Usually I abandon a book because it's badly written or so crass that I haven't got enough lifetimes to waste. But this is different and, perhaps, unusuUsually I abandon a book because it's badly written or so crass that I haven't got enough lifetimes to waste. But this is different and, perhaps, unusual. My Name Is Red is in short chapters, each one acting almost as a stand alone story but, as you get into it, the stories become linked into the search for a missing illustrator (who we already know is dead). The language used is colourful and rich. the whole thing reads like the Arabian Nights... But I found that I couldn't read beyond three chapters at a time. the language is perhaps TOO rich, or too (I'm searching for a word and have to finally come down to) formal. About a third of the way in I felt that reading was becoming a task and not pleasurable. I'm slightly sorry that I've abandoned this book but... well I could be dead before I finish it....more
I can't believe that a writer with Ken Follett's reputation wrote something as poor and cliche as this. I haven't read any of his other books but goinI can't believe that a writer with Ken Follett's reputation wrote something as poor and cliche as this. I haven't read any of his other books but going on this, I don't think I ever will. The style is naive - single, short sentences that aren't developed in any way whatsoever so that there is no literary skill or attempt to grip the reader - unless Follett thinks that the amazingly poor storyline will do it all for him. It reads (or at least the first few chapters read) like some rushed detective pulp fiction full of cardboard characters that escaped from a poor 1940s movie. I am genuinely saddened at the paucity of the writing and story-telling here....more
There comes a point when you ask yourself, "Why am I reading this rubbish?" and you wonder if you've got a desire to dwell in the ninth circle of juveThere comes a point when you ask yourself, "Why am I reading this rubbish?" and you wonder if you've got a desire to dwell in the ninth circle of juvenile boredom or get back to adulthood. There will be people who will (have) like (liked) this and I feel happy that they are so easily satisfied, but reading a poorly written mish-mash of Highlander and some B-Movie that deserves to be forgotten, is not for me. If you've got a life to waste, prove me wrong....more
There comes a point where you decide that life is too short to read poorly written books. The story is a cliche, the relationships are cliche... So sad.
I hate abandoning a book but sometimes it just has to be done - life is too short. Streets of Warsaw is poorly written, it reads more like a book inteI hate abandoning a book but sometimes it just has to be done - life is too short. Streets of Warsaw is poorly written, it reads more like a book intended for teenagers in that the characters and descriptions are very one-dimensional. I'm sure there are people out there who would persevere with this book and even enjoy it... I'm afraid I'm not one of them....more
Cards on the table - I wanted to read this because I was watching, and really enjoying, the TV series. I'm not stupid, I knew it would be different buCards on the table - I wanted to read this because I was watching, and really enjoying, the TV series. I'm not stupid, I knew it would be different but ... oh how disappointing! For a start, how poorly it is written. I can't quite put my finger on why I felt that, perhaps it was the strange sentence structure, perhaps the way the story unfolds as if written for young children (almost Enid Blyton - except she's a better writer), I can't quite place it. What I found REALLY disappointing was that constant, nagging, irritating thought that what I was reading was a poor imitation of "Lord of the Rings"... and it is. I persevered - more than half-way through - and then a kindly angel tapped me on the shoulder and said "Life's too short!" Now don't get me wrong. I'm sure that there are people out there who will really enjoy this just as there are people out there who would totally dislike some of the books I rave on about, but it just wasn't for me... so disappointing....more
Strangely this is a book I abandoned because it irritated me, not because it was unreadable (as in "so badly written I wanted to eat my head" or "usinStrangely this is a book I abandoned because it irritated me, not because it was unreadable (as in "so badly written I wanted to eat my head" or "using a language that made it undecipherable") but because it was so episodic. I was on page 36 and I'd read eleven chapters! Eleven! There are over 140 chapters in the book and only 400 pages! It had so much potential to be an average read... what a shame....more
The first thing I have to say is that it might just have been me but, on the other hand, I've abandoned very few books and, in each case, it's been beThe first thing I have to say is that it might just have been me but, on the other hand, I've abandoned very few books and, in each case, it's been because the author has lost my interest due to his trying to be too clever by half. A book should be fun to read, or interesting. It might be difficult to get into but in the end it has to hold your attention and pull you to the end (even if, at that point, you wonder why the hell you even persisted!). It's not as if this book doesn't have all the ingredients to hold my interest; alternative Victorian England, conspiracies, murder, a mysterious island... a royal family that are all lizards (nothing new there, then)... so it takes some real skill to make me put the book down after every chapter in order to do something more interesting like having a lobotomy - or sawing my leg off! I started to dread that moment when I would pick it up again to try and wade through the treacle... There's just too much going on, too many characters, too many clever playings-about with the titles of the works of other authors - he's just so full of his "clever" ideas that it's like drowning in them rather than getting on with the adventure. God! There was a whole chapter on the cleverly-played-about-with street-cries of London and another walking through a freak show in a museum where our hero had gone to play chess with an automaton (which sounds interesting, so how the hell did he manage to make me feel glad THAT one was done and dusted!). ... and then I had a revelation! Don't bother! So I didn't... Phew!...more
I love Witkiewicz as an artist. His drawings are expressive and have a touch of insanity about them. I had also read about this book and gone to so muI love Witkiewicz as an artist. His drawings are expressive and have a touch of insanity about them. I had also read about this book and gone to so much trouble trying to get hold of it so, you can imagine, I was really looking forward to reading this one... Oh dear! Perhaps it's my age. I found this book difficult to get into but was prepared to give it a go... I struggled. It starts as a pseudo-intellectual self-analysis of adolescent sexual desires and religious belief, of relationships with parents and friends. A tantalising reference to war and communist invasion is thrown in but most of that first chapter, and indeed the one that follows (which is set in an aristocratic party) the words just begin to merge and I found contemplating my navel much more stimulating. Pompous words and ideas just roll off in some sort of autonomous writing experiment... I reall did lose the will to live! Life is too short! ...more
I abandoned this book three-quarters of the way through. It's the language... why spoil a potentially good story with convoluted language?I abandoned this book three-quarters of the way through. It's the language... why spoil a potentially good story with convoluted language?...more
I have to admit that I abandoned this book very soon after starting it... too clever by half in the way Burgess uses language and thus makes it too diI have to admit that I abandoned this book very soon after starting it... too clever by half in the way Burgess uses language and thus makes it too difficult for the reader to enjoy! I've read books where the language is sometimes tricky but the only one that has worked, in my opinion, is "Riddley Walker". I was so disappointed with this book - it promised more than it could deliver!...more
Imagine time as a series of floors in a building, of travelling up and down the lift connecting these floors in order to "correct" faults and maintainImagine time as a series of floors in a building, of travelling up and down the lift connecting these floors in order to "correct" faults and maintain some sort of stability in the timeline... I found the book very entertaining.
Many years later I revisited this book. They say you shouldn't revisit the past as what you find there will never match up to your memories... How true. I had fond memories of this book (as can be seen in my summary above) but now... The language is so stilted. The storyline so out-of-date. I abandoned it, frustrated and bored. The past is another country... don't go back! Actually... that's not totally true! There are many books I've reread, sometimes several times. I suppose I'm disappointed because this wasn't the book I remembered so fondly.... Oh well....more
Mieczyslaw
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