Anthony Holden

Advantages: Gives an unbiased and informed view of Charles years from 40 on.
Disadvantages: None that I can think of

...Being a history addict, I am of course kept riveted by books on the subject and the story of our present day history intrigues me. Future generations will, I am sure, be hungry for accounts on the love triangle between Charles, Diana, and Camilla and the tragic outcome. Anthony Holden's account certainly, to my mind, is one of the best and most truthful. From page one onwards he holds the reader's attention with his easy to read style and colourful descriptions. Having been close to both Charles and Diana at some point, he gives an impartial account of both sides of the marital discord between them and he actually forecast that the marriage was in trouble long before the book Diana her True Story was ever written - thus incurring the wrath of the Royal Household thereafter and being snubbed from future press events (Holden is... Read review

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Advantages: Superb Characters & Timeless Symoblism
Disadvantages: Not Long Enough

...Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, has been granted his own style of slang and he sticks to it. Through out the book Salinger uses small quirks such as ‘and all’ and ‘godam’ regularly in Caulfield’s patterns of speech, as well as single words such as ‘crazy’ and ‘mad’. The sheer consistency in Salinger’s character is enough to make him, in some ways, fairly loveable. Of course, in a story then centres entirely around one character’s thoughts and attitudes, Holden Caulfield would have no choice but to be loveable to ensure the strength of the novel, which he did. Salinger’s writing style is raw, honest, and host to a rare beauty of it’s own that I am yet to experience else where. The plot is not particularly strong or important, but that is because... Read review

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Advantages: You become hooked to the realistic plot and characters
Disadvantages: Strong language, and quite short, you'll be sad to reach the end

...The Catcher in the Rye (1951) - J. D. Salinger Salinger's first, and in my opinion, his best, novel follows the journey of a sixteen year old boy named Holden Caulfield from his private school from which he has just 'flunked out' of, called Pencey, to his apartment. The novel has no real plot other than to follow Holden's life over the couple of days and to witness the events that take place. However, this is much more fascinating than it first appears! It is a fascinating read to gain the insights of Holden, and to try to understand why he behaves in the way he does. We witness the events through the eyes of the narrator, who is Holden at the age of seventeen looking back on the time from a psychiatric clinic that his parents have sent him to for treatment. Holden is a very depressed young man who after flunking out of his school... Read review

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