World War Z

Book Review:  World War Z:  An Oral History of the Zombie War

So many people told me this book was great– it’s been described to me as clever, original, groundbreaking etc etc. So, I thought I’d give it a go, despite the fact I’m not a huge zombie fan. The limit of my zombie exposure is about four eppies of The Walking Dead (which I found disturbing although, I must add, not due to the zombies) and Shaun of the Dead (which is, obviously, a comedy). Brooks, on the other hand, has plainly put a lot of thought into the idea of a zombie apocalypse.

World War Z is actually what it claims to be – an oral history of a zombie war. There is no traditional narrative prose style or lead characters. It’s more a collection of (‘war’) short stories.
The premise is an interviewer is travelling around the world after a zombie war, interviewing survivors. Each story is unique and features a different aspect of the war. Even though these stories and the interviewees/characters are seemingly unconnected and told in no particular order, you suddenly realise they’ve blended into a plot and a clear picture and chronological timeline of the zombie war forms in your mind.

I thought the stories would be equal parts humorous and gory. Some tense thrills mixed in with some relieving laughs, I guessed. Instead I would probably describe the book as a social commentary of political and past/current events, including real life wars, terrorism, environmental impacts, corporate and government corruption, the falsity of the media and much more.

I’m not sure I loved the style. Although original, didn’t give me a sense of emotional connection I usually look for in a book. Sure, a lot of the stories were really poignant but others just left me a little flat and bored. Like all short story collections, I liked some stories more than others.

To say a fictional account of a fictional war is meticulously researched sounds ridiculous, but it’s probably one of the most interesting thing about WWZ. In each short story, Brooks explains the historical and current political, religious and social systems of numerous countries to the reader in great detail to establish the impact zombies would have on each country. For example, he doesn’t simply say which country struggles to survive and which becomes a world leader and financial powerhouse; he says why with such intelligent reasoning that, at times, I truly forgot WWZ had not actually occurred.

I’m sure Brooks forgets at times too. Reading through the books he’s written on Goodreads is like reading through a zombie reference library. He clearly loves the subject.

But do I feel the need to explore zombies further? Well, to be perfectly honest, I do in a way. I usually dismiss the zombie genre as a fad for teenagers and those eager to follow trends. I wonder now, given the depth and thought provoking subject matter of this book, if I haven’t been a little hasty. I might try something else. Actually, I could probably find something on Brooks’s shelves…

3 and ½ out of 5

Then Came You

Book Review:  Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas (The Gamblers of Craven #1)

I’ve been recommended Kleypas to read quite a few times, so when this came up as a Book of the Month challenge and it was also on sale for a couple of dollars, it felt the stars had aligned and I decided to give it a go. (Well, maybe it wasn’t quite that dramatic but anyway…)

I must say the first couple of chapters of the book were horrid. Our heroine, Lily, was such a cliche. She is, of course, so beautiful that all men fall instantly in love/lust with her! Not content with her role of decorating the world, she pursues wild manly pursuits with such gusto that she earns the respect of all she meets! She has access to all the best card games (the book is the first in a series of books which will feature the Craven gambling den) where she always manages to win! She rides with the men, astride on her horse instead of side saddle, in the foxhunt! She is super clever and understands politics! Yes, the term Mary Sue was invented for Lily.

Our hero, Alex, meanwhile, is still in love with his late girlfriend who died in a freak accident. He doesn’t want to fall in love again, in case something should happen and he has to go through all that heartache for a second time. He’s settled on a nice easy marriage of convenience to Lily’s sister, Penny.

Lily is fretful for Penny who she believes is a gentle soul and will never be happy with Alex so she sets out to break up the engagement as well as wreak havoc in his life in general.

This is where Kleypas settled into a better rhythm and the book improved enough to keep me reading. I’m not saying it’s literature, however.

Kleypas’s head hopping habit in random spots was distracting. She also added to the plot perhaps too much. I think Lily trying to prevent her sister’s wedding could have almost sufficed. Abusive teachers, bear-baiting, kidnapping, extortion, white slavery… It just became a little silly at times and Kleypas would have been better advised to use some of her ideas in future novels.

Kleypas also uses the owner of the gambling club, Derek Craven, as the link to the next book (where he will be hero) quite unsucessfully, in my opinion. Other than the fact that Derek is madly in love/lust with Lily (obviously, blah) Derek has zero to do with the actual plot of this book and didn’t assist in adding any characterisation to Alex or Lily. His character and presence in the club could have been mentioned in passing and everything would have worked just as well. Using a character for no reason other than as a marketing ploy for another book is annoying/insulting.

