Winter Reading: Book Reviews

I thought I’d get around to reviewing some of the books I read over the winter holidays. There are few activities that are more relaxing than reading by an open fire on a comfy sofa whilst sipping various blends of tea, with milk and no sugar…

The rating system is as follows:
α α α α α = Life Changing
α α α α = Classic
α α α = Good
α α = Average
α = Was thrown on the fire (or it will be)


Brave New World: Aldous Huxely
My rating: α α α α

Quite simply this book is a masterpiece. I think it should certainly be added to the list of books one must read in their lifetime.

The book uses the powerful device of a rather strange futuristic utopian world as a medium to comment not only on capitalism but on societies and their aims as a whole. The novel is set in the year ‘693 After Ford (Henry Ford that is)’, where babies are produced through a process in factories, any mention of parents or mothers is blasphemy, recreational sex and drugs are strongly encouraged, members are conditioned in their sleep by a form of hypnosis, a strong hierarchical society exists and everyone is happy all the time.

In the early stages, the reader can’t help but think the book is simply going to be a stinging criticism of Capitalism, and this impression is reinforced by the names of the main characters: Bernard Marx and Lenina. Reading on though, you realise it achieves so much more than that. Not only does the writer use this medium of a futuristic utopia (arguably), but also halfway through the novel he introduces a character that is taken from the ‘savage reservations’ and brought back to live in one of the civilised cities. This character’s loss of innocence and struggle to comprehend and integrate with society is equally as powerful. Many issues are examined through these devices such as: religion, capitalism, happiness Vs knowledge, not to mention many aspects of all societies such as: class division, equity and stability.

One striking part of the novel for me, was when the savage, who has gained a different kind of conditioning in the form of reading ‘The complete works of William Shakespeare’ religiously, falls in love with Lenina, who has been conditioned by society.

The book is always pleasurable to read, although can be quite depressing at times, especially the ending. It is never dry and is reasonably simple. In summary, there is no reason why you shouldn’t read this book right now.

Kafka on the Shore: Haruki Murakami
My rating: α 1/2
I picked this book up, because it was written by the author of ‘Norwegian Wood’, which I enjoyed immensely. What a mistake it was though. I haven’t read a book this bad for quite some time. I was amazed that the same mind that brought ‘Norwegian Wood’ to life could create something so awful. I kept wading through the pages trying to find a spark that made the book worthwhile, but I never found it. At times I got the feeling that the author was just writing for the sake of writing, just spewing out page after page of irrelevant dribble trying to see how many pages he could write.

Murakami goes overboard with imagery and philosophy, which doesn’t fit at all with the age of the main character, 15. Characters introduced include ‘Johnnie Walker’, ‘Colonel Sanders’ and a man who can talk to cats and make fish fall from the sky. The author throws caution into the wind and tackles supernatural ideas such as parallel worlds, UFO’s and destinies. This comes off rather badly in my opinion. Also, social taboos are touched on as if they were no problem at all and there seems to be no reason for bringing them up.

Perhaps I would have thrown the book on the fire if I hadn’t been in Canberra when I finished it and hence fireless.

Avoid this one at all costs.


The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime: Mark Haddon
My Rating: α α α 1/2

This book is simply superb. It is a daring and unique concept, but it is pulled off extremely well. The novel is written as though it were the effort of a 15 year old autistic boy, Christopher, to write a book. The language, style, pictures and maths allow the reader to easily believe that this book is authentic; that they are actually reading this boy’s story. Some readers may be put off by the simple language and abundance of pictures, but this is unmerited, as the story and the concept are exquisite. Sure, the book doesn’t spew out images relentlessly like the Murakami book I reviewed above, but I can live without “… waves crashing in and out again and again” being mentioned on almost every page. Quite simply, it seems that the author doesn’t try too hard and yet the depth he achieves is commendable.

Christopher is an autistic child (well it never says this, but that’s what I assumed), who lives with his father in Swindon, England. He attends a ‘Special Needs’ school, since his social skills are almost non-existent and he has severe behavioural problems. He is however rather good at maths and is the first student in his school to take the A-levels for maths. As the story progresses you gain an insight into his mind and learn to appreciate abilities that to us that seem natural, such as: blocking out irrelevant information and understanding facial expressions. Christopher begins his story as a murder mystery to see who murdered the neighbour’s dog, Wellington, but by carrying out this investigation the reader and to some extent Christopher, discovers far more than expected.

This book has a remarkable insight into the effect of domestic disturbances on children and of the enormous strain of raising a special needs child, not to mention actually living with a condition such as autism. Again, it is a rather depressing novel and makes you feel utterly hopeless by the end.

The book though did mention maths quite frequently and included an appendix with a delightful little mathematical proof, which I liked. And yes, I checked, the proof is mathematically acceptable.

This is unlike any other book you are likely to read and is not exactly conventional, but you should definitely give it a try.