Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Title: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Author: Jonathan Safran Foer
Pub. year: 2005
Pages: 326
Editor: Penguin Books

Summary: Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies.
When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he disovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.

I've heard about this author and this book for years, but never had the opportunity to read it. When I heard a movie was being filmed, I thought that I should buy the book quickly before the cover changed, and that I wanted to read it first, so I did.

The book is pretty cool, with pictures and a few colored pages to illustrate what Oskar is talking about, and some other special stuff (I don't want to say too much) that gives a lot of fun to the reading. But let's talk about the story, now...

So, we have Oskar, this young boy who's pretty smart and curious about everything. But smart or not, when someone we love dies, we all feel the same kind of feelings, even if we don't react equally. Oskar finds his way to deal with his father death by busying himself with the investigation about the key he found.

Sure, when you read the summary, you can have the impression that it's going to be a really sad book about a kid who lost his father, but this isn't really what is going on here. We don't really focus on how hard and sad he feels. I mean, you know he is, there's clues about it everywhere, but we are focused on Oskar search, so it isn't that bad (obviously, they did add some tear jerker moments in the movie).

I really enjoyed the way he thinks, the questions he asks, the terms he uses... You can feel he is smart but lost, and that leads you to think about stuff you wouldn't have thought about. I like that in a book. I also learned a few stuff I didn't know about the world, which was pretty cool.

But if Oskar is the main character of this story, he isn't the only one. I really liked the parts with his grandparents, it brings a whole new side to the story. I was a bit desappointed not to see that on the screen but it would have been too long to show everything. They both are really endearing people, with their wounds and their flaws, their kindness and their sadness.

So... As you can see, this book quickly joined my favorites and I heartily recommend it!

Quotes :
'It was so dark that it was even hard to hear.'

'Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.'

'Why didn't I learn to treat everything like it was the last time. My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future.'

'I hope that one day you will have the experience of doing something you do not understand for someone you love.'

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John Green - Looking for Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Pub. year: 2005
Pages: 263
Editor: HarperCollins

Summary: "In the dark beside me, she smelled of sweat and sunshine and vanilla, and on that thin-mooned night I could see little more than her silhouette, but even in the dark, I could see her eyes - fierce emeralds. And not just beautiful, but hot too."
Alaska Young. Gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, screwed up - and utterly fascinating. Miles Halter couldn't not be more in love with her. But when tragedy strikes, Miles discovers the value and the pain of living and loving unconditionnaly.
Nothing will ever be the same.

I wasn't in a hurry to read this book because I heard it was really similar to Paper Towns. I didn't want to spoil my reading by reading it shortly after.
But to be honest, if obviously there are some similar points in the plot, they are to me completely different books. They don't deal with the same kind of stuff, the reflexions are different and I wasn't bored at any moment.

What I like with John Green books is that there always is an incursion of things you don't particularly know about, and he gives us the opportunity to learn about new writers by integrating them in his stories. It fits him really well, and in a really smart way.

I also very much enjoyed the deepness of the characters. Miles, Alaska, The Colonel, Takumi, Lara, the Old Man... even the Eagle. They're not just random characters with no background, they are very different from one another, moving and enjoyable. Characters are probably the thing that matters the most to me in books, because the whole story is built around them. They carry it.

In the end, I think I chose the perfect moment in my life to read it because of what was going on around me when I did it (about a month ago). It moved me and made me think about a lot of stuff (like it did for Paper Towns, but a lot more).

As you probably have guessed by now, John Green's books are not just random teenage books for teenagers. They are smart, funny, they make you think, they make you laugh, and sometimes cry. They are really good books for teenagers but adults too. So give it a try, if you haven't already!

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Karen Miller - The Innocent Mage

Title: The Innocent Mage (Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, book 1)
Author: Karen Miller
Pub. year: 2005
Pages: 613
Editor: Orbit

Summary: "The Innocent Mage is come, and we stand at the beginning of the end of everything."
Being a fisherman like his father isn't a bad life, but it's not the one that Asher wants. Despite his humble roots, Asher has grand dreams. And they call him to Dorana, home of princes, beggars and the warrior mages who have protected the kingdom for generations.
Little does Asher know, however, that his arrival in the city is being closely watched by members of the Circle, people dedicated to preserving an ancient magic.
Asher might have come to the city to make his fortune, but he will find his destiny.

After our first CR together, and because I bought Lily a book I had in my TBR pile that I wanted to read with her, here we come again for a four-hands review on a very surprising Fantasy story!

Was the story good?

Lyra: Actually, I liked it, even if it's not really consistent. I mean, clearly, it's not what makes the quality of this book. There isn't a lot of things happening it the first book of this series, though I found it enjoyable. But yeah, you can easily predict of lot of the story.

