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HAF Book Club: February poll and discussion

Started by Sandra Craft, January 23, 2020, 03:23:47 AM

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Sandra Craft

The Reporter by Scott Sigler
The Reporter follows Yolanda Davenport, a reporter for Galaxy Sports Magazine, as she searches for the truth about Ju Tweedy's involvement with the murder of Grace McDermott - the incident that drove Ju to join the Ionath Krakens. The Reporter takes place between week three and week six of the 2684 Galactic Football League season, the season that encompasses The All-Pro.

The Tortilla Curtain, by T. C. Boyle
A novel set in Southern California about middle-class values, illegal immigration, xenophobia, poverty, and environmental destruction. 

Tselane, by J. Louw Van Wijk.  Tselane -- young, beautiful and popular with her isolated South African mountain tribe -- is about to bear her first child, while her husband, Khama, goes away to work in the white men's mines.  When the tribe's young chief seeks magic from the old medicine man to cure his wife's childlessness, Tselane is chosen to be the victim of the ritual murder necessary to make the magic work.

Under the Skin, by Michel Faber
Set in northern Scotland, it traces a woman who drives around the Scottish countryside picking up male hitchhikers whom she drugs.  (sci fi)
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Sandra Craft

Davin, will you break this tie?  It's 6 of one, half dozen of the other as far as I'm concerned.  Anyway, I'm still reading The Invention of Nature (hope to finish it while I'm on jury duty).
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Davin

I'll pick The Tortilla Curtain. Though they both look like good books to me.

I'm in the middle of a book, so I won't get to it until later in the month.
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.

Davin

About 40% through the book. So far, I don't like the way it's written but the stories are keeping me in it. Though everything that is going on is terrible.
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.

Sandra Craft

I just finished chp 5, and I see what you mean.  Boyle is one of my favorite authors but other than a curiosity about what happens next his writing really isn't doing much for me in this one.  And I thought winning the Prix Medicis Etranger would make it a safe bet -- the French are beginning to lose their validity as taste-makers for me.

I think one of his short story collections might have been better.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Davin

Just finished the whole book.

I never got used to the writing. The style of providing 80% fluff and hiding the few important bits inside it in odd places a lot of the time, really grated on me. There were several times, like in the first chapter where Delaney was worried after hitting someone, where I thought, "fuck, I get it. He's fucking worried, can we move on?" Because the author describes how worried Delaney is for like 5 pages. I'm fine with some showing and not telling, and it would have been fine for me if it was toned back like 90%, but the way it was only irritated me.

None of the characters had any arc to speak of. Seemed like the author hid the 2 dimensional nature of the characters behind lots of fluff and flowery descriptions.

The stories themselves were interesting enough for me to slog through the writing. However, the whole book alltogether was anti-climatic and flat. The end I think isn't meant for me and so the abrupt ending wasn't very impactful to me, it was just kind of... meh.

The author did address a lot of complicated social issues around illegal immigration, both for and against it. And I felt like it was done very well, describing the real world effects on people and leaving the value judgments up to the reader. So there was that.

That's about all I have to say without repeating myself. Overall, not a good or bad book, pretty close to neutral for me.
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.

Sandra Craft

I have to admit I felt much the same, which was very disappointing for me.  My biggest complaint was the times I found the action or reactions of the characters unbelievable, beginning with Delaney's lack of a cell phone to call for help after the accident.  I know they had them back in 1995 when this was written.

All told, I think Boyle would have been better off addressing the social issues in a work of non-fiction and forgetting about the story. 
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Davin

Quote from: Sandra Craft on February 28, 2020, 11:34:54 PM
All told, I think Boyle would have been better off addressing the social issues in a work of non-fiction and forgetting about the story.

Yeah, there was no lack of real world cases back then. Could have merely wrote out the people's stories and I think it would have been better. I bet there are even real world examples that were close to the story where people on both sides converged several times.
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.