The Colour of Magic
DNF
Mort
DNF
Ticket to Ride
☆☆
My first impression on opening Ticket to Ride is that I don’t think I read the blurb carefully enough. I thought this was a travel book. And, I mean, it probably is… if you’re really, really into trains. And don’t get me wrong, I like a train as much as the next person. As a non-driver, I’ve certainly caught my share of them. They’re very useful, not usually unpleasant, conveyances of people from one destination to another. I just don’t care what engine is under them, what number is on the side, or what size of track they run on. If you do care about these things, you’ll probably like this book.
There are some very good and entertaining travel bits in Ticket to Ride. The descriptions of landscapes, places, and people are vivid. The reader comes away with the flavour of travel, of distant and strange places, on their tongue. The characters met along the way are often amusing. Chesshyre has a sardonic tone which makes for an engaging narrative voice. The journeys themselves are also interesting, including some lesser known routes and passing through several places which are historically important and politically charged. The trainspotting details are included with an irreverent nod and, as you get further into the book, not too distracting (at the beginning, they made me want to scratch my skin off with boredom, but you do sort of get used to them). There are even one or two disasters (without which no travel story is really complete).
I can’t put my finger on quite what it is that didn’t work for me about Ticket to Ride. There were definitely some minor things I found annoying. The quotes from dialogue which randomly pepper each chapter, I imagine they are supposed to be foreshadowing but they threw me out of the narrative. I also thought they were so mundane as to often evoke no interest, thus making me wonder why I was bothering to read on at all if that’s what I have to look forward to. There are no dates. While the narrative appears to be linear at first, by the end, it clearly is not, and I found that a bit confusing. I don’t understand why we’ve jumped around in time. It felt a bit like old material was being re-used for padding. I didn’t care for the trainspotting details at all. Less is more with the details of track sizes and engine doodads for most of us!
I didn’t love Ticket to Ride. I wanted to, but it was a struggle to get through each chapter. It was slow going (a bit like train travel, I suppose – was that the point?). It wasn’t bad. If you like trains, you’d probably appreciate it. But, all in all, for a good train travel story, I’ll stick to Paul Theroux.
The House at the Edge of Magic
☆☆☆☆
The House at the Edge of Magic is billed as “wonder-filled” and does not disappoint. It’s an imaginative and heartwarming, quirky, fun, and magical adventure that leaves you wanting more.
What I loved most about The House at the Edge of Magic were the settings. A magical, topsy-turvy house. A rundown old library full of adventure stories and books on magic. A creepy crypt. It’s a world to lose yourself in. All are described with a light hand and just enough detail to whet the appetite.
The characters are quirky and heartwarming. Nine is suitably kick ass and strong, with a background that has the reader rooting for her immediately. Of course, only the reader knows she isn’t quite so hardboiled as she appears, which further places us in her corner. Flabby is weird (who doesn’t like a rubbish wizard who’s also a hopscotch champion in his spare time?), and Eric has a childlike quality with which we immediately fall in love. There’s just something which invests you about a bunch of misfits who find friendship and belonging with one another. There’s also sufficient mystery to keep you hooked in for the next book. We need to know more. We have too many questions at this point. Where did the music box come from? Where is Dr Bowl? Was the witch really evil? I love these characters and will now follow them anywhere. It was masterful.
The pacing was also spot on, keeping you racing through the pages. Combined with the quirky, off the wall details, the unlikely friendship, the lovable characters, the magic, and adventure: perfection. If you liked The Invisible Library and Pages & Co, you’ll definitely like this.
Pillow Thoughts
☆☆☆☆
I don’t claim to be an expert on poetry. I can identify the component parts: rhyme, meter, rhythm, and so on. But what makes good poetry? I don’t know. For me, it’s whether or not it makes me feel something. Whether it helps me make sense of the world. Whether it gives me words and images and ideas that stick with me. I think I also want it to sound beautiful, or at least intentional. It needs to feel crafted.
I sobbed my way through Pillow Thoughts. The poems take the form of short thoughts on love. While at times the ideas and phrasing should have felt clichéd, they somehow did not. It has a rawness and spoken word type of cadence. It felt like a conversation with a friend. It felt like someone pouring their heart out at 2am. Somehow, that realness was compelling.
This probably isn’t the most carefully crafted and linguistically beautiful poetry you’ll ever read. It isn’t the cleverest or most unique voice. However, it was moving and impossible to put down. It had a conversational tone that felt fresh and modern. This is probably one for the soppy girls and broken hearted. Nonetheless, I liked it.