1973: The Princess Bride

Book Name: The Princess Bride

Author: William Goldman

Genre: Fantasy

Year Published: 1973

   The Princess Bride has been one of my favourite films since I was about 11 or 12. So, er... quite a while. The book, potentially obviously, enjoys many of the same qualities of the film: humour, action, romance, sword fighting, revenge and magic all rolled into one. Even if you haven't watched it, you may recognise the famous lines, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" It's a film that seems to be well known and well received by anyone who likes films, and so I believe this should also apply to the book. 

   The dialogue is fantastic; I even enjoyed the way the story is broken up William Goldman's discussions of how he chose to abridge the original book by S. Morgenstern. Now, hopefully this isn't really a spoiler, but I feel the need to point out that there is actually no original Morgenstern. The whole backstory is also fiction and is purely used as a framing device. If you've seen the film you'll know that it begins a grandfather reading "The Princess Bride" to his grandson. Occasionally the film is interrupted by discussions between those two, and in much the same way, the book is interrupted by William Goldman. Rather than being annoying though, I felt it added more to the book, and made it feel more alive and more interesting. 

   Coming back to the dialogue itself; I found it flowed really well, and really made the characters come alive. In particular, if you have watched the film, you might find yourself surprised by how closely the book matches it, right down to the speech. The lines in the film are exactly the same in almost all cases, and you may find yourself reading them in the actors' voices! This is largely due to the fact that William Goldman did the screenplay, meaning that the adaptation works much better than other books which have been made into films, with the most common issue being cuts to the storyline. 

   It's hard to say how much I would have enjoyed The Princess Bride if I hadn't been such a fan of the film. Usually I prefer to read a book before watching the film, but in many cases, it doesn't seem to make a difference to my enjoyment of it whichever way round I discover a story. The fact is that The Princess Bride is an excellent story, in both film and book form, and I think that although I might have found Goldman's interruptions strange and perhaps even annoying at first, that the actual story is interesting and compelling enough that I would have enjoyed reading it regardless. It also works well as a satire of a large number of genres, which means it covers most bases for all kinds of readers. I can imagine some people won't like the Morgenstern abridgement aside bit as much as I did, but please, give it a try anyway; maybe you can just skip over those bits if they're bothering you. 

   Now I realise I'm starting to ramble a bit, so please excuse me whilst I go back to pretending to be a swashbuckling pirate.

Other Books I Considered: Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut
Books I Read Inbetween: How to Train Your Dragon - Cressida Cowell; Ubik - Philip K. Dick; The Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett

1951: The Day of the Triffids

Book Name: The Day of the Triffids

Author: John Wyndham

Genre: Science Fiction

Year Published: 1951

   So... Day of the Triffids. This is a book I've certainly heard of, but really had no idea about. I realise I've said that about a few of the books now, but I guess that's why I chose them. There's an awful lot of books out there which I keep thinking, "I really ought to have read that". It's one of the reasons I started this challenge. To force myself to read outside my comfort zone and discover why certain books are now classics and why people still enjoy them many years after they were written. Probably even when I finish this list, I'll still have hundreds more books to read, but at least I'm making a start!

   Now, before reading this book, I had a vague idea that the triffids were plants and I think I was probably expecting a story in which people were chased by giant plants for most of it. Without spoiling the plot too much, I'd like to say it's a lot more in depth than that. In fact the triffids really don't feature as much as I was expecting. As it turned out, it was more horror for me than sci-fi, with the main aspect of the book being the fact that the vast majority of people are blind. 

   Being blind is something that scares me a lot. It's like being scared of the dark, it's not specifically the dark you're scared of, but the fact you can't see properly. Whilst the book focuses on characters who have been spared from blindness, there is a consistent reminder throughout of how deeply this epidemic has affected the populace, as over time society quite literally crumbles. On top of that, the survivors have to deal with the threat of the triffids, who are now infesting the countryside with no-one to control their spreading.

