Sorry, not been in here much, but there's a lot going on right now even if my city is a bubble.

I really enjoyed The Builders. Tigers spoiler is exactly what I would have written down. Once the library is open I will check for more of his books.

Want to add that I really enjoyed how visually the book was. The length of chapters made it really easy to build that little scene up in your head. I've always had a weak spot for the Wild Wild West, and this was great.


Haven't started on the next one yet, I will soon hopefully.

I popped back on here to message someone a few days back and saw this here book club. So being the rude, yet literate bastard that I am, I invited myself. 

Started on The Builders as I thought I'd have no chance of catching up otherwise. Really enjoyed it, was very much rewarding during the read without a huge amount of depth. Moreso, About 100 pages into The Narrow Road..always reserve judgement until I've finished a book but the lack of quotation marks is eating away at me. I need to get out more.

Cheers Raiziel. Don't want to queue jump, so happy to go behind any of the more frequent posters. 

The main protagonist is 

Hello Stoph! My copy of this arrived today.

Stopharage wrote:

The main protagonist is 

Spoiler:

a bit of a toad so far.

Definitely sounds like The Builders...

I've gone audio book for this month as I think I'd struggle to engage with it otherwise.

Well the second third of it is pretty brutal. I write want to get back to Australia now...

Finished June's book! Raiziel has finished too per above, how are others getting on? I'm interested in others thoughts!!

Bonus trivia: Christopher Priest wrote The Prestige, which another Christopher turned into a movie.

I think I just got past the 200 page mark. I'm also have a lot dreams that feature mud. Not sure if it's related.

Haven't even looked at it so no idea at all yet! Was more your hatred of the first book and the suspicious "Yep..." above.

Ruh-roh

It's open season on last months book, so unmarked spoilers are now allowed.  Share your thoughts!

I think Muzzy might be anticipating that I didn't like The Narrow Road to the Deep North.  Well I've got news for you, buster: you'd be right!  But also wrong.  I really liked a particular part of The Narrow Road; the part that was the most focused, the most traumatising.  So the middle third of the book, which takes place in Burma, feels like the vertical slice of a better book we never get to read.  If the narrative had perhaps been a more traditional reflection on the horrors the POWs suffered in the jungle it would have been a more engaging piece.  But instead that really juicy filling is topped and bottomed by some thick, anaemic, doughy bread.

So it's the story of a life instead, then.  One scarred by regret.  But oh wait, it's also the story of some other lives too.  I mean the whole thing around that excellent jungle part felt so baggy and unfocused.  For my tastes Flanagan casts his net too widely, and a lot of the things he drags up just aren't all that interesting or engaging.  His love affair with Amy is too fleeting for me to care about once the story has moved on, and I'm also less inclined to care because Dorrigo isn't much of a sympathetic character.  In fact I think Darky Gardiner was the only character I found myself caring about throughout the entire story.

Flanagan wields his words well, and I found myself effectively transported to that jungle hell for the book's second act, so I can't help but wonder what could have been if he'd focused in on that.  But then what to I know.  It won the Man Booker Prize after all.

I’ve nearly finished now I think. As I mentioned earlier, I went audiobook for this and I’m glad I did. (I generally have two books on the go, one audio for while I’m out running and one physical/kindle). It’s not the sort of book I’d normally read, I would probably have bounced off it or taken twice as long to get through if I’d been reading.

It’s the sort of book that rewards your full attention. You get dragged into the often harrowing scenarios, which Flanagan seems adapt at describing with just the right amount of detail. Christ it’s a grim old book though.