The Road by Cormac McCarthy

From Goodreads/Back Cover
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when it snows it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food - and each other. 

The book that started it all in the post-apocalyptic genre of novels. My god. I am HERE for this book. I loved it the first time I read it in one of my first year English courses (Truth, Lies and Storytelling), but I think I love it even more after reading it on my own terms. The atmosphere and world (or lack thereof) that Mr. McCarthy creates in this tense, weary, dead America after the end of the world is amazing. I love his simplistic way of storytelling. This is one of the best-written books I've read in a while. While it is simplistic in its storytelling method, it is a very dire situation that the two characters find themselves in. And there is a lot of grim moments throughout the book (the cannibal house scene alone is nightmare fuel) which adds to the direness and the realness of the apocalypse and survival methods that the few left have to employ in order to see tomorrow. Cormac McCarthy creates what could be a very realistic post-apocalyptic world, filled with grim scenes of death, lawlessness and situations that would be unimaginable in normal situations. But these are not normal situations that the Man and the Boy find themselves in.

I think, at its core, The Road can be seen as a love story between a father and son in a life-or-death, man-eat-man world. "Is the love they share the only love they have?" was one of the questions on the exam, and my response was, "After everything that has happened between the apocalypse and now, yes." While the Boy does have compassion for other people they come across, I think the only person he loves is his father.

One of the things that I enjoyed is the isolated tone that the novel employs. Even when the Man and his son come across people, there is still the feeling of isolation. Have they gone crazy from being alone for so long? What I'd really love to see in a novel, is a sole survivor of an apocalypse or plague come across other survivors after an undisclosed amount of time. That would be really interesting to see. I love how there's not really a singular man-vs-x theme in this. It sort of employs all three: man-vs-nature, -self, -man. It's mostly man-vs-nature, which works well, but it also employs the other two quite frequently as well, mostly man-vs-self. I really enjoy it when novels don't stick to just one.

The best thing that Cormac McCarthy does in this book is create the atmosphere. As I mentioned earlier, his end-of-the-worldbuilding is amazing, and really believable. I could totally picture the descriptions he has as being real in a world beyond ours. I think this book really helped the post-apocalyptic genre start to take off. I wish there were more books like this, as I love this genre, something that is not a secret on this blog.

I adore this book and I give it 5/5 stars. I'm very happy that I have my own copy in my collection now (the one I had in first year was very well-used and falling apart - but the bookstore still took it back at the end of the year).

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers!

The Ritual by Adam Nevill

From Goodreads/Back Cover: 
When four old university friends set off into the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle, they aim to briefly escape the problems of their lives and reconnect with one another. But when Luke, the only man still single and living a precarious existence, finds he has little left in common with his well-heeled friends, tensions rise. With limited experience between them, a shortcut meant to ease their hike turns into a nightmare scenario that could cost them their lives. 

Lost, hungry, and surrounded by forest untouched for millenia, Luke figures things couldn't possibly get any worse, But then they stumble upon a derelict building. Ancient artifacts decorate the walls and there are bones scattered upon the dry floors. The residue of old rites and pagan sacrifice for something that still exists in the forest. Something responsible for the bestial presence that follows their every step. As the four friends stagger in the direction of salvation, they learn that death doesn't come easy among these ancient trees ... 

I loved the synopsis and it looked really interesting and scary. There were some scary, tense, or chilling moments, and the final chapters detailing the final showdown/escape were really well-done and drawn out. The buildup to the reveal of some evil entity living in the forest was really good as well, and overall it was a good almost-slow-burn. While Nevill does take his time in setting up the chaos, it is fairly obvious that some really bad stuff is going to happen, and possibly not everyone is going to make it to the final page alive.

