JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Wild Things by Brigid Delaney

St Anton’s university college is a cradle for privileged young men and women. With its Elysian lush green lawns and buildings of golden sandstone, it seems like a place where nothing bad could ever happen. One weekend, members of the college cricket team go to the mountains for a wild weekend away. Things spiral rapidly out of control, and a young Malaysian student they dragged along with them as part of a cruel prank goes missing. When the boy is found by some bushwalkers on a rock ledge, barely clinging to life, most people think it’s because of a fall, but the St Anton’s men know better. The stress of keeping their collective secret however becomes harder and harder to bear, and even the heavy wrought-iron fences of the college can’t keep out reality… Dark, dangerous, bloody and visceral, this is a story of power, prestige and the pack mentality that forms the underbelly of campus life at a prestigious university. With overtones of The Secret History meets Brett Easton Ellis, this is the debut of a thrilling new Australian writer.

There’s something about a campus novel that just sucks me right in (I should note that I don’t actually know if ‘campus novel’ is the right name for a novel set within a university, but I’m just going to roll with it). I love that the setting of campus novels are reduced and confined. The students all live on university grounds and the story rarely strays from that. It makes the book seem intimate. If you, like me, have a slight obsession with campus novels, you should really pick up The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Actually, if you love campus novels, that should’ve been the first novel you picked up!

Wild Things builds suspense and tension really well. When the cricket team go to the mountains for a weekend away, it doesn’t go well, and the way that each of these characters try and deal with that really shows their character. One character turns to religion, and another turns to alcohol and girls. Brigid has done well to capture the personality of these boys and project them onto the page with authenticity and believability. This book is set in a university where problems are covered up and money can buy you out of those problems. Bullying occurs almost every second, and everyone turns a blind eye. Brigid’s writing is detailed and emotive, and allows the reader to really understand the characters – all of them.

Earlier in the year, I went to a public lecture where Brigid discussed her difficulties when writing this book, and it really helped me better understand the story. Originally, the young Malaysian student who goes missing was of a different nationality, but it didn’t come across as believable and Brigid had to change it. Brigid also talked about how she had to make all of the boys unique from each other because there were a lot of characters in all of the scenes and she needed them to stand out. And I think she did this really well.

Okay, so I must note a negative. Brigid keeps some things a secret for most of the novel. For the most part, we don’t know what happened to the missing student in the mountains. But throughout the novel, little details are revealed about what happened. I think Brigid revealed too much, because at the end of the novel, when it’s described what happened, it’s pretty much what we’ve already been told, so there’s nothing to shock the reader.

My Score: 8/10
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Looking for Alaska by John Green

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter’s whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the “Great Perhaps” (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

 

This novel fits so perfectly into the YA genre and has enough teen angst to attract and engage its young audience. Although Pudge is a boring character (sorry John Green fans), Alaska Young is a fascinating character – and I’m so so glad that she wasn’t the protagonist. I read in a forum somewhere that Alaska is the book version of Cara Delevingne (see below), and that really helped me picture her when reading Looking for Alaska (the title doesn’t really become significant until about three quarters of the way through). She’s crazy, impulsive, fun, and completely sucks Pudge into her world.

The novel is set up into two parts: the Before, and the After. I can’t tell you what separates these two events, because it’s a twist that I’m glad I wasn’t aware of prior to reading the novel. And the novel isn’t at all cheerful and does not leave you feeling happy and positive. The characters have quite a few issues troubling them, and they fail to overcome them.

John Green has managed to weave the three characters (Pudge, Chip, and Alaska) together in a character-driven story that allows for personal growth and philosophical-motivation. Chip is an outspoken prankster who values loyalty and honesty, but is quick to come to the aid of his friends. He is the character mostly seen in YA, and Alaska is the character who is quite unique and refreshing in this story. The three characters complement each other well, and John Green has stylistically created three very different characters who all seem to work together so well (except for the fact that Pudge is really boring – have I mentioned that already?). This was me whenever Pudge spent too long talking about himself:

This novel didn’t really become popular until The Fault in Our Stars did. Actually, John Green didn’t really become popular until that movie was made. But I feel his novels open up a new avenue for YA – the not-so-happy stories of high school and university. They showcase the other (heartbreaking) side to growing up.

My Score: 7/10
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Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathon Swift

When Lemuel Gulliver sets off from London on a sea voyage, little does he know the many incredible misadventures awaiting. Shipwrecked at sea, nearly drowned, he washes ashore upon an exotic island called Liliput–where the people are only 6″ tall. Next he visits a land of incredible giants called the Brobdingnagians. They are more than 60′ tall. He travels to Lapauta, a city that floats in the city, & to Glubbdubdrib, the Island of Sorcerers. his final voyage brings him into contact with the Yahoos–a brutish race of subhumans–& an intelligently virtuous race of horse, the Houyhnhnms.

I appreciate how Lemuel Gulliver’s perspective changed from part one to part four. During his first voyage, Gulliver describes the characters and their actions as they unfold before him. He speaks from a distant, purely curious, point of view and doesn’t consider himself to be a citizen of Lilliput. However, after his fourth voyage Gulliver learns to communicate with the Houyhnhnms and strangely begins to refer to himself as one of them.

Gulliver is seen as an individual governing the seas alone. The idea that Gulliver’s wife and children received him with great surprise and joy after his long adventures seems inconsistent with the values of modern society. By rarely mentioning Gulliver’s family, he is seen as an individual casually wandering the seas without any real purpose in life.

