course, that was the ONLY Matthew Quick book not on the shelves, so I took out this one instead. It turns out Silver Linings: Playbook had been taken off the shelves because it was dead stock (?!) so I bought it today in the book sale. I am ever more excited to read that book now that I have read Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and rated it so highly.
This book was magnificent. I very much enjoyed the way Leonard narrated as it really developed his character through his thoughts and anecdotal stories. It was also very poignant and heart-wrenching. Leonard is a rather unpopular boy who is going to kill himself and take Asher Beal, his former best friend and resident school bully, with him. But first, he must deliver presents to his four eclectic friends so he can go out with a bang on his 18th birthday. The stories behind these friendships are drip fed to the reader throughout the story through the viewpoint of Leonard, adding a personal touch. There is an undercurrent of dread as we wait for the suicide of the main character, Leonard, which is foreshadowed almost assuredly; this book is in every way tragic and moving, and compulsively readable. You'll be sucked in from the very first word!

Thank you for reading! Like, comment and follow, and until next time, auf wiedersehen!

Review: The Bees - Laline Paull

Hello my dearly beloved readers. I am back AGAIN! This is Holiday Book 4: The Bees by Laline Paull, which is my 'P' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015. I have to be honest here, I didn't have high expectations for this book. I had bought it because I had wanted to buy The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins and you needed an order of over £10 for free delivery, and this was apparently being raved about, so I bought this to supplement it. It has been sitting on my book shelf for ages. Thank God for the A-to-Z Challenge, for without it, I wouldn't have been forced to read it and enjoy it as much as I did! It was really fantastic: it was almost like a 1984/Brave New World hybrid... except with bees! What is there not to love, really? Also, I'm in love with the cover: the inside cover is black, and it's just overall pretty and I enjoy it immensely.
It is set in the totalitarian society of a bee hive and begins with the 'birthing' of Flora 717. She is born into the lowest kin in the society who work sanitation, but she is different. She can speak and has other abilities which mean she is spared from eugenic cleansing so she can be of use to the hive. She lives through the trials and tribulations of life in the hive, from wasp invasions to religious slaughters. But when she breaks the golden rule 'ONLY THE QUEEN MAY BREED', the path becomes ever more rocky for her in this epic tale of aroma, control and triumph.
I really enjoyed the way the author displayed Flora's internal struggle between serving her hive and her Queen and nurturing her potent maternal instincts. I also found the parallelism and ultimately criticism to human life and its impact on the environment very interesting and thought-provoking. I never thought I would have such sympathy towards flying insects, but Laline Paull brought that out in me. And considering I was on holiday while reading this, where the flying insects are a-plenty, I had these very perverse feelings of care and concern for them. What was weirdest of all was that I seemed to relate to their plight for food, because that is me all the time too. I get you, flying insects!
Overall, I would recommend this book. I don't think I found it dull at any point, and I gave it 4 stars!

Thank you for reading! Feel free to create a buzz in the comments! (I'm so lame, I apologise for that). Like, comment and follow, and until next time, au revoir!

Review: Daddy Love - Joyce Carol Oates

Welcome back, faithful readers. Who is ready for Holiday Book 3? Well, if you are, buckle up because this one is traumatising. This is Daddy Love by Joyce Carol Oates, my 'O' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015. When I was searching my library for books, I saw the name of this book and laughed... so I picked it up and read the blurb. Never has a smile been smacked off my face faster. This is not some disgusting romance or a heartfelt familial tale; this is a vile story about a man who kidnaps and abuses a young boy.
Joyce Carol Oates, I applaud you; you have irrevocably soured something I rather enjoyed with this book: the novelty of the word 'daddy'. Reverend Chester Cash calls himself Daddy Love as he kidnaps and sexually and physically abuses children, and actually tries to make them love him as a father. What an absolutely abominable character. Honestly, I wish I could jam HIM into that godforsaken box and set fire to it.
This is a double-pronged storyline: on one side is the story of the horrors committed to Robbie (who is renamed Gideon), while on the other is the horror of being the parents of the kidnapped child. I have to hand it to Joyce Carol Oates, when she wants to shock the reader, she really GOES IN. Chester Cash is a figure of evil: he is not only a vile monstrous child abuser, he is a psychopath who feels some sort of entitlement. He claims to be 'freeing' this child from the oppression of bad parenting... as he shoves the boy into a box all night so he can soil himself. The contrasting emotions evoked of intense sympathy for Robbie, the father, and the now-mangled mother and the visceral revulsion towards 'Daddy Love' are a rather impressive feat, for which the author should be commended.
However, I did only give this book 3 stars. I just did not enjoy the style of writing. It was disjointed and so out of the ordinary that it was hard to understand in parts. It was sometimes guess work as to whether this non-punctuated prose was speech or just a thought by the character, and it was all a bit confusing in general.
I wouldn't say a recommend this book because it takes some guts to read something like this. But I do intend to try Joyce Carol Oates again; in fact, I did actually buy A Fair Maiden from the book sale at my library today, which I will read soon.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment below your thoughts! Like, comment and follow, and until next time, so long!

