Just like the proverbial buses, I don’t read a book in ages then suddenly finish two off within a week!
Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup, previously published as Q&A before the film people got hold of it, tells the tale of a teenager from the slums of Mumbai who suddenly finds himself the winner of the biggest game-show prize in history – 1 billion rupees (yes billion, not million). The producers of the show, out of money and desperate to wrangle their way out of having to pay this enormous sum of money, have the boy arrested as a cheat and subjected to torture in order to gain a false confession. Just as he is about to succumb, the boy is rescued by a lawyer and sets about explaining just how someone from the slums has come to gain the knowledge required to win a quiz.
Simplistically written, but gripping nonetheless, especially as we approach the latter part of the tale and our hero sets about explaining how he came to know the answers to the last few questions. Each is given its own little tale and you could even treat the book as a collection of short stories centred around one character. Despite the fact we already know that he wins the money before the story begins doesn’t stop Swarup dropping a huge twist on us at the end. Though obviously I’m not going to tell you what that is – you’re just going to have to read it.
Another highly recommended one, though I do suggest you buy it from Amazon rather than forking out full-price at an airport like Muppet here did!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted about a book I’ve read, but then it’s been a while since I actually finished one! The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was given to me as a gift (and a very nice surprise it was too) due to my liking of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.
It’s the true story of the murder which spawned the Victorian obsession with crime and crime novels, recounting the tale of a murdered boy from a middle-class family in which one of the occupants of the house in which he lived must have been the killer. We are told the story in the form of a novel but based very strictly on research undertaken by the author. A swift look at the back of the book proves the lengths gone to by Summerscale to uncover as much of the truth as possible, with a bibliography so extensive it would put many historical textbooks to shame.
The story is interwoven with historical tidbits, from small morsels regarding family life in the nineteenth century through to indications of the social mores and attitudes of the nation. We see not only the deplorableness and unusualness of the crime from the perspective of the average Victorian, but also similar feelings of animosity towards the police and in particular detectives like Jonathan Whicher.
Whilst I’ve read reviews complaining that readers simply couldn’t get into the tale and were uninterested in being bombarded by facts and figures, I must say I relished it all. And although that statement is coming from someone with a degree in History, I must point out that the past holds very little interest to me. I was intrigued by not only the murder itself but also by the origins of the detective story. I also found the last section of the book completely fascinating, where Summerscale talks about her research and how new facts crawled out of the woodwork even after the first edition was published.
A quick and simple read this isn’t, but if you’ve got the time and the inclination this is a superb book.
It had been far too long since I read anything, so a week ago I made a start on The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. As winner of the Booker Prize I figured it would probably be good. But I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
Not having been reading books for long (well, that’s not true – I’d say more reading for the simple pleasure of it), I didn’t know whether or not I’d enjoy this. It was more out of curiosity for what kind of book wins the Booker Prize. And it turns out it’s the kind of book I really love!
It’s the story of a poor Indian man from a village, recounting his life – from humble beginnings to proprietor of a successful business – in the form a several letter’s to the Chinese Premier. I’m not going to give any of the story away, but it’s told with good humour and is an exceptionally easy read. The only reason it took me a week is because I always seem to be able to find something other than reading to do! I wouldn’t say the story is full of twists, but there is a definite change in the way the narrative flows as we get towards the end of the tale; from something akin to a diary near the beginning, to more of a story towards the end.
As ever, no reviews from me as I haven’t read enough books to compare, but it will definitely be heading to the top of my favourites list.
A book I bought mainly based upon being intrigued by its name is The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill. And despite the fact it’s taken me over two weeks to read through it (slow reader), I must say it’s both one of the most extraordinary and one of the most ordinary books I’ve read. Let me explain.
It is a tale of the ordinary. The story of a lonely sole trapped in his every-day life, living in a trailer and working as a chef. Someone who has lost his confidence, and has become happy in simply existing from one day to the next, trying to fit in but finding it hard under the circumstances.
It is a tale of the extraordinary. This man just happens to be the Minotaur, living in a back-water town in the US, 5,000 years old and just trying to survive in a world than no longer fears him and one that wasn’t built with him in mind.
The whole thing is stunningly beautiful. The attention to intricate detail and the poetic stylings of the author allow the most mundane of tasks to seem like little adventures all of their own, especially when being performed by the strangest of beasts. Sherrill uses the Minotaur as a vehicle for exploring the loneliness of man, and how anyone can feel cut-off and segregated by and from society.
As ever, I’m not going to rate or recommend the book, but I truly loved it and it’s going to be one which remains in my permanent collection.
I was going to leave a Christmas posts yesterday, but in the end I simply couldn’t be bothered. I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of the day either, though I just wanted to make mention of the photo-related gifts I received. I shall list them below under their own little headings!
4Gb Sandisk Extreme III CompactFlash Card
For my trip to Scotland I wanted to make sure that I had enough memory for my days out walking and photographing. Not the biggest of cards, but the Extreme III works at break-neck speeds (not as fast as the Extreme IV but there has to be a balance between function and price). It’ll go very nicely with my others and I’ll now hopefully be able to go out all day shooting raw without having to worry about running out of space. I must just remember to take them off the card and put them onto the laptop once back at the hotel, or I won’t be able to do much the following day!
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Classroom in a Book
I’ve become a great advocate of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2. I’ve never been overly familiar with Photoshop itself, although I have recently worked my way through a similar Adobe book on CS3 and I have to say it’s a lot easier to get to grips with than I ever imagined. Fortunately however, most of the functions necessary for me and my photography can now be performed in a much quicker and simpler way using Lightroom. I’ve been giving it a go for a while, and whilst I sort of know my way around it, I wanted to go through the same process I did with Photoshop and let Adobe tell me the key things to look out for. Hopefully let me start developing my own presets too, although I’ve not yet had chance to look through it to see what chapters are actually included. I’ll let you folks know once I’ve been through it.
Joby Gorillapod – SLR Zoom
This is something I was contemplating getting myself, though at the last minute decided to take off my Amazon Wishlist. So it was a very big coincidence that someone saw it and decided to get it me for Christmas. Very nice of them.
The Gorillapod, for those who don’t know, is a bendy tripod that you can hook around objects (posts, branches, fences etc) to enable you to get into some very awkward spots to take your pictures. It also enables you to get extremely close to the ground as the legs bend up on themselves allowing you to be able to practically stand the camera on the floor. And I have to say in my testing yesterday it seemed to work very well indeed. The legs are incredibly sturdy – the one I have has been built to hold an SLR with a big zoom lens attached. I can’t wait to get out there and start giving it a proper go in the wilds of Scotland!
