I bought this book last year in London, because I had read rave reviews about it. Took me a while to get to actually read it, and what can I say?
I'm not impressed.
Not that it's a totally bad book, but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't warm to most of the characters, I had trouble with the narrative structure (6 intercut storylines that are only very loosely connected) and the whole story just didn't click with me. I think, I get the point the author tried to make (which isn't all too remarkable, since he hammered it home quite insistently), but even if I agree with him - I just don't care.
On the other hand, it didn't quite bore me enough to stop reading it altogether (which I am doing quite ruthlessly nowadays, if I think the story is not worth wasting my time with it). So it can not be all bad. But it's definitely not a book that I would pick up again and it didn't live up to all the hype. Maybe someone else will enjoy it more.

Another bookray. Europe only for now.

Participants:

Bookcloud (UK)
brunton11 (UK)
aava (Finland)
RubyBlueLady (UK)
pinkydinky (UK)
...

I just sent the book off to Bookcloud.

Just received from Samulli. Thankyou. I'll read it then pass it on to Brunton. Will start it in a few days time

Really sorry, I can't get into this book at all. It's so positively different from his other book. I thankyou for sending it to me samulli but I'll ray it on to brunton11 on Monday

Received today - A few of my work colleagues have had mixed reviews on this one so it will be interesting to see what all of the fuss is about!

Well I finally got there and finished this book today. I agree that some of the stories were more engaging than others and those were the ones that made reading this book worthwhile. It's not my usual type of reading material so it was good to try something different. It also helped to generate a few discussions over lunch - Everyone seemes to have preferred a different character but everyone agreed that the first chapter was hard going!

Waiting to hear back from aava on what to do with this book. They're on holiday until July 15th so I can either post it now or wait a few weeks until they're back...

Thanks samulli for the chance to read this book.

Posted to aava today.

The book''s with me. I''m so looking forward reading this!

I liked this book. And I didn't undrstand what it was all about. There were brilliant bits and at times I thought well, now I see the whole point and then I just got confused again. Maybe you're not ment to understand everything.

I think I want to read this book again some time to see if I need to read it when I'm not so tired (I fell asleep several times when reading this in bed...

And my apologies for keeping this book so long. I will contact RubyBlueLady and mail the book forward.Thanks samulli for sharing this book.

edit 24th September: On its way to RubyBlueLady

This arrived today along with another bookring, so I'll probably read that one first, then this one.

I read this constantly for two days. It's funny, when I saw this book mentioned in the forum, it was the title that drew me in. I just had a feeling I would like anything with a name like that LOL

I have to say I loved this book. I liked the way each story was linked to each other (often by some tiny detail) and yes, I too liked some more than others, but they all were interesting in their own way.

I'm really glad I had a chance to read this book and will now look for the other books by this author.

Will post on to pinkydinky who actually lives quite near me.

Arrived this morning. Have a couple to read before this one. Will see if I can get any more readers for it when I have finished. Thanks samulli and RubyBlueLady.

Some of the stories were easier to read than others. The very brief links between the stories were good too and changed the way you looked at the previous story.
I will try and continue this ring.

Participants in the continuing bookray.

1. Martinburo (UK)
2. Thursoexile (UK)
3. yorkshire-lass (UK)
4. bumbelbee (Netherlands) Not available to receive until May.

RELEASE NOTES:

On it's way to Martinburo. I hope you enjoy this book.

Thank you. I will read this as soon as I finish my other bookring.

This book is inside out, with all it's guts spilling out. Interesting? Maybe. But it leaves too much of the normal ingredients of a novel out of sight. Like a plot. Please? Or how about consistency? It struck me as completely artificial to gloss over the many contradictions by claiming, respectively, that it's a film, a scripted escape, and grandpa's fuzzy memories. Doesn't DM know that even a film needs to be self-consistent to be enjoyable?
Because the book dispenses with beginnings and endings and is full of alarum, it starts out as a fast read, but then at page 157 I abruptly realised that it might possibly just continue like that for the full 529 pages, going nowhere. So from there I skipped to the last chapter. That at least offered some resolution, so I ended up reading the one but last chapter and most of the rest book of the book forward again, skipping over the Cavendish bit, which was just too boring for words.
In 'Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen', Fay Weldon makes a comment about turning handicaps into strenghts by exaggerating them. If memory serves, the example she gives is Iris Murdoch and the excessive use of adjectives. Unfortunately, DM can exaggerate, but not turn it into any strength that I could appreciate.
There is just this one sentence in the book that stayed with me:
"I couldn't understand how the conurb didn't grind to a halt in the presence of such beauty."

I have jubby's address, though it might take until 7 January for me to post it, when the university post office opens.
Oh dear, almost did that wrong. The other bookring was already lying ready here with the address of Thursoexile on it.

Part of book ray thank you, it arrived just as I was going on holiday. Good solid read but not as good as all the hype I feel. No matter be sent on its way as soon as I get an address from the next soul..

The book arrived this morning,thanks thursoexile. I have two rings to read before I can get to this one,but I will read it ASAP.

I'm so sorry but I just could not get into this book.I dont like to give up on books but this one defeated me and I feel bad because it's a bookray. Thanks everyone for sharing. It looks like I will not be able to pass this on to the last person in the ray until May, I will keep it safe until then.

I just had a PM from bumbelbee who is the last person in the ray saying that she has now read the book. I'm going to offer it on the Forum and get it on it's way again.

This is now on its way to Soleille in Germany who was the winner on the Forum. Hope you enjoy it Soleille.

Thanks for the RABCK - and welcome back to Germany,little book :o)
I have heard soooo much about this book and can't wait to find out what I will think about it :o)

I had trouble getting into the book, too, but once I got past the first two chapters, I was hooked. I wouldn't be able to say just *what* I thought of the book, it was quite a confusing story, but I really enjoyed it.
It's now with a friend of mine who is still in the second chapter after having the book for over a month :O)