A short story that takes up fewer than 50 pages (with relatively few words on each). Sold as a hardcover for 9 quid. Even for me, who usually never pays attention to how much a book costs, it is a bit much.
I decided to read a couple of her books to see if I could see why she was so successful. It was after I read about her 'research team' that ensure the factual content was correct.
Every sentence is its own paragraph. This means you get about 5 paragraphs a page, which means 5 sentences. You can read a Barbara Cartland novel in 20 minutes. The language was - floral, to say the least.
And the factual content was bollocks. I was reading a book set in the inter-war period and she kept referring to it as 'Regency'. I actually had to go and look it up because her wall-to-wall usage of the word made my doubt my own knowledge.
I wouldn't mind betting that her entire lifetime output didn't take more words than Bleak House or War and peace.
The two works I'm most interested in from the longlist are Pearl (which didn't make the shortlist) and Study for Obedience. Prophet Song and The Bee Sting seem to be frontrunners? The latter sounds a bit Jonathan Franzen-ish and everyone's talking about a "WTF ending"--I didn't read any spoiler so not sure what that's about.
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Posting that at 21:25? So late in the day.
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I was at Foyles earlier today.
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Ummm...
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yes, I know, ha ha
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I loved Small Things, but saw this in a bookshop earlier and thought it too spenny so will wait for paperback. Bought Prophet Song.
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Not really sure about the Booker longlist. Pearl looks interesting and may be the one I am most likely to read.
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Barbara Cartland got away with it for years.
I decided to read a couple of her books to see if I could see why she was so successful. It was after I read about her 'research team' that ensure the factual content was correct.
Every sentence is its own paragraph. This means you get about 5 paragraphs a page, which means 5 sentences. You can read a Barbara Cartland novel in 20 minutes. The language was - floral, to say the least.
And the factual content was bollocks. I was reading a book set in the inter-war period and she kept referring to it as 'Regency'. I actually had to go and look it up because her wall-to-wall usage of the word made my doubt my own knowledge.
I wouldn't mind betting that her entire lifetime output didn't take more words than Bleak House or War and peace.
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Just finished Prophet Song. Gruelling read, but a stunning bit of writing.
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The two works I'm most interested in from the longlist are Pearl (which didn't make the shortlist) and Study for Obedience. Prophet Song and The Bee Sting seem to be frontrunners? The latter sounds a bit Jonathan Franzen-ish and everyone's talking about a "WTF ending"--I didn't read any spoiler so not sure what that's about.
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Pearl looks good. Walking past a bookshop on the way to the airport so will see if they have it. Also have That Peckham Boy to start.
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Some booktuber commented that this year's Booker list seems to be "books by writers named Paul" versus "books about dead mothers".
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