George and I were exhorted by his mum to read some books written for the younger reader. I have three offerings so far, the first of which is Treasure Island. I'd never read this before, never seen a film of it, and I finally understand who Blind Pew is. This is a great swash-buckling adventure, although, I have to say, I think I enjoyed the beginning when Jim Hawkins meets his very first pirate at least as much as I enjoyed the second half of the book when he's creeping around the island humming 'fifteen men on a dead man's chest' (or so I imagine that's how he creeps). An oldie but a goodie.
Second, is a book I have read before, but could barely remember: Hideous Kinky. The title confuses everyone; yes, it *is* a children's book; the two girls in it just happen to really like those two words. This book transports you all the way to Marrakech and its young narrator tells you of her adventures with her big sister, Bea, as her mother does a whole bunch of stuff that, reading the book as an adult, seems pretty irresponsible. However, since I discovered recently that the story is actually autobiographical, I shan't publicly question the mother's actions further. I tried to list my favourite bits, but there are just too many of them; this is a great book which makes Morocco seem all the magical since its wonders are seen through the eyes of a small child.
Thirdly, (appropriately enough) comes the third book in a series: Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse. I know, I'm a Classicist; this is probably why I find these books so enjoyable, as I notice all the little references (which are clearly put there for Classics teachers to find), but my pupils love these books too, so there must be more to them than self-congratulatory allusion-spotting, I don't want to spoil the first two books, so shan't say too much, but basically, dark forces are rising against the Olympian gods and it's up to their (very much put-upon) illegitimate, half-blood children to save the day. One of the things I really loved about this book in particular is that the gender balance was right on the money - in the previous two books there is one excellent, prominent female character, but there are two male ones - in The Titan's Curse the girls are running the show. It's a shame that we're so used to there just being the one main girl that having equal, or superior, numbers of female main characters is comment-worthy, but there you go. The whole series of books is highly enjoyable and well-worth a look; they're a quick read and a great reworking of the Classical myths.
Check in next time for some seriously screwed up fiction!
G xxx
Books completed in chronological order of reading:
Stabat Mater, Tiziano Scarpa (2011)
Facing Violence, Rory Miller (2011)
Un Lun Dun, China Mieville (2007)
Open Secrets, Alice Munro (1994)
The Dragon Queen, Alice Borchardt (2001)
Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Walters (1998)
The lost books of the Odyssey, Zachary Mason (2007)
The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien, (1937)
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman, (1991)
The Hypnotist, Lars Kepler, (2012)
The Strain (2009), The Fall (2010), The Night Eternal (2011), Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, Philip Pullman (2010)
Angry White Pyjamas, Robert Twigger (1997)
50 shades of Feminism, ed Lisa Appignanesi et al (2013)
Further Voices in Vergil's Aeneid, R O A M Lyne (1987)
The Journal of Dora Damage, Belinda Starling (2007)
Hideous Kinky, Esther Freud (1992)
Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse, Rick Riordan (2007)
Disgrace, Jussi Adler Olsen (2012)
Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson (1883)
Romanitas, Sophia McDougall (2005)
Selected Poems, Sophie Hannah (2013)
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