by Scott W Clemens | Dec 31, 2022 | Uncategorized
Zafon’s writing (at least in its English translation) is darkly atmospheric and haunting. There lurks a promise of mystery, the melancholy of love lost, as well as the shadow of impending doom. I was unprepared for the horror; I’d missed the subtitle on the cover “A Gothic Tale.” Because the thirty-year-old narrator is reflecting on his adventures as a fifteen-year-old, booksellers categorize this as a Young Adult novel, but it’s no more a novel aimed at a young adult audience than King’s Carrie, or The Institute. Great writing combined with great storytelling should appeal to any age. I enjoyed the audiobook narration by Daniel Weyman, who could not have done a better job of setting the atmosphere and voicing the various characters.
by Scott W Clemens | Nov 16, 2022 | Uncategorized
Colleen Hoover caught my attention when she held Amazon’s #1 spot ahead of Stephen King’s Fairy Tale with her latest book It Ends With Us. In fact, when I looked at the number of ratings and reviews (three to six times anything Rowling, King, Grisham, or Brown have amassed from their greatest hits) I thought it was unlikely. Perhaps she was scamming the system somehow. Then I read the NY Times article about her emergence as a publishing phenomenon. The comments that the piece elicited were politically polarizing, often framed in terms of blue-collar values versus literary snobism. Everyone seemed to have an opinion, even if they’d never read her work.
So, before I weighed in with an opinion, I bought the audiobook version of her 2021 novel Verity. Despite suffering criticism from some who accuse her of peddling trauma-porn, I found Verity to be competently written and expertly plotted, crossing the genres of suspense and erotica. Throw in two narrators, one of whom is unreliable, and Verity is hard to put down. It doesn’t make a pretense of being anything other than what it is — excellent entertainment. And that’s no small feat in itself. Does the book have its faults? Sure. Personally, I would have preferred that the characters’ relationships revolved around more than just marathon sexual athleticism. But that won’t keep me from recommending the book. Verity will keep you entertained. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
by Scott W Clemens | Oct 10, 2022 | Uncategorized
BookBub calls The Seal Cove Theoretical Society “an existentially funny read about unlikely friendships and community!” Readers of Humorous Literary Fiction seem to agree.
by Scott W Clemens | Oct 5, 2022 | Uncategorized
In the past two weeks, I’ve listened to three audiobooks — Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan, and A Familiar Stranger by A.R. Torre, and Cloud Cookoo Land by Anthony Doer.
LITTLE BEACH STREET BAKERY, by Jenny Colgan: I’ve become a fan of Jenny Colgan since I discovered her work earlier this year. She writes Romance the way Romance should be written. Her heroines are plucky and resourceful, meet with adversity and overcome it, and are universally likeable people. I should elaborate on that last trait, but that’s a separate post. Little Beach Street Bakery is set in Cornwall, in the real-life village of Saint Michael’s Mount, fictionalized as Mount Polbearne. Colgan does a marvelous job of making the town an important character in its own right. The dialogue is natural, the characters (mostly) appealing. If the book has a weakness, it’s in its similarity to another of her books, The Bookshop on the Corner. These are feel-good, hopeful novels that will remind you of JoJo Moyes and Maeve Binchy.
A FAMILIAR STRANGER, by A.R. Torre: I decided to try this novel because it shows up in the “Also bought” line below the reviews of Evelyn Marsh, and because it has decent ratings and over 400 ratings. A Familiar Stranger is a unique psychological thriller told from multiple viewpoints, which the author plenty of room for misdirection and keeps the reader guessing. I found the beginning a little slow, but when the point of view changed, I was compelled to keep turning pages to figure out who was fooling whom. Unfortunately, the characters are, with one exception, unlikeable. Also, I found the moral denouement a little too pat for my taste, though it will probably satisfy most readers. Despite my reservations, A.R, Torre has crafted a page-turner here, and I intend to try more of her work.
CLOUD COOKOO LAND, by Anthony Doer: I don’t limit myself to one or two genres, I read across genres. After all, a good book is a good book. I love literary novels. Unfortunately, this highly rated literary/sci-fi novel fell short of the mark. The conceit isn’t enough to salvage these disjointed, dystopian stories. I felt Simon Jones’s narration made a buffoonery of what might have been an instructive little fable. Marin Ireland’s narration was adequate. But no narrator can improve a fatally flawed story. We are left with the belief that human beings haven’t learned anything over the past millennia, nor are we capable of improvement. How depressing!
I would have given up on this title early on, and only kept listening to the end because sometimes a book that starts badly is saved by a brilliant ending. Unfortunately, the ending of Cloud Cookoo Land was underwhelming. Not worth your time.
by Scott W Clemens | Sep 17, 2022 | Uncategorized
5 out of 5 stars. I’m grateful to have spent time getting to know Eleanor Oliphant. This is undoubtedly one of the most compelling character arcs ever. For some reason, I’m reminded of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. So mind-bogglingly good, it’s hard to fathom that this is a debut novel. Don’t miss it.
by Scott W Clemens | Aug 27, 2022 | Uncategorized
Evocative of another time, The Go-Between explores the mores of the late Victorian Age at an English country manor, as seen through the eyes of a visitor about to turn 13 years old, or rather it is told by an old man who, upon finding his old diary, remembers what it was like to be turning 13 in the summer of 1900, not quite fitting into the adult world, ignorant of so much, yet keenly observant. Looking back from a distance of 50 years, separated by two World Wars and the breakdown of the class system, he can see that “The past is a foreign country: They do things differently there.” It’s a graceful, beautifully written novel, reminiscent of Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle. Highly recommended.
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