Wednesday 2 January 2008

Go by Simon Lewis

Upon finishing a book I need time to let the atmosphere of one book leave me before I start another particularly if the book is an emotional investment. The trouble with this is I sometimes finish a book before I want to stop reading.

When this happens I have a stack of books which are easy simple reads I can just dive into and require little if any investment.

Go was just such a book. On loan to me from a friend, Helen, I wanted to give it back to her before we left her home after the New Year's bash.

The book was reminiscent of The Beach by Alex Garland which is one of my favourite brain easy books. The structure of the novel was clever and the writing was humorous. 3 people whose lives in England are a waste of time go travelling hoping to escape the trouble of their lives at home. Their paths intersect as they travel the globe at various locations. Eventually they return to the UK and the ultimate outcome of their lives remains largely unchanged as a result of their adventures. Hmmmm, not very satisfying.

It took me less than a couple of hours to read the book. I didn't care about the outcome and in fact found the ending pointless. I didn't care about the characters and in fact didn't understand their motivation at all. Ultimately the book served its purpose of clearing the atmosphere left in my mind by A Tree Grows in Brooklyn which was the December selection for my book group. Look for that book review coming soon to this blog!

1 comment:

Janell said...

I enjyoyed your review of "Go." I can't wait to read your thoughts on "Brooklyn." One of my favorites.

On another subject, my mom used to say that Bette Davis quote about old age. One year for her birthday, I had a t-shirt made with that printed underneath a picutre of two Triceratops' butting heads.