Book Reviews
-
Book Review: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon is a substantial novel, weighing in at over 500 pages. It’s so vast that it seems desultory to attempt to describe it in a review, yet that is exactly what I am going to do here. Hidden deep within the old city in Barcelona is a library of obscure and forgotten titles- the “cemetery of lost books”. His father brings ten- year- old Daniel there one chilly morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book and pulls out The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. Over the next few decades, he realises several people are interested in his…
-
Book Review: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
The Girl on the Train was a publishing phenomenon, a stunningly intriguing thriller which placed the reader in the perspective of three major characters in the novel. Her second book Into the Water is a similar type of read, more complex than its predecessor but still as dark. However, it stands as a thriller on its own. The plot surrounds Nel Abbot, who was found dead in the river, just a few short months after the death of her daughter’s best friend Katie in similar circumstances. Nel lived by the dark and forbidding body of water, known as ‘The Drowning Pool’ and was obsessed with stories of difficult women who…
-
My Favourite Book of 2014
I meant to write this post a few days ago however, unfortunately I have been battling a heavy cold. I want to write a review of my favourite book that I read in 2014. Even though I read quite a few last year, the one that stands out in my mind is The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. I have been a fan of Kate’s books for several years now and a new release always goes straight onto my to-read list. I was right to anticipate the release of The Secret Keeper, as it is a stunning, accomplished novel, with many layers and an excellent twist. The basic premise of…
-
Review- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni
Reading the negative reviews made me wary of reading Khaled Hosseni’s The Kite Runner. It’s not the best start to your reading experience, being told you’re going to hate something, is it? But still I read it. The novel is set against the back drop of the final days of Afghanistan’s monarchy and the oppression of the Taliban. It tells the story of two boys, Amir and Hassan, and their friendship set against the social and political conflicts of the early 1970s. The two boys exist happily enough side by side, until the day of Kabul’s annual kite-fighting tournament, when a shocking event turns the characters’ lives upside down. The…
