november review

After last month’s bumper edition (7 comics, 3 novels, 2 audiobooks and a graphic novel!) I only read 4 books in November. I had valid distractions - birthdays, my own engagement! - But also, I just struggled to read.

We all have our reading ups and downs, don’t we? One book you can’t get through fast enough, then the next is a slog.

Sometimes it might be the books you’re reading - I take my time with older ones because of the language and phrasing - and other times because you’re simply not feeling it. And that’s okay!

Yeah, it’s encouraging to set goals and try and read every day but it’s not always possible. I mean, we all have more free time and it’s nice to escape at the moment, but it’s a miracle any of us are able to focus with everything that’s going on.

Anyway, here’s what I managed to read this November...

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Technically, I started this in October and it would’ve been perfect for the Halloween edition but I’d already nailed down my 13 and didn’t want to rush this! Which is ironic because it’s been on my to-be-read pile for over a year.

Like a lot of people, my introduction to the 30-year old source material was the adaptation with my childhood hero David Tenant last year. I watched it while I was delirious with two infections (TWO!) and after listening to The Sandman Audible series, another Gaiman adaptation from earlier this year that I’d definitely recommend checking out, and Gaiman himself on Tennant’s podcast, I thought it was time to find out if I’d just been hallucinating The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. I mean, it couldn’t be that bonkers...right?

Wrong! This is nothing like I’ve ever read before. Good Omens is about an angel called Aziraphale and a demon called Crowley who are best friends and lived on Earth since the beginning and now must thwart the Apocalypse. I’ve been meaning to read Gaiman, Pratchett and other humorists like Douglas Adams for ages, and now I see what I’ve been missing out on.

I’ve never been a big fantasy fan but Pratchett and Gaiman sardonic humour and distinctly British take makes it accessible.

Good Omens is about the apocalypse but the setting and the characters make the stakes smaller and therefore, easier to invest in. It can be a bit much to get your head around at points, but otherwise, literally humanising the angels and demons makes them relatable and I found myself caring for the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale.

For that reason, it’s disappointing when the book loses focus on them halfway through and it goes from being their story to them playing a smaller role, which is probably a clever comment on our place in the universe and I take off my hat (because only Sir Terry Pratchett can pull them off) because these men sure are clever.

Pratchett and Gaiman take a tale as old as time and make it laugh-out funny. What was groundbreaking for genre fiction then still feels fresh with observations and cultural references that remain relevant today. Seemingly, the world hasn’t changed too much but if you’re scared about it ending, these two will cheer you up with their perspectives.I think you can generally tell which author wrote which parts, even if they themselves claimed they don’t remember, and it only makes me sad they didn’t collaborate together again.

Us - By David Nicholls

So, this is the second time David Nicholls made me cry this year.

Us is about a middle-aged scientist called Douglas Petersen who plans a Grand Tour of art museums across Europe to repair his relationships with his son who hates him and his wife who wants to leave him.

I thought “Well, I won’t be able to relate to this” and yet, I did. To all three characters.

I might not be a scientist but I can be a pretentious artist like Douglas’ wife Connie and I understand her frustration at times when their worldviews collide.

I was also a teenager like Albie not so long ago and regularly butted heads with my dad over the stupidest things. Reading Us made me reflect and regret some of my behaviour as a teenager but also reminded me not to be too hard on myself because, well, I was a teenager.

Us constantly flicks between past and present as Douglas remembers his relationship with Connie and tries to figure out what went wrong. And I think one of the main themes Nicholls explores through this narrative technique is that the past can’t be rewritten and just because something ended/didn’t go the way you hoped doesn’t mean it was a waste of time, it happened for a reason, to lead/prepare you for what’s next. Essentially, live and let learn.

So, my takeaway from this novel was not to hold a grudge against my past self because I like to think I’ve matured since I was Albie’s age, but it’s also taught me what to expect and what I should and shouldn’t do as I get married and have kids of my own.

I could say Us, whose title refers to the Petersen family, might actually mean people in general as it encapsulates so many relatable experiences but like Good Omens it’s specifically very British and also, white and middle-class.

That said, I think everyone will relate to a different character and be touched by their individual journey.

On the front cover of my copy, the Observer describes Us as “sad, funny, soulful joy” and I couldn’t agree more.

I’ve only read two of his novels, and I realise I’m late to the party, but David Nicholls is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.

