Comments for KevinfromCanada

Comment on NW, by Zadie Smith by KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:08:30 +0000

For what it is worth, I too found the Felix part the weakest. I spent much of the time during it figuring out the reality of where it was taking place (since I do know that part of London) — Felix himself and the story line seemed quite predictable.

Comment on NW, by Zadie Smith by Lee Monks

Lee Monks — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:34:02 +0000

I had a quick flick to jog the memory and this did emphasise my recollection of finding, like leroyhunter, the Felix part the weak link. There is also some terrible dialogue in there. It’s hard to know what to say: I thought it was ‘well done’ etc but I can’t help agreeing with Kevin on the whole: there is an attempt at socially-encompassing magnitude that fails. It’s a series of pieces stitched together. The pieces are fine, the together is lacking.

Comment on NW, by Zadie Smith by leroyhunter

leroyhunter — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:17:33 +0000

I think that’s the key Kevin, there is a clear intent for the strands to cohere, but the execution fails. For me Felix’s tale, in particular, seemed tacked on to the others…and yet there is a “defining event” in there that seems designed to force the pieces together.

Comment on NW, by Zadie Smith by KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:06:07 +0000

You raise a point I wanted to address in the review but could not find a way to work in. The three strands are each done in a very different voice and style (most notably, of course, the numbered vignettes in Natalie’s). The author carries each of them off quite well — but I wondered what the point was, outside of simply being different. Part of what did get lost, for me at least, with the approach is the depth and coherency of the social commentary that I am sure the author wanted as a theme in the novel — it became a collection of observations, but not much more.

Comment on NW, by Zadie Smith by leroyhunter

leroyhunter — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:57:11 +0000

I had mixed feelings about this. While I can accept some of it is very nicely done, I felt it just never cohered. It seems a jumble in retrospect, and the 3 strands are remarkably unbalanced.

Comment on NW, by Zadie Smith by KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:22:31 +0000

All those elements were there, but I will say no more. I do wonder a bit if the fact that Amis’ Lionel Asbo was such a strong character and his lower-class London so over-stated that Smith’s more muted treatment doesn’t unfairly slip in memory.

Comment on NW, by Zadie Smith by Lee Monks

Lee Monks — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:52:50 +0000

I can’t remember a thing about it. A stabbing? Someone getting conned out of money? Office harridans? I like Smith and enjoyed NW but I share this prevalent amnesiac issue.

Comment on The Boy Who Followed Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith by Craig D.

Craig D. — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 21:32:40 +0000

I would recommend Highsmith’s “Strangers on a Train” to anyone, but I’d advise against bringing any Hitchcock baggage to it. In plot, in themes, in atmosphere, the film has little in common with the book. Hitchcock and Highsmith were diametrically opposed in their views of good vs. evil. He wanted to draw lines; she wanted to blur them, if not erase them entirely.

Comment on 2010 Giller short story collections: Light Lifting, by Alexander MacLeod and This Cake Is for the Party, by Sarah Selecky by KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 13:26:17 +0000

Thanks for bringing this collection back up in comments — I think somebody must be teaching it somewhere because it does seem to attract some hits every now and then.

I do remember vaguely that I thought ‘Miracle Mile’ tailed off towards the end, but other than that all my memories are positive. I should pull the book off the shelf for a re-visit sometime soon.

And I’d like to think that we could look forward to another collection (or novel) from MacLeod soon, but given his father’s record (two collections and on novel in a lifetime) I fear I may be waiting for a while.

Comment on 2010 Giller short story collections: Light Lifting, by Alexander MacLeod and This Cake Is for the Party, by Sarah Selecky by David

David — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 08:58:50 +0000

Well, I’m a few years late to the party, but I just finished reading ‘Light Lifting’ and agree with pretty much everything you wrote about it, Kevin. It is a very strong set of stories indeed – each very different, but all of them meaty and memorable. I do however agree with Alison’s comment about a couple of the endings (‘Miracle Mile’ and ‘Light Lifting’ particularly) – in both cases MacLeod seemed to have brought the stories to a natural conclusion but then tagged on endings that completely confused me (both of them violent) and left me floundering a bit. In each case I thought I’d understood the stories but the random endings detracted from that, unless the very randomness (of life) is the point? But other than that, my general reaction to this collection was ‘wow’.