Review: The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

Bonjour mes amis! I am back with a review for Holiday Book 2, which was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which is the 'N' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015.
I borrowed this novel from my local library, and I certainly expected it to be good because I had heard so many people raving about it. Now I see why. It was phenomenal.
I really enjoyed the way the book was actually set out. It followed a chronology and yet managed to flit back and forth in time so effortlessly; and never did the reader lose track of what was going on. It is rather impressive, if you ask me. The manner in which the relationship between Clare and Henry was built up and developed was poignant and beautiful; the way that memory and mystery played such a huge part in the novel was really intriguing and kept me hooked from start to finish. I found the premise itself very interesting: Henry has a genetic disorder where he will randomly time travel back and forth, not being able to control where or when he appears or how long he remains in that time. It is really fascinating to think that Henry didn't know Clare for so long while she had known him practically all her life, and all the meetings that had already happened in her timeline were yet to occur in his. I just find it fairly mind-blowing that someone could have thought this up, and performed it so expertly. The ending was simply heart-wrenching and was a superb conclusion to the story. I definitely recommend this to all, it is world class!

Thank you for reading my review! If you would take the time to comment your thoughts, I would be extremely grateful! Like, comment and follow, and until next time, ciao!

Review: Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me! Yes, hello, friends and possibly even enemies, I am back from my impromptu hiatus, and back with a vengeance as fierce as the fiery rays of the Sun that I have wallowed in for the past two weeks in Corfu and various locations in Italy. I have been on holiday, and if anyone is curious, I did indeed get burnt. As expected of a British person on holiday. 

I, of course, read a substantial amount whilst on holiday, and now I shall review each of the 8 books that graced my life one by one, starting now, with my 'M' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015, Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. 

I originally came into possession of this novel from my local library's book sale after it having caught my eye. I had heard great things of Murakami, and this was one of his most famous novels, so I inevitably had high expectations. And I have to say, they were certainly lived up to, and I awarded it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Norwegian Wood is a sad book. That is effectively its whole thing: deep, deep sadness. The novel opens with sadness, and closes with sadness. And yet, the way that Murakami presents this tale of love, sex, and depression is magnificent. It's a marvel how he threaded humour into something which is, in its simplest form, tragic. You would expect that a book where you aren't sure if you can trust any of the characters' longevity to be a slog which brings you down and trails your emotions through the mud. And while, yes, the latter does happen in parts, the mood of the novel, through the fog of tragedy, is of hope for new love to blossom. All the characters have murky pasts and have been through bad times; overall the theme is one of reminiscence to these bad times, but also where the lights in the darkness are heralded in celebration. Murakami's writing is poignant, capable of evoking strong emotional responses from the reader. I will certainly look out for more Murakami in the future, and I recommend that you do too, for this is truly a fantastic read.

So that was Holiday Book 1! Tell me in the comments below if you have read this and agreed or disagreed with my thoughts, or simply if you enjoyed my review! I would be grateful for any responses! Like, comment and follow, and until next time, adios!

Review: Dangerous Liaisons (Les Liaisons Dangereuses) - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Bienvenue; today I shall be reviewing Dangerous Liaisons, or, in the native French, Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, which forms my 'L' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015. It is a classic French epistolary novel written in the 18th century, scandalous and controversial upon its release, and highly rated! And for good reason, I enjoyed it immensely, scoring it 5 stars on Goodreads.

The premise of the novel intrigued me before I had even started: duplicitous characters manipulating others as pawns in their own entertainment, the 'dangerous liaisons' which ensue bringing disastrous consequences along with it. How very risqué for a novel from this era! So compelling! The exhilaration did not halt during its reading either! I was interested from the very start. The style the novel is written in, a collection of letters, allowed for a multilateral overview of events, giving in depth descriptions of emotions, feelings and agendas of the many characters as things happen around them. The way the correspondence was written also greatly tickled my humour: I enormously enjoyed the sassy remarks from the characters, especially the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, who I found to be the most entertaining (which, I suppose, was the aim). Their interactions were what drove the narrative, with the supplementary letters between them and other characters and between other characters themselves, added depth and increased the intrigue towards the plot.
The novel is essentially a celebration of libertinism in the aristocracy of Pre-revolutionary France, although apparently not noticed at the time considering Marie Antoinette enjoyed it! I felt bad about it, but the manipulation, salacity and eventual unadulterated malice demonstrated by some of the characters was very fascinating to witness, and left me sneering in congratulations towards their escapades. Madame de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont were two-faced, insidious and nefarious, seeming to revel in their own contriving debauchery, and yet I savoured every drop of evil they rained down on the social circles they frequented. I smirked as they worked on all their wicked schemes, tapping into their radiating aura of malevolence. It truly was a magnificent sensation
As well as this, the numerous love triangles, which could be referred to as love webs considering their complexities, were some of the most well-developed of any I have read about. This is a perfect analogy in fact, like a spider's entanglement, because eventually those who trespass into it will be destroyed by its master. The novel is masterfully crafted by Laclos, causing sympathies to waver between the characters as it reaches its dramatic and intense climax at the end.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classic novels as I do, especially those who like France, its history or books which originate in the French language. My next challenge is to read this novel in the native language, which will sure be a challenge, but I hope I can do it... at some point in the future.

Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed it or have read this book and either agree or disagree with my thoughts, leave a comment below and inform me! I would love to hear your opinions! Like, comment and follow, and until next time, ciao!

Review: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting - Milan Kundera

Hello, did you miss me? I have been gone for longer than I expected. But I am back, hurrah! And I am reviewing my K for the A-to-Z Challenge 2015, which was The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera. This was supposed to be really good, but if you follow me on Goodreads, you would realise I didn't enjoy it and gave it 2 stars. Here is why:

Where to begin... well to start with, I like the cover! Very pretty, and it was drawn by Milan Kundera himself! Alas, that is one of few redeeming qualities.
Telling a series of tales of hedonism and oppression in Prague during the Soviet control, this book was praised by many authors, including another author I have issues with (Salman Rushdie), which immediately concerned me. Those concerns were not wholly unfounded. There was meant to be an underlying theme throughout the whole thing which permeates poignant meaning... what was it, may I ask? I obviously missed something. All I could see through the fog of perverse behaviour, settings and descriptions were twisted opinions, annoying pomp and unsettling eroticism. I feel quite uneasy at having dodged something in this novel which is so potent... maybe I take things too literally. I don't know; either way I didn't like the book.
I don't see how a woman, isolated on an island, being fiddled and apparently raped by a horde of children has a meaning... and whatever the meaning is that I couldn't scrape from the context, I'm not entirely sure I want to know what it is. I also severely hope that Kundera was being sarcastic with some of the garbage the characters he wrote in spouted: justifying misogyny as the only true form of rational masculinity, glamourising and romanticising rape... to name but two. There was no discernible plot (which I think is important, despite my knowing that this book is a collation of tales), the ideas jolted erratically between each other, it was really rather confusing, and ultimately, quite dull. The light in the darkness of this novel is that the writing, when you actually got around to understanding what on earth he was on about, is actually very good. I did, in parts, feel a spark of excitement and interest in the plight of some of the characters, before those sparks were extinguished and the story line deranged into some peculiar farce.
Overall, I did not like it, and struggled through it. I feel slightly bad for slating it thus, especially considering its apparent popularity, but it is my opinion. I realise now that it is called The Book of Laughter and Forgetting because the story is laughable and the book forgettable!

Thank you for sticking here until the end of my slander, I appreciate the devotion. If you have a differing opinion to mine, which would not surprise me, leave it in the comments below! I would be interested to see what you thought. Like, comment, follow, and until next time, vaarwel.

Review: The Year of the Ladybird - Graham Joyce

HELLO, WELCOME BACK, SO GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN. I am going to review my 'J' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015, which was The Year of the Ladybird by Graham Joyce. I was lost for a J for this challenge, so I searched my local library and came across this; the premise seemed interesting, or at least, more interesting than the other Js I had come across. And hence, I took it out and read it. I took me a relatively long time considering its length. There is a reason for that, and it is because I did not like it (I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads). 

I have to be honest, I can't really tell you what this book is about. I didn't decipher a strong and clear plot from it for a number of reasons: Joyce seemed to just try to amalgamate a multitude of aspects to try and be edgy, or dramatic, or even inject some action or intrigue; and yet this failed. The supposed racial tension in the form of a political party which is basically a 1976 version of UKIP, the heatwave and the almost eponymous ladybird swarm were not developed at all. The book could have done without these aspects and still would have been good, maybe even better due to the increased clarity of the narrative. It just seems like a unnecessarily convoluted composition, which left me ultimately unsatisfied. The ending was not good enough in that it didn't tie off loose ends, at it seemed like a major cop-out, as it relied on supernatural elements just to provide some sort of answer, without really explaining half of the things that had appeared in the story which may leave the reader questioning.
I have other issues with it too. For example, the only two strong female characters in the whole novel that actually have any character development are sexualised beyond belief. As well as this, I have a strong contempt for the word 'phosphorescence' now, thanks to the stark overuse of this word in reference to the same waves and sea. It was quite a pain to read at times.

