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Book Club - by Luke

Book Club - August 2006

The Subtle Knife

August 31st 2006 08:20


The Subtle Knife is the second in Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. This is the book that breaks it all wide open... where the first novel, 'Northern Lights', was full of inventive ideas and provided an interesting platform for some big questions, it's 'The Subtle Knife' that pulls the game apart to show the bigger picture, and sets the stage for the trilogy's themes to be played out.


Pullman introduces a secondary protagonist here... Will is a boy who lives in our own world. He accidentally kills a man while defending his mother and must go on the run afterwards. Like Lyra, he is around 12 years old. His world and Lyra's world are about to clash head to head in an interim reality - a universe that is parallel to both Lyra's and our own.

This third reality features a desolated and apparently abandoned city known as Citagazze. Will and Lyra meet two local children and learn that the city is full of invisible beings known as Spectres, who suck the soul from anyone who can see them... children cannot see them. Adults can.

From here the events of the story diverge and twist and we come to see Will as a major character as integral to the story as Lyra. The story takes place in all three worlds, and the subtle knife of the title is an artefact that can cut into the very fabric of reality and allow it's users to pass between the realities.

Pullman introduces us to more characters and builds on those he introduced in 'Northern Lights'. We're never sure where we stand with some of the characters, Pullman always keeps things slightly ambiguous. There's also a real epic feel to this story... despite being shorter than Northern Lights it somehow feels bigger. I can't stress enough how brilliantly Pullman builds his story, the twists are staggering and the questions we ask here seem bigger than those we might ask anywhere else. It's hard for me to explain, I just find the books in this trilogy to be really intense and memorable.


If I only ever recommended one series of books to anyone, I wouldn't mention Harry Potter or any of Robin Hobb's trilogies or the Bartimaeus trilogy... as good as they all are, none are as original, subversive or life-affirming as Pullman's 'Dark Materials' trilogy. These books still remain my favourites!
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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


Pages Plus

August 30th 2006 07:30
Pages Plus from the front (currently undergoing rennovations for the grand opening)


Pages Plus is a new bookstore currently setting up shop on Henry Street in Penrith, Western Sydney. It's located in the premises that used to be the Penrith Pool Hall, so it's quite large.

It seems the focus will be on new releases, quality service, harder to get titles and a chilled and relaxed atmosphere. It will also be Penrith's only bookstore to have a coffee shop inside it. It also makes use of it's larger-than-normal size by including a musical section up the back that specialises in relaxation and instrumental music, fancily framed by some fair dinkum tin sheddery.

The Pages Plus Car


The grand opening happens this Saturday the 2nd, so if you're out Penrith-way or are a local you might want to check it out. Ken Davis will be playing the piano live on the day, and violinist Manja Luo will be performing too. Michelle Cranston, author of the new Marie Claire cookbook, will be instore to sign copies. Andrew Voss, of Channel 9 Sports, will also be on hand to sign copies of his new book 'Memoirs of a Rookie Parent' too. It's all gonna be happening!

With the addition of Pages Plus to Penrith's growing pantheon of book stores it seems that the town is shaping up to be a bit of a mecca for book enthusiasts. I don't want to court controversy here, but in a town frequented by many tracky-dack wearing dole queue afficianados who could've seen that happening? Westfields has three chain bookstores and the High Street/Station street area have two 2nd-hand bookstores. We also have a christian bookstore too, further up Henry Street. Pages Plus brings the total to 7 bookstores in Penrith CBD. Times are a-changing!
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Posted By: Luke - Category: News and Miscellany
   


Grendel

August 29th 2006 09:30


'Beowulf' is a famous anglo-saxon poem from around the 9th century about a warrior (Beowulf) who slays three monsters - Grendel, Grendel's Mother, and a Dragon. This book by John Gardner is a retelling of the first part of the story from Grendel's point of view.

It's said that you need to have read Beowulf, or be familiar with it, to be able to follow this book. The writer certainly intends this, but I think only a passing familiarity is really neccessary. The opening paragraph of this review would probably be enough, I never really knew all that much about the poem/myth before reading this book - and I don't think it hindered my enjoyment in any way whatsoever!

'Grendel' is one of my most favourite novels ever. It's a fairly slight book, almost a novella, but it's by no means a simple work. It's a very dense and complex book that makes use of a medieval myth to deconstruct humanity and some of the philosophies that power our civilisation.

