dreynoldsbook's reviews
106 reviews

In. by Will McPhail

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I preferred the humorous first half of the book to the maudlin second half. There’s a bit of an odd message. Man fakes sadness because he can’t feel anything. Then he is sad because of tragic turn of events. So, he had that coming. But now he’s a real person so that’s okay. 🤷‍♂️

I think the cafe life had something going for it personally.
The Infatuations by Javier Marías

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mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Marias had such a unique voice. This novel is half recounting a story and half imagining what might have happened, might have been said. It’s very cerebral and philosophical. It’s not going to appeal to every reader. Especially in an age where long meandering sentences are frowned upon. Marias is definitely a storyTELLER. Reading his novels is a nice change of pace from the contemporary norm .

The only problem I found was that everyone spoke in a similar  dry and analytical manner. But you have to accept that it’s quite a stylised novel, not naturalistic.
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet

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funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The main character and her alter ego Rebecca is/are a wonderful creation. Her voice (voices?), is constantly engaging and funny. As a consequence the novel is a delight to read. Entertaining throughout. It could have been in bad taste but never is. It’s funny about mental illness but not by laughing at those supposedly ill. 
The Best of Our Spies by Alex Gerlis

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adventurous informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The first two thirds of the book are  good spy thriller stuff with a mix of fact and fiction. At times character seemed to be sacrificed for the plot and it was often contrived. The character of Nathalie wasn’t very convincing. I think the author was reluctant to portray her as a nazi so it seemed like that was behind her when the novel started. But then her actions didn’t make sense.

It was difficult to care too much about the last third of the book with secondary characters having suffered far more than the main protagonists.

 
The Ministry of Fear: An Entertainment by Graham Greene

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a reread. I read most of Greene’s novels in a short period in the 1990s.

I don’t remember it being quite so dark and unsettling. The portrayal of Rowe is fascinating. The novel is all about him, the espionage plot is quite unlikely and often tenuous. (When and how did beautiful young Anna fall in love with creepy old Rowe?) 

I can’t believe only 18% of reviewers thought the novel was character driven! What would a character driven novel look like then? 🤔
Agent in Berlin by Alex Gerlis

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adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Entertaining and tense WWII spy thriller. The way the end links back to the beginning is neat. Occasionally the author’s attempt to lever in historical details are a bit clumsy and unnecessary.
The Man of Feeling by Javier Marías

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’m very glad authors like Marias exist, who reject the vogue for short snappy sentences and action oriented prose as prescribed by countless how-to-write a novel books and creative writing courses. His meandering sentences sometimes left me confused but I put that down to me being a product of my time, so used to those short snappy sentences.

It’s a short dense novel that will stay with me. 
The Berlin Exchange by Joseph Kanon

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Another tense and nuanced Cold War novel from Kanon. Not his best as it gets a bit corny and cliched.

If a character coughs in a book it means they’re dying, if they go to the loo it means they’re up to something.
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

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adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Entertaining and thought provoking stories. As much fantastical as Science Fiction. Think Twilight Zone but more philosophically profound.
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I remember watching the film of this book in the 1980s. My main recollection is of the dreamy atmosphere of the picnic. I think that will be my main memory of the novel too. It meandered afterwards following the fate of characters you hardly met. I felt that the author didn’t know where to go with the novel after the picnic.

It’s probably worth reading for the first half though.