Eating Animals

Eating Animals
Jonathan Safran Foer
Back Bay Books, 2010

First impression:
I really liked Everything Is Illuminated and enjoy Foer's writing style in general; he has this ability to turn anything into a good story, and also he likes indexing things, just like me. So far I'm enjoying the book, finding it quite compelling, but as I'm getting towards the middle it's becoming a little too statistic-y, like these sorts of books tend to, but I haven't lost hope.

Sad update:
Ironically, I didn't lose hope; I lost the book. As in, I misplaced it in a public place. It's gone. I really liked it, so I will get a new one at some point. But not right now. Sad times.

Review:
So I re-bought the book, I liked it that much. Then again, there is of course the element of preaching to the convinced; we all like to be told that we're doing the right thing, and so with me being a vegetarian, I didn't feel like this book really changed anything in my hands, and the kind of people who I think should read it naturally aren't interested. As I mentioned in the first impression, I thought the first half of the book was very strong, but it started straying a bit towards the end, and eventually became a little too sentimentalised. It did however serve as a great source of knowledge and I would encourage anyone who does eat meat (and/or fish) to read it.

Rating: Impressive

Under The Skin

Under The Skin
Michel Faber
Canongate Books, 2010

First impression:
I highly trust the taste of the person who recommended this to me, but I was still torn by the mere sight of the cover. It does resemble trash, even though I'm sure that doesn't mean it's all bad. I've got about halfway through it fairly quickly and even though I'm annoyed at knowing less than the narrator, it does keep the pages turning.

Review:
Even though I didn't particularly like the style of writing, I acknowledge that the idea is a good one, and I thought the ending with its intentional ambiguity lifted much of the book. There were certain words, too, that I enjoyed the twists on, but I feel that this could have been more developed. I didn't like being strung along for most of the first half, effective though it was to pull me in, and found much of the second half a bit too open in contrast. But as mentioned, the book did tickle the mind at times and though it is not a new favourite, I don't consider it a waste of anyone's time.

Rating: Good

Bridget Jones's Diary

Bridget Jones's Diary
Helen Fielding
Picador, 1996

First impression:
Much like the film but more self-deceptive and eloquent. The element of self-recognition is greater because it has more excuses in it.

Review:
I usually kindle avid resentment towards chick-lit, but read with the motivation that Bridget Jones's Diary is to that genre what Sherlock Holmes is to crime fiction. One might call it a shallow work since the plot does not offer any particular catharsis, but I think it says a lot about the modern woman and her way of reasoning, apart from being a humourous character portrait. I particularly liked the omissions of "small words", such as: "Am going to stop getting weighed and counting things every day as no sodding point", even though they made it more difficult to find a good flow in the text. As a whole, it is charming, creative and witty, horrifically stereotyped but in many ways embarrassingly honest.

Rating: Good