Of course, there are some good points. I felt the development of the Colin and Terri plot line was done rather well, and had me interested somewhat. This, I picked up, was the main storyline running through the narrative, but unfortunately was the only competent one too. The descriptions and writing were enjoyable to read in general, and I wasn't entirely bored to tears when I picked it up.

I'm not saying the book is good, I'm not saying it is wholly bad either. I am indifferent towards it. It is alright, not the best, not the worst. I probably wouldn't pick up another Graham Joyce book if I had the choice, however.

Review: Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Hello, once again, readers, book-enthusiasts, friends. This will be my first review, and it is for Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, which comprises my 'I' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015, and is a landmark as it officially marks that I am halfway through my reading challenge of 52 books for the year! Can I get a hell yeah?!
Never Let Me Go is a horrible book. And not because I hated it, because I actually gave it 5 stars, but because the very premise is just despicable. I shall digress later. I didn't know what to expect from this book at all. All I knew that it was very critically-acclaimed and had been recommended to me by multiple people, including my sister, Kristi, and my previous English teacher. The blurb did not give me much information on the plot either, but I had gathered that this was set in England and had some dark undertone to it, almost like a dystopia. What I found during the course of reading this book was how subtle the dystopia was, and yet nevertheless terrifying and heart-wrenching.
The book is narrated by a woman of 31 years old called Kathy H., who reminisces over her time spent at Hailsham School and her and her friends' fates afterwards. *WARNING: this next bit will reveal aspects of the novel which will likely be spoilers, so skip this paragraph if you are thinking of reading it* Kathy, and her friends, including other main characters, Ruth and Tommy, are all clones, modeled off living people, whose main purpose in life is to donate their vital organs. They donate their organs one by one until they 'complete', and meet their demise. This dark truth is not obvious to begin with, but it is drip-fed to the reader throughout the novel, keeping us in a state of suspense and mystery. In this way, the dystopia was concealed in the fogs of memory, and yet gradually it became apparent and tangible just how horrifying and immoral the world of this novel was.
If I were to describe what kind of effect this novel had on me, I would say it disturbed me viscerally; never before had I felt such inner sadness towards characters in a book, bringing me closer to the cusp of tears than I had ever experienced from literature, even from the notoriously-woeful The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. The premise was just so tragic and horrific; the idea of these people being brought up just to befall such a lonely and harrowing fate churned my stomach in pity. I had actually began to develop a strong enmity for Ruth for being so malicious and mean to Kathy and Tommy, but I felt I couldn't have such feelings towards her by the end because I just felt so sorry for her. It had such a massive effect on me emotionally, I am still mulling it over in my mind and it yet casts a shadow on me. This book is powerful. I have begun to think of it in a similar way to the way I think of the Channel 4 drama Black Mirror, in that it shows you society through a pane of dark glass; paralleling life in a shocking and thought-provoking way. Is this really a social commentary? Do the donors in this book actually represent others oppressed in our society? Whether this was the intention or not, it got me thinking this through, which is rather seldom from my experiences.
All in all, I thought this book was very much worth the acclaim it received. It is phenomenal, inspiring raw emotion and laying bare a bleak society that we are all obliviously familiar with. Pick up this book, especially if you are a fan of dystopian fiction. You will not be disappointed.

A-to-Z Challenge 2015

I was prompted to do this challenge by my sister, Kristi, who has similarly partaken in it. I, strangely, started the challenge with a Z. This is mainly due to the fact I was reading a Z at the time I decided to do it and Z is a difficult letter to source. I then went on to A and continued thus. This is what I have read so far with the relevant review:
Albom, Mitch - The Time Keeper - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1307705738?book_show_action=false

Brown, Bill - Billy Brown, I'll Tell Your Mother - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1308469791?book_show_action=false

Cleland, John - Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1310846811?book_show_action=false

Dawson, Shane - I Hate Myselfie - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1310860425?book_show_action=false

Elton, Ben - Dead Famous - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1311163847?book_show_action=false

Freud, Esther - Hideous Kinky - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1313841842?book_show_action=false

Green, John - Paper Towns - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1315919850?book_show_action=false

Haig, Matt - The Humans - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1320143068?book_show_action=false

Zamyatin, Yevgeny - We - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1068125670?book_show_action=false

I will keep this blog updated with reviews and my progress into this challenge as it goes along.

Reading Challenge 2015

This year, commencing on the 1st January 2015, I, along with my sister Kristi and my mother, set a reading challenge on our Goodreads to read 52 books in a year. This means reading one a week. It was easy for most of the time, but I ran into difficulty around May due to needing to spend time revising for my GCSE examinations. I have now pretty much caught up with the book debt I got myself into over this period. This challenge really motivates me to read as it gives me an incentive to do so. If you would like to check my progress on this challenge, follow the below link to my Goodreads and add me! I would gladly accept your invitations! Alternatively, look at my sidebar where I have placed a reading challenge widget. 
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22696697-ben-sawyer