Book Reviews

Watchmen Absolute Edition
Dave Wallace02 February 2012
Watchmen is to comics what the Beatles' "White Album" is to pop music. Both are highly influential works of art which are lauded by virtually everyone that experiences them, and both still struggle to be equalled by contemporary artists even decades after their creation. (Not for want of trying, however, as evidenced by DC Comics' recent announcement of a series of 'Watchmen' prequel comics to be published later this year).

It's also arguable that both Watchmen and the White Album took a nascent art form which was regarded as juvenile, immature and crude (for the Beatles it was pop music specifically; in Watchmen's case, comic books in general - but with a particular focus on superheroes), and elevated it to a higher plane, paving the way for all who followed them, yet still overshadowing subsequent works to this day.

Simply put, Watchmen is one of the few comics which aficionados of the medium are virtually unanimous in declaring a must-read, and its much-mooted recent appearance on Time magazine's list of the twentieth century's most important novels cemented its position as the first major turning point in the long journey towards the recognition of comic books as a 'legitimate' art form.

Despite the apparent simplicity of its superhero roots, the book defies easy categorisation: on a base level, it's a reasonably straightforward flights 'n' tights epic which sees a group of washed-up heroes of the past face up to their own complicated histories, attempting to recapture some of their past glory at the same time as a powerful conspiracy threatens to undermine society itself.

There's also a lot of human drama in the book, and there's as much attraction in seeing the complex web of relationships between the heroes unfold as there is in seeing them struggle against the underlying threat of the series.

Yet Watchmen is deceptively complex, revealing secrets, nuances and deeper levels of meaning many years after over-familiarity would have exhausted the appeal of lesser works. Having devoured the book multiple times, it's telling that each new read feels like a slightly different experience, as the elements that are most striking at first glance soon give way to the book's less obvious subtexts and layered messages.

It's easy to see the story as an allegory which examines the way in which power can corrupt, and which acts as a cautionary tale for a human race that, at the time that the book was originally published in the 1980s, appeared to be paving the way for its own demise more effectively than ever before.

Indeed, there's a notably greater attempt at verisimilitude to be found in Watchmen than in most superhero comics, with only one major event setting the book's universe apart from the real world: in Watchmen, it's the creation of the omnipotent, godlike Dr. Manhattan which acts as the stone which is thrown into the stream of time, setting the reality presented in the book on a different, yet parallel course to our own.

Historical events of the 1970s and 1980s are even explicitly referenced, albeit with twists such as the deployment of Dr. Manhattan in support of the USA's war efforts in Vietnam, and the passing of laws to outlaw costumed vigilantes. There's a heavy undercurrent of Cold War angst running throughout the book, as well as a hypertextual commentary on the story's themes which is provided by the comic-within-a-comic that is Tales of the Black Freighter, a pulpy pirate yarn which also functions as a dark, ominous musing on humanity's capacity for self-destruction.

In the original pitch for the book (which can be found at the back of this "Absolute" edition), Alan Moore claims to reject the notion that a comic book universe needs to be close to our own and easy to relate to in order for readers to find it involving. However, in examining the more realistic implications that the presence of superheroes might have on society, and in exploring his characters' personalities and motivation in far greater depth than anything that had been attempted in the genre up to that point, Moore actually creates a fantasy which is far more relevant and culturally significant than the escapism that had been provided by his peers for so long.

The prose endpapers that accompany each of the 12 individual Watchmen comics collected here reinforce the reality of Moore's fictional universe, presenting extracts from books, magazine articles and interviews which give us additional information about the story and its characters, enriching the already detailed world that the writer has created.

It's interesting to note that Moore had originally intended to populate this book with existing DC characters rather than his own creations, and there are obvious elements of those characters which have been retained - but the commercial imperatives that ultimately restricted him from doing so may actually have made Watchmen even more successful: without any previous baggage, Moore is free to do as he likes with his cast of characters and their world, pushing the limits of what can be done in the genre - and the mixture of childish hero archetypes with a darker, more realistic and more complex edge makes the book an excellent metaphor for the coming-of-age of comic books themselves.

To some extent, Watchmen's enduring success has been due to the surprising realisation that a comic book can be constructed and executed with as much complexity and maturity as a prose novel. Many of Moore's writing techniques are not particularly innovative or inventive, but they mark one of the first times that such sophistication in storytelling was brought to the medium of comic books, and their application in the field revolutionised the way people see comics.

It's surprising, then, that this new "Absolute" edition is the first time that Watchmen has really been given the deluxe treatment - if you don't count the rare 'Graphitti' edition published years ago, which has been highly sought-after for many years due to the wealth of extra material which it contained. Thankfully, those extras are all reproduced here, and in addition to the oversized, luxuriously bound and slipcased Absolute format, with its high-quality paper and remastered colouring, it really is the finest presentation that the book has ever received.

