Tag: Wish List

Edward Lorn – Life After Dane | Review

June 15, 2020
Authors K-O (By Surname)Fiction

Title: Life After Dane

Author: Edward Lorn

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 268

Rating: 4.5/5

I’m probably quite biased here because this book was written by a BookTube friend and because my name’s in the title, so I guess it would almost be weird if I didn’t like it. I was also given a copy as a gift from someone who’d seen my wish list. But it also has a lot of the themes that I like, and the story line itself is cracking, a sort of paranormal thriller following the weird stuff that our narrator starts to experience after her son, the Truck Stop Dentist serial killer Dane Peters, is put to death by lethal injection.

This was very, very good for an indie book, although I don’t like the cover much. But covers don’t matter, and I was impressed by everything from the quality of the writing to the interior layout. I was also a big fan of the way that Lorn told the story using Dane’s mother as a mouthpiece. She’s perhaps the only person in the world who knows why he turned out like he did.

And then there are the religious themes, as well as the recurring motif of the hymn Amazing Grace. It’s funny because while I’m not religious myself, I’ve always found it interesting to read about religion in fiction. I’ve even dabbled with writing about it myself. The bottom line is that I’d recommend this if you’re interested in thrillers in general, but especially if you’re keen to support indie authors in a difficult marketplace.

Learn more about Life After Dane.

Haruki Murakami – Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman | Review

April 10, 2020
Authors K-O (By Surname)Fiction

Title: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Author: Haruki Murakami

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 436

Rating: 4/5

This was another book that’s been on my wish list for a little while because Murakami is one of those authors where I want to read everything that he’s ever written. I actually picked this one up because I got my friend to pick out some random numbers to correspond with books on my wish list and this is what she came up with.

I didn’t realise until after it arrived that it was a collection of short stories, but that’s not a problem. I’ve always enjoyed short stories and Murakami is a master at the style, and so you know that you’re in for a treat here. Despite that, there are still a couple of stories here that I didn’t much enjoy, but that’s only natural in a collection like this.

For the most part though, this was a cracking collection and I was very pleased with it, even though it took me a little longer to get through it than I was expecting. There are a lot of ideas here and it takes a little time to wrap your head around them, but that’s to be expected when you’re reading Murakami. I blitzed through the whole collection in three or four days, but I’d also understand if you wanted to take a little longer to make sure that it all sinks in.

What I would say is that this could be a pretty good place to start if you’re new to Murakami’s work and you want to get an overall cross-section of what he’s all about. It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but then show me a book that is. No, seriously, show me it. I’m about ready to add a few new more books to my wish list.

So would I recommend it? Overall, it’s a yes from me, although you might want to read it over a prolonged period of time instead of doing what I did and focussing on it as your main read. That way, you can enjoy it a lot more, a bit like having a series of meals at different restaurants instead of stuffing yourself silly at an all-you-can-eat.

Oh, and of course, big thanks to my friend (who’d probably prefer to be unnamed) for picking this book out for me. As you can tell, it was a big hit for me and a lot of fun, and just the book that I needed at just the time I needed it. Good stuff!

Learn more about Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.