Month: May 2017

Full House Reading Challenge – Breath – Tim Winton

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Genre: Bildungsroman, Australian Fiction,

Narrative Style: first person, flashback framed by present day.

Rating: 4/5

Published: 2008

Format: Kindle

Synopsis: Bruce Pike is a paramedic. When he attends what appears to be a suicide by hanging, it takes him back to his thrill-seeking adolscence with his friend Loonie. They meet Sando, an older man who is keen to take their daring to new levels. 

Reading Challenges: Full House Reading Challenge – Genre Australian Fiction.

The story starts when Bruce Pike is called to what seems to be a suicide by hanging. A teenage boy has been found hanged by his parents. It is a horrific and emotional opening. There is something not quite right about the scene and Bruce knows straightaway that it is not a suicide. Much to the chagrin of his paramedic partner, he refuses to spill the beans as to how he knows.

The incident takes Bruce back to his childhood when he hung around with Loonie, the town’s wild boy when they spent their hours surfing. Not longer after, they meet Sando, an older man who lives a hippie lifestyle and seems to have no cares in the world.

The novel goes on to explore masculinity and the need for adrenalin. There is a stark contrast between the daring and exciting Sando and Bruce’s parents who are decsribed as dull and everyday. As the friendship between the three deepens, so the waves they take on get bigger and Bruce gets more and more nervous. A rivalry develops between Loonie and Bruce, and Bruce knows he has no hope of winning. He just isn’t brave enough.

When Sando goes away, taking Loonie with him, to explore foreign waves, Bruce is bereft. He begins to visit Sando’s wife and becomes involved in her erotic thrillseeking, something that both repulses and attracts him.

Bruce’s voice is very much an Australian one. Winton captures the speech patterns of his native country successfully while also putting Australian masculinity under the microscope. I enjoyed it immensely. My only criticism is that the end of the novel seemed a little rushed as Bruce moves to talking about his adult life. Apart from that, a very good read.

 

 

 

Full House Reading Challenge: The Short Drop – Matthew Fitzsimmons (Contains Spoilers)

On By kepagewriterIn Book Reviews, Full House Book ChallengeLeave a comment

Genre: Thriller

Narrative Style: Third Person from various viewpoints.

Rating: 2/5

Published: 2015

Format: Kindle

Synopsis: Ten Years ago, senator’s daughter Suzanne Lombard disappeared. She has never been found. Gibson Vaughn, childhood friend of Suzanne is still finding her disappearance difficult to deal with so when he is approached by old nemesis, George Abe, who has a new lead, he is torn between wanting to find the truth and his dislike of Abe. When he agrees, he has no idea of the tangled web into which he will be pulled.

Reading Challenges: Full House Reading Challenge – Genre – Debut Novel. 

People really seem to like this book. There are barely any reviews on Goodreads that are less than 4 stars. I really don’t understand this as I found this book to be ordinary at best.

It started well. Gibson Vaughn was painted as a loner, a man haunted by his past and by Suzanne’s disappearance and that sounded interesting. The fact that he was being observed by a mysterious group that might be FBI added to the tension straightaway. Quickly Vaughn is pulled into an attempt at finding Suzanne’s abductor. So far so good: pacy, interesting characters, plenty of clues and insinuations.

However, for me it quickly went down hill. Various events stretched my willingness to suspend my disbelief to breaking point. It started when Jenn Charles and her ex-cop partner, following Abe’s orders, despatch some Guantanamo Bay style torture on the suspect they have captured. Then there is the psychopath Fred Tinsley, who is following the gang, waiting for the instruction to start bumping them off. And the security heavies Cold Harbour, who are controlled by Lombard’s father who is determined that nothing will spoil his presidential candidacy.

This just didn’t ring true for me. I must admit that I’m not overly familiar with the genre of political thriller but it just seemed a little too much. What had seemed fast paced and interesting at the beginning, began to feel like a rollercoaster gone off the rails.

On top of that, I saw all of the twists coming and that was annoying. The ending was unsatisfying. While Lombard resigns his candidacy, it seems like more should happen to him, that the terrible truth of what he has done should be revealed. Vaughn takes possession of Suzanne’s daughter without anyone so much as blinking and the girl herself is remarkably calm and unconcerned about what is going on.

Still, it seems I am in the minority. Most people love this book. Maybe it is just another genre that doesn’t really suit me.