Lily: Definitely, the scenario isn't the strong point of this one. The first pages I read gave me this deja vu impression, a mix of very classic Fantasy (a quest, a fabulous destiny, an evil magician, blabla) and very predictable action, which kind of spoils the fun of reading from time to time. The thing is, the book has many good points, don't get me wrong, but there are no surprises to expect, no heavy suspense, and mostly you just continue reading knowing where it's going. Luckily, you easily forget about this flaw, thanks to...

Were the characters moving?

Lyra: THAT's the whole point of the book. The main characters are really entertaining. Asher, with his accent, his honesty and everything that makes him who he is, is a very well written character. He brings a lot of fun to the story. Gar, Dathne and Matt add a lot to that, even if Gar is a bit naive and shakeable sometimes. And the "bad guy" is such a cliché that he's almost funny.

Lily: ... yes, the moving characters! This book relies on it's character to hook you, and good for me, I love being hooked by characters. The hero is pretty amazing, talking like a fisherman even in front of the prince, never afraid to say the wrong things, to dress the wrong way. His honesty plays a very big part in the charm of this book. The rest of the characters are also worth mentionning, though not as good as Asher: prince Gar is a good lad but quite predictable, and he really lacks strenght to be a proper leader. Dathne and Matt both have potential but in this first part, they don't do enough to be very interesting. I hope to see more of them in the second half.

So altogether... a must read or not?

Lyra: Maybe not a must read, but I definitely recommend it to you. It's been a week since I finished it, and I still think about it sometimes, even while reading another book.
The Innocent Mage is funny and entertaining. Once you're in it, you want to know what happens next, even if you know that action isn't the key word of the story. I think I'm gonna read the second and last book pretty soon. Maybe with the Muffin!

Lily: It's hard to say "must read" after pointing out so many flaws, but strangely I found it so easy and fun to read that I don't want to qualify it second rate either. For those who are not used to Fantasy, I think this is a great way to start, and anyone who's bored with war and politics would definitely enjoy the fresh atmosphere this book offers. I'll definitely read the second one, but not for some time probably... really, those friends that only offer you the first half of the series, that shouldn't be allowed!

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Stephen Clarke - A Year in the Merde

Title: A Year in the Merde (Paul West, book 1)
Author: Stephen Clarke
Pub. year: 2005
Pages: 383
Editor: Black Swan

Summary : They do eat a lot of cheese, some of which smells like pigs' droppings.
They don't wash their armpits with garlic soap. Going on strike really is the second national participation sport after pétanque. And, yes, they do use suppositories. In his first novel, Stephen Clarke gives a laugh-out-loud account of the pleasures and perils of being a Brit in France. A Year in the Merde tells you how to get served by the grumpiest Parisian waiter; how to make amour -not war; and how to buy a house in the French countryside.

This book is a window to France for English speakers, especially English people. I found it interesting to discover this point of view on my country, and even more to share it with you as a French person. The author is quite realistic about France even if he draws a negative portrait of it. Luckily, he sees positive stuff in it as well.

The narrator is a sarcastic English man who discovers the hexagone and tries not to complain too much about the local English accent. He gets used to the numerous strikes and explains the differences there are between the two countries.

I have to say that all of it is not exactly true, and that some of it isn't true at all for me, but maybe that depends on where you live in France. Paris doesn't really reflect the life anywhere else in France on a lot of aspects. And obviously, he chose extreme characters to serve his purpose-most of them not really representative of our population. But I guess it would have been a little bit boring to pick "normal" people.

Even though I liked discovering this vision of France, I regretted that Paul West was so obsessed with dog shit, strikes and sex. I mean, it's funny at first, but after a while it becomes a bit boring and at some point, the reader stops enjoying the book for a moment. Apart from that, it was fun to read.

I read the second book, Merde Actually, but it's not worth mentionning. The narrator goes to the countryside but nothing really happens for the first half of the book, and the second half is still less entertaining than the first book. I also have Merde Happens in my TBR Pile but since I didn't really enjoy the 2nd, I don't really feel like reading it anymore... not before a long time, anyway.

Quotes :

"It's a sort of dyslexia. You know dyslexia?"
"Yes," Alexa nodded, peeling a ripe purple fig with painful symbolism.
"I'm in some way dyslexic. Or colour-blind. Some people can't make out the meaning in words or the differences between colours - I can't make out dog turds. I'm shitlexic."

"The Unions were furious that the government had been rumoured to be thinking about considering the possibility of maybe looking into the purely theoretical concept that it might one day (not now but in, say, 80 years' time) be less able to pay for transport workers to retire at 50"

"And in a similar vain, the rural party promised to change the law on endangered species so that hunters could now shoot dodos, unicorns, mermaids and American tourists."

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