John Le Carre novels have never been something that I have enjoyed reading. I tried Tinker, Tailor but found it the same as this - plodding and wordy, dialogue heavy and with little action.
It starts promisingly, with a Muslim immigrant turning up in Hamburg and claiming an inheritance from a private British bank, that was accrued by his father through nefarious means. The plot follows lawyer for the displaced and regugees, Annabel Richter, and banker Tommy Brue as they are reluctantly used by British and German politicos as pawns in a larger chess game to catch a jihadist funder of terror operations.
If it wasn't for this blog, I don't think I would have persevered with the book, as it was dull and added very little in the way of revelations to the war on terror.
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Saturday, 7 February 2015
If I Stay
Another Young Adult novel following on the heels of Fault in Our Stars that also features teenage love and tragic death, but falling short.
The family breakfast idyll, where a disappointing snow storm gives the excuse for everyone to skip work or school, soon shatters when they are involved in a tragic car accident. Both parents are instantly killed and daughter Mia is rushed to hospital in a critical condition. It is frustratingly unclear what has happened to her younger brother, Teddy. Mia continues to tell the story of her treatment at the hospital and the various ways in which family and friends cope with the bereavement via an out-of-body experience. The question is does Mia have anything left to live for now or should she let go?
Interspersed with the current timeframe are Mia's reminiscences of her family and blossoming first love with Adam. Mia and Adam both share a love of music, as she develops as an accomplished cellist and he as a guitarist in a rock band.
The family breakfast idyll, where a disappointing snow storm gives the excuse for everyone to skip work or school, soon shatters when they are involved in a tragic car accident. Both parents are instantly killed and daughter Mia is rushed to hospital in a critical condition. It is frustratingly unclear what has happened to her younger brother, Teddy. Mia continues to tell the story of her treatment at the hospital and the various ways in which family and friends cope with the bereavement via an out-of-body experience. The question is does Mia have anything left to live for now or should she let go?
Interspersed with the current timeframe are Mia's reminiscences of her family and blossoming first love with Adam. Mia and Adam both share a love of music, as she develops as an accomplished cellist and he as a guitarist in a rock band.
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