Journal Entry 1 by Semioticghost from Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom on Sunday, September 28, 2003

Journal Entry 2 by Semioticghost from Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom on Tuesday, September 30, 2003

So far, the following bookcrossers have signed up for this international bookray [not yet in any particular order]:

1. Booklemur [UK] [done]
2. Psychjo [UK] [done]
3. Chelseagirl [UK] [done]
4. Mytilusgirl [UK] [done]
5. Loopy1 [UK] [done]
6. Tigger79 [UK] [done]
7. Kernow8 [UK][done]
8. Witchie [Portugal][done]
9. patxocas [Portugal][done]
11.
12. Tuz [Brazil][done]
13. Chivers [Brazil]
14. Daidy [can post within North America]
15. Melydia [US] [prefers to post US only, if possible] 

Journal Entry 3 by booklemur on Monday, October 13, 2003

Received on Saturday. I'll add more comments once the book is done.

Thanks!! 

Journal Entry 4 by booklemur on Sunday, November 09, 2003

I will send this on to the next person on the ray as soon as I get an address - I have PM'd psychjo.

Please note, however, that the London postal strike has caused a backlog of mail - while it's officially over, mail is still moving really, really slowly. (How slowly? I had a letter I needed to get to the US within the next three weeks , and the post office counterperson I spoke to yesterday advised me to send it trackable express.) So, while I can send the book on now, I think it will hardly be zipping off to the next destination.

I enjoyed reading this very much. I really don't have all that much in the way of deep comments to add, however, because I think that my stressed-out life as of late made me a bit of a superficial reader. This is NOT a book best read in tiny pieces on the tube! : )

I do, however, intend to find my own copy and re-read this over my Christmas vacation, so that's a bookray success! 

Journal Entry 5 by booklemur at Postal Release in -- By post or by hand --, Greater London United Kingdom on Thursday, November 20, 2003

Released on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at Postal Release in Royal Mail, England United Kingdom.

Sent express mail to make up for the delay. 

Journal Entry 6 by psychjo from Bristol, not specified not specified on Monday, November 24, 2003

This arrived with me in the middle of last week.....will read after my current book, which I have nearly finished.... 

Journal Entry 7 by psychjo from Bristol, not specified not specified on Monday, February 02, 2004

Wow, and absolutely stunning book. As you can see from the length of time I have had it, I have found it a very hard going and challenging read (though it didn't help that I couldn't always give it the attention it deserved over the Christmas break when I also moved flats!) - so I must apologise for keeping it so long - I was determined to finish it..... But not a book to read in between dodging the raindrops.

Hard going because of the style of writing I think, but also the small print size and very dense text on a page - perhaps trivial things but I am sure this book has a very high word count per page compared to most books. Very interesting character, and interesting context going on around him. As I said the style of writing was hard to get into, but after a while I thoroughly enjoyed it, and loved some of the more poetical passages, especially those where almost word association/memory association was going on.

Thank you Semioticghost for sending this round. Will post off to Chelseagirl tomorrow.
 

Journal Entry 8 by chelseagirl from Faringdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, February 04, 2004

I have no idea what this is about but am looking forward to reading it, got a couple TBR first though. I'll try not to hang on to it too long! 

Journal Entry 9 by chelseagirl from Faringdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, March 03, 2004

I'm going to have to admit defeat with this book, I'm really sorry. I've found it so hard to get into and every time I get a chance to read I find I'm picking up something a bit lighter - just think I'm too busy with uni to have the brain power left for something as heavy as this!

I'm also very conscious of the fact that I've had this for almost a month already and haven't read more than 100 pages, it's just not fair to hold up the ring any longer. I'm going to PM mytilusgirl for her address and send it on its way. I will, however, keep an eye out for The Tin Drum and hopefully will be able to read it at some point in the future, when I haven't got college/kids/housework/fiance all calling on my time!

Once again, I'm really sorry :0( and hope everyone else will have more luck with it than me. 

Journal Entry 10 by Mytilus from Plymouth, Devon United Kingdom on Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Arrived today, and is next TBR. 

Journal Entry 11 by Mytilus from Plymouth, Devon United Kingdom on Thursday, March 11, 2004

My apologies! This arrived two days ago.

It's next to be read... 

Journal Entry 12 by Mytilus from Plymouth, Devon United Kingdom on Thursday, March 18, 2004

Ok. I sent this book on yesterday, to loopy1 but didn't quite have the time to marshal my thoughts on it.

Well, firstly, I found this book quite hard-going. Like psychjo before me, I found the style of writing difficult. Rather than focusing on what the writing was about, I was rather noticing the writing itself...

The subject matter was disturbing and I found myself acutely uncomfortable at certain sections. I'm afraid I rather skim-read the bits that perturbed me (a habit of mine). All in all, I think this is a book that I might go and buy a copy of, so that I can digest it with time.