   I love the way Wyndham created this post-apocalyptic world, and how his characters react differently to the chaos they've been thrown into. Their viewpoints on how to deal with having the society they've been brought up in being destroyed produce some very interesting conversations. I particularly liked the way it made me think about what I might do and how I might feel if a similar situation should occur. Would I want to save everyone? Or would I focus on rebuilding the world and saving only a few? I'm still not sure. Either way, I recommend reading it and maybe you can decide for yourselves. Just hope that if it does happen, there aren't any triffids.

Other Books I Considered: The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
Books I Read Inbetween: The Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness; A Dance with Dragons: Dreams and Dust - George R. R. Martin

1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Book Name: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

Genre: Science Fiction

Year Published: 1968

   Labelled on the cover as "the greatest science fiction epic of our time", 2001: A Space Odyssey certainly had a lot to live up to, and I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint. Written in 1968 concurrently with the also popular film version, it contains elements which have really stood the test of time when it comes to our thoughts and ideas of what space travel will be like in the future. The brief synopsis is that having discovered signs of intelligent life which existed prior to ours, a mission is launched to investigate the further reaches of our galaxy.

   I had seen the film quite a long time ago but I had forgotten pretty much everything except a couple of images I won't discuss as they are very plot-centric. As such I was starting this book with only a vague notion of what it's about. Whilst the stories are fairly similar between the film and book version, there is one big difference, that being that in the book they travel as far as Saturn, whereas the film only takes us to Jupiter.
   The book is split into large sections which are then divided further into chapters, breaking up the novel nicely. I'll touch on the first section - The Dawn of Man - here, but I don't want to give away the whole plot. 2001: A Space Odyssey actually starts way back in time, when our ancestors first learnt to use basic tools. In Clarke's vision, apes were exposed to a monolith which helped them on their way to intelligent thinking. This idea alone should give you an idea of the level of sci-fi in this book. It's nothing ridiculously complex; in fact all the ideas put forward about future technology, such as high functioning A.I., tablet computers not unlike modern day iPads, and spaceships capable of reaching distant planets, are quite reasonable and believable.
   I think this is what makes the book so easy to read and interesting to absorb. Clearly a lot of research was put into it to help create the lifelike descriptions of the ship as well as space travel in general and it's clear to see. Overall, it is a very interesting what if science fiction novel, with a little action and a lot of thought-provoking material. Highly recommended.

Other Books I Considered: His Master's Voice - Stanislaw Lem; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick; Escape to Witch Mountain - Alexander H. Key
Books I Read Inbetween: The Art of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson

1961: Catch-22

Book Name: Catch-22

Author: Joseph Heller

Genre: War Fiction; Black Humour

Year Published: 1961

     Catch-22 is a book I've been meaning to read for a long time and just never got around to. Honestly, I didn't even know much of what it was about before I read it, but I'd heard lots of people recommend it and the fact the book title has even made its way into regular English speech was very interesting in itself. As it turns out, it's set in Italy during World War II and deals with a wide range of characters and their experiences whilst serving there.
     Catch-22 as we use it today is basically a dilemma which you can't escape from, because one situation conflicts with another. In the case of the novel's main character, Yossarian, he must be insane if he keeps flying combat missions, but if he requests to stop flying them, he is clearly sane and must keep flying. Thus a large part of the novel revolves around the initial theme of Yossarian trying to get out of the war.

    The way in which the story is written is excellent, particularly the way the chapters centre on different characters and weave back and forth through time, yet without causing undue confusion. Somehow Heller has made it flow perfectly, and it is very interesting to read about a situation from one person's viewpoint, and then to come across the same situation in a later chapter, but recalled by a different character. It is also peppered with dark humour, which I wasn't altogether expecting from a war novel, and which made it very enjoyable reading. 

    Of course, along with the humour, there are less pleasant sections of the book. It is set during World War II after all. Deaths abound, as well as societal issues such as poverty, prostitution and isolation. For every bit in the book that makes you feel like the characters are having a jolly old time, it is countered by a frank reminder of where they are and what is happening around them. It really is an excellent depiction of what the war was like for those involved, especially when you consider that Heller himself served in the war, flying 60 combat missions on the Italian front. 