In addition to the original twelve issues, there are afterwords by both Moore and Gibbons which give some insight into how the project came into being and what a mammoth achievement it was for both creators. Moore's piece is particularly interesting, shedding some light on his feelings towards superhero comics and what he wanted to achieve with the book. There's also a copy of Moore's original proposal for the book which goes into detail about the themes and tone of the series, showing a remarkable self-awareness concerning just how mould-breaking Watchmen would turn out to be.

The years (and decades!) which have passed since Watchmen's publication may have seen superhero comics stagnate to a certain extent, and as a genre it certainly hasn't overcome its simplistic, childish trappings to the extent that readers in 1986 might have hoped. However, to read Watchmen again is to reignite the spark of a suggestion that superheroics and sophistication don't have to be mutually exclusive concepts, that superhero comics might still have something profound and important to say, and that there may be yet more new ground to be broken in future by someone who can take to concept and do something genuinely fresh and innovative with it. Until that day, we'll have to be content for this book to continue to reign as the pinnacle of the genre.
Mr. Small (Mr. Men Classic Library)
J.B. McGillicuddy30 January 2012
Although Roger Hargreaves' "Mr Small" was originally published in 1972, it truly is a story that resonates with the particularly difficult circumstances that people living in 2012 are currently experiencing. Hargreaves has, with "Mr Small", used the medium of children's literature to explore the despair associated with unemployment and to deconstruct society's image of the working class everyman. This is a story rich in moral and philosophical detail and thus it is a story that needs to be told.

The eponymous "Mr Small" is struggling on the fringes of society as he strives to succeed in a hugely unequal employment landscape where unscrupulous employers require him to submit to a series of jobs for which he is woefully unsuitable. Despite his best efforts, poor "Mr Small" lacks both the basic knowledge and the skills necessary to accomplish any of the occupations which society deems fit for him. While the rest of the "Mr Men" series could perhaps be accused of demonstrating social conservatism, here Roger Hargreaves is clearly offering a stark exposé of an education system that leaves people unable to hold down even the most basic of jobs. In a workplace that demands ever more skills and mechanised workers, what place is there for our token everyman?

The answer to this question, from Hargreaves perspective anyway, is clearly greater state intervention. The state is here personified in Mr Robertson, a friend of "Mr Small" and all of the other little people, who seeks to create a new field of employment for our embattled hero. Unfortunately, Hargreaves here misses the chance to advocate for industrialisation and an increase in domestic productivity, instead opting to have "Mr Small" find potential salvation in a creative profession. Will this subliminal pushing of media studies never cease? Ultimately, even this outcome is far from happy as "Mr Small" seems able to offer nothing more than the story of his own tragic failures. His prospects for the future are clearly built on a foundation of sand.

Roger Hargreaves' "Mr Small" is a searing indictment of sizeist hegemony and the iniquities of the class system and, as such, is a warning to all of society: If "Mr Small" cannot be saved, then what hope is there for the rest of us?
One Day
Antwon Itsher29 January 2012
David Nicholls sure does know how to write, doesn't he?
One Day starts you out in the opening pages in Edinburgh, 1988, on the Fifteenth Of July - St. Swithin's Day.
St. Swithin's Day isn't a day I had ever heard of before, but that only added to the romance of the novel.
A sense of mystery and intrigue of what would unfold in the pages before me.
The love between the two characters Emma and Dexter is a pure joy to read.
Nicholls' has a real power over words, and it is more than obvious to see why his books are so very, very popular. He is a writer, plain and simple. Writing is what he knows, and writing is what he is Good at.
There are times when you'll be frustrated with these characters, with Dexter in particular. He becomes a womaniser, diving in and out of relationships as well as bedrooms as he pleases, with little regard for how his life is affecting those of the ones he loves and who love him back.
Emma, on the other hand, is much more reserved. And it is with her that we fall in love. She is precocious, she is intelligent, she is a marvel to read about, and you can't help but hope that she gets her happy ending.
I refuse to spoil a good book for anyone, so I will have to stop myself from any further discussion, and tell you simply that you must read the rest of the book to find out precisely what happens between the two. But I will tell you this before I finish this review: theirs is a love like almost no other. Nicholls has an ability like very few writers do today, and the comparisons he deserves lie with centuries past, in writers like Shakespeare and Tennyson.
The Hunger Games Trilogy Box Set
Phil Winters25 January 2012
Two books through this great trilogy and really enjoying it so far! One more to go, can't wait to see how it all comes down in the end!!

