I have definitely found a new author to add to my list of favourite writers. The Flavours of Love is the first book I have read by Dorothy Koomson but I do not plan on it being my last. I have been waiting to read some of her work for months and now, with university officially being over, I was quick to snap up any book of Koomson's that I could find.

 

On the surface, I should hate this book. I am not your rom-com, chick-lit kind of girl. Usually spotting the word love in a title is enough to turn me away but my interest in Koomson's work acted as an exception, and I am so glad it did. The Flavours of Love was the perfect blend of all of life's little complexities and had me turning the pages so quickly, I'm sure I probably missed some vital parts of the plot.

 

What I liked most was how much Koomson's characters irritated me, and I mean that in the best way possible. I like it when I feel entitled whilst reading a character, when they become someone I could encounter in real life or on the new, and ever so easily pass judgement on. Koomson's writing provoked a reaction - many reactions, actually - and it is one of those books that seeps into your consciousness. Starts the 'what if it happened to me' strands of thought that are sometimes difficult to stop.

 

It is a dark book; it covers some of the darkest parts of humanity but Koomson is careful to balance these out. Not with artificial lightness but with reality. We all suffer from hardships, from anxiety, from stress but we cope because we create our own ways of coping. We balance things out and, to use a cooking analogy since much of the book revolves around kitchens, though the scales will tip from time to time, equilibrium is usually restored. There are a lot of decisions made within the novel, some I agree with, some I don't, but they keep you on your toes and force you - in the gentlest definition of the word - to carry on reading. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Dorothy Koomson's books in the future.


Jade x
 

Now that I have free time to read for pleasure again, I have decided to start incorporating book reviews into my blog. I love reading other people's opinions on books and though I did read some classics during the English Lit half of my degree, it's nice to be able to write on books I have chosen to read without adhering to some form of marking criteria!

 

I was drawn to You Deserve Nothing largely because of its association with Paris. I have a growing infatuation with France - one of my tattoos is even written in French! It is a language I wish I spoke more fluently and though I have visited Paris once, once is nowhere near enough.

 

As for the book, it was a mildly enjoyable read. The storyline was weaved together well and I liked the way Maksik made use of three perspective narration style. It wasn't difficult to keep up with the shifting chapters and the book itself was quick to digest; I managed to read it cover to cover within 24 hours. I found myself wanting to continue reading out but more from curiosity than anything - it is always interesting to see how different writers approach similar topics. There wasn't a great desire or fervour to finish but Maksik's style is compelling nonetheless.

 

To say I didn't enjoy the book would be an unfair statement. I think my opinion was perhaps influenced by the way You Deserve Nothing somewhat echoed a book I stumbled across during my dissertation. J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace is similar yet altogether different, but my mind kept channelling the comparisons. Although a far more harrowing read out of the two, Coetzee's would be my book of choice. I can't say I empathise with either Coetzee's main protagonist or Maksik's but I found it hard to relate to the adoration Maksik creates for college professor Will. It's not that I don't believe such relationships between students and teachers exist; I have witnessed on a number of occasions the way students hone in on certain members of staff, revering them with adolescent intensity. But it is not something I have really ever experienced and I just found it hard to subscribe to the way so many of Maksik's students were won over by Will's commanding charm.

 

The ending was perhaps a little predictable and I think that's why Coetzee's novel registered with me more. What occurs across a whole book with Maksik, happens much quicker with Coetzee and we get to witness more of the fall out in Disgrace. Of course the plots are not identical and there is no one right way to write about such a topic anyway. It is just my personal preference and I welcome disagreements. That is one thing I love about books, and something that crops up in You Deserve Nothing itself: it is normal, in fact it is welcomed, that different people come away from the same book, the same text, with different interpretations. That is the beauty of the arts and Maksik really does seem to champion culture. He writes Paris extremely well and more than anything, the book increased my longing to return to the city I fast fell in love with.

 

Jade x

 

(Couldn't help but throw in a few of my fave pictures from my trip to Paris last year too!)

 

 

In the advent of my journey to uni (and the onslaught of final year!) this Sunday, I've been trying to cram a bit of last minute reading. I do try and read quite a lot anyway: magazines are usually my literature of choice, followed very closely by novels I can lose myself in and bringing up the rear is poetry by unpublished poets. Sometimes I read proper poets too. The best writers are supposedly those who read as much as they write so I've been trying to read (and write) as much as I can. I've managed to read a couple of books this summer, some to do with my dissertation, some to do with my aspirations to improve my creative writing and some purely for fun. It's interesting to see how often all these can overlap!

1. Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins

I love the plot of these books as do many others and I got a bit too excited about the upcoming Catching Fire trailer being released earlier this year. I'm also basing some choreography loosely around the Hunger Games (more on that aspect of my life later!) so I wanted to refresh my memory by reading the books again. On the whole I'm not usually a massive fan of first-person writing but the plot is good enough to keep me hooked through all three books.


2. Started Early, Took My Dog - Kate Atkinson.

I first came across Kate Atkinson during my A Level English lessons; her book Behind the Scenes at the Museum was one of our core texts. I don't think I realised back then quite how genius Atkinson is though but reading Started Early has firmly reinforced her brilliance. It was suggested to me that I read more Atkinson by way of improving my creative writing but it actually holds a lot of benefit for my dissertation too - definitely one of my top summer reads.

4. The Nightmare - Lars Kepler

My Mum and I have both read a number of Jo Nesbo books over the last two or so years and from the blurb of Nightmare, it seemed that this book was of a similar standing. I can say I was well and truly gripped by this and I really like the style in which it was written. This book was bought and read purely for fun - no academic attraction at all, except for me lamenting how hard it will be to get a book published (especially when I find it so hard to stick to one idea!) I researched the author and found out that it's actually a couple who wrote the book together - I couldn't even tell, the writing was seamless and sucked me right in.


5. Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie

I starting reading this last summer, forgot about it and started it up again this year mostly out of boredom. It was a good read and ended up being pretty useful for my diss research. I love it when a plan comes together!

Anyone else had any good reads this summer?

Jade :)