The Alchemist (94) - a small slice of heaven

What a cracking little book The Alchemist, by Paul Coelho is. The version I have just finished was on audio, narrated by Jeremy Irons, and the text and his voice made the experience one that will stay with me for a long time. Do not be fooled by the relatively short length of this book - it has deep, deep themes. The central character is constantly referred to as "The Boy" rather than by his name. He is a shepherd in Andalusia, quietly content in many ways, learning about life through his sheep. He became a shepherd because he wanted to travel, but he's only ever done so within Andalusia, moving his sheep from pasture to pasture as the seasons come and go. Then he meets a gypsy who tells him that he will find treasure at the pyramids in Egypt. He dismisses this particular bit of fortune telling until an old man strikes up a conversation with him and tells him the same thing ... at the same time, telling him everything about The Boy's past, including things he'd never told anyone. The Boy decides that he needs to pursue his dream of further travels, or his "personal legend" as it s referred to in the book, and sells his sheep and gets on a boat to Tangier, crosses the Egyptian desert where he encounters "The Alchemist", who helps to bring him to the end of his journey of discovery. The Boy is helped along the way by many guides (not all of them in human form) who keep him on the right path and teach him how to hold on to his dreams and strive to fulfil them. Gentle, thought provoking and with the ability to take you to far off places both physically and spiritually, this is a fabulous read, no matter what your personal beliefs may be. I loved this book and know that I will reread it - particularly when I might be feeling a little down or lost. Follow your heart and live your life!

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 197 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; unabridged audio CD.

Middlemarch (27) - Life in all its glory!

Happy to report that I've got another lengthy tome under my belt. Middlemarch, by George Elliot (or Mary Ann Evans as her mother would have known her) - has the subtitle of "A study of provincial life" and is thought to be based on Coventry in the early 1830s. Full of interesting characters and a variety of plots it gives an insight into the social history of the day. There are three main stories, all linked together with skill and a light touch.

We start with Dorothea Brooke - an idealistic woman who wants to do good with her life. Much to the surprise of her sister and uncle, she marries the unpopular Edward Casaubon - a middle-aged pedantic scholar - thinking that to help him him complete his "great work" is her destiny. The marriage sours almost immediately, and her friendship with Will Ladislaw, a cousin of her husband, doesn't help. When her husband dies, he sets a provision in his will that should Dorothea marry Ladislaw, she will lose her inheritance.

Next we follow Tertius Lydgate, an idealistic doctor who arrives in town and causes heads to turn - including that of local beauty, Rosamond Vincy - niece of Mr Bulstrode, the "money" man of Middlemarch who has a dark secret. Self-centred Rosamond seduces Lydgate in the sure knowledge that marriage to him would bring her fortune and status. She is mistaken, and proceeds to make both their lives miserable.

And finally, there is Fred Vincy, brother of Rosamond. He's not the sharpest tool in the box, but has a good heart. He longs to be married to his childhood sweetheart, the sensible Mary Garth, but is thwarted in his intentions when a presumed inheritance does not actually come his way. Mary loves him right back, but until he settles down and makes something of himself rather than acting the dandy, she will always turn him down.

These three stories weave in and out of each other as the book progresses, with each little drama counter-balanced by the lighter moments of life. All experiences are covered - hope, ambition, disillusionment, redemption, grief, love and charity. There is much humour in the book and this was brought out to a great extent by the brilliant narration of Juliet Stephenson in the audio version which I read. It's a book you can get your teeth into and I can heartily recommend it, though I did think there could have been a little editing in places, with some elements being repeated ... but maybe with such a long book, we readers needed to be reminded of things every now and then in case they had slipped our minds!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 736 print pages (with very small print!)
Price I paid: £7.99
Formats available: print; audio CD; audio download; audio multimedia CD; ebook.

Wind in the Willows (16) - the trouble with toads!

