City of Thieves By David Benioff

Sorry for the long absence, but it has not been wasted! I have got a number of new reviews to post for all the books I have been reading over the past few months.....well the ones worth reviewing anyway!!!

So here goes.....

City of Thieves by David Benioff

David Benioff has written a couple of books in his literary career, neither of which I have read. In fact until I bought this book I had not heard of him. I have heard of films he has screen written, like Kite Runner and X-Men etc. I was in Tescos and I spotted a paper cover on this book that claimed to give the buyer 2 free books if they did not enjoy the book. Intrigued I took up the challenge. Obviously there was an end date to this offer which well exceeded the time it would take to read the book, so I thought, "Hey, read it and then trade in in for a couple of new ones..." Whether or not I did this will come later!

The book is set in one of the coldest winters in history in a war torn city under German siege. The main characters, shy Lev and charismatic, risk-taker Kolya are thrown together in a mission to find a dozen eggs in a week in order to be forgiven for their crimes.

The back cover didn't fill me with too much enthusiasm...mmmm a story about an egg hunt they say? But my curiosity took the better of me and I began reading.

387 glorious, heart-pounding, riveting pages later I dropped the book into the hand of my husband and said READ!! It was brilliant.

Without giving the plot away too much and thus ruining the read for others, I can tell you among the content the young men encounter cannibalism, brothels, murder, desperate hunger, capture, Nazis and bonds so strong they will change their lives. I have not read a book so fast in a long time.

Usually my husband and I differ greatly on books and when I thrust a book into his hand insisting he read it he rarely gets to page 50 before giving up and returning to his own favoured genres. City of Thieves proved a rare exception to this rule. I have since passed it on to another 4 family members and friends and have not heard a bad review yet. Needless to say the book is still in my possession, and I intend to carry on circulating it!!

I never did want the free ones in exchange!!

Fashion Babylon by Imogen Edward-Jones & Anonymous

If you love fashion, love the catwalk and the labels and the gossip then this is the book for you. In the same series as Hotel Babylon, this book uses a fictional designer to deliver true tales from behind the scenes of the crazy fashion world.

How do those models stay that thin, who is taking what, why do the seasons change, who decides what??? The list is endless. You feel, by reading this book, that you are eavesdropping on a delicious conversation about all the famous household names. We all aspire to look good, but at what cost will the industry go to keep our interest?

It is a naughty, gripping, revealing no-holds-barred-sneaky-peek behind the scenes of a world most of us will never be lucky enough to grace!

I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read others by this author.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Catch 22 is a satirical novel set in world war 2. I didn't have a clue what to expect from it, other than it was most popular in the "best books" lists I browse on occasion. These usually tweak my curiosity and I bought the book with no preconceptions...well only that it was considered one of the greatest literary creations to come out of the 20th century. No pressure there then!

It mainly follows the plight of Yossarian a Bombardier, and many others from his squadron. Although on the whole I know little about the American involvement in Italy, the satire was not lost on me and even to someone who knows little about the army, the book entertained me page by page.

Catch 22 itself is a contradictory military rule where one cannot win. The desired outcome is unattainable. For example, Yossarian wishes to be grounded from his flight missions in the grounds that he is crazy. The Dr informs him that he could ground him due to him being crazy but the fact he has told the Dr he is crazy actually points to the fact that he is sane. To fly more missions would mean he was crazy but to ask to be grounded due to insanity means you are rational enough to know the danger you are in therefore you are sane! Due to this catch 22 no crazy man who asks to be grounded because of insanity can actually be grounded because by asking they are classed as sane!

Mind whirring brilliance!

Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen

The story revolves around Elinor and Marianne, two daughters of Mr. Dashwood by his second wife. They have a younger sister, Margaret, and an older half-brother named John. When their father dies, the family estate passes to John, and the women are left in reduced circumstances. The novel follows the Dashwood sisters to their new home, a cottage on a distant relatives property, where they experience both romance and heartbreak. The contrast between the sisters' characters is eventually resolved as they each find love and lasting happiness. Through the events in the novel, Elinor and Marianne find a balance between sense (or pure logic) and sensibility (or pure emotion) in life and love. (Taken from Wikipedia.com...couldnt have said it better myself!!)