An interesting link is developed between the societies that Gulliver meets on his voyages and the human society that he resides in. Gulliver spent years living amongst two flawed communities and when he returns to England, subsequently finds flaws with his family and friends. Swift has written this to ironically illustrate to the reader that England’s political controversies are an indication that all of mankind are flawed. Hence, why Gulliver wishes to live like a horse.

“My wife and family received me with great surprise and joy, because they concluded me certainly dead; but I must freely confess the sight of them filled me only with hatred, disgust, and contempt, and the more by reflecting on the near alliance I had to them. For although since my unfortunate exile from the Houyhnhnm country, I had compelled myself to tolerate the sight of Yahoos, and to converse with Don Pedro de Mendez, yet my memory and imagination were perpetually filled with the virtues and ideas of those exalted Houyhnhnms. And when I began to consider that by copulating with one of the Yahoo species I had become parent of more, it struck me with the utmost shame, confusion, and horror.”

This is probably my favourite section of the book, because Gulliver speaks about his family with bitterness and cynicism. His mental state seems to have significantly deteriorated and the reader can’t help but doubt his reliability as a narrator. Gulliver’s decision to buy horses upon returning to England shows this mental deterioration. This highlights a theme of alienation (particularly evident during his fourth voyage), which is emphasised by Gulliver’s return to England because he rejects human society and refers to Don Pedro de Mendez as a Yahoo.

 

My Score: 7/10
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‘The New Easy’ by Donna Hay

Donna’s latest book is all about new ways to make cooking easier. It features new flavour combinations and new shortcuts, designed to simplify life in the kitchen. It captures how most of us, including Donna, like to cook – with quick solutions for busy weeknights, and special dishes for weekends when you have more time up your sleeve. Each chapter contains clever and versatile ideas to put a spin on some of your favourites. So once you’ve mastered a dish, you can refer to a new section called ‘re-style’, showing you how to transform it into a chic starter for a dinner party, say, or a handy addition to a picnic.

It’s hard for me to review a cookbook – I feel I can’t give an honest opinion until I’ve had a go at making all the recipes. But then it’ll be four years before I can write a review, so I’m going to write it now, after only completing a few recipes.

Donna’s latest cookbook is designed to make cooking easy, for people like myself who don’t want to waste a lot of time cooking. I don’t want to slave away in the kitchen, since I live with roommates and I’m the only one who eats what I cook anyway. Just quietly, I’m a serial cereal-for-dinner offender.

I definitely think this cookbook is targeted at families or people who are cooking for more than just themselves. The recipes are detailed, plentiful, and take a bit of time to do. Even the chapter for ‘weekends’ seems a little over-catered for. The instructions are easy to follow; however, sometimes they aren’t detailed enough.

The first recipe I made was the Easy Banana Bread, and Donna’s instructions on mashing the bananas was a little vague. I assume you’re supposed to mash them as much as possible? But I mashed for what felt like hours and there were still lumps? Also, I personally feel that four bananas is too much for a banana bread recipe. It was too flavour heavy, not to mention the random bits of lumpy banana throughout. But at least I know now for when I decide to make it again.

‘The New Easy’ is beautifully laid out with stunning pictures and clear photographs of the meals (let’s just clarify that my banana bread DID NOT look like the picture, but when does a recipe ever look as good as in the book?).

My Score: 8/10

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The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now…

Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is set in the near future where a Christian theocracy has overthrown the government. The main character, Offred, is a handmaid for reproductive purposes. Although Offred does not possess an authoritative role, she is in the midst of a new world that reflects contemporary society. This alterity introduces the thematic subject of gender, which revolves around its theme of existing double standards within a futuristic setting. Feminism is another thematic subject present in Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and is highlighted by the gender struggles and the class system’s marginalisation of women.

In 2005, Atwood spoke to The Guardian about how she labels her novel as speculative fiction, and the conventions that can be found within: exploring the limits of humanity, delving into the proposed changes to social organisation, and the possibility of new and advanced technologies. In ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, there is no futuristic, advanced technology and its abandonment altogether makes way for primitive ceremonies. The limits of humanity are seen through Offred’s role as a handmaid for The Commander, and her subsequent relationship with him. There is no legal protection, no outside force trying to overthrow the totalitarian ruling, and Offred and the other handmaid’s are forced to accept the little power that they have. Also, the proposed changes to social organisation are the Gileadean regime and its efforts to control sex and sexuality. This government ultimately destroys itself, which is unsurprising because the regime seems to underestimate the importance of sexuality. Offred contemplates suicide in the novel, but she ignores this and continues her affair with Nick because she enjoys their sexual intimacy and confides in him. This enforces the power of sexual acts, and illustrates how Offred will not submit to the pressure and torture of the government.

Atwood manipulates the setting to exaggerate the flaws of contemporary society. The government enforces the unfair distribution of power between characters, and this illustrates an abuse of power. Atwood’s incorporation of setting helps drive the piece and highlights power dynamics between characters. Although this idea of a ‘new world’ is a common convention within speculative fiction, its main function is usually to challenge the nature of humanity. In addition to highlighting the flaws of contemporary society, Atwood pushes the boundaries of this genre convention by exploring each character’s reaction to their new setting and their attempt to break free from their trapped physical and psychological state.

Other influential narrative techniques in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ are the use of present tense to heighten and maintain suspense, and the word ‘night’ to introduce and conclude the story. This imagery represents the dark, bleak life that has befallen Offred.

My Score: 9/10