A to Z ~ Oscar and Lucinda

This year my A to Z theme harks back to 2012's theme, in which I listed an A-to-Z of books from my GoodReads "TBR" shelf. This year I want to revisit that list and report on which ones I've read, and what rating I gave them. Where the book hasn't been read, I'll mention other books starting with that letter I have read since 2012. ;)

"O" ... OSCAR AND LUCINDA
Status: Read

Brief Review: Took me a good while to finish this one, as it's quite long and I found I had to pay close attention to drink in every detail. The book got off to a bit of a slow start, but soon enough I found myself intrigued by the quirky characters, sympathetic to their experiences and frustrated/exhilarated on their behalf. The book had me laughing out loud even at not so happy moments, just because of the wording and the silly little similes, metaphors and alliterations (which were still clever of course). The way the story unfolded was like a family memoir but also an historical work. And an unexpected event near the end illustrated how a man can make one little decision that damages his life ... permanently. >> Full review

Some of my favourite "O" books read:

Open Minds (Mindjack, #1) - Susan Kaye Quinn. 5 stars.
Other Wind, the - Ursula K. Le Guin. 4 stars.

Some other "O" books on my TBR:

Obernewtyn (Obernewtyn, #1) - Isobelle Carmody.
Obscura Burning - Suzanne van Rooyen.
Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas, #1) - Dean Koontz.

A little review - OSCAR & LUCINDA

Oscar and Lucinda the movie. On my "to watch" list.

Back in April of this year, I shared an A-Z list of books from my TBR shelf. One of the books mentioned was OSCAR AND LUCINDA by Australian author Peter Carey, a Booker prize-winning work of historical fiction. It's set in England but mostly in Austraila in the mid-nineteenth century. I know it's also been made into a movie, but having not seen that I had no idea what to expect from the novel.

It took me a while to finish the novel. It's the kind of work you have to pay close attention to when you're distracted by the fact that you're on holiday in a tropical paradise. Despite that, I totally loved this book. It got off to a bit of a slow start, but soon enough I was well and truly hooked - intrigued by the quirky characters, sympathetic to their experiences and frustrated/exhilarated for them. The book had me laughing out loud even at not so happy moments, just because of the language, the silly little similes, metaphors and alliterations (which were still clever of course), and all that.

I found it interesting how one single character was viewed by others around him/her in different ways. Opinions tended to vary greatly. Then there was the way in which each character saw him or herself - different again. The story was told like a family memoir but can also be seen as an historical account. And I can't believe how it ended! I wasn't expecting that, nor hoping for it. That ending just goes to show, though, that in the blink of an eye (well, okay, a bit more slowly than that) a person can make one tiny little decision that changes everything, forever.

RING & SPIRAL ... two little book reviews

During this year's A-Z challenge, I posted a list of books from my GoodReads TBR shelf. I have only read one of those on the list so far, and I'm here to post a little review of it. The book is RING by Koji Suzuki, and I also read its sequel SPIRAL, which I will review further down.

RING:
This book had been on my physical TBR shelf for the whole year, and on my GoodReads shelf for a lot longer. I only picked it up in May after the A-Z challenge. I saw the Hollywood version of the movie at the cinemas back when it came out, and got the super heebie jeebies from that - in a good way, thought it was just the right kind of creepy! I haven't seen the Japanese version of the film but would love to someday.

As for the book, it was an easily digestible read. Not so high brow that your brain starts hurting, but written in strong and pleasant-to-read language. Suzuki's descriptions at times had me feeling almost what the characters were feeling (thankfully not quite what they were feeling, in the cases of those who died!). I admired the creep factor of Sadako's story. I can't say that any one moment in the book was QUITE as scary as a particular scene from the Hollywood film (you know, that scene). I did see some other reviewers mention that maybe having seen a film adaptation, the book was no longer quite as scary (lacking in the shock factor). This could be the case with me too. But I think Suzuki's a bit of a genius. What an imagination!

SPIRAL:
I didn't know what to expect from this one, after reading RING. From the very beginning I was surprised by things that happened. For instance, the way Asakawa's story went. I distinctly recall my jaw dropping. While this book's protagonist Ando was reading the Ring report, I did wonder if he was going to regret it later, the way other people had regretted watching the video tape from book #1. And then, the Sadako story kicking off again! What a trip.

The sheer wackiness of the plot that unravels in this book is what entertains me most. I can't really say too much without spoiling things, but let's just say that not only did I bow down to the twists and turns of Suzuki's plot, but I laughed out loud at the strangeness of it, even while I marvelled at the notion of such events actually taking place in our world. And that's the thing - Suzuki's plots are somewhat grounded in science, at least if you're willing to think outside the box. I don't have book 3 to read yet, but I will acquire and read it soon!

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In other news, I have actually begun to read another book from my A-Z "to-read" featured list, and that book is OSCAR AND LUCINDA by Australian author Peter Carey. I'm enjoying it so far, and also wondering when I should watch the movie. ;)

A-Z ... OSCAR AND LUCINDA

In the A-Z this year, I've been featuring books from my "to read" list on GoodReads which I really want to read. Sometimes it's been hard to pick just one, and in hindsight I could've done honourable mentions, but oh well, moving on! Today we're posting for the letter "O", and the book I've chosen is...

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O

Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey

Peter Carey's Booker Prize winning novel imagines Australia's youth, before its dynamic passions became dangerous habits. It is also a startling and unusual love story. Oscar is a young English clergyman who has broken with his past and developed a disturbing talent for gambling. A country girl of singular ambition, Lucinda moves to Sydney, driven by dreams of self-reliance and the building of an industrial Utopia. Together this unlikely pair create and are created by the spectacle of mid-nineteenth century Australia. Peter Carey's visionary brilliance, and his capacity to delight and surprise, propel this story to its stunning conclusion.

Why do I want to read it? Another classic, this time Australian, and one I've heard about for years but have never read (or seen, that I can recall).