Sorry but this book was so awful in my opinion I couldn't bear to review it. All women seem to do in those days is sit brooding over which loser of a man is in love with them or become utterly devastated when something doesn't go right with said gentleman! They should have had a version of the Jeremy Kyle show in those days to go and spar it out! I couldn't take all the unnecessary drama!

In it's favour it was very beautifully written with wonderful use of English. Shame the content was like dull dishwater!

Sorry I think I have just massacred a classic! I feel strongly though, I have to warn people not to waste days of their precious lives reading this twaddle.

I should have had more "sense" not to read it! Never mind.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has become a classic much loved across the world, so I was curious to see what the fuss was all about. The themes that threw themselves at me were certainly morality based issues affecting many of us today, which is why i think the book has remained so popular.

As Scout and Jem grow up in their innocent child-world, life full of game and adventure with Dill, their father Articus Finch seems old and dull in comparison. The children spend their days tormenting the Radley house to catch a glimpsp of Boo Radley who no one has seen in years, and of whom rumours around the children are rife.

Articus, the moral hero of the book who's integrity and warmth are one of my favourite things about the novel, warns them off the Radley "adventure" they are on and the children slowly begin to open their eyes to the prejudice in their town.

Mirroring this prejudice, the children become increasingly aware of the case of Tom Robinson. Their father is representing him in a trail where he is accused of raping a local girl. The evidence is stacked in his favour, but the colour of his skin is not.

The children witness the atrocious behaviour of many of their so-called friends and neighbours and begin to see Articus in a different light.

Although the battle is lost before it is fought, Articus displays an unnerving defence for poor innocent Tom. The battle is subsequently lost, but the war is not. Though his rigorous and righteous battle for Tom, the community in which they had almost lost faith in seem to be moving some step forward thanks to this event.

It surfaces afterwards that Articus was not the only soldier fighting this war and others in the community have influenced the turn of events.

The readers eyes are opened to a corruption and evil present in all our societies. One would hope we all had a good sized share of Articus Finch's courage within us.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a thought provoking, impact-fulled read so relevant to our world today.
Sometimes a story though the eyes of a child makes more sense than any other.

A Town Called Alice by Nevil Shute

This book tells the story of Jean Paget an English woman who spent time in the war as a prisoner walking the country of Malaya as a walking prisoner. As the group of women trek from one place to the next surviving on what they can and dying as they walk they meet an Australian man called Joe Harmen who goes out of his way to help the women, especially for Jean and subsequently finds himself crucified by the Japanese for stealing some chickens.

Believing him dead when Jean is finally back in the UK she tries to get on with her life. The story told by her solicitor and friend Noel Strachen, unfolds as Jean comes in to a huge amount of money and returns to Malaya to those who helped her survive in the war and builds them a water well. During this time she discovers that Joe did not die and is back in Australia. Jean ventures off to Australia and Joe in the meantime is searching for her in England...all very frustrating. She travels through a prosperous town called Alice Springs and when she gets to the town Joe is from Willstown she eventually with Joe (who eventually returns, joins her and begins a relationship) builds the town up and keeps building until it is a prosperous town to live in attracting many others to come and work there.

It wasn't as good as i thought it would be. I have heard much about this book and when i read it I found it tedious in places and not gripping at all.

6/10

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

Three Secrets. Two Women. One Grail.




Alais from 1209 and Alice in 2005 are both on a journey and their destiny's are entangled. It is set in the French town of Carcassonne and the two women in their own times have fought to find the true meaning of the grail and protect its secrets.


The book, chapter from chapter, swaps between the time zones, making the story flow very cleverly but giving two totally different worlds a bond between each other.


The symbol of the Labyrinth causes intrigue and mystery as they seek to fulfil their respective destinies.



If you like a very in depth descriptive and intricate storyline, then this book will suit you well. It featured in the famous Richard and Judy reading club, which is how i got to hear about it. Reviews were mixed but on the whole positive towards the book.

I enjoyed it but it wasn't as compelling a page-turner as I have read before. I enjoyed the unfolding of the mystery but found some elements of the short a little unbelievable which spoilt it slightly for me. On the whole I would give the book a 6/10.