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ClareR (6256 KP) rated A State of Freedom in Books
Jun 17, 2018
A series of interconnecting stories.
I very much like books set in Asia, and in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in particular. The stories they tell are far from the world that I live in, and I like to think that I'm going to learn something about those worlds and peoples.
This novel follows the lives of multiple people who are all connected in some way (even the first person we meet is connected, albeit in a very tenuous way). The stories are fascinating: from the privileged son of a couple who live in Calcutta who is visiting from London for a month, to the young girl (a child) who is sent to work in other people's houses and is treated like a slave in one of the houses she works in. I won't say any more about the stories of these people, but I loved where their stories led them, no matter how uncomfortable it was for me to read.
The writing is beautifully descriptive: it gave a feel for the sights, sounds and smells of where these people lived. It described the caste/ class system of India, the slums and the places where the better off lived. I really enjoyed this book, it really is well worth reading.
This novel follows the lives of multiple people who are all connected in some way (even the first person we meet is connected, albeit in a very tenuous way). The stories are fascinating: from the privileged son of a couple who live in Calcutta who is visiting from London for a month, to the young girl (a child) who is sent to work in other people's houses and is treated like a slave in one of the houses she works in. I won't say any more about the stories of these people, but I loved where their stories led them, no matter how uncomfortable it was for me to read.
The writing is beautifully descriptive: it gave a feel for the sights, sounds and smells of where these people lived. It described the caste/ class system of India, the slums and the places where the better off lived. I really enjoyed this book, it really is well worth reading.
Jamie (131 KP) rated The Bazaar of Bad Dreams in Books
Aug 15, 2017
Author commentary (2 more)
Plenty of dark humor
The handful of good stories were really great
Much of the collection simply fell flat (1 more)
Mix of genres was sometimes disjointing
An underwhelming collection from the King
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is a large collection of novellas and short stories that include a wide variety of genres. Each time I turned the page to the next story it would be kind of a wild card and I never knew what to expect which was both good and bad. While it was nice that the variety keeps things fresh, it also made the collection feel disorganized. The stories in the anthology don’t fit any particular theme, instead they just seemed like odds and ends thrown into a master volume. This will probably not be a big deal to many, but for me it just broke the flow.
On a more positive note, one of my favorite aspects of King’s writing is the incredibly dark humor that is present in much of his work. I think the addition of comedy helps to break some of the tension from the otherwise horrific stories and I found myself chuckling several times while reading. The anecdotes before each story were fun to read and gave some interesting insight into King’s writing processes and the things that inspire him. These personal little notes were one of the major highlights of the collection since it serves as a way of connecting the reader to the writer. King to me just has a likable voice and I enjoy reading or listening to his talks.
My favorite story out of the entire collection was no contest, there was one story that stood out to me more than the others: Under the Weather. The short is just so well paced and filled me with so much dread from start to finish that I was in awe. It really showcased King’s mastery of the technical aspects of writing and how to build tension and suspense. Other notable stories were Mile 81, Batman and Robin Have an Altercation, The Dune, Under the Weather, The Little Green God of Agony, and Summer Thunder.
Despite all of my praise, it was difficult for me to decide how I wanted to rate this collection. The stories are decent, there are even a few really good ones in the collection, but overall it was nowhere near King’s best. When I closed the book I felt relieved to finally be done, which is not the best feeling to have after finishing a book. Many of the stories seemed to be either love or hate to me and so it was really a mixed bag. Even after I’d finish a story I enjoyed and put the book down for the night, I’d find that I had no motivation to pick the book back up again the next day. Because of this I ended up taking a full month to read this collection which is slower than my average. I had actually been thinking of rating this book lower but the strong final stories drove me to push my rating up a little higher.
On a more positive note, one of my favorite aspects of King’s writing is the incredibly dark humor that is present in much of his work. I think the addition of comedy helps to break some of the tension from the otherwise horrific stories and I found myself chuckling several times while reading. The anecdotes before each story were fun to read and gave some interesting insight into King’s writing processes and the things that inspire him. These personal little notes were one of the major highlights of the collection since it serves as a way of connecting the reader to the writer. King to me just has a likable voice and I enjoy reading or listening to his talks.