    Overall, I would highly recommend this book and hope that my description has been fairly accurate - it was a very difficult book to describe! A few parts here and there at the beginning may need to be reread, as I didn't get how the book was laid out straight away and it was a little confusing initially. In the end though, the way it oscillates between humour and sadness, past and present is really what made the book for me. It is absolutely worth persevering though, it only gets better.

Other Books I Considered: The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster; Solaris - Stanislaw Lem; Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein
Books I Read Inbetween: Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? - Lemony Snicket

1966: Flowers for Algernon

Book Name: Flowers for Algernon

Author: Daniel Keyes

Genre: Science Fiction

Year Published: 1966

   Flowers for Algernon was originally published as a short story in 1959, but as the full novel was published in 1966, this is the year I am using for my blog. It's described as science fiction, but it's not what I would typically think of for sci-fi - nothing too futuristic or over the top, but rather very much based in real life with the possibility of a medical breakthrough. As such, it was fairly easy to read and to connect with the characters. As the novel is split up into diary entries and progress reports, it was also good for dipping in and out of. 

   The book itself concerns the story of Charlie Gordon, described in the book as a retard or moron, who wishes to become smart so he can be like other people and have lots of friends and enjoy talking with them. On the advice of his teacher, he takes part in an experiment designed to increase his IQ, which has been previously only been used on animals, such as the mouse, Algernon. The experiment is a success and after a short time Charlie becomes extremely intelligent, though his emotional abilities don't develop quite so quickly. I won't go into it much more than that, as I don't want to spoil the book. 

   It is interesting to watch Charlie change through his progress reports and diary entries. At the start of the book there are many spelling mistakes and a lack of grammar which may make the initial pages difficult to read, but following the experiment his writing slowly changes, as spelling improves, punctuation appears and new, difficult vocabulary is introduced. At some points towards the middle of the book it became a little hard to read without going back over the sentences a few times, as Charlie's intelligence rises significantly. Fortunately the story line continues to be compelling and interesting enough to keep you going back for more. 

   Flowers for Algernon was also an emotional read, due to its treatment of the mentally disabled, and particularly the way people view Charlie and Algernon. They are thought upon only as experiments, rather than living beings. Charlie, who so wanted to become intelligent so he could converse with his friends, finds that people were not always as kind as he believed, and as the book develops he has many insights into his past, changing his view of co-workers and his family, amongst others. He struggles to integrate into society and turns to drink and solitude as his IQ increases. 

   Overall, it was very engaging and the epistolary style in particular made it enjoyable to read. Whilst it was sad in places, it was also interesting and thought-provoking, making it well worth a read for anyone in my opinion. If you find yourself getting stuck towards the middle, be assured, it picks up again quickly. Apparently the novel has also been made into a film - Charly - though I've not seen this yet, and I also understand the book differs a little from the original short story. Whichever version you choose, I'm sure you'll come away feeling a little differently about the world.

Other Books I Considered: Mott the Hoople - Willard Manus; Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann
Books I Read Inbetween: The Blackhope Enigma - Teresa Flavin; Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

1997: Audition

Book Name: Audition

Author: Ryu Murakami

Genre: Horror, Romance

Year Published: 1997

   Audition... This was a weird book. I mean, I figured it was going to be from the fact it's described as being both a romance and a horror novel. Those two don't generally go together. Written by Japanese author, Ryu Murakami, and also a film (which unfortunately I haven't seen yet), this was a pretty good read overall, though it had a lot of build up to a short climax. Maybe a fifth of the book has something that's really interesting happening, the rest is just filler/descriptions.

   The storyline is an interesting one. Aoyama is a single father, his wife having died some years ago, and his son suggests he get a new wife. This results in an audition being held on the pretence of finding an actress for a film, but with the real goal being for Aoyama to find a nice lady. Enter Yamasaki Asami. Aoyama quickly falls in love with her, though his friend thinks there's something a little odd about her and she doesn't seem to have any friends or family... Also there's a guy in a wheelchair who freaks out when he sees her. But who cares about that? She's clearly the most wonderful woman in the whole world. 

