Read in June

This month I didn't read as much as I wanted; it was finishing my last semester in university and had to study for my finals so I didn't have a lot of time to read. So these are the books I managed to read

Review here

My favorite book of the month. Review here

 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - review here

#Friday Reads (8)

This weekend I'll be reading The English Patient, a book that has been sitting on my bookshelves for (probably) 5 years. I've never felt particularly drawn to this book but it was only 1 euro at the time and I thought it would be a great addition to my collection, even if I wasn't particularly sure when I would pick it up or even if I would ever be in the mood to read it.

Here is the synopsis:

With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, the exhausted nurse; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burned man who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal and rescue illuminates this book like flashes of heat lightening.

I'll admit, I was afraid the writing style would be somewhat dry and that I would have to have a lot of will power to stick with the book but I'm already half way through and so far I've been really enjoying it. Yes, sometimes it feels there's not much going on but it's beautifully written and the characters seem to be quite charming.

Quote of the Week #16

I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.

 

Anne Frank

El Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Lucas Corso is a book detective, a middle-aged mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found dead, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, Corso is brought in to authenticate the fragment. He is soon drawn into a swirling plot involving devil worship, occult practices, and swashbuckling derring-do among a cast of characters bearing a suspicious resemblance to those of Dumas's masterpiece. Aided by a mysterious beauty named for a Conan Doyle heroine, Corso travels from Madrid to Toledo to Paris on the killer's trail in this twisty intellectual romp through the book world.

My Thoughts

I usually like books that talk about books and El Club Dumas definitely fits that category.

 

I had never read anything by Arturo Pérez-Reverte but, fortunately, this book was a great one to start with his works. I really liked the premise and the mystery if seemed to offer; it just came across as one of those books that would really keep me hooked on it until the very end. However, at first, I had some concerns about this book because even though the story seemed quite interesting, I was afraid the narrative would be a bit dry or just not that appealing, but luckily that wasn’t the case and I was able to get into it really quickly. 

One of the best things about this book was how the author incorporated Alexandre Dumas’ work on the story, especially through the references and similarities between some of his characters with the ones from The Three Musketeers.

As for the characters, even though Corso was interesting and there was a lot of mystery about him, I didn’t feel particularly connected with any of them. They were interesting but not that relatable. However, I liked how passionate most of them were about rare books – especially about demonology and Alexandre Dumas’s work – and how they had dedicated their lives to them – a fascination that, to some of them, had become a true obsession.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I feel that I’ve learned something about old books but also about Alxandre Dumas’ life and work. Nonetheless, I feel that if I had already read The Three Musketeers I would’ve gotten a bit more from the story of El Club Dumas; I don’t think it would have been essential to read it in order to understand the story but it might have made a little difference, especially because some of the characters created by Pérez-Reverte seemed to have taken so much from the ones from The Three Musketeers. Fortunately I already have the book and I’ll probably pick it up soon, so I’ll be able to tell if it would have made a big difference or not.

An awesome book, with a lot of mystery, great dialogues and for fans of Alexandre Dumas’ work I think this book is a must read. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Quote of the Week #16

Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them. 

William Shakespeare

#Friday Reads (7)

I've been in the mood to read something in Spanish and for that reason I've decided to pick up El Club Dumas de Arturo Pérez-Reverte. I had bought it a couple of months ago but since I had other books to read,  was unable to read it sooner.

Here is the synopsis (from Goodreads)

Lucas Corso is a book detective, a middle-aged mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found dead, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, Corso is brought in to authenticate the fragment. He is soon drawn into a swirling plot involving devil worship, occult practices, and swashbuckling derring-do among a cast of characters bearing a suspicious resemblance to those of Dumas's masterpiece. Aided by a mysterious beauty named after a Conan Doyle heroine, Corso travels from Madrid to Toledo and to Paris on the killer's trail in this twisty intellectual romp through the book world.

I know that The Ninth Gate by Polanski - staring Johnny Depp - was based on this novel but I haven't watched the movie yet; I might do it after finishing the book. So far I'm 120 pages in and I'm really enjoying it. I was a little afraid I wouldn't like the setting or the narrative style but so far I've been really loving all the mystery about books and Corso's line of work.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Great Britain circa 1985 has ChronoGuard time travellers. Thursday Next, Special Operative SO-4 Literary Detective is promoted to secret SO-5 because only she has seen and survived "differently moraled" killer Acheron Hades. He has kidnapped her Uncle Mycroft and his Prose Portal, killed guards to steal original manuscripts, and kills characters to get ransom money. Now he has taken Jane Eyre.

But hero Rochester is a childhood friend. Next's father is a rogue time agent who pops in fortuitously. And her future self tells her where to find the wanted criminal - Swindon, where her ex-fiance Landen still lives. They have not spoken since he disgraced her brother Anton, killed in Crimea, the Charge of the Light Brigade they both survived. This blend of mystery, action, satire and romance takes Next inside Jane Eyre for the solution.

My Thoughts

After seeing several people raving about Jasper Fforde and his books I started thinking that I should check out some of his work and see if it was worth all the hype. So, when I saw The Eyre Affair with an incredible price, I took it as the perfect opportunity to read something by this author.

The world created by Jasper Fforde is mesmerizing! I had never read anything like this before. I loved how his characters would get themselves lost  in literature and debates about books and how they could actually contact with the characters of the novels. Who, as an avid reader and book lover, wouldn't like to be a part of a book and meet his favorites characters? Stroll on the same streets and fields described on the story? I would love that so .... where to I sign in??

This book also had interesting characters but the one that definitely stood out was Thursday Next, not only for her peculiar name but also for being so smart and determined, for her sarcasm and for being so good at what she did. I also loved the fact that she had a dodo as a pet. As for the other characters, I also liked her father - lost in time, literally - and her brother Joffy, who was probably the funniest one in the book.

However, I have to admit, the beginning wasn't as engaging as I was hoping it to be. It wasn't that easy to get into the story, there were a lot of elements and subplots to keep up with and it all seemed to go a bit faster than it should. Also, the Jane Eyre part was concentrated on the last third of the book and even though it was my favorite part I thought (and hoped) there would be more to it.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I was quite impressed by Jasper Fforde's imagination and writing style. The world in this book is fantastic and the interaction between his characters and the ones from the great classics of literature is amazing. Even though, at times, I was somewhat overwhelmed by all the elements and subplots of the story, I really enjoyed it and loved the connection to Jane Eyre.

I'll be checking out the rest of the series and also Shades of Grey, which seems to be amazing as well. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.