Journal Entry 1 by tqd from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Registering this for Fleebo's Man Booker reading challenge, as this is one of the shortlisted books for 2011.

I'm yet to read this one, but will pass it along to the next participating bookcrosser I see (as I managed to royally stuff up and also reserve a copy at the library, D'oh).

Participants (order subject to change without notice, I'm happy for this to travel anyway that suits):

jubby
LadyIndigo
Fleebo
goodthinkingmax
miss-jo 

Journal Entry 2 by tqd at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Friday, October 07, 2011

Released 7 mos ago (10/7/2011 UTC) at Sydney, New South Wales Australia

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Passed on to jubby, over a delicious lunch at Spice I Am in Balmain. The banana flower salad rocked!

Happy reading! 

Journal Entry 3 by jubby at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Friday, October 07, 2011

Thank you very much TQD. I am looking forward to this one.
Do you think it could live up to the high standard of the lunch?

I wonder if we could have Book+drinks there one night? 

Journal Entry 4 by jubby at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, November 12, 2011

Released 6 mos ago (11/6/2011 UTC) at Sydney, New South Wales Australia

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Oh dear.

Time has gotten away from me again.
I read and posted this book last Friday (or maybe a day or two earlier) to Lady Indigo.

This book wasn't a difficult read at all and rather 'readable', but life decided to throw a few hurdles my way and it did take me a few weeks to finally finish.

What amazes me is the way that the brain (I always have to stop and think how to spell that word - my brain is called Brian!) makes connections and associations. Last year I read the book 'Dog Boy' by Eva Hornung - also set in Russia. The cold landscape, the poverty and crime stunned me, and this book reminded me again of the hardships faced there by the everyday people.

The literary mentions of Conrad and Green reminded me that I really ought to move them up my tbr pile so I can actually see the connections the author was making.

But mostly, I took this book as I found it and was not disappointed. It would have been shocking if it had won the Booker Award for 2011, but as a bedside book read over several weeks it didn't disappoint.

Thank you for sharing this book with me TQD, and I apologise for taking so long in journalling it.