Anybody reading anything good?
I'm reading "What Came Before He Shot Her" and I am not enjoying it at all. It is rare for me to not finish a book, but I don't know if I can continue to slog through this one.
I have enjoyed George's other books - she writes British police mysteries featuring Inspector Lynley. In her last Lynley book, his wife was shot and killed by a young boy. This book delves into what brought the boy to the place where he killed another human being.
We meet Joel Campbell, a mixed race boy living in London,at age 11. His father is dead, his mother is in an asylum, his uncle died of AIDS, and his Gran has just dumped him and his siblings on his Aunt Kendra - the only member of his family trying to make something of herself. His younger brother is "not quite right", and his sister is angry and on the road to destruction.
Because we know how the story will end - with Joel, a decent kid, falling so far that he murders a woman - it is just depressing to read about the horrors he must deal with on a daily basis - gangs, drugs, poverty and violence. I don't enjoy reading about a good kid getting picked on while trying to defend his brother, and I'm at a loss as to why I should finish the book.
Can anybody suggest something more interesting and enjoyable to read?
posted by Diane at 11:04 AM
7 Comments:
I'm not much of a reader, but this one sounds like a page turner to me!!
Just tech magazines and books. Geeky stuff.
I'm reading W. J. Cash's "The Mind of the South" which I don't recommend unless you have a real interest in the subject. I've just started listening to Stanley Karnow's "Vietnam: A History" on my ipod (it's my longest book to date--something like 38 hours). I recently read and really enjoyed Wallace Stegner's "Crossing to Safety" (it's fiction)
Rereading Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne. It's a book I bought years ago for the cover, and have enjoyed it every 12-24 months ever since.
I second Ffleur's recommendation. It really is a great book, engaging and entertaining.
In the same vein I would recommend THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon. A quicker read, but also very original and refreshing.
And if you've ever thought about reading a graphic novel, check out WATCHMEN by Alan Moore.
I just reread one of my favorites - "Don't Wake Me at Doyles" by Marura Murphy. It's a memoir of an Irish women who had one heck of a hard life. She was married to a hard drinking womanizer, had nine kids and was terribly poor but she is so feisty and funny. She really made me experience what her life was like which is the whole point of a memoir. I don't know why but it really spoke to me.
Thanks for all the suggestions - - I'll check them out.
I have read Pi and Dog in the Night and really, really liked both of them . . .
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