Monday, February 11, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Well, this short-book thing is working out really well! Last week I read two books and started two more. I finished Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Klies, and The Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis. The Murderess was a weird book. I doubt I'm going to write a full review because I don't quite know what to say. Set in rural Greece in the early 20th century, it's about an elderly women who decides that a girl's lot in life is so bad and hopeless, and girls such a burden to their families, that she goes about drowning children, until one day fate catches up with her. It's really a downer.

On to even darker things, I started Never Mind, by Edward St. Aubyn, first in the Patrick Melrose series. It clocks in around 132 pages and qualifies for my short-book challenge even though it's part of a compendium including the first four books of the series. It's pretty bleak too, although St. Aubyn's delicious writing more than makes up for the horrors contained within the book. If it's important to you to like the characters you read about, these books are not for you. If you enjoy beautiful, stylized prose and can overlook some of the meanest people in print, I encourage you to check it out.

And I continue my re-read of Rebecca.

What are you reading today? Check out Bookjourney.wordpress.com for more!

9 comments:

Harvee said...

I'd like to reread some of DuMaurier's other books too. Have you read Deborah Lawrenson's The Lantern, loosely based on Rebecca?

Marie Cloutier said...

Harvee, no I haven't :-( I'll check it out!

Sandy Nawrot said...

Yeah I've had The Lantern loaded on my iPod forever. Because I heard it had Rebecca tie-ins, which I guess is either very much a crappy thing or not, depending on your attachment to the original story. So I've been scared to listen. One day I might.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I am reading The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch

Zibilee said...

The Murderess does indeed sound weird, and very dark. Since I don't have to like the characters in my books, and do appreciate quality writing, Never Mind might be for me. I am still listening to A Shadow on the Crown, though I am almost done, and reading Driving Alone, which is a novella as well. Shorter fiction is really working for me right now.

bermudaonion said...

Happy Birthday! I hope you've found plenty of time to read today!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Happy Birthday! My husband's was last week.

Becca said...

It does feel like we are reading so much more when the books are shorter! Even when it is the same number of pages, it feels like I am accomplishing more. I hope you had a good birthday, Marie. So sorry I missed the actual day!

ImageNations said...

All new to me. But like Miss Pettigrew, I know I will come by them someday.