The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

A quick rundown… This is the story of Achilles as a youth and in the Trojan War, told from the eyes of Patroclus.

Strengths: Easy to read, I learnt something about the Greek mythology.

Weaknesses: Some parts were a little drawn out and lost momentum.

Why I read it: Given to me for review by Bloomsbury – thank you!

Pages: 368

Published: 2011

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Setting: Greece

Rating: 8 out of 10

If you liked this, try: I can’t say that I’ve read anything like this before!

The photo of the cover of this book doesn’t really do it justice – it is golden and gleaming, so much so that I received comments about the beauty of this book when I was reading it in public. One girl even asked to check the name and title – she wanted to buy it there and then! There appears to be a lot of hype about this book, and I would say that it is justified.

I’ll say now that Ancient Greece is a little too old even for my historical tastes, but I was pleasantly surprised how the author, Madeline Miller made it easy to understand Greek mythology without dumbing it down. For the first time, I now understand more about the characters, whether they be human or gods. It’s easy to understand the roles of each character according to where they are in the social structure and why they behave the way they do. I didn’t know very much about Achilles and Patroclus before reading this, but it was so clearly defined, I’m sure I could explain it to anyone now! Miller writes very well, painting a clear scene in few words. She’s also very good at getting the reader to read just one more chapter, one more page – the book is alternately sad, tender and gruesome but always genuine. She treats her characters with the utmost respect. She obviously has an excellent knowledge of this subject and the ability to teach us non- Greek scholars!

One thing to be aware of is that this book does contain homosexuality between men, but not in explicit details. (Unsure if the relationship portrayed is historically accurate, but Miller paints a loving, consenting relationship). There are also the fantastic elements of ancient Greece here – centaurs and gods, but these blend in seamlessly.

I received this book courtesy of the publisher – thank you Bloomsbury!

Atonement by Ian McEwan

A quick rundown… A young girl’s statement changes things for the rest of her family forever. How can she atone for her sin?

Strengths: The different types of writing in each part, the raw desolation of the war.

Weaknesses: The ending makes you want to immediately flip back to the front and start again.

Why I read it: It’s a movie and the book won lots of prizes.

Pages: 351

Published: 2003

Publisher: Anchor

Setting: England, France.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

If you liked this, try: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

It’s difficult to know where to start in this review of Atonement – many people are familiar with the book and many more have seen the film with Keira Knightley (I haven’t; I thought Keira played Briony, not Cecelia). It seems from a small amount of research I’ve done (i.e. asking friends) that opinion of Atonement is divided – you either love it or hate it. I’m one of the former, so you’ll need to excuse me for my gushings.

Briony is a young girl, determined to put on a play with her cousins for her brother’s homecoming. But over the course of one day, everything changes and Briony tells a lie, which affects the rest of her family. Both she and her older sister separate from the family as they grow older, but the events of that day are never forgotten.

This is the first McEwan book I’ve read and I was told by others to be patient, that his books grow on you. While lyrically beautiful, it did take some time to get used to the style of this first section, which is quite floaty and dreamlike (and I’m told, in the style of Virginia Woolf). It also reminded me of how a hot summer day feels – kind of endless and somewhat detached. I enjoyed this, but didn’t rave about it. The second part, which describes WWII in detail, was sharply focused and graphic in comparison to the first section. I really also enjoyed Briony’s trials as a nurse – it was unsympathetically confronting. This was where I was hooked, with the shocking turn of events. And the ending…well, I felt like flipping back to the front and starting the book all over again. It made me question everything I’d read previously in the book – which of the characters were not to be trusted? Were there any holes in the story? McEwan leaves the reader to try to figure this out rather than join the dots. It’s a little frustrating, but it certainly ensures the reader will be thinking about the book long after it’s finished.

There are some light moments in this book – the khaki green Amo chocolate bar for the soldiers for instance, but most of it is about one events and how everything after is distorted – possibly forever. It is painfully slow in some places, but picks up in others. Well worth the rewards if you persevere.

Coventry by Helen Humphreys

In a nutshell… The story of two women the night Coventry was bombed during World War II.

Strengths: Conveys emotion of that night well, excellent prose.

Weaknesses: Too short!

Why I read it: Sounded interesting

Pages: 177

Published: 2009

Publisher: Harper Collins Canada

Setting: Coventry, England

Rating: 9 out of 10

If you liked this, try: Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans

Coventry may be more aptly described as a novella, given its slim silhouette, but its content certainly punches well above its weight. It is the story of two women who meet initially during World War I, but the majority of the plot takes place during the night of the Coventry bombing during World War II on November 14, 1940. This is the story Harriet, a widow from WWI, now a substitute firewatcher on the roof of the cathedral who meets Jeremy while trying to escape the city. Their night of near misses and helping out complete strangers is in contrast to Maeve, Jeremy’s mother, who anxiously awaits his turn before going out to look for him herself.

I read this book in only a couple of days, but its impact is much stronger. The author has an excellent use of language in re-creating the scene of the bombings, right down to the fear, smells and sights in only a few words. It’s incredibly visually descriptive. It also captures the emotions very well – from fear to anguish to confusion during that night. The characters are well written and the reader bonds with them, crossing our fingers with Maeve that Jeremy makes it home, and feeling Harriet’s loneliness. There is an allure and mystery to their backgrounds, but not so much so that it leaves a gap in their character.