Grendel is a brutish and crude figure... he is cruel and ugly and every bit the monster he is portrayed to be in 'Beowulf'... Gardner has gone to great lengths to keep his protagonist monstrous in both appearance and personality. Grendel by no means stupid though... he is confused by his own existence and angered by the differences between himself and everyone around him. His own mother is a depraved and loathsome creature that he is unable to communicate with, the local Dragon is all-knowing but nihilistic and does little to help Grendel reconcile his point of view with the world, and the village of humans that Grendel spends twelve years of his life observing, molesting, taunting and waging war on are so far removed from his own understanding of life that they fuel his confusion to the point of outright fury.

The eponymous hero of 'Beowulf' doesn't turn up until the last sequences of the book and remains unnamed... Grendel's confrontation with the village's saviour is so ambivilent that it makes my head spin. Grendel is a miserable and bored creature, neither superior or inferior to the little people he torments... he's the original anti-hero!

I can't really put my finger on why I like this book so much other than that: he's such an anti-hero. His detached interpretation of the village's growth and advancement likens humans to a parasitic and stupid species and his prime motivation for reeking so much havoc amongst them is boredom and curiosity. How can you not like that?

Anyway, like I said, it's a fairly dense book. A lot of it is made up of Grendel's stream-of-consciousness and it's written mostly in present tense (something I found very impressive when I first read it, I'd never read anything in present tense before that I'd actually liked - I didn't think it could be done without seeming like wank!) But it's also very entertaining, amusing and sometimes even tragic. I'm yet to find another book even remotely like it.
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Posted By: Luke - Category: Literature
   


The Life of Pi

August 28th 2006 09:50


The Life of Pi is a wonderful, fantastic and intense novel that won the Booker Prize in 2003. Part coming-of-age, part-survivor story, part-folktale adventure and part-examination of multiple religions, this is a very complex book told in a simple and engaging manner.

Piscine 'Pi' Patel is the son of a zookeeper in India. The first third of the book deals with Pi's early life and his exploration of Christian, Hindu and Islamic faith. He decides to adopt the facets he likes of each religion, much to the chagrin of his local religious leaders. His faith in his own unique form of faith belies a strength of character in the slight and unassuming Pi that foreshadows the traumatic journey that is to come.

Pi's father decides to sell his zoo and relocate the family to Canada. En route, the ship sinks. Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with some animals from the zoo... a hyena, a zebra, an orang-utan and a Tiger named Richard Parker. A battle of wills ensue between the various animals, with Pi desperately trying to stay alive amongst them. Eventually it is only himself and the tiger left, and he realises he must keep it healthy and happy in order to survive.

For a story so odd it's told fairly realistically up until this point, but after a fashion it veers into a different kind of territory. Pi and Richard Parker reach a very bizarre island inhabited by Meerkats and the events that transpire here will test your suspension of disbelief.

This is a brilliant book. Various animal behaviour theories are employed by both Pi and the author, to help keep both the book and the boat afloat respestively. The dark and disturbing undercurrent that colours some of the book is an achievement in subtlety, and the lack of anthropomorphisation is impressive as well.

The events are told in flashback by Pi to the author (Yann Martel), and at the books end we are given two scenarios for what may or may not have happened on the boat for the 227 days that Pi survived at sea. What version of events you choose to believe no doubt reflects the sort of person you are. I choose to believe in the fantastic adventure shared by Pi and the tiger.
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Posted By: Luke - Category: Literature
   


The PR Strikes Back

August 25th 2006 04:51
'The PR Strikes Back' is a tell-all book by publicist extraordinaire Keith Altham - an ex-journalist and well-renowned spin doctor who hobnobbed with the cream of the British music industry for around three or four decades.