(And just wanted to say thank you to Find-Book for such a good comparison site that let me get the collection at such a cheap price - really, really, really appreciated!)
This Human Season
Jane Weathers23 January 2012
This Human Season is a tragedy unlike any I've come across. Set in a prison in Northern Ireland known as The Maze, or Long Kesh, Louise Dean's novel tells the stories of two families in and outside the prison leading up to the hunger strike that took place in the prison, in real life, at the end of 1980 and the start of 1981.

Because of the true-to-life nature of the events Dean describes, the stories of the two families is that much more harrowing. The novel revolves largely around a mother, Kathleen, whose son is one of the prisoners about to go on strike, and a British prison guard, John, who works on the block Kathleen's son is incarcerated in.

Dean's command of prose is remarkable, and the effort that she has put into researching these real-life events is always evident in the text. We are treated to the insights of a mother whose family is falling apart, and it seems there is little she can do to effect a change. Her husband is an alcoholic who revels in living in fictional stories of his past; her son is a political prisoner in a Northern Irish prison during a time of deep political turmoil; she has one daughter who has already abandoned the family and moved abroad; another daughter who she cannot connect with nor relate to; and a younger son who idolises his older brother and aspires to join him in prison. Kathleen's is a bleak life that cannot help but slowly break your heart.

John's half of the novel is similarly expertly written, capturing wonderfully and thus also tragically the story of a British prison guard working at a time when his fellow British colleagues are being murdered on the streets in reaction to the incarceration of the Irish prisoners.

The politics of the novel run deep, because that is precisely how deep they run in reality. But one does not need a thorough understanding of the history between Britain and Ireland - both Northern and the Republic - in order to appreciate the tale Dean tells in This Human Season. The title says it all; it is a story that speaks of humanity, and that is a universal that we can all understand. These are human stories we find in Kathleen and John, and Dean makes her characters so easy to relate to. It is a novel in no uncertain terms that has tragedy at its core, but it is not without its moments of hope, that perhaps things will not always be this way. Dean truly cements herself with this novel as one of the best writers in contemporary English literature. It is a powerful second novel, and it is quite unlike anything I have ever had both the pleasure and sadness of reading before. It is perfect.
The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
Janice Gibbons22 January 2012
Great cakes from easy to follow recipes.
Eldest
Ed Hogarth20 January 2012
Eldest is the second book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle and is the sequel to Eragon. The story in Eldest continues the adventures of brave teenager Eragon and his dragon Saphira, revolving particularly around their journey to the realm of the Elves in the forest of Du Weldenvarden in order to further Eragon's training as a Dragon Rider. While the continuing journey of Eragon forms the main thrust of the plot, there are several other strands to the story. Eragon's cousin Roran has an important role to play as he leads the inhabitants of Carvahall to Surda in order to join the Varden, while Nasuada faces many new challenges when she assumes leadership of the Varden following her father's death. Perhaps more important than any of this, however, is the appearance of a mysterious new Dragon Rider who seems to fight on the side of Galbatorix.

While Eldest is not the most original of fantasy books, and is arguably not up to the standard Paolini set with Eragon, is still contains all the elements of a fantastic adventure. Although Eldest would probably appeal most to fans of The Lord of the Rings and the Dragonriders of Pern books, it does continue the story of Eragon and so should satisfy fans of that first book too. The only really disappointing element of Eldest is that the character of Eragon himself is not given as much to do as I would have liked. Even though he is a secondary character, Roran really has the best storyline. Still, all of the favourite characters from Eragon return here and there are some interesting new introductions too. There is plenty of action and magic but also some emotional moments and opportunities for Eragon to develop his compassion. Since it is the middle part of what was originally intended to be a trilogy, Eldest was always going to have a problem with pacing but Paolini has still managed to do an excellent job of crafting an exciting fantasy adventure.
Christmas at Tiffany's
Kelly Marsh31 December 2011
I seem to have read loads of Christmas romances this month! In Christmas At Tiffany's Cassie's marriage has just broken up after she discovered a shocking secret about her husband Gil. Luckily she has three good friends who all want to help her out and so she plans to spend four months staying with each of them. So Cassie ends up living in London, Paris and New York while she tries to work out exactly what kind of life she wants to have. This was a very good book although not the best that I have read lately. I prefer it when there is lots of homour mixed in with the romance. It was interesting to find out about the different varieites of life that Cassie could have had if she hadn't married Gil though.
Eragon (Inheritance Cycle)
Ed Hogarth31 December 2011
Eragon is the first book in the 'Inheritance Cycle' by Christopher Paolini and tells the story of a young farm boy named Eragon who discovers a mysterious stone while out hunting in the mountains. In a short time his discovery is revealed to be far more important than it first appears since the stone is in fact an egg and a dragon hatches from it. Eragon names the dragon Saphira and the two become firm friends. Through their bond, Eragon is eventually able to become a Dragon Rider, the last of these valiant warriors in fact.

