The Price of Salt

 Yet another disappointment. I guess I was expecting something similar to Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar. Yet this book was so bad, so poorly written. Yes, this might be the first book that has a seemingly happy ending for two women in a relationship. But it is almost sad that this has to be it. And the "happy ending" was not even a good one. Two women waving at each other after one of them just rejected the other? The most interesting aspect of the book was learning about the old lifestyle that people in the 1950s had. Sending physical letters to have an actual communication when one goes on a trip. Leaving a forwarding address when one checks out of a hotel. Rolling down car windows. Using dictaphones. It was a nice reminder of how different the world was not so long ago. All of that being said, my favourite sentence in the book is: "I feel I stand in a desert with my hands outstretched, and you are raining down upon me." (Highsmith, P. The Price of Salt. p. 128). What a beautiful way to convey a feeling.

Lessons

 This was a nicely told story whose style reminded me of the film "Boyhood" (Linklater, 2014). As with many books, the plot has its interesting parts and its not so interesting parts. It comes together nicely at the end, when I found out that I cared for Roland and, consequently, for Lawrence. But I still think several parts in the middle could have been more interestingly written. I found myself thinking much about the sexual relationship between Roland and his piano teacher Miriam Cornell. I kept asking myself why did Ian McEwan feel like he needed to include that relationship in his book. The book would have been essentially the same without it, seeing as the most consequential aspect of Roland's life was his having been abandoned by his wife. Reading the book I thought that relationship was more important to Ian McEwan than it was to Roland himself. I do not find it a good sign when I feel like an author is desperately trying to input their intent or moral code into their stories.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

 The only other thing I have read by Anne Brontë is Agnes Grey, and compared to it I did find The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to be a much better book. Jo recommended this book to me saying this novel actually did what Mating failed to do, that is, talk about relationships in a way that is actually relevant to people thinking seriously about them. Indeed the relationship between Gilbert and Helen is more admirable than the relationship between the unnamed protagonist in Mating and Nelson Denoon. At the same time, I would not say that Gilbert and Helen's relationship was a good example. It seemed to me that Gilbert was a little too immature. That may have been because that was the first time he was experiencing being in love—and yes, I am saying that that childish infatuation he had for Eliza does not count. Perhaps I saw too much of myself in Gilbert, which made me dislike both him and me. Helen was a better person. The things I disliked about her are of a different nature. I simply disliked how strong her religious convictions were. I hated how she was fine giving up the chance of being happy with Gilbert while alive with the excuse that they could be together in paradise after they died. I hated that her idea of perfect love meant loving literally everyone with the same intensity, with no special distinction for Gilbert. What is the point of being in love, then? There were a few good plot twists, and one very good moment of suspense there when we thought that Helen might be marrying Mr Hargrave. That was gossip among townspeople at its best.
  I am left still looking for a love story that may teach me something valuable. A relationship that I can admire. If you know of any, please do let me know.

Mating

 Quite a disappointment. In the article Is True Love Possible? Readers Are Turning to This 1990s Novel for Answers, Marie Solis described this book as having "achieved handshake status among young readers thinking seriously about romantic relationships." Which to me was quite a compelling description. Mating does start strong, I did like the unnamed protagonist's initial relationships and the descriptions of African nature. But when it turns to her main relationship, i.e. her relationship with Nelson Denoon, things start to go downhill. I do not think much can be learnt from that relationship. It is not a healthy relationship. In fact, it very much seemed like the protagonist was obssessed with Nelson. She wanted to be in a relationship with him so badly even though it was clear (to me) that she knew right from the beginning that she did not want to stay in Tsau for long. So the story becomes one of her trying to get Nelson out of Tsau at all cost. Except, Nelson does not want to leave. Inevitably, the only thing that can happen in that situation is that the relationship deteriorates because she is not getting what she wants. I do not think the book answers the question "is true love possible?" It does not even try to answer it. Perhaps because of that I felt that the book was such a disappointment. But even the plot per se was not very interesting. The monologues on socialism and politics were honestly quite dull. I do not think I would recommend this book.

A Gathering Light

 This book reminded me of Katherine Clements's The Silvered Heart, except A Gathering Light is better. Both are novels based on historical events yet I found myself more interested in the tale Jennifer Donnelly was telling. There were no gratuitous sex scenes, which might have helped create a more elegant narrative. Yet, there was something missing. At several points I felt I was reading a children's book: a simple and somewhat shallow story. Given the various times we were told of how fond Matt was of writing stories that portrayed the real challenges of life, and given all the misfortunes that actually happen in the book, there was a point where I genuinely thought the book would end on a bitter note. That is why I was pleasantly surprised when Matt took the right decisions and left Royal, paid the Hubbards' taxes, and finally decided to go to university. Not that I thought that Royal was not a good match for Matt. It is just that Royal, in his anger, was going to take a very wrong step in buying the house of the Hubbards. I choose to believe that that was also the determining factor when Matt was taking the decision to leave Royal. It must have been a very hard decision for her. However, I cannot get rid of the feeling that what made this story more interesting was the author's note at the end where it tells the true crime story of Chester Gillette and Grace Brown. And I do not think that the worth of a novel should be measured by anything but its own text.

Time's Arrow

 This was quite a unique experience: a story where time is going backwards. I was captivated by that premise. Sadly, that enthusiasm lasted only for the first three chapters. After that, the narrator's perspective started to seem a little disingenuous, seeing that he could analyse and have good observations about certain aspects of Odilo's life but at the same time could not figure out that the "good" things that were happening were actually just the opposite. This was a very short book, and it would have been a mistake to make it longer. Just as it was a mistake to have the last chapter talk about Odilo's childhood. Especially because nothing interesting was said. It was so disconnected from everything else in the book. Such a shame, because I started reading the book with very high hopes and ended up feeling a little disappointed. I do recognise that writing something like this must have been very hard. And I must admit that the good parts in it were really good. The thing Martin Amis did with the dialogue between characters—which had to be read backwards (from bottom to top) to make sense—was truly finely done.

Fireside Gothic

 This book is a collection of three short stories: (i). "Broken Voices," (ii). "The Leper House," and (iii). "The Scratch." I did like them, but only mildly. To be honest, it might be that I am just not that into that kind of fantasy. Note: I am not saying I am not into fantasy. I just found these stories a little... bland. Of the three my favourite was "The Scratch," and that might be because it was the one closest to reality, the most real story. I still have on my shelf one book that might be similar to Fireside Gothic, it is H.P. Lovecraft's Necronomicon. I am, however, hoping that the Necronomicon is much, much better. If you do get the opportunity to read "The Scratch," read it. It is quite decent. And if that opportunity comes in the form of having the whole Fireside Gothic with you, well... I guess read all three short stories. It will not take you more than five days to read them all.