I loved the atmosphere and the tension of the novel, but sometimes (most of the time), the main protagonist was not too likable, and did not become all that likable until about the last hundred pages or so. But I'm assuming that that is a creative thing, to make the audience like the character and root for his survival. It also makes for a more interesting novel. I didn't hate the characters by any means, but I don't think we were supposed to until bad things really started to happen.  The more that I think about this book, the more creepy it is to me, which is always indicative of the author doing his job correctly.  The location of the novel (remote Scandinavia) was a real success. It made the novel a lot more creepier than it would have been had it taken place in the city or a highly populated area without any hindrances to getting help. The author, Adam Nevill, does well in creating tension and tone, as I have already mentioned. By far the best parts of this novel are the build-up scenes where Nevill pulls the rug out from under the reader. Even though I found the main antagonists sort of came out of nowhere and weren't really all that villainous in their villainy, Nevill tackles the ancient occult with flair and ease, making you think "What's going to happen next? Will Luke survive?"

I think I'm going to give this a 4/5 - at first I was going to give it a 3 or a 3.5, but this book surprised me and has stayed with me. I'll probably read it again in the near future as the tension, suspense and mind-trickery were all really well done.

Ulysses by James Joyce

Here it is, guys. My thoughts on James Joyce's tome Ulysses, which I read over the course of about a week or so (vacations are wonderful) at the end of August.

This post will be more informal, using bullet points to make my points, since there has already been so much said on this book, and most of my opinions have already been said in some shape or form.

This is not your typical review, since it's impossible to come up with a cohesive and conclusive review. I love the fact that I read it, and I think it's a book that everyone should read. The reading experience was interesting, which I will touch on a little bit in my points below. I'll provide a very basic summary of Ulysses, as basic as I can get. I will give this book a rating out of five as I always do.

• So for a very basic summary, Ulysses follows a man's (Leopold Bloom) journey over one day, June 16, 1904, sort of in a similar fashion to Homer's Odyssey only told in the span of 24 hours and takes place in "Dear dirty Dublin". Bloom has many odd and bizarre encounters over the course of his day, learns about his family, himself, and the world around him in Dublin, Ireland. 
• This book is filled with so many streams of consciousness. This was not my first encounter with stream of consciousness; there was a form of it in Toni Morrinson's Beloved, but it was less prominent and pronounced, and was only featured in a chapter or two, 
• The reading process for this book was very daunting. I was determined to finish it, and while it was a difficult and sometimes frustrating read, it was really rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed Ulysses. 
• There were sections of this book that were so bizarre and so outlandish (brothel chapter in particular, which was written in the form of a play and featured some eyebrow-raising and WTF?!-moments; I read that chapter on the way to Montreal, and my dad, who was sitting in the back seat with me, said my expression was priceless.)
• The best way I can describe this book is that it is to books and literature as "Revolution 9" from The White Album is to music and sound: Jarring, bizarre, frightening at times, genius, and seen as being a love letter to their forms. I have no doubt that, much like John Lennon said about "Revolution 9" being "the music of the future" (which, in a way, he was right about), Joyce thought that this form of storytelling would be more common in the future. Which, he is right about. (Yes, I think "Revolution 9" is a work of genius in its bizarre, nightmarish, way.)
• I think ultimately, I like the fact that I have read this book as it's apparently an important book for me to read. (I've had recommendations from two separate English profs and two of my uncles that I read this book posthaste). 
• All in all, Ulysses was confusing, jarring, bizarre, frustrating, and ultimately heartfelt. It's one of a kind, and I appreciate having read it. I have to give it 5/5 for being so original and unique.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

(I was listening to The White Album while reading this book - let me just tell you, Revolution 9 was very fitting for the climactic scene near the end. Eight years after first hearing that track, and it still gives me the willies.)

(Also, yes, the Ulysses discussion post is coming, I still need to figure out my setup and wording for it)

From Goodreads/Back Cover: 
SOMETHING IS OUT THERE . . . 

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from. 

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, Malorie has long dreamed of fleeing to a place where her family might be safe. But the journey will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat - blindfolded. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal or monster?

Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey - a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her, interweaving past and present. 

As I mentioned at the beginning, I was listening to The Beatles' White Album while reading this book. Revolution 9 proved to be the most atmospheric track for reading this book. 

