Modern Fiction Books > A Modern Fiction Books

Challenges the mind at any age.

Advantages: Works well as a children's fable or a political satire alike.
Disadvantages: Some of the characters are played down from their political inspiration.

I read and studied Animal Farm back in secondary school and did well in my exam for English literature based in part upon it; but I thought it time to revisit with the old favourite and see how time and life experience had altered my outlook. For those who haven't read Animal Farm, it is a political satire on the Russian Revolution and the rule of Stalin and ousting of Trotsky, after the death of Lenin in 1924. It like Orwell's later novel 1984, ...
...of political corruption and the decay of humanity brought about by power seekers of the higher classes. Though in contrast to 1984, this is seen to be a light hearted fable and a children’s book on one level, because of all the funny animals, especially the crazy pigs that end up becoming all too human by half! It's hard to imagine these two elements fitting together in one story, but that demonstrates Orwell's remarkable talent as a writer and his ...

Callinore 20.07.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Animal Farm - George Orwell

Atonement - Tragically slow-moving

Advantages: Good, strong characters, and detailed descriptions.
Disadvantages: Slow-moving, and quite a disappointing ending.

I read this book after watching the film adaptation of it, and plodded through it mainly to see what happened at the end - as I heard it was different. I loved the development of the characters created by McEwan, the depth he goes into when describing different aspects of each characters personality is fascinating, and by the end of the book I really felt like I could relate to the characters. I found that his description of the settings and the ...
...something to marvel at. What did disappoint me, however was just how exhausting it is to read. Probably because of the immense depth of description, the story moved along very slowly indeed. Frankly, the ending disappointed me, it had none of the emotiveness of the film adaptation's ending, where I was expecting it to be more powerful. I cannot quite bring myself to rate this book any lower than three stars due to the literary talent of McEwan, ...

chloe-goes-bang 25.02.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Atonement - Ian McEwan

A String Quartet + Rekindled Love = An Equal Music

Advantages: The writing, the setting, the music
Disadvantages: The characters are not sow ell defined or likable

I bought this book, An Equal Music by Vikram Seth, for the grand sum of one penny on the basis of a review written by Floon. I was enchanted by his description of the storyline and the author’s writing style. I was not disappointed. The author, Vikram Seth states, in an author’s note located on the last page of the book, that, “Music to me is dearer even than speech”. To convey this, he focuses his novel on the world of music and its performance. ...
...loaned to him indefinitely by an elderly family friend, Mrs. Formby his inspiration to play. His possession of the violin is challenged by her money grabbing family who want the violin back. To find out how the subjects progress and develop the book must be read. Will Michael and Julia remain together? Will Julia come to terms with her deafness? Will Michael lose his beloved violin? Vikram Seth weaves the subjects together using music as the theme ...

MAFARRIMOND 28.08.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of An Equal Music - Vikram Seth

Good Grief!

Advantages: A beautifully written compelling story.
Disadvantages: The "stream of consciousness" writing can be difficult to get into.

On a whim Alice Raikes takes a train to Edinburgh to see her family. She has only been there a few minutes when she sees something which she finds so upsetting that she immediately boards the train back to Kings Cross. Within hours she is hit by a car in London traffic and is taken to hospital in a coma. Was this an accident or a suicide attempt? What was it that she saw in Edinburgh that so upset her? Her family gathers at her bedside as Alice drifts ...
...in a series of flashbacks. When I first started this book I made the mistake of picking it up now and again when I had a few minutes to spare. I read about sixty pages in this way and realised that I had no idea of who was who or what was happening. Events are not presented chronologically, you see. Sometimes Alice is the narrator, but at other times the story is told in the third person. If you are going to read this book, allow yourself an hour ...

SueMagee 14.12.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of After You'd Gone - Maggie O'Farrell

Well Worth Bothering With

Advantages: Funny, easy to read.
Disadvantages: None

...and ability to make such a tale an absolute page-turner, I knew his next one would be a must read. Strangely enough, though, it took me nearly three years to read A Spot of Bother. My brother lent me the paperback version, and it then went on to sit on my book shelf for far too long. He kept asking me if I had read it yet, to which I would reply No, and therefore fear that I may get into a spot of bother because of this… But during a recent holiday ...
...So what about A Spot of Bother? This is the story of the dysfunctional Hall family. 57 year old George is suffering deep anxiety and is slowly going mad, not before finding out his wife is having an affair, which sends him further over the edge. Jean Hall is having said affair with George’s ex work colleague David. Their daughter Katie has announced she is going to get married again, this time to a man all the family hate and whom she wonders ...

Borg 15.08.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon