Blog Archives
T.H.E. Book Report Vol 2 – Hikikomori And The Rental Sister
I would have to say that this book shattered any expectations I had for it. It is an excellent read, as well as being beautifully written. The story concerns Thomas, an American man living in New York city, is devastated by the death of his very young son and has barricaded himself in his room for three years. His wife, Silke, is desperate and seeks out the only help she can find to get Thomas out of his room. The help comes in the form of a small, young Japanese woman called Megumi. She has the talent for working with Hikikomori, the Japanese word for what Thomas has done – shut himself away from society altogether. Megumi, who is tasked with getting him out of this situation is known as a “rental sister”.
As she works her way toward getting Thomas to come out of his room, she first must find her way into his room to really come to know him and why he has remained locked away. The story is excellently set up and executed as the three characters form a sort of triangulation with their most precious, unspoken feelings, schemes, and inevitable resolutions.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys great contemporary fiction from a new and upcoming voice. I look forward to reading Jeff Backhaus novels for a long time to come.
~ todd
Long List For 2012 Man Booker Prize
Well friends, it’s that time of year again. The long list for the 2012 Man Booker Prize is out and here are the books up for consideration. Not only do we have the list here, but we have samples of each of the chosen ones. (courtesy of Galley Cat http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/)
For those of you that don’t know, The Man Booker Prize is arguably the most prestigious literary prize in the world for a work of fiction. It’s every fiction writer’s dream. Well, most anyway…While it is one of the world’s richest literary prizes, it’s not the richest by far. However, winning the Man Booker Prize results in huge worldwide sales of the winning novel and most assuredly puts the author on the literary map and some considerable fame.
So without any further ado, here is this year’s long list of 12, pared down from 147 original entries for the 2012 Man Booker Prize:
- Nicola Barker for The Yips
- Ned Beauman for The Teleportation Accident
- Andre Brink for Philida (No sample available online)
- Tan Twan Eng for The Garden of Evening Mists
- Michael Frayn for Skios
- Rachel Joyce for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
- Deborah Levy for Swimming Home
- Hilary Mantel for Bring up the Bodies
- Alison Moore for The Lighthouse (PDF link)
- Will Self for Umbrella
- Jeet Thayil for Narcopolis
- Sam Thompson for Communion Town
One writer of note is that Hilary Mantel is once again on the nomination list for her novel Bring Up The Bodies (see above), she is a previous winner of the Man Booker in 2009, for her novel Wolf Hall
So what do you think? I’ve been quiet for a while, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on anyone on the list or the prize in general. It’s easy…just leave a comment.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
~todd
J.K. Rowling’s New Book
Hey everybody,
I’ve only just seen this while surfing the web. J.K. Rowling is releasing her newest book since the Harry Potter series. It’s called Casual Vacancy. Here is the link to see what the book is about on the Indigo site.
Let me know what you think. Are you a JK fan? Are you happy or not that she’s now writing for adults?
Leave a comment!!
~ todd
Related articles
- J.K Rowling’s new book: The Casual Vacancy (hotchocolateandbooks.wordpress.com)
Interesting Indie’s – check out these new releases!!
Hari Kunzru, Ree Drummond & Jeanette Winterson Debut on the Indie Bestseller List – GalleyCat. Tell me what you think….Any of them catch your eye? ~ todd
Jeanette Winterson (b. 1959), British writer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Stephen King Reads From “Shining” sequel!!
Hey fellow fiction freaks!
Stephen King has not only confirmed that the sequel to the Shining is in full swing, he has actually read from a chapter of the upcoming “Dr Sleep”, which is the name of the new book. Check out this link to read and watch Stephen read…..
from the sequel to “The Shining”, “Dr. Sleep”
Let me know what you think! Leave a comment!
~ todd
Johanna Skibsruds, The Winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize…
Johanna Skibsruds has won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for 2010 for her novel The Sentimentalists. Check out the link below for a full report on the National Post and its coverage of the event.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/11/09/johanna-skibsruds-the-sentimentalists-wins-the-giller-prize/
Think Of A Number by John Verdon
Deadline Man by Jon Talton
I hadn’t heard of Jon Talton before receiving the copy of his latest thriller, but you can bet that I will be searching out more of his backlist now that I have read this brilliantly written novel.
Children In The Morning by Anne Emery
I have to admit that I was unaware of Anne Emery before I received my copy of “Children In The Morning”. Since completing my first experience as a reader of her work, I have to say that I have been happily surprised by what I have discovered; a previously unknown author (to me), who is an excellent story teller, and is able to do so in some of the most interesting and rich culture that Canada has to offer. I am both proud and excited that Canada can deliver writers with a growing amount of talent and doing so more and more often. Read the rest of this entry The Serpent Pool by Martin Edwards
When I first received this advance copy I was excited to get into a series by an author that was new to me. As I read the blurb on the back cover I was initially worried about what I was about to read. Maybe it was just the way the blurb was written, but it was sounding very confusing to me right at the outset. There was a plethora of characters that all seemed to have their own plot lines. It was confusing right from the outset as to how, if at all, any of these stories related to each other.