I'm on a roll again (but probably not for long) - having finished another title - Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, which I read as an ebook. This is the tale of Ratty, Mole, Badger and the ridiculous Toad ... and their various exploits on the river and in the Wild Woods! The actions starts with Mole deciding to explore the world above ground, and when he heads out to do so he is very fortunate in coming across Ratty who takes him in and gives him a home and shows him the delights of the river. Bliss! That is, until Toad bursts onto the scene in bombastic style. Toad is an obsessive, silly creature. Forever getting into scrapes, he is, quite frankly, too rich for his own good and hasn't got enough to do to keep him out of mischief. When his overwhelming desire for motor cars gets him into serious trouble with the law, his friends (including the sensible and slightly scary Badger) try to take him in hand. Unfortunately, Toad thinks he knows best, heads off and ends up in prison. What a troublesome creature he is, and a difficult friend to have. Will Ratty, Mole and Badger be able to put up with his antics for much longer and will Toad ever see sense? Well, you probably already know the answer to those questions. I have seen TV adaptations of this story and cartoons, but reading the original book (although without illustrations on the Kindle version I had) is definitely the way to go. As you read, you can experience the subtle nuances to the characters and how they interact with each other, or feel about the world they are living in. This is very much a massive round of applause for nature and the British countryside. There are delights to be had and chuckles at times, although I did find it a little inconsistent at times. I would recommend this as a good (but not great) read - worth it just so that you can tut at Toad's exploits!

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 192 print pages.
Price I paid: free in Kindle.
Formats available: print; audio CD; audio download; ebook.

Guards! Guards! (69) ... light relief and plenty of chuckling!

To follow the epic of War and Peace, I treated myself to one of my favourite authors - Terry Pratchett - and book number 69 on the top 100 reads. It's called Guards! Guards! and I read it in 2 days with a great big smile on my face. When Pratchett is on form, boy is he good! This is one of the best of his Discworld books in my opinion, and features The Watch - the much maligned and ignored police force who only work the night shift in the great city of Ankh Morpork. For their own health, The Watch basically ignores the crime that goes on around them. There are less than a handful of them, all with "issues" and their chief is constantly drunk. Into this mix, comes a young innocent lad - name of Carrot - who was raised by dwarfs who discovered him as a toddler in the forest. His adopted father sends him to the big city to learn to be human. Carrot studies all the laws, rules and regulations that The Watch are supposed to uphold, and, much to the amazement of his fellow Watch members, starts to arrest people! As if this wasn't weird enough, a dragon keeps on appearing and burning people to a crisp. Can The Watch save the day and tackle the use of magic which seems to be at work here? Will they accept the help of the Librarian of Unseen University (where wizards learn their craft). Okay, so he might be an orangutan following an accident involving magic, but he does have a bucket load of knowledge gained from years amongst all those books, and has exceptional strength in those long arms. This is such a great read and I laughed out loud on numerous occasions. Great characters, great story telling - fantasy fiction at its very best.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 416 print pages.
Price I paid: £1.50 (second hand shop).
Formats available: print; audio CD; audio download; multimedia CD; ebook.

War and Peace (20) ... phew, done and dusted!

At long, LONG last, I have completed War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I read the first half as an audio book, and the second half as an ebook. I enjoyed reading by both methods, although it took me a while to get used to the names in the ebook which I'd only ever heard before and not seen written down. This is an epic in every sense of the word. The size of the book puts people off - but it shouldn't. It's not a hard read, but bowls along with plenty of action (both in war and peacetime) and has a good set of central characters - especially the Rostovs and Bezukhovs. The backdrop to the tale is the invasion of Russia by the army of Napoleon Bonaparte and the impact this has on five different families. Initially, the Russians love Bonaparte and think he's a great man and ally - but when relations between him and their own Emperor fall apart, the country starts to realise how ruthless an opponent he is and are puzzled that their own glorious army is apparently powerless to stop him. Over the years, as the action continues, we switch between the fighting at the front, and the people left behind. The two worlds are initially very separate, but they slowly become closer and closer and eventually, all the citizens feel the dreadful impact of events. Love, death, power, loyalty - it's all here. The young men dream of the glory that fighting and dying for their Emperor will give them, without fully realising the real horrors of the actual battles - no-one is left unchanged. Bouncy, playful boys become serious men very quickly, and giggling, fluffy girls become sombre women as the action continues. But it's not all doom and gloom - there is humour and happy endings for at least some of the characters. The book is full of historic facts to help place it in the time and events in which the story takes place. My only problem with the book is when the author starts to drift into his lectures on the meaning of history and power ... he can go on a bit! Overall, a book that everyone should read ... just give yourself the time and space to do so.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 1440 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99 for the audio section; £0.49 for the ebook.
Formats available: print; audio; ebook.

