Book review: The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

So, I decided to stick to the historical theme for my next read and ended up plumping for an Oscar Wilde book. I've never read anything of his before but thought it was about time I continued my literary education. I had a vague notion of the storyline of The Picture of Dorian Gray before I started it, but still wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

The concept, for anyone not familiar with it, is that Dorian Gray has a portrait of himself painted when he is in his early 20s and he wishes the picture would age rather than him. Much to his surprise, this happens, paving the way for him to lead a destructive life without having to deal with the consequences on his appearance. That does not, however, prevent his soul being corrupted and it's interesting to see the ways in which his cruel nature are expressed.

Ultimately, I very much enjoyed the book and found the transformation of Dorian incredibly compelling. From a naive, vain youngster he evolves into a selfish, cruel man whose only purpose in life is to experience the pleasures of the world, regardless of the personal cost - or the damage it may do to others. I went from feeling slightly sorry for Dorian at the start to actively wishing his demise would come, which, of course, it does.

The other thing I liked about the novel is that Wilde doesn't feel compelled to detail many of Dorian's misdeeds, instead, he hints at his secret life away from high society by suggesting rumours and dropping small hints of information here and there and through lengthy philosophical conversations between Dorian and his close friend, Lord Henry.

It's not a particularly fast read, but it's one I would recommend if you have the patience and desire to go back to some of the classics.

Book review: The Somnambulist

The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

I'm going to come straight out and say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was one of those random buys (for me swayed by the name and the book cover - kind of a moot point as I bought it for my Kindle but, in all honesty, I'll probably pick up a hard copy at some point) that turned out to be fantastic.

I love it when that happens - when you totally judge a book by its cover and somehow it turns out to be wonderful. Admittedly, there have been times when I've thoroughly regretted spending money on something because of its cover, but swings and roundabouts.

Anyway, back to the Somnambulist - a story of love, loss, and I suppose life in Victorian England. The main character - Phoebe - is instantly likeable and I found her to be very human. You see her learn from her mistakes and become a better person for it. The situation she's thrown into isn't of her own making, which just makes you root for her all the more as you want to see her overcome the obstacles that have been put in her path.

There are (of course) a few twists and turns along the way and, I have to say, one of the things I loved most about this book was, that at a certain point, I honestly could not tell whether I'd get the happy ending I so desperately wanted or one that was incredibly bleak - I'll leave you to read it and discover which way it goes.

Essie Fox manages to capture the essence of Victorian theatre - with all its outward appearance of glitz and glamour while behind the scenes the reality is often very different. She tells the story beautifully, giving you just enough hints that you could work stuff out yourself, but not so many that the truth is screaming at you from the pages.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read and one I'd definitely recommend! (So much so that I'll probably be buying it in paperback to go on my bookshelf). 

Review: The Istanbul Puzzle

The Istanbul Puzzle by Laurence O'Bryan

I'm pretty sure this is one of the books I stocked my Kindle with when I first got it around Christmas time because it was on offer - and it turned out to be a reasonable buy. This isn't the most amazing book you'll read all year, but its definitely entertaining and kept me interested until the final page.

The best way I can find to describe this book is to think of The Da Vinci Code, set in Istanbul rather than London and without Dan Brown's intensely irritating writing style (apologies to any Dan Brown fans out there, I know there are lots of you, but I just don't get it!), and then add a splash of Indiana Jones.

In some ways The Istanbul Puzzle is somewhat formulaic, you realise pretty early on that the main character - Sean - and the attractive Isabel from the British Consulate will end up being more than just friends, but that doesn't make the ride any less enjoyable.

There are lots of twists and turns and our heroes find themselves in some near-death situations, sometimes in rather bizarre surroundings. But I think the thing I enjoyed most about this book was O'Bryan's ability to conjure up the streets of Istanbul. I've never been to Turkey and in all honesty never had a burning desire to, but having finished this book I'm very intrigued by Istanbul and will definitely be adding it to my 'must visit before I die' list.

The story very much focuses on all the history of the city and I'd like to think there really are secret chambers and underground churches hundreds of years old that have yet to be rediscovered by modern civilisation nestled under the thriving metropolis. As with a lot of adventure/thriller novels, the story does seem to get a little far-fetched, but it's nice that it stays primarily focused on the main characters, with brief deviations to ensure you've still got a grip on the overall picture.

I enjoyed it and would recommend it if you're looking for a relatively light read that will keep you entertained. Apparently the author is working on a sequel and I'm not sure how well it will work if I'm honest. The way the characters become involved in the international terrorist plot is relatively plausible in this novel, not sure how he'll manage it with a second book, unless they get hired by MI5 or something similar.

Review: The Turtle Boy

The Turtle Boy by Kealan Patrick Burke

Ok, so I've had a productive reading day so far - finished a Dickens novel it's taken me the best part of a month to get through and then powered through a novella by the name of The Turtle Boy. If I remember correctly, this was a freebie on Amazon, so I don't feel as though I've wasted my money.

I'm not entirely sure how to describe this book, I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up and I'm at a bit of a loss about how to write about it now.

It starts with two boys at the start of their summer holidays, who encounter a strange and deformed kid near a local pond. Another local girl later reveals she's also seen the weird boy and he gets the name the Turtle Boy - because the pond is apparently home to a load of turtles (there's a bit more to it than that, but basically that's where it comes from).

