Monthly Archives: April 2011

The Snowman – Jo Nesbo

Posted on by
Reply

The Snowman is Jo Nesbo’s 5th in his series of English-language Harry Hole novels, and therefore the 7th in his native Norwegian-language series of same. Before reading this, I happened to read a review posted on Amazon of The Leopard, which is the 6th in the English-language series of Harry Hole novels, and in which the reviewer gave away the end of this novel! Infuriating is one word I can think of to describe my feelings regarding this. Anyhow, I won’t be making the same mistake here, and ruining your enjoyment of this or any other Harry Hole novels, within this book summary – so feel free to safely read on!

Continue reading →

The Rum Diary – Hunter S Thompson

Posted on by
Reply

The Rum Diary is the late, great and awesome Hunter S. Thompson’s tale of the rum-soaked existence and adventures of a young American journalist, Paul Kemp, in late 1950’s Puerto Rico. There are really two main characters in this story, alcohol and Paul Kemp. Booze is utterly pervasive, with the novel opening and closing on a drink-related note, and being omnipresent throughout.
Continue reading →

Blood Meridian Cormac McCarthy

Posted on by
Reply

Some books grab you by the seat of your pants for wild adventures, some whisk you off on wonderful fanciful trips of the imagination, others still reminisce on lovely lovers. This book forcefully pitches you head-long into an almost alien-like world of insane violence and ultra-hard living, never lets you up for air, and leaves you almost dumb-founded at the end. No need to read the rest of the review really, just read the book!

Blood Meridian ostensibly tells the tale of “the kid”, who remains nameless throughout, and his blood-soaked trudge through life, in mid-19th century America and Mexico. However, its is much more than that – I have read it described as a parable, and I would have to agree I think. In fact I believe the author has dropped clues to this fact throughout the work, as mentioned further below.
Continue reading →