Genre: Period Drama set in the South of USA.
This book was originally published way back in 1943. The book is titled after one of the characters in the book Victoria Grandolet. The book starts with Victoria marrying into the Grandolet family and then explores her journey into this new experience.
The settings and people in the book are laid out pretty well though it could get a bit ponderous from time to time. I did not find the narrative thread in the book to be interesting nor were the characters or their interactions anything to write home about.
All in all the book was pretty dull and the only reason to get this is if you are curious about the author.
Rating: 2 / 5, Below average. Not terrible but bland overall.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Book review: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
Genre: Non-fiction - Biographical, Adventure oriented.
This book came about from the authors obsession with a early 1900's British explorer - Percy Fawcett whom he stumbled upon while researching another story. Fawcett along with his son and his son's best friend disappeared into the Amazon while they were searching for a (perhaps mythical) City, Fawcett rather dramatically called Z.
To discover Fawcett's fate, Grann would himself have to sniff out the trail to Z. Grann estimates that around 100 people have already lost their lives searching for Fawcett and Z. Knowing this and despite being a self confessed city boy Grann decides to get on with the search.
The book in spite of the title is not purely focussed on the search for Fawcett and Z. The book also takes a biographical look at Fawcett's life. There are 2 main narrative threads here - first one is Fawcetts life and his exploration leading to his final expedition and the second one is Grann's pursuit of this story.
Besides the main narrative threads there are plenty of little stories, anecdotes and titbits that keep thing interesting and the book moving along at a nice pace.
I liked the writing style and pacing of the book, which combined with the shortish chapters and change in topics made this book a real page turner.
Rating: 5 / 5; Highly recommended.
This book came about from the authors obsession with a early 1900's British explorer - Percy Fawcett whom he stumbled upon while researching another story. Fawcett along with his son and his son's best friend disappeared into the Amazon while they were searching for a (perhaps mythical) City, Fawcett rather dramatically called Z.
To discover Fawcett's fate, Grann would himself have to sniff out the trail to Z. Grann estimates that around 100 people have already lost their lives searching for Fawcett and Z. Knowing this and despite being a self confessed city boy Grann decides to get on with the search.
The book in spite of the title is not purely focussed on the search for Fawcett and Z. The book also takes a biographical look at Fawcett's life. There are 2 main narrative threads here - first one is Fawcetts life and his exploration leading to his final expedition and the second one is Grann's pursuit of this story.
Besides the main narrative threads there are plenty of little stories, anecdotes and titbits that keep thing interesting and the book moving along at a nice pace.
I liked the writing style and pacing of the book, which combined with the shortish chapters and change in topics made this book a real page turner.
Rating: 5 / 5; Highly recommended.
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