The whole book is told from the point of view of 11 year old Timmy and, as an adult, you quickly realise his best friend Pete is being physically abused by his father. The first half is relatively straightforward and then it goes, well, just a bit surreal.

There's a big storm, Timmy's dad goes out to have a talk with Pete's dad after he's rude to Timmy and his mum, tension builds, the power gets cut, he's been gone ages - you get the idea. So, Timmy, his mum and his friend Kimmie go to look for his dad, only he's not at the house. Then (obviously) Timmy realises they've gone to the pond. This is where I started to find this story totally bizarre.

Timmy runs off to 'save' his dad, only to stumble out of the storm into a bright summer's day and witness the murder of the kid they dubbed the Turtle Boy around a decade earlier by the pond. The assailant doesn't have a face, which made me initially think Timmy had just fallen asleep and was having some weird dream - or maybe had succumbed to hypothermia or something and drifted into a coma. But no, apparently he's just found the ability to see the dead (and their memories? I wasn't quite sure on that point).

Fast forward back to the future, the storm and the pond. Timmy's dad is fighting with Pete's father, who pulls a gun, at this point, the ghost of the dead kid appears, summons an army of turtles and sends them off to apparently attack Timmy's dad (I think the implication is that he may have been the man who murdered the Turtle Boy, but it's hard to say),Timmy intervenes and instead this hoard of marauding reptiles turn on Pete's dad, who, incidentally, has just killed his son.

The ending seemed incredibly rushed, as if the author had got a bit bored of the story and decided to just stop (although he has published other books about Timmy, so maybe I just need to read some of those to find out more). There were questions left hanging that, I imagine, are meant to make you pick up the next book in the series straight away - but I just don't want to. I don't really care that Timmy can now see the dead, or that his dad might be a murderer. I'm also slightly confused as to how he suddenly has the ability to see ghosts, while Kimmie, who also saw the Turtle Boy, apparently doesn't (again, maybe all is revealed in the next book?).

In all honesty, I don't think I'll find that out. I'm just going to chalk this one up to an experience and move on, thankful that I only spent a couple of hours reading it rather than a couple of weeks! On the plus side, while the story was strange at best and a little hurried, at least the author's writing style didn't irritate me, I'll say that for him. Sadly, his characters just didn't grab me and I didn't feel I had enough time to get to know any of them enough to actually care what happened in the end.

Would I recommend this book? Probably not, unless you particularly want to read about a hoard of vicious turtles - I've always found turtles to be quite friendly personally, but maybe that's the difference between marine and freshwater species, who knows? It's a very quick read, and it's free and those are its two best selling points for me!

Review: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

I have to admit that, until the BBC announced its adaptation of Dickens' unfinished work, I'd never heard of this book. But, having watched the version broadcast around Christmas, I felt compelled to read it for myself and draw my own conclusions.

For those who, like me, were ignorant of this Dickens novel, here's a bit of background. Dickens died before completing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, aptly leaving it as a genuine puzzle. There are plenty of theories about what actually happened to Edwin and even societies dedicated to this end! But, ultimately, none of us can know what Dickens intended for his title character.

That said, I think the BBC did a pretty good job with their adaptation and even if you disagree with their ending, I felt they managed to stay true to the spirit of the characters in the novel.

So, to the actual book. Firstly, it's a Dickens novel, so if you don't get on well with his style of prose, you're probably best to leave this one on the shelf (personally, I think you'll be missing out, but that's just me). One of the things I enjoy most about his writing is the description, its detail and the wonderful ways he has of painting incredibly vivid pictures in my mind. A personal favourite from this novel is the passage about Mrs Crisparkle's cupboard and its contents - wonderful!

As to the story, it's compelling, which makes it somewhat frustrating to see it end before you've really got a handle on the mystery. The basic premise is that young Edwin Drood disappears leaving little trace, with his uncle John Jasper (who's definitely got a dark side) assuming murder and blaming Neville Landlass, a relatively new arrival to the town of Cloisterham. His accusations are based on quarrel between the two men some months earlier.

Throw into the mix the wonderful character of Mr Crisparkle - an advocate for Neville - Rosa (Edwin's betrothed) and her guardian Mr Grewgious, as well as Neville's sister Helena and the intriguing Mr Tartar and you've got an excellent cast of characters to carry you through the story. I much prefer it when you get halfway through a book and realise you actually care what happens to the characters. I genuinely worried about what would befall Rosa when Mr Jasper came to visit her alone. I really wanted Neville to be able to prove his innocence and I was grinning from ear to ear when Mr Crisparkle stood up to the odious Mr Honeysuckle.

That's what sets good writing apart from the mediocre and downright rubbish - that decades or even centuries after something's been written, you can still identify with the characters and feel as though you've developed a relationship with them, after all, emotions don't change.

So, would I recommend reading The Mystery of Edwin Drood - absolutely, especially if you enjoy Dickens. Do be prepared for a very deflated feeling when you reach the end of the prose, though. The story is beginning to gather pace and then you're left with nothing but your own ideas about the outcome - not something you can blame anyone for, but frustrating nonetheless.