captainfez's reviews
1052 reviews

Patrick White's third novel meditates on age and sanity. The story of a spinster's descent into dementia, it's at times - well, not so much challenging, but just tedious - but the ending is well worth the journey.

More experimental in some passages than other of White's works, but ultimately quite fulfilling. Theodora Goodman is a fairly sympathetically-drawn character, and it's with mixed emotions she is farewelled.

Sprawling book that's part self-examination and part small-town love-letter. Funny, though unfocused.

Calvino writes on the multiplicity of meanings, on perspective, on society and in a way favoured by Boccaccio, Ariosto and Chaucer... but with a twist. Tarot, muteness and interpretation - by writing - all play their part in these two short, yet clever, collections of tales.

An autobiographical work, this still reads like fiction, though it's plainly not. Drewe's look back at a murder he was associated with (in the way of small towns) evokes a strong sense of place, and of outsiders.

A great book. Rayner's tone is just right for the subject-matter - ludicrously expensive (and occasionally awesome) dining. Not as acerbic as AA Gill, there's still enough barbs in here to keep any lover of reviews-as-bloodsport happy.

Recommended.

Enjoyable juxtaposition of Poe, a notable murder, and penny-paper skulduggery. Not as hugely serious as it could have been, this is a light look at some grim subject-matter.

If you're interested in Poe the guy (as opposed to merely his writing) then it will hold your interest.

Though not quite as lengthy (or involved) as The Quincunx, Palliser's earlier novel, this Victorian pastiche creates enough red herrings and switchbacks to ensure that interest is always sustained.

If you're male, you really need to read this book. Robinson's grasp on the feel of the fight, on its lineage and its motivations is finely nuanced and shot through with humour that can be missing from the topic. A vital take on a tricky subject (with helpful diagrams to ensure that you NEVER use a haymaker) that combines experience with levity, Fight is a book that revels in arsekicking, written by a guy who was prepared to have his arse kicked in order to let you know what it's like to be beaten by the best. It's easily one of the best tomes on the much-maligned pugilistic arts.

Brilliant. Gill's observational skills are put to eviscerative use. For anyone who's a product of Empire, this is a must-read. The chapter on war memorials (and the musings on Goths) are essential.

A great pastiche, this thing has pirates, Blackbeard, the Fountain of Youth and a whole lot of swashed buckles. It's the inspiration for Lucasfilm's series of Monkey Island games, and is well worth your time.

I've heard rumours of this story being adapteded for a possible next PotC movie, but I wouldn't hold my breath.