Underground Rises Up... And Zorro follows

I don't know whether it was just the recent comparison to the sluggishly paced "Half a Life", but I loved McGahan's "Underground".

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, it is the busy season to be sure.

Anyway, back to the task at hand of rating books. "Underground" is a cleverly tongue-in-cheek, politically motivated novel set firmly within the current fearful climate in the wake of 9/11 and other terrorist threats. It is fast-paced, readable and intelligent - although at timnes the main character is a little uneven (heartless real-estate tycoon grows a conscience), but I felt willing to forgive him overall. And not just because Andrew Bolt hated it (do you reckon he's ever even red a McGahan novel?), but because I simply enjoyed the overall experience.

McGahan is a rising star of Australian Literature (yes, I know - I am contradicting myself affter saying that I loathed most Australian Literature), and this novel just makes me want to read more. The second-most recent "The White Earth" is also completely brilliant - an interesting mix of gothic novel and political statement. I love the mixture and how this works with the history of the Australian landscape. If anyone is following this blog, you simply have to get into McGahan. He has a few earlier novels too, and while these don't look as impressive as the two mentioned above, they can't be too bad.

Appallingly, I have also read (but failed to post promptly) Allende's "Zorro" - which is on the list on "must-reads". Also a wonderful read. What drew me to this novel is not so much the subject matter, although who does not like a swash-buckling hero? - but Allende herself. She is an exquisite writer, one of the most beautiful modern writers I have read in recent years. Everything is of such epic proportions, but not in an over-stated way. If I could write like any other author, I would choose someone like her, or Marquez who has that added supernatural element as well.

Anyway, "Zorro" is nothing like the Hollywood films, focussing only on the lead up and early days of Diego de la Vega's alter ego. His childhood friendships, his membership in La Justicia, a Spanish secret society dedicated to the pursuit of justice, his loves, even how he comes up with that fabulous costume. Leave any preconceptions derived from Antonio Banderas at the door and allow a hero to unfold...

Can't promise another post anytime soon - have so much reading to do for work. But I will be updating THE LIST, as there are quite a new few titles of interest there. Enjoying the journey...

Half a Life Leaves Much to be Desired

Sorry it has been so long - haven't had much time for reading. Nor did I have much time for VS Naipaul's Half a Life. I bought the book on a whim, as it had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I was looking for something different and thought I might discover a new author to love.

This book reinforces the theory that I cannot abide books that lack of sense of purpose - much like Dicken's said of writing, all good books should have some sense of social commentary - they should make some kind of statement. Half a Life left me largely unsatisfied. It surrounds a young Indian man, who hates his simple life at home, and goes abroad to England to find the kind of lilfestyle he is looking for. Then he goes to Africa - doesn't find it there either. I kept expecting him to come to some sort of realisation - but he never really does. Some of the other characters do - if you are interested in the book it has the most fascinating final line that does leave me asking questions about other characters in the novel - but ultimately this piece is disappointing. It never left me waiting for another opportunity to read it.

I'm now onto Andrew McGahan's Underground - which I already like, and not just because Andrew Bolt was not a fan. (Had the shock of my life when I realised we actually agreed on something - Borat, urgghhhh.) Underground is immediately more engaging than Half a Life. It sends up the increasingly anti-terrorist culture of the world and takes it to the extreme - in a daringly short amount of time. Fun without being frivolous. The writing is good too - and if you want another good read, get into McGahan's The White Earth - a gothic Australian outback tales that also delves into politics. I loved - and you remember what I wrote about Australian Literature. Usually not a fan. It's nice to make an exception though. Still, more on this, soon.