Unfinished Books « The Literary Pursuit

Smoke & Mirrors – Neil Gaiman

30 Jan 2008 Leave a Comment

by nylusmilk in Books, Reviews, Unfinished Books

Neil Gaiman is a messy-haired white male author trapped in the body of an identical white male author with perhaps even less-tidy hair. His books and comics have won many awards. He thanks you for your offer of a comb but does not believe it would do any good. Despite being English, he lives more in America than he does anywhere else in the world, and is currently somewhere in his mid-forties. He wrote this book especially for you.

The book in one sentence: A collection of bizarre short stories, ranging from the macabre to the erotic.

Who would you recommend it to: Neil Gaiman fans.

OK bits: The Wedding Present, Chivalry, Nicholas was…, The Price, The Goldfish Pool & Other Stories, Changes, Looking for the Girl

Boring bits: Troll Bridge, Don’t Ask Jack, The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch, Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar, Only the End of the World Again

Random review quote:

“You long for writers like Neil Gaiman: his vision is so personal and idiosyncratic. And unexpected…” — Chris Carter (creator of The X-files series?)

Verdict: When I read the first story The Wedding Present, I thought he’s like Roald Dahl. The more I read, the more distinctive Gaiman’s stories are from Dahl’s. That said, give me Dahl over Gaiman any day; I just don’t quite get his stories sometimes.

There’s No Toilet Paper… on the Road Less Traveled

10 Oct 2007 2 Comments

by nylusmilk in Books, Reviews, Unfinished Books

The book in one sentence: An anthology of humourous travel stories by various authors.

Who would you recommend it to: People who like travel stories.

OK anecdotes: Nudity is a State of Mind (Alan Zweibel), Jugo Especial (Lara Naaman), Dragging the Family to the Magic Kingdom (Caryl Rivers), The Great Goat Race (Peter Mayle), The Duck of Peace (Carl Franz), It’s Monday…So This Must Be My Tax Write-Off in London (Dave Barry)

Boring tales: A Simian in the Cinema (Nigel Barley), Shipping Out (David Foster Wallace), Out of Teheran (John Krich), A Holy Holiday in Hell (P. J. O’Rourke)

The only review quote:

“Anyone who plans to travel should read this book. And then stay home.” — Dave Barry

Verdict: By nature, I don’t like reading anthologies, so my reading pace was slower than usual and the book’s borrowing period is only for 2 weeks. Of the 28 stories there, I only managed to finish 14. Some stories are really funny, and some aren’t; the book caters to all levels of humour, that’s for sure.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke

14 Jul 2007 4 Comments

by nylusmilk in Books, Fiction, Reviews, Unfinished Books

Susanna Clarke lives in Cambridge. This is her first novel.

Note: Shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and Guardian First Book Award

The book in one sentence: Extremely long-winded and dull book about some two magicians.

Who would you recommend it to: Fantasy readers who aren’t put off by a 900-page slow-action book.

OK bits: I don’t know. I stopped before the 100-page mark. Well, okay, the bit where Mr Norrell shows his magic to the magicians in the church was not so bad.

Boring bits: The rest of what I’ve read.

Random review quote:

“Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years. It’s funny, moving, scary, otherworldly, practical and magical, a journey through light and shadow – a delight to read” — Neil Gaiman

Verdict: One man’s meat, another man’s poison. This is my arsenic, obviously.