My favorite story out of the entire collection was no contest, there was one story that stood out to me more than the others: Under the Weather. The short is just so well paced and filled me with so much dread from start to finish that I was in awe. It really showcased King’s mastery of the technical aspects of writing and how to build tension and suspense. Other notable stories were Mile 81, Batman and Robin Have an Altercation, The Dune, Under the Weather, The Little Green God of Agony, and Summer Thunder.
Despite all of my praise, it was difficult for me to decide how I wanted to rate this collection. The stories are decent, there are even a few really good ones in the collection, but overall it was nowhere near King’s best. When I closed the book I felt relieved to finally be done, which is not the best feeling to have after finishing a book. Many of the stories seemed to be either love or hate to me and so it was really a mixed bag. Even after I’d finish a story I enjoyed and put the book down for the night, I’d find that I had no motivation to pick the book back up again the next day. Because of this I ended up taking a full month to read this collection which is slower than my average. I had actually been thinking of rating this book lower but the strong final stories drove me to push my rating up a little higher.
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Wedding planner Kelsey McKenna takes on some clients planning a Napa County wedding a month before their big day. While Babs, the wedding planner they had been using, is very professional about these clients leaving, her assistant, Stefan, isn’t. Still, Kelsey is shocked to find a dead body in the office when she comes to pick up her new client’s file. With her reputation on the line, Kelsey has to find a way to clear her name.
I loved the first in this series, and this book is just as wonderful. Kelsey, her friend Brody, and her assistant Laurel, make a wonderful trio, and their friendship and banter is a pure delight. The suspects introduced here are just as strong, and make it hard to distinguish clue from red herring until Kelsey figures it all out at the end. This is a wedding you’ll be glad you crashed.
NOTE: I received an eARC of this book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/04/book-review-dying-on-vine-by-marla.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I loved the first in this series, and this book is just as wonderful. Kelsey, her friend Brody, and her assistant Laurel, make a wonderful trio, and their friendship and banter is a pure delight. The suspects introduced here are just as strong, and make it hard to distinguish clue from red herring until Kelsey figures it all out at the end. This is a wedding you’ll be glad you crashed.
NOTE: I received an eARC of this book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/04/book-review-dying-on-vine-by-marla.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Switch in Books
Jul 31, 2021
This book had me giggling from the start, much like The Flat Share. I know a lot of the time when you’ve loved an author’s first book so much that their second doesn’t always live up to the expectations, but this one really exceeded them.
The book is split between chapters for Leena and Eileen, a granddaughter and grandmother who are grieving the loss of Leena’s sister. Leena threw herself into work in London while Eileen threw herself into looking after her daughter and Leena’s mother, Marian. After Leena is told by her boss that she must take a two month sabbatical, her and Eileen decide to swap lives for the two months. Leena moving to a tiny, sleepy village in Yorkshire, full of nosey old people and Neighbourhood Watch meetings, while Eileen moves to a tiny little flat in West London and tries online dating whilst making friends with everyone she comes across (whether they want to or not).
Beth O’Leary’s humour is brilliant, and so many situations had me giggling and rereading them multiple times and starting to giggle all over again (my favourite being when asked how a dog ended up in someone’s garden). It is so ridiculous, but not far fetched, and so you can actually imagine the events that make you laugh actually unfolding.
This book has just continued my love for Beth O’Leary and I will definitely be continuing to read her work and looking forward to new releases of hers in the future.
The book is split between chapters for Leena and Eileen, a granddaughter and grandmother who are grieving the loss of Leena’s sister. Leena threw herself into work in London while Eileen threw herself into looking after her daughter and Leena’s mother, Marian. After Leena is told by her boss that she must take a two month sabbatical, her and Eileen decide to swap lives for the two months. Leena moving to a tiny, sleepy village in Yorkshire, full of nosey old people and Neighbourhood Watch meetings, while Eileen moves to a tiny little flat in West London and tries online dating whilst making friends with everyone she comes across (whether they want to or not).
Beth O’Leary’s humour is brilliant, and so many situations had me giggling and rereading them multiple times and starting to giggle all over again (my favourite being when asked how a dog ended up in someone’s garden). It is so ridiculous, but not far fetched, and so you can actually imagine the events that make you laugh actually unfolding.
This book has just continued my love for Beth O’Leary and I will definitely be continuing to read her work and looking forward to new releases of hers in the future.