Nostromo - Joseph Conrad

 

And after finding Lord Jim almost unreadable, I somehow decided to read one more book by Conrad, and picking Nostromo was a really good shout. 

It had a number of the sea-faring plotlines that I grew to love in other Conrad novels, coupled with discussions of honour and loyalty (and, well, Italianness?!?) that are somewhat timeless. 

The reader grows to love Nostromo despite - or perhaps because of? - his personal faults and feels for the little recognition he receives, yet at the same time his ultimate fate feels somewhat fitting, if perhaps not fair. 

Hollywood - Charles Bukowski

 

I picked up Hollywood at the same time as I picked up Money by Martin Amis. Since they cover the same topic and having read (and liked) London Fields by Amis and having read (without really liking) Post Office by Bukowski, I assumed I would have enjoyed Money and found Hollywood dated and unappetizing. 

Instead, I hated Money with a burning passion, and found Hollywood surprisingly enjoyable. That said, I can't really remember any of the plot other than it being a generic "well-written and caustic exploration of the inner works and troubles of the movie industry". Still, even just with these vague memories I can confidentely say that this book was better than expected. 

The Names - Florence Knapp

 

A book that my mum suggested to me, and one that I ended up buying with my work book allowance (which might or might not come to an end soon, oh dear...). 

After the first couple of chapters I was tempted to stop as it was giving me some very serious A Little Life vibes, but I'm so very glad I persisted. 

The Names is ultimately more than a tale of domestic abuse. It is an exploration of family ties, of the ways in which what we do impacts the lives of our children in way more ways than we think, and of the power that positive interactions can have on us (which obviously sounds very sappy, but Knapp manages to write about it in a very touching way). And the ending of one of the three plots gives the reader a revenge that is worthy of Michael Palin's one in A Fish Called Wanda...

Our Game - John Le Carré

 

I know I've written this before, but wow, how many good novels did Le Carré manage to write over the course of his stellar career?!?

Our Game managed to give me a better understanding of Winchester College, the obscenely posh school a friend of mine often reminisces about. It also highlights the prescience of Le Carré, ultimately able to focus on problems brewing in the Caucasus before anyone in the West had ever heard of Ossetia, let alone thought about it for longer than 15 miliseconds. 

And as it often happens this book leaves the reader wondering about what fights are just, and what fights are worth joining. 

Thérèse Raquin - Émile Zola

 

Considering how much I loved Germinale, it's surprising that it took me years to read another book by Zola. And considering how much I loved Thérèse Raquin, it will also be surprising when it will inevitably be years before I read anything else by Zola. 

This was an old Penguin book I chanced upon, it's spine beaten just like the one of my grandparents' edition of Germinale. I picked it up and read it as I only have a handful of paperbacks I haven't yet read at home (and I try to read more in hard copy lately as I'm scared of where technology is taking us and want my daughters to see me read more books and not so many e-books). 

Thérèse Raquin is a great read because it's themes are eternal: yes, there is love, adultery and criminal passion; but there is also the need for companionship (the Thursday night gathering of former acquaintances turned friends at Madame Raquin's house) and the appeal and alientation of big cities for provincial people. All topped up by a touching finale that brings some peace to the reader and, perhaps, to the two murderers (as Zola never fails to label them).