Eve Of Man - By Giovanna And Tom Fletcher

Time for another collaboration!

With McFly’s new album coming out and Giovanna going into the jungle, I thought it was time to read the Fletchers’ first book together and the first of a trilogy.

Again, even though I’ve been following both for their #couplegoals, I’ve never read either of their books and so wasn’t sure what to expect.

Eve of Man is a Young Adult dystopian romance set...at some point in the future when the world has been ravaged by climate change and it’s about the first girl born in 50 years who is set to be the saviour.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “I’ve heard this all before!”, which is great if you’re a YA fan and looking for familiar territory (seems we’re all revisiting our favourite stuff for the comfort this year) and I’ll be honest, if this sort of stuff doesn’t appeal to you, I’d probably give this a miss BUT, hear me out, this is a bit different.

Sure, there’s the usual tropes - evil boss lady, Chosen One, a revolution - but Eve of Man is somewhat refreshing with its British setting. It’s conceptually compelling, the world-building is thorough and innovative, I sympathise with and like the main characters and I’m intrigued to see where it’s going to go in the next instalments.

My only real complaint is that Eve is supposed to be the main character, the Chosen One who is going to save humanity, but the book is split between her perspective and her love-interest Bram and as the story goes on, Eve, who is trapped in a tower being experimented on to try and produce more girls, becomes a damsel in distress for Bram to save. Eve’s chapters become shorter and Bram’s story becomes much more interesting and exciting. She becomes secondary to a man and the strength of the novel’s commentary on the patriarchy therefore weakens.

Hopefully, Eve gets more to do in the sequels seeing as she’s meant to be the saviour. I’d like to see her become like a Katniss Everdeen and if you’re a fan of The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner series, this is right up your street.

The Wizard of Oz - By L. Frank Baum

As it took me 2 weeks to read Eve of Man, I was running out of time and needed a short book to cap off the month and just by chance, I spotted my mum’s old copy of The Wizard of Oz on my sister’s shelf.

I’ve seen the movie, I know the story and it’s been playing on my brain for a while so thought, “Why not? This will be a simple, nice read.” And it was! But honestly, I didn’t expect much. I mean, it’s a 120 year old children’s book that we all know. I anticipated it to be predictable and was pleasantly, but also, surprised

As I’ve said before, I struggle with older books and even though this is for children, it’s from 1900 but it reads like it could’ve been written today! Some of the words are bigger than you see in other children’s books but those are the best kind.

The story is straightforward enough for the kids to follow and they can expand their vocabulary along the way. And I think Baum’s use of repetition in the story and structure will help them with this.

Apparently, Baum only wrote to please children and wanted to avoid violence and not teach moral lessons like the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen yet, there’s plenty of both in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Especially, violence. There’s massacres and multiple beheadings, mutilation - whether the events of the book are real or not, it’d be a miracle if Dorothy didn’t grow up severely traumatised, especially after killing the Wicked Witches. Instead, she remains rather unfazed by what she witnesses and I think that’s supposed to be the same for the reader. After all, it’s fantastical violence, cartoonish, but I can’t help but imagine it realistically and thinking I’d love to see a gritty horror version. Particularly, the Tin Woodman’s tragic backstory - oh my god, now that was horrifying. I can see the appeal to a director like Sam Raimi of The Evil Dead trilogy. But just like the sequels L. Frank Baum felt forced to write, Raimi’s origin story for the Terrible Wizard is sanitised for Disney.

By the way, even though Oz escapes and is never punished for his deception and Dorothy’s friends don’t realise their qualities were inside them along, the lesson is there and Oz, despite his flaws, tried to point it out to them.

Interestingly, Oz is in a moral grey area in a book that firmly establishes good and evil. But then again, Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch of the South also use slaves, so…

Besides the point, Baum claimed he didn’t want to preach and yet ended telling children to be nice to animals and leave them alone and make sure they sleep. Tonally and morally, The Wizard of Oz is a bit all over the place but only if you think too much about it.

Otherwise, and this isn’t exactly a hot take, but I think this is a perfect book to get children into reading.

Now tap your shoes, it’s time to go!

Sorry there wasn’t much this month! If you live in England, what books accompanied you during Lockdown 2: Electric Boogaloo?

And as always, if you’ve got any recommendations or thoughts on the books I’ve mentioned, comment below or feel free to get in touch - I’m @jstodtv on Twitter and Instagram.

Next month...CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!