Book Reviews

I’ve been reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett for almost two weeks now and I haven’t even reached page 50 yet. It’s supposed to be “utterly brilliant”, “immensely readable” and “outstanding” but the mixed up narrative and Southern vernacular aren’t really drawing me in as much as I had anticipated which is a shame because I was craving a good story seeing as the last books I’ve read weren’t that impressive.

It all started with The Adventuress by Audrey Niffenegger which I had been coveting for quite some time. It’s a beautiful and luxurious book but the story is nonsensical and even idiotic. Her trademark physicality and dreamlike atmosphere are already very much an issue in Niffenegger’s first novel in pictures which is illustrated by elegant aquarelle drawings. The story on the other hand, is just a feeble concoction which has the sole purpose of tying her artwork together, such a shame.

I read The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks next, expecting a fast and fierce cult classic. How wrong I was. Granted, it’s pretty gruesome at times but this supposedly shocking tale about a sixteen-year-old killer wasn’t all that. When it was first published 25 years ago it may have been a ground breaking piece of literature but now, even the so called twist at the end wasn’t all that surprising. Still, it was an interesting look inside the head of a very troubled kid.

If I’m still dragging myself through the narrative at page 100, I’ll just quit The Help. I’ve got a couple of dozen books competing to be my next literary lover anyway so…