Keith has many an anecdote to share with his reader, and he does this in the rather clever form of mock letters. He writes a letter to each celebrity he wants to talk about and 'relives' old times with them... sometimes blasting them for their rampant and out of control egos, sometimes expressing confusion at their eccentricity, and sometimes lamenting the way they were treated by a world that wasn't ready for them


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Music
   


The Infinitive of Go

August 24th 2006 05:23
John Brunner
Author John Brunner


'The Infinitive of Go' is the kind of old school hardcore science-fiction that doesn't really get written anymore. It's pulpish, but in a good way, and slots right into an era of genre-writing that has pretty much disappeared. The author, John Brunner, was a prolific writer who churned out these wild, speculative novellas that raised more questions than they answered and splashed a mighty rainbow out into the void of the undiscovered. The science might be a little dated at times, but it's a heck of a lot of fun


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Science Fiction
   


Lord of the Rings - Virgin Film Guide

August 23rd 2006 08:09
lordofherings

It's been said that there are two types of people in the world - those who have read 'The Lord of the Rings' and those who are going to. Well, perhaps that's no longer the case, what with our modern age having finally made it possible for the epic fantasy trilogy to be successfully translated to the screen. 'Lord of the Rings' has gone from being an almost cult-like institution for fantasy purists to a Star Wars-sized franchise... even to the point of there being various Star Wars Vs. Lord of the Rings arguments between their respective followings.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Film
   


The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

August 22nd 2006 04:30
spy came in from cold


You can feel the grit and bitterness in every pore of John Le Carre's 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'... for a book written at the height of the cold war it sure isn't afraid to indulge in a more than healthy dose of cynicism. I've been feeling myself drawn to books in the spy/cold war genre for a while now and I guess I chose this book as the starting point in Le Carre's impressive bibliography because it's often cited as 'the book that changed the rules


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Crime/Spies
   


Can I Ask you a Personal Question?

August 21st 2006 06:23
caniaskyou
Books and parties aren't exactly synonymous. In fact, you might even say they were exact opposites... but sometimes a handy little book with a good gimmick can help break the ice.

"Can I Ask You a Personal Question?" (how to REALLY get to know your friends) by Jonny Steele is this exact book. It can be useful for grilling your partner, some friends or getting a few laughs from a large group of people. It contains 1000 pertinent questions that can be asked of anyone, and - so long as nobody lies - it can be a lot of fun. The back of the book says of these questions, "Many are amusing, others are thought-provoking or even a little embarrassing. All will help you get to know yourself, your friends and your lover better


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Comedy
   


Predator's Gold

August 18th 2006 04:20
'Predator's Gold' is the second book in Philip Reeve's children's fantasy series that started with the book 'Mortal Engines' (dubbed the 'Hungry City Chronicles' apparently, but I've never seen that written on the front of any Australian-edition of these books). 'Predator's Gold' is also that rare thing... a sequel that surpasses the original.

predators gold

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


Where the Forest Meets the Sea

August 17th 2006 04:39
Where the Forest
Where the Forest Meets the Sea, by Jeannie Baker


Environment vs. progress, the oncoming spread of civilisation, the displacement of a world heritage site, the hidden history of a rainforest, the passing down of wisdom through generations... these aren't really the typical themes you might find in a picture book for children with minimalist text, but then again 'Where the Forest Meets the Sea' isn't your typical children's book


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Posted By: Luke - Category: News and Miscellany
   


Watership Down

August 16th 2006 04:07
Watership Down
Watership Down, by Richard Adams


Have you read 'Watership Down'? If not, why not?! It's amazing and beautiful and exciting and filled with adventure and adults can read it and kids can read it too (if they're not too easily scared) and oh... I just think it's one of the best books ever written


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


The Van

August 15th 2006 03:29
'The Van' is the third and final book in Roddy Doyle's much-acclaimed Barrytown trilogy, a sequence of entertaining books that focus on the Rabbitte family - a characteristically motley Irish family who live on the outskirts of Dublin.

The Van
The Van

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Literature
   


Tomorrow When the War Began

August 14th 2006 04:20
Tomorrow
Tomorrow When the War Began, by John Marsden


If there's one Australian children's fiction book or series that has left a big impression on a generation of young readers it would definitely have to be John Marsden's successful 'Tomorrow When the War Began' series


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Science Fiction
   


A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia

August 11th 2006 04:40
Field Guide
Oxford Field Guide to Mammals
Field guides for birds seem to be everywhere and I think it's fair to say that there are far more bird-watching groups then there are groups for watching any other kind of animal (that's if any other kind of animal-watching groups indeed exist!) And whilst I'm interested in birds, my primary interest in animals has always been mammals and when I was younger I was always annoyed at the apparent lack of field guides for Australian mammals.