Bird Box reminds me of The Road combined with The Fireman. Apocalyptic horror, unknown cause and a group of people banding together to stay safe. I enjoyed reading Bird Box, finding it to be more apocalyptic in a conventional way unlike The Fireman. There are many similarities to Cormac McCarthy's The Road, another little book that I enjoyed. I found first time writer Josh Malerman's writing to be very tight with a unique writing style. It employs a bit of stream-of-consciousness (for lack of a better word) during more panicky scenes which I always enjoy reading as I find it's close to reality.

As I mentioned in my previous post on The Fireman, I'm going through a horror kick. This is my third horror summer read, and I'm hoping to have Adam Nevill's The Ritual finished relatively soon. I think I'm heading to Chapters either tomorrow or Wednesday, so I might pick up Stephen King's The Stand as well, something that a few people have recommended. This book was the perfect fix for my horror junkie state. It was really chilling. I love books/movies/TV shows that employ the fear of the unknown or the unseen. 

Going off of that, Bird Box really plays into that irrational fear of the unknown. One of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who is Midnight which aired in series four. It featured an unseen monster that infiltrated a sky bus the Doctor was on and began terrorizing the passengers. It was phenomenal and played into the fear of the unknown/unseen perfectly. Bird Box, oddly enough, reminded me of that TV story. The monster is never revealed and I think it is a better story for it. It doesn't fulfill the reader's every wish (but really, it's much better not knowing, making the reader imagine what the monster is, rather than tell the reader what it is and have less tension and suspense as a result).

All in all, a really enjoyable, thrilling read. Bird Box gets a 5/5 from me, and I can't wait to see what Josh Malerman does next. 

The Fireman by Joe Hill

(Sorry about the delay in posting! I was out of town for a few days)

From Goodreads/Front Flap:
From New York Times bestselling author of  NOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion that threatens to reduce civilization and a band of improbable heroes who battle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man, known as the Fireman.  

Stay cool, the fireman is coming.

No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophoton. To everyone else it's Dragonscale, a highly contagious spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks - before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe. 

The synopsis goes on for a bit longer, but for the sake of brevity and suspense, I cut off the last few paragraphs.

I read this book near the end of July to beginning of August; it was my first Joe Hill novel (full name: Joseph Hillstrom King - son of Stephen King, horror novel god - Hill cut off the last portion of his surname to distinguish himself from his Dad) and this is my unadulterated review: love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE this book. It was so amazingly good and well-written and wonderful and I can't wait to read it again. Sigh. Have I mentioned that I love this book? Because I do.

 Right from the get-go, Hill sets up his world, a post-apocalyptic, man-vs-man-vs-nature-vs-self world that is atmospheric and has just enough of a chilling tone that doesn't turn you off, and is scary without being overly scary or overly dramatic. Hill is a very good writer, his writing is not difficult to follow, but he does not make it too easy for the reader either. I found his characters to be compelling and dynamic, well-rounded, and every one of them (even the douchebag husband of the main character - thankfully not in the book for very long) had something interesting to contribute.

This was my first pleasure foray into the horror genre. I picked this book up at Chapters on a whim and I'm glad that I did. I really enjoy the cross-over genre of apocalypse with horror, but sadly, I don't think many of those books exist outside of this and maybe Cormac McCarthy's The Road, so if anyone has any apocalyptic horror novels like this or The Road, let me know! I love this genre!

Hill covers the bases of the apocalyptic horror genre well, also incorporating issues such as trust and loyalty. Who are we supposed to trust? Are we supposed to trust no one? There are certain characters that instantly are suspicious and Hill doesn't fall into the tired cliche of having an obvious villain, playing back into the man-vs-man theme. Have I mentioned that I love this book?

All in all, this was an amazing book, and I highly recommend it, especially to fans of the apocalyptic horror genre. It's well worth your time. I had a really great time with The Fireman, and I am giving it a 5/5.
I will be sure to check out more of Hill's works once I have money (I bought my textbooks for school and sheeesh they're not cheap).