I wasn’t familiar with the Coventry bombing before reading this book but after doing some research, I found that this book is very accurate, down to the names of buildings that were destroyed.

If I had to sum up this book in a single word, that word would be powerful. This skinny little book brings to life a page from history. It’s definitely one to be taken off the shelf and read, preferably in a single sitting. It will haunt you for a long time afterwards, with the terror of the bombing and fires and the power of the Coventry people to survive and grow from that night.

These are pictures from the bombing, courtesy of Wikipedia:

The day after – Winston Churchill visits the remains of the cathedral (where Harriet and Jeremy were firewatching)

Owen Owen, the department store that is mentioned in the novel is centre here – burnt during the bombing

The Siege by Helen Dunmore

I came to read The Siege in rather a roundabout way. I bought the sequel, The Betrayal, at Singapore’s Changi airport with my last Singaporean dollars due to its interesting cover and its Stalinist Russia setting. Settling in to read this book at home the next day, my first thought was ‘Uh-oh! Sequel!’ Thanks to the wonders of ebooks and the interest, I was able to download The Siege from Kobo and start reading in under 10 minutes. A store can’t beat that!*

The Siege covers the Leningrad siege during World War II – the winter of 1941/42 to be precise. We start as the war becomes closer to Leningrad through the eyes of the Levin family – Anna, her father Mikhail and younger brother Kolya. Anna’s mother died in childbirth and Anna has had to miss university and take up a position as a nursery school assistant while looking after Kolya. She is the practical one; her father is a writer and dreamer, eternally watching and waiting to be taken away as he has fallen out of favour with the government. As things worsen, Anna is forced to search for food, ending up in strange and dangerous circumstances. Mikhail is injured and is looked after by his former flame, Marina. Fortunately for Anna, there is one bright spot in her life: Andrei, a medical student. But will they survive the siege?

While I didn’t find the portrayal of the siege as harrowing as that in The Bronze Horseman (probably because I knew what was going to happen) it was still powerfully written and it’s a testament to Helen Dunmore that I carried on straightaway with The Betrayal. It’s written in the present tense, so it’s like the plot is unfolding before you, like a play. This does make it seem a little detached at times, but the tone of starvation and fear still comes across very powerfully.

Read it if: you’re interested in the Russian people’s perspective during WWII.

* Absolutely nothing wrong with bookstores (this is a hot topic in Australia at present) and I do support my local bookstore well financially as well as investing in ebooks.

Blossoms and Shadows by Lian Hearn

Ugh. I don’t really know how to say this eloquently but here it is: this book sucked. Dreadfully. It had so much promise – Japan, historical fiction, a strong female character, a beautiful cover…and yet I had to force myself to read it. It was boring, I couldn’t keep track of the characters and it jumped around a lot. I think I know even less now of the samurai era than before I started.

Blossoms and Shadows is set in 1860s Japan, as Westerners began to enter the country and Japan itself was in a revolution. We follow Tsuru, a doctor’s daughter, as she grows up, gets married and works in war-ravaged Japan. She has an illicit relationship with a family member while pretending to be a man, suffers a breakdown, goes back to her husband and eventually adopts her sister’s child. Tsuru occasionally disappears during the book and we follow a Japanese historical figure for a chapter. I found this particularly difficult as I couldn’t keep track of their names (and I studied Japanese for six years!) nor did they have a lot of meaning or anything memorable to keep them in my head.

While beautifully presented, this novel has little to recommend it. Perhaps if you are already familiar with this period in Japanese history, you might enjoy it. Tsuru is an uncomfortable character, chopping and changing in sex, her ambition and loves. It’s hard to follow and frankly, quite boring. 

Read this if: Frankly, I wouldn’t.

2 out of 10.

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

When you open a book to find a list of characters and who they all are in relation to each other, you know you’re in for a big read. Even just looking at this huge book (all 985 pages of it, which is rather difficult to lift casually with one hand) made me realise it wouldn’t be the type of book I could read in a few days. However, it was certainly worth it.

Fall of Giants is the first in the Century trilogy and the second and third books will be released in 2012 and 2014 respectively. Each book will deal with a war and the same set of characters and their descendants. So it is worth learning that list of characters after all!

This book deals with the First World War, but eases the reader in slowly to the events leading to the war from the English, German, American and Russian sides. I have never come across a better explanation of the events from the assassination of Franz Ferdinand (not just a band) to full blown war. It was written so well and in an interesting fashion that it didn’t seem like boring old history. The book then continues into through WWI, broken down into months or days when something significant happens. It covers all aspects of the war – soldiers on each side and family at home sensitively.

The characters are also memorable – from English Maud, who falls in love with German Walter, to Grigori, the Russian soldier trying to achieve his dream. Each character is drawn well and I found that I rarely needed to refer to the list of characters at the front of the book. Real historical characters, such as Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill, also appear and interact with the fictional ones.

If I had to find a fault in this book (apart from the weight), it would be that it is more slow moving than A Dangerous Fortune but it is unfair to make the comparison. The slow build really does set the scene and reinforces the characters in your mind.

I really enjoyed this book and I hope that the next one comes soon, although I think I’ll buy it as an ebook!

Read it if: you want an in depth account of the First World War from multiple sides and memorable characters.

9 out of 10.