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camscampbell's reviews
634 reviews
Slow Horses by Mick Herron
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Mystery of the Talking Skull by Robert Arthur
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I bought this on holiday on a whim when I saw a bunch of titles in a used book section. I read these voraciously as a kid and just felt like a nostalgia hit. I got that hit big time! All those memories locked away to come back to the surface again 40+ years later. Loved it!
I'm curious, though; I thought the phone in Headquarters was unlisted. So how did that guy find the number and call them, offering a reward? I guess it can't have been unlisted after all.
I'm curious, though; I thought the phone in Headquarters was unlisted. So how did that guy find the number and call them, offering a reward? I guess it can't have been unlisted after all.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Just couldn’t get into it.
Boys in Zinc by Svetlana Alexiévich
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Night Train to Odesa: Covering the Human Cost of Russia's War by Jen Stout
Another heartwarming scene was the dancing in the Teatralna metro station in Kyiv. If you look up Jen's website, you can see a bunch of photos accompanying these stories, including a beautiful shot of a couple dancing in the metro station. Music features a lot in the book—from buskers on the streets to charity gigs and music therapy for children.
I also loved that she included some Scots language and culture — 'are you, aye?' That bit had me chuckling. (It's a humorous Scots response to someone making a ridiculous statement about themselves). And the reference to the hilarious lift scene in Burnistoun, where the voice-activated lift can't understand a Scotsman shouting out his floor, 'eleven!' How did that make its way to Ukraine?
Jen doesn't shy away from describing some heartbreaking scenes, too. The search for Volodymyr in Kapytolivka was difficult to read but tactfully described. Her trip with the young drone operators was exciting, and the scene where she accidentally hopped into the truck going to the more dangerous city of Siversk instead of waiting for her ride to Chasiv Yar made for an interesting story.
I've come away from reading this book with a sense of hope for Ukraine. Jen perfectly portrays the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and I felt her love for the country blossoming as she got to know it. At one point, she even mentions that she'd considered staying. I hope she goes back and keeps writing her stories to share with us.
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.0
The blurb on the front cover says that 'Jen Stout is very brave, a storyteller of supreme gifts'. (Fergal Keane). It's a perfect description of Jen. She's not fearless, far from it, but she breenges in regardless and takes advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. The writing is very personal and she's sensitive to the plight of the inhabitants of Ukraine. She puts her interviewees at ease with her personality and gets some wonderful responses and some heartbreaking stories.
She describes the friendships she builds with the people she meets in a way that lets us get to know the characters and get a feel for what life is like in these war-torn cities. One of my favourite scenes was of the bakery in Kharkiv.
She describes the friendships she builds with the people she meets in a way that lets us get to know the characters and get a feel for what life is like in these war-torn cities. One of my favourite scenes was of the bakery in Kharkiv.
The thick walls of the old building made it a good shelter. But they also kept the heat in, much better than the thin walls of Tanya's apartment. 'If there's electricity and we can use the ovens, it will be warm inside. I think a lot of people could stay here,' she said. These girls, I thought, really had built a hearth. I was finding warmth and determination all over the place, when what editors expected was fear and despair. This had often been an issue, and I tried to explain that the resilience I described wasn't an individual phenomenon but society-wide. The more Russia attacked Ukrainian society, the less inclined people were to despair. They only got angrier.
Another heartwarming scene was the dancing in the Teatralna metro station in Kyiv. If you look up Jen's website, you can see a bunch of photos accompanying these stories, including a beautiful shot of a couple dancing in the metro station. Music features a lot in the book—from buskers on the streets to charity gigs and music therapy for children.
I also loved that she included some Scots language and culture — 'are you, aye?' That bit had me chuckling. (It's a humorous Scots response to someone making a ridiculous statement about themselves). And the reference to the hilarious lift scene in Burnistoun, where the voice-activated lift can't understand a Scotsman shouting out his floor, 'eleven!' How did that make its way to Ukraine?
Jen doesn't shy away from describing some heartbreaking scenes, too. The search for Volodymyr in Kapytolivka was difficult to read but tactfully described. Her trip with the young drone operators was exciting, and the scene where she accidentally hopped into the truck going to the more dangerous city of Siversk instead of waiting for her ride to Chasiv Yar made for an interesting story.
I've come away from reading this book with a sense of hope for Ukraine. Jen perfectly portrays the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and I felt her love for the country blossoming as she got to know it. At one point, she even mentions that she'd considered staying. I hope she goes back and keeps writing her stories to share with us.
Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia by Orlando Figes
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
This is an incredible book that feels as if it were written just for me. It's one to savour and take nice and slowly so that the culture and the history have time to sink in. Or blast through it, safe in the knowledge that this is only your first time reading it—you'll read it again and again.
It starts when Peter the Great sticks his bayonet into the swamp that would become St Petersburg in 1703 and continues until 1962 when Stravinsky and Shostakovich meet for the first time.
Read this with the Internet close at hand, as it'll have you looking up art, listening to music, watching movies, reading novels and poetry, and even going into your attic to drag out old boxes of books to find your old poetry books. Okay, maybe that's just me. Where IS that book of Akhmatova poetry I bought 30 years ago? Time for a second mission into the attic I think.
Also, read the book with a box of tissues nearby. Is it spoilery to mention... yeah, maybe it is. I'll save it. Just have tissues, is all I'm saying. I'll spoiler-tag it.
Trigger warning: Suicide
Near the end of the book, Figes describes the final days of Marina Tsvetaeva and then publishes her suicide note that she left for her son. It's just heartbreaking.
I can't even begin to imagine how much research must have gone into this book. Figes writes a beautiful thank you note to his research assistants, ending it by thanking his daughters, "whose loveliness in no small part inspired it. It was written in the hope that one day they might understand their father's other love." That had me tearing up.
I'll be buying another copy of this to give to my daughter. She's a musician and is studying at Guildhall. She's played a fair bit of music from Russian composers, including my man Shostakovich. If I ever get to hear her playing the principal horn in Shostakovich 10, I'll melt into a puddle.
It starts when Peter the Great sticks his bayonet into the swamp that would become St Petersburg in 1703 and continues until 1962 when Stravinsky and Shostakovich meet for the first time.
Read this with the Internet close at hand, as it'll have you looking up art, listening to music, watching movies, reading novels and poetry, and even going into your attic to drag out old boxes of books to find your old poetry books. Okay, maybe that's just me. Where IS that book of Akhmatova poetry I bought 30 years ago? Time for a second mission into the attic I think.
Also, read the book with a box of tissues nearby. Is it spoilery to mention... yeah, maybe it is. I'll save it. Just have tissues, is all I'm saying. I'll spoiler-tag it.
Trigger warning: Suicide
I can't even begin to imagine how much research must have gone into this book. Figes writes a beautiful thank you note to his research assistants, ending it by thanking his daughters, "whose loveliness in no small part inspired it. It was written in the hope that one day they might understand their father's other love." That had me tearing up.
I'll be buying another copy of this to give to my daughter. She's a musician and is studying at Guildhall. She's played a fair bit of music from Russian composers, including my man Shostakovich. If I ever get to hear her playing the principal horn in Shostakovich 10, I'll melt into a puddle.
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0