Brideshead Revisited (45) ... dreamy!

Within one minute of starting this book, I knew I was in safe hands. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh is almost perfect in every way - particularly this audio edition that I have just completed, narrated by the glorious Jeremy Irons! Our voice for this journey through the privileged classes prior to the second world war is Charles Ryder. It opens with him ending up in the grounds of a country house in the middle of the night - only to realise when he wakes next morning, that he's in a place never far from his thoughts, but one that he never thought he'd see again. He begins to relive the events that have taken place there, with all the members of the Flyte family - a dysfunctional aristocratic family whose Catholicism is a central theme. From his days at Oxford University where he falls under the spell of the beautiful, charming but fatally flawed Sebastian, we see him develop as both a man and an artist, as he meets and comes under the influence (to greater and lesser extents) of all the family - Lady Marchmain, Brideshead, Cordelia and especially Julia. It is, at it's heart, a romance not only between people, but also for a time and place that may never have existed anywhere except in our imagination. Charles falls in love with this family, but it's a relationship that is ultimately doomed as the social and spiritual differences cannot be ignored for ever. The characterisation is tremendously satisfying, with fully rounded and believable individuals - of which my favourite would have to be the outrageous, stammering Anthony Blanche. You cannot help but fall for the charm of these people - even though they are all far from perfect - but that's what makes them human. This book transports you into another world that you want to stay in for so much longer than you are given. It is aching in its prose and funny too. An absolute triumph. More, more, more!

My STAR rating: FIVE

Length: 326 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99.
Formats available: print, audio CD, audio download, ebook.

Brave New World (87) - somebody's paradise

What a book! Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley should be read by everyone. It's a chilling exploration of what the future could hold if the majority of humanity turned it's back on ... well, what makes it "human". This is supposed to be utopia ... no illness, no ageing, no fear of death, no violence, no family and no religion ... well, kind of! Everyone is bred in test tubes, with eggs being divided and redivided to create myriads of twins. Whilst growing up, all babies and then children are conditioned to the way of life they have been bred to live - whether they are "alpha" or "gamma" or whatever. Different types of people are "happy" with their lot, no matter how grim their work - it's what they have been bred and conditioned to think and feel. Ambition is long gone. If people do start to "feel" uncomfortable - then there is a very simple solution - they just drop a dose of "soma" and all is well once again. In effect, everyone is drugged up to the eyeballs most of the time. Whether it's work, play or recreational sex - of which there is plenty - everyone knows their place. Living in this world is Bernard, who doesn't quite fit the mould. He cannot get to grips with his place in the world and is full of resentment. When he happens upon a "savage" - a boy who has grown up in the wild - where people do get fat or sick, but do believe in God or Buddha or whatever, he brings him back to "civilisation" in the hope of glory. The savage makes sense of the world through the Shakespearean plays he has read since an early age, and which he quotes to express his thoughts and feelings. Initially excited and intrigued by this civilisation, he soon becomes disgusted and turns his back on it. This is a great book - it is disturbing, funny, tempting and thought provoking, but a great story too. More books should have this effect on their readers. This will definitely stay with me.

My STAR rating: FIVE

Length: 237 print pages.
Price I paid: £1.00 in a second hand bookshop.
Formats available: print, audio CD or download, ebook