So, I had a nice Peter Carey book. It was called 'Theft: a love story' (2006) and described variously as a tale about art (and art dealers), scams, relationships - and apparently a story that would make the reader laugh.
Well, although I enjoyed it, as I enjoy all Carey novels, I didn't find it at all funny. Sad and immoral but not funny. Perhaps I've lost my sense of humour.
But having read that, it reminded me of another book I had bought some time ago, one about art history.
I searched through all four bookcases - but could I find it? No. So after repeatedly looking in them all over again, I finally found it hiding at the back of a cupboard - which also has books in it - four bookcases naturally not providing enough space so other furniture has been appropriated for books.
Michael Frayn's Headlong (1999), and short listed for the Booker Prize in that year. I remembered the general plot, but not the detail, so happily sat down to plough through it again.
Plough through it was the word. I enjoyed it the first time around, but was I ever fed up this time with reading about Breughel and iconography and iconology. Or was it iconoclasts? How to ruin a decent plot with really too much academic/intellectual content. Or maybe once bearable maybe enjoyable, yes, but - never again.
Anyway, having finished with art - history and dealers and crazy relationships - onto a totally different book. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, (2008) and a Booker prizewinner. Yeah, ok, I do end up reading Booker nominated or winning novels.
It was a good read. Very black humour and totally amoral and utterly enjoyable. Try it. Probably the best of the three.
2 comments:
I have never been able to read Booker novels. They always leave me cold.
Wish I could get back into reading, find the internet has given me a very short attention span for books just lately. Apparently they have done research into this, and people like me who use the tinties a lot, have probs with concentrating on a book. But if I leave the computer alone for few days, say on holiday, my reading pleasure returns.
J
I have never been able to read Booker novels. They always leave me cold.
Wish I could get back into reading, find the internet has given me a very short attention span for books just lately. Apparently they have done research into this, and people like me who use the tinties a lot, have probs with concentrating on a book. But if I leave the computer alone for few days, say on holiday, my reading pleasure returns.
J
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