Another week of mediocre reading

Yep, it’s been a whole week since I dazzled you with my not-so-brilliant book reviews, and it’s been a week of dud, dud, dud.

Ok, only two duds. But considering I only read two books, that’s pretty bad.

Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Claire Morrall

It wasn’t a BAD book. But it’s not one that’s going to linger in my memory, nor one I’m likely to pick up again.

Kitty, our heroine, has synesthesia, a condition that causes her to perceive the world through colours, hence the title. Although initially the author does a great job of conveying the difference in perspective, the narrative bogs down after a while, and Kitty’s unique view of the world doesn’t seem to be nearly as relevant as the fact that her father and brothers are emotionally unavailable, self-centred jerks. The surprise three-quarters of the way through, by the time we got to it, wasn’t a surprise by that time, and the remainder of the story was slightly unbelieveable.

I don’t know what the author intended the message to be, but I did find some value in what I took from it – namely the themes of self-delusion and denial, which are interesting to examine. Kitty’s brothers seemed equally mired in these pursuits, making her synesthesia not nearly as important as I suspect the author hoped it would be.

Curious Incudent of the Dog in the Night-time did a MUCH better job of showing the world through the eyes of someone who sees “different”.

The Secret Lives of the Sushi Club by Christy Yorke

Yet another tome about four women who like each other, then don’t, then do again. But it’s also about nature and ecology. And  rivers. And terrorism.  And Game Boys. And there’s nothing about sushi.

There’s just way too much going on in this book for it to truly focus on what it purports to be about – the relationship between four friends and how it’s affected by the actions of one.  The first chapter/intro just about lost me – I stuck with it though. And waited, until the very last sentence, for it to get better. It didn’t, much. It’s also got half a dozen viewpoints, and they’re not necessarily neatly divided. Hard for the reader to keep track of – and hard for the writer too, apparently, as I caught two or three instances of head-hoppping along the way.

It’s kind of about women and friendship. And love and loss and regret. And a river.  If the river had been just a backdrop, it might have worked, but the author seemed to want the river to be more than that.

If you’re looking for a book about women and friendship, try Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons instead.

So I’ve now read my 4 books for $10, and it wasn’t worth it. In desperation, I’ve started re-reading Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Cruisie for the third time, because at least I know I’m going to like it. And it looks like the next Diana Gabaldon Outlander series book is coming in September!