I can't get enough of Paver's creepy expedition novels: Dark Matter, Thin Air, and now this, Rainforest - although this last one is more about a creepI can't get enough of Paver's creepy expedition novels: Dark Matter, Thin Air, and now this, Rainforest - although this last one is more about a creepy man rather than much that is supernatural. In the early 1970s entomologist, Simon joins an archaeological dig in the Mexican jungle to look for his obsession - mantids. As he learns argues with the archaeologists and plays a part in the destruction of the rainforest in his quest for the insects, we learn that he's grieving for Penelope. Simon discovers that the local tribe have a way of meeting the dead again and he's determined to try it. But his relationship with Penelope is not what it seems and maybe he shouldn't try to meet her one last time. There are no good or likeable characters in this novel, not even poor Penelope, but I 'enjoyed' understanding how a man like Simon ticks. ...more
A rom-com movie in book form - it even had the 'running to get the guy / girl scene' just near the end. It was sweet and cute for the most part, but jA rom-com movie in book form - it even had the 'running to get the guy / girl scene' just near the end. It was sweet and cute for the most part, but just too light for my taste (yes, even with the suicide planning at the beginning). And it really needed a good copy-edit (and I read the paperback): One chapter starts with someone coming round to Phoebe's hotel room at noon, and then a page or two later she says she needs to check out at eleven. And there are at least 24 hours where she doesn't seem to eat or be hungry. I'm being picky...it was fine. ...more
A brilliantly chilling 'classic' ghost story that I loved just as much as Paver's Dark Matter. Here, five men are climbing Kanchenjunga in the HimalayA brilliantly chilling 'classic' ghost story that I loved just as much as Paver's Dark Matter. Here, five men are climbing Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas in 1935, following in the footsteps of a doomed expedition from 1906. Stephen Pearce joins the group at the last minute as the doctor, and brother of climber, Kit. As the group climb higher, Stephen begins to experience odd apparitions which he, even as the doctor, can't put down to altitude sickness. If you're looking for novel in the English ghost-story tradition, this is it, and I loved it. I listened to this via XigXag, read brilliantly by Daniel Weyman. Off now to read Paver's latest, Rainforest, which has just been published. ...more
You know I like bleak, brilliantly written books, right? Well, this is the perfect example, and it's a debut. Rachel and Tom have two children and theYou know I like bleak, brilliantly written books, right? Well, this is the perfect example, and it's a debut. Rachel and Tom have two children and they are driving back from his parents house one day when he deliberately drives the car off the road in order to kill them all. In two alternating timelines of Before and After, we learn about Tom's depression, and after about how Rachel copes with the devastation, travelling with her ten years into the future. It's a difficult subject, but Gleeson handles it so well: the trials of family life, living with someone with depression, and overwhelming grief. It reminded me a little of This House of Grief (which is a true story) by Helen Garner. ...more
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