The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

The Book

The middle section of the Hobbit story is made up of a series of minor adventures whilst Bilbo and the dwarf's continue their journey towards the Lonely Mountain and Smaug the Dragon's lair.
Firstly there is a brief stay with Beorn, a Grizzly Adams sort of guy, who can metamorphose into a bear. He represents the wild and unpredictable nature of the great outdoors, for although he offers shelter and food, there is never the feeling that the visitors are completely safe or at ease. They remain locked indoors at night whilst the bear roams in the moonlight.

Catching Fire

The Book

I somehow expected something different from the second part of the Hunger Games trilogy. It was gripping and I enjoyed the story, but we have been here before. Once the 74th Hunger Games had ended and Peeta and Katniss had rebelled against the system, I expected the revolutionary movement to begin. Katniss would instigate mass protest and defeat the oppressive Capitol and President Snow.

Therese Desqueyroux

The Book

The book starts with Therese's acquittal at a trial where she is charged with the attempted murder of her husband and then, on her train journey back home, reviews what has lead her to this desperate act.
In just over 100 pages, Mauriac manages to convey the stifling, repressive backwater in which Therese endures her unloving husband whilst dreaming of a better life. The language is precise and vivid in order to cover Therese's past and the subsequent limitations that her husband places on her in order to maintain appearances.

Ender's Game

The Book

The interesting Reader's Game to always play with science fiction novels written in the past, is to see how right they got it.
Ender's Game was written in 1977 and is set in an unspecified future. It explores the preparation needed to establish a successful army and future leaders in preparation for an interstellar conflict.
Children are monitored for the best behaviour and thought patterns that will single out possible leaders. They are then sent to space training camps in order to teach them about strategy, loyalties and distancing emotion.

Filth

The Book

Its not often when reading a novel, that you find yourself routing for a tapeworm!
Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson is the most foul-mouthed, misogynistic, callous character I have ever come across in fiction. Filth is readable and entertaining, but I had to do it in small doses. I almost felt physical revulsion when picking up the book as I had to steel myself for descriptions of disease, sordid sex and constant swearing. Maybe it was because I was unwell at the time of reading it - not a bedside read.

The prose is very cleverly written, with some Scottish accent, varying points of view and gradual psychosis of the main narrator. The gradual slippage into the plural, as in the royal "we", signifies the narrator's breakdown and duality of viewpoints - but is it the tapeworm or is it a further split in Bruce's personality?