However, the evil King Galbatorix hears about Eragon and his dragon and so sends his servants, the Ra'zac, to capture them. After his home is burned down and his uncle killed by the Ra'zac, Eragon and Saphira are therefore forced to flee from their home in Carvahall and decide to search out the Varden, a group of rebels who are determined to bring about the downfall of King Galbatorix. Eragon is not alone on his quest though as he is joined by an elderly storyteller named Brom, who gifts Eragon with the powerful sword Zar'roc and insists on helping him and Saphira.

Although Eragon is certainly influenced by famous works of fantasy and science fiction such as The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Dragon Riders of Pern, it is still an excellent novel and the beginning of a great series. All of the archetypal elements of a great fantasy story are present in Eragon: a quest, a journey towards understanding, revenge, romance, betrayal and the existence of powerful magical objects. While it is possible that this might make the book seem clichéd, for fans of fantasy fiction the existence of such familiar devices can actually serve as a mark of quality.

The story itself is very fast-paced and is packed with excitement. Eragon is truly a fun novel to read and there is plenty of magic and action adventure to keep readers interested. The characters are all interesting, with the characterisation of the dragon Saphira as really being the ideal best friend proving a particularly good example, and the good versus evil plot is engrossing. Occasionally the dialogue is a little weak but that is only occasionally and it doesn't detract from the overall worth of the plot. Eragon is certainly not the most complex of novels but it is still highly enjoyable. The writing is all the more impressive when you remember that Christopher Paolini was only fifteen when Eragon was first published.

Eragon is a fantastic fantasy novel, one that certainly far surpasses the film that was made of it, and the 'Inheritance Cycle' as a whole is a series well worth reading.
Then We Came to the End: A Novel
Chris Harley27 December 2011
Joshua Ferris' novel, Then We Came To The End, is by far one of the most interesting, riveting, and innovative novels that I've read in a very, very long time. It was one of a number of books I opened on Christmas morning, and I have already read my way through it two days later; it is almost impossible to put it down. From the very start of the novel, it is utterly captivating.

What is immediately striking is Ferris' narration. Rather than the usual third-person or first-person-singular narrator - 'He' or 'I' - we are instead presented with the first-person-plural for the vast majority of the novel - 'we'. This use of 'we' as the narrator instantly draws the reader into the text, welcoming us as an integral part of the book, warming us to the characters and the somewhat tragic events that befall them.

Ferris' novel is set during the cusp of the bursting bubble of the dot-com era in an advertising agency that is in the middle of down-sizing, with all of its lower employees forever concerned with the number of lay-offs that they are witness to on a seemingly day-to-day basis. The idea that 'tragedy' could be used to describe their situation may at first seem a little out of place, since they are in fact fairly wealthy, middle-class, white-collar workers. But through no fault of their own, they find themselves one by one diminishing in size at a rapid rate.

The book perfectly recalls the end of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st, set in a world facing a recession not dissimilar to the one in which we have just found ourselves, making the novel even more of a relevant read in our current economic climate. It is a world in which the workers can find little or nothing to remain hopeful, and that in itself reads like a tragedy.

The simultaneous comedy that is infused throughout the novel, however, is absolutely perfect. It is not often that you can read a book that can lift your spirits with laughter and make you sympathise with the characters' plight at the same time, but Ferris clearly proves himself as an incredibly talented writer in his ability to do just that. We find ourselves laughing out loud whilst reading of their little exploits and pranks that they carry out amongst each other through the course of the workdays, and can't help but recall similar moments in our own office lives - a stolen office chair here, rumours about other employees whispered there.

The duality of comedy/tragedy builds throughout the course of the novel to its critical climax that perfectly combines both within a disgruntled ex-employee. It is a novel only too relevant to us reading it today, and one that I whole-heartedly recommend to you to read as soon as possible. It makes you laugh, it makes you reflect - both on your own life and on the greater aspects of life itself - and it makes you utterly reluctant to stop reading it for even a moment, so desperate are you to discover what will come next. And really, that is all we can ask of a novel.

Then We Came To The End is an absolutely triumphant debut novel from Ferris, which very much deservedly won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for the Best First Novel, and I am already looking forward to reading his second book, The Unnamed, which came out last year. If it is anything like his first, it will be a true stroke of genius.

Book Categories