Thank you Semioticghost for passnig this book around.

P.S. Not quite sure why I journalled its arrival twice. Oops! 

Journal Entry 13 by loopy1 from Herne Bay, Kent United Kingdom on Friday, March 19, 2004

Just when I thought the postman had abandoned me this morning - then I got back from shopping to find a large box of books, with this one hitchhiking inside :-)
Thanks for this, I look forward to reading it - and once I've put the shopping away I can journal all those in the box! 

Journal Entry 14 by loopy1 from Herne Bay, Kent United Kingdom on Saturday, March 27, 2004

I don't normally journal in the middle of a book - but I wanted to say that I am enjoying this book, but like others find it hard to read casually. So that means that a lot of my reading time is being used for other books - like over mealtimes.
So I am devoting "sit down and read" time to this book, and casual read time to others. This means that it will take longer than usual to read this book, but that when I am reading it I can concentrate properly on it.
I'm really not sure where this book is going at the moment, but at times so far it's been reminding me of Owen Meany - small child with clear ideas of what he wants to do in life, startling voice...
Maybe the links are tenuous, but I'll comment more once I've got further.
 

Journal Entry 15 by loopy1 from Herne Bay, Kent United Kingdom on Wednesday, May 12, 2004

I must confess, I brought this book to the computer to journal that I'd given up with it. But as I flicked through it I realised that I was starting to feel fond of Oskar, and didn't really want to give him up without finishing the book.
So I'm going to give this one more week and really try and concentrate on it properly, giving it the attention it deserves.
 

Journal Entry 16 by loopy1 from Herne Bay, Kent United Kingdom on Saturday, June 05, 2004

Well I finally finished this book. I'm still not sure what to make of it actually, which is why I haven't given it a rating.
It was hard to get through, and I agree that it was very word-intensive, or however you like to describe it. And the long chapters helped make it seem like a longer read.
But as I said before, I tried to stop reading halfway through and Oskar had grabbed onto me so tight that I couldn't do it. I'm glad I did finish it all, but it's a bit like when I read War and Peace - not something I'd like to reread in a hurry.
Oskar was a strange character, although it was fairly easy and entertaining to listen to him. Not being familiar with any of the history or geography of the book I felt a little lost at times.
Maybe I'll revisit this book in a year or two and form a better idea of it. In the meantime, I'm still brewing up an opinion, I think!
Thanks for sharing it, I'll be passing it on as soon as possible. 

Journal Entry 17 by loopy1 from Herne Bay, Kent United Kingdom on Wednesday, June 16, 2004

I did post this book off at the end of the last week - hopefully it will arrive safely! 

Journal Entry 18 by KenseyRiver from Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom on Friday, December 31, 2004

As you can see from how long I have had this book, I found it a hard read. I could only read 2 or 3 pages at a time. I think this is because the book is so complicated, but the combination of small print and a dyslexia-type thing didn't help! Anyway, I have finished it and I feel a tremendous sense of achievement, although I feel like I have only got a small percentage of the book's meaning. I will be reading more on the internet and harrassing my friends about this book. Anyway, finally the book will be on its way to Kernow8. 

Journal Entry 19 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Thursday, January 13, 2005

Arrived today - thanks! 

Journal Entry 20 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Thursday, March 10, 2005

I agree with pretty much everything that has been said before - it was difficult to read quickly, but somehow I was drawn to it and whereas wither other challenging reads I might find myself wanting to abandon the book altogether, with The Tin Drum that never happened. It was a fascinating read - especially the interweaving of Oskar's peculiar life and the political events of the place and time.

I particularly agree with loopy's comment about echoes of Owen Meany - or rather, I would be extremely surprised if Oskar hadn't strongly influenced Irving. Apart from the size and voice, there were also similarities in the Jesus complex, and even the gravestone-cutting!

Thanks for the chance to read this - it has taken me 6 weeks so I'm looking forward to picking up another book now! I have got Witchie's address but will double check it before I send the book as I asked her for it rather a long time ago! 

Journal Entry 21 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Witchie had already acquired her own personal copy of this so I sent it on to patxocas today instead. 

Journal Entry 22 by patxocas from Câmara de Lobos, Madeira Portugal on Monday, March 21, 2005

Received today.
Thank you Kernow8!
Thank you Semioticghost for the ray. ;-) 

Journal Entry 23 by patxocas from Câmara de Lobos, Madeira Portugal on Thursday, June 16, 2005

Journal Entry 24 by Tuz from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brazil on Monday, September 19, 2005

Thanks for the book! I'll try to read it this week. 

Journal Entry 25 by Tuz at Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brazil on Saturday, January 09, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (1/9/2010 UTC) at Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brazil

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Passed it to a friend!
Happy reading! 

Journal Entry 26 by Renatomac from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brazil on Saturday, January 23, 2010

Thank you! I'll read it soon.