Picked this up at a used book shop in Newtown. A classic (so i won't go into the description at the back), and long (which should keep me occupied for a while), so thought i would give it a go! Will journal more once I have started reading.

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Started reading April 15

Well part way through i thought i wasn't going to finish this book, but in the end i am glad i did. The parts about the war, as usual in his books, are so graphic and obscene I find them is very hard to read. Human suffering and human stupidity, for me, are not entertaining or palatable, and for me do not make for good reading. But in the end, it was the story of Pelagia that won me over and kept me going. She was a great character, as was Antonio and Carlo and the other assorted 'real' characters in the book (as opposed to some of the 'war' ones, most of which were either ridiculous or painful), and I enjoyed how things eventually progressd in the face of such disaster and devastation. There was a sense of humour in this book that wasn't in the other of his that I read, and that, for me, also helped to save it and make it interesting. You can't have such tragedy without taking it down a notch sometimes and reading about the real life ridiculousness that we all succumb to, whether in good times or in bad. So all in all, i liked this book, and hope the next reader will too.

RELEASE NOTES:

Will be meeting friends for some breakfast there, and thought i would release a book--- will leave either by the cash register or else in the ladies washroom.