4 more books
I'm back in Edinburgh now. Until thursday that is, when I fly back over the ocean to go to San Francisco (for GDC) and then home.I wrote some notes about my travels in France, and took a bunch of pictures. Hopefully I will post some of that later (it's on my laptop - and not with me right now). In the meantime I shall continue the posting of books that I have read. I had some long train (and 1 bus) rides, so I took the time to read. There isn't a huge selection of English language books in France, but the ones they have are good, so it worked out well.
Generation X is the one Douglas Coupland book that I missed when I read through all his other books a few years ago. So I was pleased to find it. Not all of his books are great, but I think that this is one of his best. It's a tale of angst among some members of generation X and their return to cheaply-paid no responsibility service jobs as an escape. They live in neighbouring bungalows and pass the time telling fantastic stories. I'm not really the target market (heehee) but it's a fun read.PS: Girlfriend in a Coma is the Douglas Coupland book that I liked the most. Go and read it if you haven't - it's fantastic.
I had never heard of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, but the loads of good review snippets on it along with the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for fiction caused me to buy it. It tells the story of 2 comic book authors in the midst of World War 2. One of them has escaped from Nazi-controlled Prague, but his Jewish family remain. Through comic books they try to fight against Hitler and get on with their lives. It's hard for me to give a good description, but I thought this book was amazing. I started reading it one night in my hotel, and it kept me up until late the next few nights. I highly recommend it.
Drop City by T. C. Boyle is a book set in the seventies about a hippie commune and its inhabitants. At first it's set in California, but after some problems with the government they get evicted. Someone's uncle has an abandoned cabin in the wilderness of Alaska, and they decide to move the commune there. The story focuses on a few main characters and the differing personalities really come out well. Throughout the novel the happy commune feel has some rough patches and the Alaskan end result is very different from the start. I enjoyed Drop City a lot, and I would recommend it to anyone who has some hippie in them, or enjoys the culture =).
The cheapest way to get from London to Edinburgh (if you haven't booked in advance) is to take a bus (through Glasgow). It takes about 10 hours and I took the time to read Deadkidsongs by Toby Litt. My aunt in London gave me this book (in a trade for Generation X) and it worked out well. The novel tells the story of four boys in a small town in England during the cold war. They form themselves into Gang and play at fighting the Ruskies. Different parts of the story are told in the third person and from each of the boy's points of view. It works really well to detail the social relationship between them. Things end up getting a little out of control in the end, and my attention was held until the close. An enjoyable read, although probably not as much for girls.So there you have it: 4 books, all of them quite good. The end.
| Posted by dustin on February 28, 2005 with category tags of books |
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Written by dustin
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