The Storied Life of A J Fikry - May 2024 Book Group discussion thread
1 lurker |
7 watchers
23 May
10:41pm, 23 May 2024
86,168 posts
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Diogenes
Saccharine. Glib. Readable. Predictable. Not awful, a bit cynical, writing by numbers, ticking boxes. I’m not sure why anyone writes books like this? They clearly love books but then they write shite like this? Sorry. |
9:03pm
9:03pm, 27 May 2024
22,514 posts
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Columba
On the whole, a No. Plot ok, characters I couldn't get to feel involved with. A short distance in, I recognised a theme from Silas Marner. As The Storied Life is to some extent a book about books, I thought Silas Marner would be sure to get an explicit mention at some point. Both Silas and AJ lose (or have stolen from them) an item of great monetary value; and (coincidentally or shortly afterwards) a very little girl toddles into their life (lives) and remains; each of them adopts his respective little girl, and brings her up. Right at the end of each book, the original treasure turns up again. But did Silas Marner get a mention? No indeed. Or rather, worse still, yes it did, on page 244 (in the edition I was reading), in a list of books which Ismay teaches to her English Literature students. The author names it but has presumably never read it. |
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9:08pm
9:08pm, 27 May 2024
22,515 posts
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Columba
Having read back - Laughed at Owlie's comments, as I can echo every one of them.
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