I did like the way Kleypas wrote the secksy times though. They’re probably what kept me reading when the rest of the book was wearing thin! LOL

Overall, I wouldn’t say this was the best thing I’d read but it was probably good enough that I’ll try another Kleypas soon.

3 out of 5

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Book Review:  Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

You’d have to live under a rock to not have heard of this debut novel by Gail Honeyman. I thought, when I started reading this book, considering what I knew about its general premise, that the title was an obvious contradiction and Eleanor Oliphant is anything but completely fine. I now think, however, that maybe Honeyman wanted to show that no one is completely fine, whatever we claim. We’re all a little crazy. We’re all a little damaged. But in the end, we might find the strength to make it through the day and feel fine — about certain aspects, at least. After all, if Eleanor can do it, so can we.

Eleanor has suffered from abuse and this has resulted in her fragile mental state. Still, she’s an independent intelligent woman who works in a full time office job she enjoys. One of the most notable consequences from Eleanor’s unstable childhood is her complete lack of social skills. Rigidity and routine help her get by. Routine is safe, and due to Eleanor’s troubled past, safe is important. But her safe scheduled life is about to change when she meets the new IT guy from her workplace, Raymond.

Suddenly Eleanor is going out to parties and pubs and clubs and concerts! She’s bought a mobile and created a twitter handle. But most importantly, she’s made friends. Not only Raymond but an older man she and Raymond help one day, Sammy, and Sammy’s various family members.

Raymond’s a great character. Instead of the classic leading man, he’s a scruffy hopeless case a lot of the time. But his beauty and charm comes from being so laid-back and friendly that he takes the time to see beyond Eleanor’s physical and emotional scars.

Eleanor’s past is revealed gradually and yes, it’s sad and horrible, but the book is not depressing. Eleanor is funny, albeit often unintentionally but, apart from the couple of isolated incidents, the supporting characters rarely laugh *at* Eleanor. Interacting with Raymond leads to Eleanor’s colleagues and acquaintances finding a way to be supportive and they, like Raymond, start to laugh *with* Eleanor too. Also, importantly, Raymond teaches Eleanor to laugh at herself.

The other thing that is magical about the book is Eleanor’s observations of everyday life. Ordinary things, places, and events which most people take for granted, from getting your haircut to catching the bus, are given a whole new breath of life with Eleanor’s witty and detailed descriptions. She takes ordinary scenarios and behaviours and turns them around so that the reader looks at them in a whole new way. With Eleanor’s help, we soon get to realise that a lot of things which are considered ‘normal’ are anything but. Making even the most basic situation fresh and amusing, these fabulous little insights also highlight many people’s prejudices and preconceived ideas about normality.

There’s several themes Honeyman explores with Eleanor’s story. How people cope with mental illness, of course, plus how people cope with loneliness and the importance of love.

Obviously I don’t just mean romantic love. Eleanor’s view of romantic love is quite askew anyway, which is highlighted in her pursuing a musician she has not even met. I’ve read quite a few books of late which carry the theme of love of friends versus family. And again, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine questions the way modern society has evolved and just who individuals perceive as family.

The love theme includes the idea you must open yourself up to love. In order to save herself from being lonely, Eleanor must put herself at risk of hurt and pain and this is why, with the truth of her past threatening to overwhelm her, Eleanor has avoided it for so long.

Self-love is also examined, especially when Eleanor’s mother plays on Eleanor’s guilt and insecurities.

There is a slight twist at the end, which had been obvious for a while, but it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the reveal. And although there is a clear resolution, I also really liked the open ended feel of the novel. It even raised my hopes that Honeyman might take Eleanor out for a spin again one day. I hope so.

A new favourite, 5 out of 5.

 

Red Mars

Book Review:  Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

I only managed to read a third of this book before adding the dreaded DNF hashtag. As such, I shouldn’t bother with a review but, when I look at the plethora of 5 star ratings my blood boils and I need to help out my fellow readers by issuing a ‘read at your own peril’ warning. (Yes, I am feeling dramatic this morning, thanks very much.)

First things first, I listened to an audio version and, if you are willing to dare read this book even after I recommend the opposite, I really really implore you to read it the old fashioned way. It goes without saying that I hated the narrator. His way of reading killed any hint of pleasure I might have garnered from this novel. His attempts at Russian accents and feminine lilts were laughable. A bit of googling shows me he also narrates the other two books in the trilogy. Kill me now.