   You may get the gist that this is the romance part. If you don't like spoilers, at least know this. The bit at the end really is the horror part. It's very short-lived, but pretty bad. If you're squeamish or anything like that - don't read this book! It may seem like a lovely romantic novel. It isn't. You've been warned.

   That aside, I would say it's a shame really the horror part wasn't longer somehow. The romance part of the book is nice and all, but it's rather long in getting to the point, despite the writing being really smooth. The descriptions are well-written and it's easy to imagine yourself there in the moment, but after a while it just doesn't have a draw to keep reading. The good thing is, it's short. So if you have a few days spare, you can easily read and enjoy it. I do recommend reading it. But it's not one you're going to want to come back to again.

Other Books I Considered:The Bone Collector - Jeffery Deaver; Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier; In the Miso Soup - Ryu Murakami; Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden; A Song of Stone - Iain Banks; Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
Books I Read Inbetween: The Moth Diaries - Rachel Klein

1912: Daddy-Long-Legs

Book Name: Daddy-Long-Legs

Author: Jean Webster

Genre: Epistolary

Year Published: 1912

Daddy-Long-Legs is an epistolary novel, meaning it's written in the form of letters. All of these letters are from Jerusha (Judy), an orphan who is sent to college by one of the asylum's trustees, who chooses to remain anonymous. She is tasked with writing to him about her progress and the book therefore consists of said letters, in which, knowing nothing about the man, she addresses him as Daddy-Long-Legs, because she glimpsed him once at the asylum and recalls him as tall and skinny. 

I'd been requested by someone who reads this blog to put a short piece concerning what the novel is about at the start of each review, but I have to say I find it a little difficult and clunky to write these kind of blurbs. I hope the above suffices... I'll try and do a better one next time, and maybe with practice they will get better! 

Now, I really liked this style of writing. I've read similar books before which used letters, e-mails, texts and other media during the novel to convey how relationships between characters were progressing, but I don't think I've read one in which the entire novel was based on them. I remember thinking at the time that they broke up the book nicely, in a new and interesting fashion, because I wasn't used to books doing that I suppose, but of course this book was written quite a while ago in 1912 so it's clearly not a recent concept.

It was strange at first having all the letters be from Judy to Daddy-Long-Legs, without any responses from him. I liked the way you could clearly read her emotions in her letters, from confusion at being in a new place, to frustration when he didn't respond to her, to her happiness or sadness when things occurred in her life - all these things were expertly conveyed in the writing. As the letters are sent over 4 years you get to really see the changes in Judy's life and learn a lot about her as a character. It's a lot more intimate than the relationship you might develop with a normal novel's characters therefore. 

Now, the next paragraph is going to consist of a MASSIVE SPOILER. So if you don't want to read about the novel's culmination you're best off skipping to the bit where I've written "spoiler ends" further down in capitals. 

During the book, Judy befriends and indeed falls for a man - Master Jervie - who is the uncle of one of her contemporaries at college. She writes a lot to Daddy-Long-Legs about him of course, as well as everything else that is going on her life. At the end of the book, it is revealed (though there are a few clues here and there earlier on) that Daddy-Long-Legs is in fact Master Jervie. I couldn't decide honestly whether this whole book was therefore really weird or not. It's kind of nice of course that he's sent her to college and they end up falling in love etc. but at the same time she goes on about how well they get on together and he likes the same things as her and so forth and all I can think is Well, of course he knows all about you because you write to him every week about everything you're doing and what you're interested in! So I guess it's a little creepy in a way...?

SPOILER ENDS

Despite the strangeness of the book's ending, it was still fun to read, very light and good pacing. I read quite a lot of it at a time which is always a good sign, and there was no point at which I struggled and thought I didn't want to carry on reading it. Anyway, if you read the bit in the spoilers paragraph and have read the book, I'd love to know your thoughts... If you haven't read it, read it and then let me know! So undecided!

Other Books I Considered: Greyfriar's Bobby - Eleanor Atkinson; In Desert and Wilderness - Henryk Sienkiewicz; The Crystal Stopper - Maurice Leblanc; Riders of the Purple Sage - Zane Grey