My holiday reading

So I've returned from my holiday suitably relaxed and refreshed and with my batteries relatively recharged. The past five months have been quite full-on work-wise, so it was delicious to leave my normal schedule and worries behind and to just lay by a pool (see post below) with a good stack of books for company.

Initially, I planned on taking a dozen tomes with me, but I dumped several at the last minute because I was worried that my suitcase wouldn't comply with baggage limits! I packed just nine carefully chosen novels. I knew I wouldn't read them all, but it would be nice to have a choice. Unfortunately, things didn't start off too well because I forgot to take any reading matter in my hand luggage and spent a two-and-a-half-hour flight flicking through a rather dull in-flight magazine. Lesson learnt.

But once we were all settled in our hotel at Ischia Ponte and I'd secured a well positioned sun lounge (next to the shower, by the pool steps and in the shade of an olive tree), it was  Niall Williams As It Is In Heaven that I turned to first. I was looking forward to getting lost in the world of Irish romance that Niall does so well, but I found this one a little staged and, at times, cloying. It was a nice read, but nothing special.

Next up, David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. I was very much looking forward to this one, having heard so many good reviews since I purchased it upon paperback release back in  2004. Unfortunately -- and I know this will annoy many of you who loved this book so much -- I disliked it intensely. Funnily enough, one of the other hotel guests was reading the same book and although I didn't speak to him I watched his progress, which was much much slower than mine, from across the pool and wondered if he was detesting it as much as me.

There's no doubt that Mitchell is a clever writer, but Cloud Atlas felt like he was showing off -- "Look mum, I can write in six different genres!!" -- and while I enjoyed certain chapters (namely Luisa Rey, and Orison of Sonmi-451) I struggled to enjoy it as a whole. 

So, after wasting two days on Cloud Atlas, I was definitely in the mood for something more frivolous, which is why I turned to P.G. Wodehouse's Something Fresh for some light relief. And boy, it was the perfect holiday read. I did a lot of tittering as I read it. In fact, I only have to summon up the memory of one particular farcical scene towards the end of the novel and I start laughing! I enjoyed the book so much I'm seriously considering buying the entire Everyman Wodehouse collection (40 novels and counting...)

From the light-hearted to something more serious: Salley Vickers' The Other Side of You. This one was an absolutely stunning read. I adored Vickers' Miss Garnet's Angel when I read it last year and thought nothing could surpass it, but this new one is even better. It left me feeling devastated and at the last page I could feel the tears pricking my eyes. The Sunday Telegraph described it as "ferociously readable" and I couldn't agree more. It was intelligent and high-brow without feeling like it was intelligent and high-brow, if that makes sense.

With just one day left of my holiday I thought I'd go for a quick read, so out came Graham Green's The End of the Affair, a slim 190-page book I mooched a few weeks earlier. The storyline bore an uncanny resemblance to the Vickers' one -- a doomed love affair -- but this one had a bitter, almost hate-filled, edge to it. The contrast between the war torn London within the book's pages and my sun-filled Mediterannean setting couldn't be more stark, which only added to the enjoyment.  Definitely a powerful book and one that still lingers in the mind. I must read more by this author...

So there you have it: five books (two doomed romances, an Irish romance, a comedy and a six-genre "spectacular") all of which I'll review properly over the next week or two.

Comments

[Eva]

I loved The End of the Affair. I read it at least six years ago, but it's stayed with me.

I really need to get some Wodehouse; I don't think I've heard one negative thing about him!

[Equiano]

I'm a little late to the holiday recommendations (sorry, been off blog for a while) but what I'd recommend for your next trip is MIS SMILLA'S FEELING FOR SNOW. Not too heavy, bit of a mystery, you'll like the slightly sinister angle and when you're going somewhere hot to lie in the sun, a book about lots of snow is perfect! Glad you had a good break.

[Danielle]

Five books read--sounds like a successful vacation to me! I'd like to give Wodehouse a try, too.

[suki]

Hi Kimbofo. Lovely spot to read. Glad you had fun. I nominated you for a "Nice Matters" Award. See my blog for more info. sukipoet.blogspot.com Be well.