As for the plot? Well… A hundred people travel to Mars where they will colonise the planet for future settlers. As one would imagine, we get chapters devoted to the hundred’s individual specialities and the reasons for their selection; the colonists’ solutions to the planet’s difficult atmosphere, weather and geography; and the political and emotional turmoil the hundred face after deciding to live in such an isolated and insular community.

Sounds good when I write it like that. It isn’t.

The techno babble that Robinson spews out takes away any interest I had in the planet, the ways the colonists were building on the planet, or the spaceship that took them to the planet. It was all written so tediously that I switched off completely.

And as for the political and emotional turmoil… Robinson should have thought about finding a writing partner who can write sympathetic interesting characters. All the characters, in fact, are cardboard cutout figures. The Russians are abrupt, cynical and politically motivated. The Americans are emotional, two-faced and arrogant.

The three main characters are the least likeable characters I’ve encountered in a long time. We get the brilliant and ambitious but emotionally detached female in charge who becomes romantically involved with two men (yeah, a love triangle *yawn*). The men are both equally ambitious, both psychopathic, and both as dull as dishwater. The most interesting thing about them was their slight homosexual attraction to each other.

Actually, the hundred’s (and Robinson’s?) obsession with their sexual relationships is uncomfortable (at best). The sex scenes are anything but sexy. In fact, they were so clunky and awkward that I felt the need to shut my eyes whilst reading them. (As this was an audio version and I usually listen when driving, this wasn’t the best feeling to elicit.)

There was one tiny moment of promise in the book (where a character thinks they’ve seen a stowaway) but I never got to solve this mystery before I gave up. Oh well. Life will go on.

Audible has a beautiful thing called ‘exchange for free’. I took full advantage.

1 out of 5

Beautiful Messy Love

Book Review:  Beautiful Messy Love by Tess Woods

Contemporary romance is a genre I usually find cliched and tacky and, therefore, I very rarely seek out. Tess Woods’ Beautiful Messy Love was recommended to me, however, so I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did. Yes, this is a contemporary romance done right.

One of my biggest beefs with some contemporary romance books is that writers think they’re offering us something fresh and modern just by adding a couple of modern references. A stray mention of a twitter feed or someone talking about online dating in passing is all it seems to take for some writers to think they’re hipster novelists. I imagine some have a list of what’s hot at the time which they tick off as they write! In Beautiful Messy Love, however, Woods uses modern references and topical political subjects to actually add to the plot and characterisation. Social media, terrorism, fear of Muslims, asylum seekers, Australia’s off-shore detention centres – they’re all integrated into the plot seamlessly.

The book, set in Western Australia, centres on two couples, Nick and Anna, and Lily and Toby.

Nick is a famous AFL player who meets Anna, a young Muslim Egyptian who has been granted asylum by Australia. Nick’s whole life is in the spotlight. Not only do reporters follow his every move, everyone with a mobile phone tries to catch him in a compromising position for their 15 minutes of fame. Meeting Anna means he buries his penchant for womanising and hard drinking but he soon learns the fickle Australian public would find this preferable to dating a Muslim and fighting for human rights. Anna has her own issues even without Nick coming into her life. The two most pressing being that her mother is suffering from debilitating depression and that she’s adopted/fostered a young boy with cancer.

Meanwhile, Nick’s sister, Lily, is struggling to find motivation to complete her four year medical degree when her boyfriend dumps her to work overseas. Whilst doing some training at the hospital she meets Toby and they fall instantly in love. Sounds simple enough but Toby just happens to be at the hospital because his wife is in the oncology ward with terminal cancer.

If you’re looking for a book that represents how Aussies really think, talk and act, this is the book for you. The dialogue and slang are spot on. Woods’s Egyptian background means Anna and her hilarious relatives are also most likely accurately portrayed. (I enjoyed all the supporting characters. Toby’s brother, John, especially was so real it hurt.)

Although I enjoyed both couples’ storylines, I was more drawn to Lily than the other characters and I flew through the book eager to know how Woods would sort everything out. I don’t really want to reveal anything about the ending but I will just send a shout out to Woods to hurry along with the third book in the series.

Yes, sadly, I didn’t realise Beautiful Messy Love is actually a sequel to Love at First Sight which had Nick and Lily’s mother, Mel, as the lead character and I guess I know how that novel must end given everything that is happening with Mel in this outing. I’ll still read Love at First Sight though.

I also must mention the publisher’s saying Beautiful Messy Love in the vein of Nicolas Sparks in their marketing. What an insult! (Yes, I do hate Sparks and his banal books.) I will admit though there was a few times I needed a tissue.

4 and ½ out of 5

*Thanks to Net-Galley and Harper Collins for my copy.