Book Review

I'm off to a bad start in my 2007 reading list. But the year is young and there will be outstanding novels to come, I'm sure.

ABSURDISTAN by Gary Shteyngart ½ star
I borrowed this book when I read that it was one of the New York Times 2006 10 best fiction and The Washington Post Bookworld 100 best fiction. Well, I did not like this book at all, and only finished 1/3 of it. The author tried being: funny, witty, serious, political, but failed in all categories, in my opinion. All the characters are as flat as cardboard cutouts, regardless of the main character being grossly obese, if you can imagine a fat person flat as a pancake. Not one sentence or incident induced a smile, or even a smirk from me. I hate this book! It is so close to being one of the worst books I ever read.

LOVE, LIES & LIQUOR by M. C. Beaton 2 stars
I have read almost all the mystery novels written by this author, both the Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin and 2 in her Edwardian series. The last 2 Agatha Raisin books were not as funny and sharp nor different from the previous ones. It's the same old, same old story line and the non-romance with Agatha's ex/future husband James Lacey is just annoying and boring. I wish M. C. Beaton kills this guy off in her next installment in this series. Or she should take a break from writing 3 books a year!

THE BOOK OF DAVE by Will Self 3½ stars
The book is brilliant, actually, but I'm giving it only 3½ stars because it was difficult to read. I am not an expert in reading cockney or mockney (mock cockney) and reading it felt like trudging through the English mire, I had to read the conversation parts twice, especially at the beginning, to familiarize myself with it. It is still highly recommended, though.