Well, since those days I've become a bit more savvy in the world of books and I've noticed that there are more than a few such guides for observing and identifying Australian mammals in the field. I finally bought one such guide last week after much deliberating (these guides aren't cheap, they're usually around $40 to $50). I think this guide, the Oxford second edition, is probably the best of the lot


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Nature & Science
   


Charles Bronson Superstar

August 10th 2006 03:55
charles bronson
Charles Bronson Superstar
This is probably a bit pulpish and bit hard to track down, but I couldn't resist talking about this fawning 70s monument to action icon Charles Bronson.

Now, I'm a huge Charles Bronson fan. Death Wish, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, Apache... well, maybe not Apache, but you get the picture. He also has a huuuuuuge back catalogue of pulp action films from the 70s and 80s that I've been slowly working my way through - they're cheesy, but Bronson is always so ice cool in them


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Film
   


The Magician's Nephew

August 9th 2006 04:21
the magician's nephew
The Magician's Nephew


Although the sixth Narnia book to be written by C. S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew is actually the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia, chronologically speaking. Written as a prequel to 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe', it can be read first in the series and is published as if it were


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


Perfume

August 8th 2006 06:17
Perfume
Perfume by Patrick Suskind


Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is an 18th-century Parisian born without an odour. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, he has a superhuman sense of smell. Patrick Suskind's twisted and grotesque novel follows our protagonist from the very day of his birth onwards, chronicling his life as an oddity and unsung villain, and detailing each and every person who rejects him along the way. I've never read anything like it


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Literature
   


Willie's Bar and Grill

August 7th 2006 03:23
At first glance, 'Willie's Bar and Grill' looks rather nondescript... there's a bus rushing past on the front and the front cover blurb simply says 'a rock 'n' roll tour of North America in the age of terror'. I'd walk past this book all the time in the bookstore and would just glance over it, not really giving it a thought. Eventually, one day, I read the back cover and realised it that the author, Rob Hirst, was Midnight Oil's drummer and that this was a tour journal of their last tour of America. Well why didn't you say so!

capricornia
Capricornia, Midnight Oil's last studio album

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Music
   


His Dark Materials movie

August 4th 2006 06:36
There's been talk about a big screen adaptation of Philip Pullman's excellent trilogy of fantasy novels, 'His Dark Materials', for quite some time now. At one point Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead) looked all set to direct it, but - alas - this was just one stop off on the usual route some films make in their 'pre-production hell'. I had lost faith that these books would ever make it to the screen... whilst absolutely loved to pieces by almost everyone who has ever read them, they aren't exactly popular in the way that Lemony Snicket and Harry Potter are popular. For a trilogy of fantasy novels found in the teen fiction section of most bookstores, they're surprisingly adult and even disturbing at times, and more than a little complex.

nicole kidman
Nicole Kidman - Mrs. Coulter

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Posted By: Luke - Category: News and Miscellany
   


The Reluctant Republic

August 3rd 2006 06:12
I don't normally read political books, especially not Australian political books - mainly because the prospect of reading a Mark Latham-penned diatribe on suburbs and being mental doesn't exactly excite my nodes. However, I spied out this book 'The Reluctant Republic' on a top of a (yep, you guessed it) bargain book pile a while ago. I've always been up for Australia becoming a republic but I've never really been passionate about it, so I thought I'd give this book a shot and see if it could fire me up a bit.

Turnbull
Liberal backbencher and staunch Republicanist Malcolm Turnbull

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Business & Politics
   


Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

August 2nd 2006 06:35
Hands down, no questions, this is easily my favourite Harry Potter book so far (and I say 'so far' as in there's only one more book to go so it may very well my favourite Potter book full stop). It's probably the book where the series takes it's darkest turn and steps things up a notch. It's also the Harry Potter book that happened to win the prestigous Whitbread Award.

Harry Potter 3
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


Incompetnce

August 1st 2006 06:21
Genre-splicing can be a tricky business. For every Douglas Adams or Ann McCaffrey there's probably a million wannabes out there peddling reams and reams of very bad, very awkward 'unique convention-busting' fiction. If I had had no prior knowledge of this book or it's author I would probably have been put off by the quotes on the back describing it as 'crime fantasy fawlty towers style' and 'a revolutionary black comedy. Spookily similar to Douglas Adams'. Thankfully, this book is written by Red Dwarf co-creator Rob Grant - who seems to be growing more and more talented with each new foray away from the sci-fi show that he made his name on.

Incompetnce
Incompetnce, by Rob Grant

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Science Fiction
   


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