Ugh.  I thought this was about a teen boy surfing in Australia.  I wanted it to be about a teen boy surfing in Australia.  And it was, for about 150 pages, then it goes off into a weird and extreme area that I will not mention here.  I feel ripped [...]]]> Breath by Tim Winton
2008, 218 pp.

Ugh.  I thought this was about a teen boy surfing in Australia.  I wanted it to be about a teen boy surfing in Australia.  And it was, for about 150 pages, then it goes off into a weird and extreme area that I will not mention here.  I feel ripped off because I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but then to have to be subjected to…blech.

Pikelet and Loonie are two teenage boys obsessed with surfing.  They meet up with Sando, a guy in his mid 30′s who coaches them in the sport and sometimes encourages them to go a little too far with it.  Sando’s wife, Eva, was an extreme skier but now has a blown knee.  Consequently, she’s bitter because her husband still gets to do what he loves and because he’s not spending any time with her.  Breath is about pushing everything in life to the extreme to see how far one can go.

I’m giving it 2 stars because Tim Winton is a good writer and I enjoyed all but the last fourth (which totally ruined the whole thing for me.) 

Here’s an example of a passage I did enjoy:

I will always remember my first wave that morning. The smells of paraffin wax and brine and peppy scrub.  The way the swell rose beneath me like a body drawing in air.  How the wave drew me forward and I sprang to my feet, skating with the wind of momentum in my ears.  I leant across the wall of upstanding water and the board came with me as though it was part of my body and mind.  The blur of spray.  The billion shards of light.  I remember the solitary watching figure on the beach and the flash of Loonie’s smile as I flew by; I was intoxicated.  And though I’ve lived to be an old man with my own share of happiness for all the mess I made, I still judge every joyous moment, every victory and revelation against those few seconds of living.

The narrator is Jimmy, code-named [...]]]> I love Margaret Atwood, but Oryx and Crake was just too gritty for my taste. This was compounded by the fact that I listened to it on audio. Hearing the graphic descriptions was even worse than reading it.  This was my fifth Atwood, and by far my least favorite.

The narrator is Jimmy, code-named Snowman.  Crake is a sort of Dr. Moreau figure, while Oryx is a woman caught between the two.  I don’t want to give away too many details for those who still want to read it, but if you’re squeamish about graphic s*xu*l situations (including child p*r*o*raphy), I would advise against it.  I didn’t get why it had to have that element to the story.  I also wondered why the title of the book was named that way, but in the end, I guess it was because Oryx and Crake were the two most influential figures in Jimmy’s life.

I would recommend reading other Atwoods before this one.  The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, and The Penelopiad are my favorites so far.

2003, 378 pp.

2005, 195 pp.

2005 Booker Prize

Rating: 2

This was not my cup of tea. I don’t need an exciting plot to enjoy a book. I don’t mind older men looking back on their lives. In a similar vein, I loved Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, although I hated Roth’s Everyman. This [...]]]> The Sea
by John Banville

2005, 195 pp.

2005 Booker Prize

Rating: 2

This was not my cup of tea. I don’t need an exciting plot to enjoy a book. I don’t mind older men looking back on their lives. In a similar vein, I loved Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, although I hated Roth’s Everyman. This was closer to Everyman.

Max is a widower that is overly sensitive to smells who is grieving (I guess?) over his wife. He calls her the “c” word and admits he really didn’t know her because he preferred not to know her.

Not one character in the book was likable. I guess I was lucky this was short.

1. Joy – July 6, 2007

Ahhh, I just added this onto my iPod! I didn’t like EVERYMAN either, so you not liking this one is not a good sign for me.

2. Petunia – July 11, 2007

I had the same reaction as you did. Didn’t care for it.

Rating: 2

I didn’t like this book. AT ALL. I absolutely love Beowulf, and I highly recommend reading or listening to Seamus Heaney’s version. Whereas Beowulf could almost be considered a Christian work, Grendel is nihilistic. Enough said.