(Side-note: I read Ulysses! I don't think I'll do a conventional post like this one and Dubliners, but more a "thoughts on" post, because I could go on for days about Ulysses and create entire blogs devoted to nothing but Ulysses. Expect that post in a couple of days.)

Dubliners by James Joyce

From the back cover: James Joyce was the singular figure of modernism, and to this day his grand vision looms large over contemporary literature and the entire Western canon. His stylistic innovations were revolutionary, yet nowhere is Joyce more accessible than in this volume of short stories, a brilliant collection that celebrates, critiques, and immortalizes the place that Joyce knew better than anyone else: Dublin. From the young boy encountering death in the opening story "The Sisters" to the middle aged protagonist of its haunting finale "The Dead," considered one of the greatest short stories of all time, Dubliners is a vivid portrait of the city in all its glory and hardship, and a seminal work that redifined the short form. Featuring a new Introduction by acclaimed novelist John Banville, this edition is not only a breathtaking portal into Joyce's "dear dirty Dublin" but a vital literary treasure from one of the great masters of all time. 

This was my first James Joyce book. I've started reading Ulysses today. While others may find Joyce's writing style off-putting, there is a simple complexity and a duality to it that I find interesting. I really enjoyed Dubliners. It's a short little book with fourteen short stories and a novella, making up fifteen stories, in which Dublin and its people are portrayed as accurately as can be. There is an ongoing thread throughout Dubliners and everything loosely and tightly interconnects. My favourite two stories are "An Encounter" and "The Dead" which both highlight Dublin and Dubliners in different ways. There is something so haunting and moving about "The Dead" and something so off-putting about "An Encounter" that those two stood out as my favourite two.

I really liked Joyce's writing style. It is like nothing else I have read. While it did take a little bit of getting used to, ultimately, his style fits what he is writing. His style is simple but hinging on absurd. All in all, I really, really enjoyed reading Dubliners, taking my time with the stories and allowing myself to really get into the narrative and the stories.

I give Dubliners 5/5 stars and I recommend it to everybody, as I think it is a book that everyone should read at one point in their lifetime.

Introduction

Hello blogosphere!

As I'm sure you have guessed from the url and blog title, I'm Gillian. I'm a 20-something Canadian, about to go into my third year at Trent University with a double major in English Literature and History (no, I don't want to be a teacher).

I like to read, listen to music, travel, watch movies and be out and about. This blog will be primarily about what I'm reading, but there will also be a few "life" posts sprinkled in here as well (I'm not that boring! :P)

I did say that I don't want to be a teacher. My career goal is literary agent or something else in the publishing field that involves reading and advocating for unpublished books to become published. In order to reach this goal, in all likelihood I will have to go on to get my M.A. following my B.A.H.

As I mentioned, I love reading, and it is one of my favourite things to do when I am not working or doing things for school. I have a long list of favourite books, that keeps growing. Right now, I'm currently reading Dubliners, a collection of short stories by James Joyce, and it's my goal to read his great tome Ulysses as well as the nonsensical Finnegans Wake. I've recently finished Joe Hill's book The Fireman as well as Thomas Olde Heuvelt's Dutch-to-English HEX, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Since I am an English student, I might post on the books I read in my English classes as well. School starts for me in a couple of weeks, and I'm getting my textbooks for the fall semester soon, in the next week or two, so I might post on that as well.

I did try to make a separate Instagram page for my reading posts only, but it wasn't letting me, and I prefer written reviews to photos with a quick blurb about my thoughts, so I figured a blog was the best way to express my thoughts on the books I read. I have tried blogging in the past, and I'm sure my abandoned blogs are still out there in the Internet void, but this time I'm really going to try and stick with it.

When I'm not reading, working or at school, I enjoy listening to music, watching movies, going on adventures and travelling. My ideal travel destination is Ireland, my favourite place I've never been to.

Happy reading!
- Gillian