The Buried Giant

It's taken me three weeks to read this book. The last 54 pages took me a week. I tried to read in bed, late at night but kept falling asleep. Eventually, one evening, as soon as I got home from work I ran a bath, lots of bubbles, and I soaked while I finished the book.

So, although I could guess how it would end I was hoping I would be wrong, but I was not. There was no happy ending. I cried: no, no, no! But, alas, the author showed me no mercy and had it his way.

"This country awakens so many memories, though each seems like some restless sparrow I know will flee any moment into the breeze."

"...and I know my god looks uneasily on our deeds of that day. Yet it's long past and the bones lie sheltered beneath a pleasant green carpet."

The Buried Giant © Kazuo Ishiguro 2015

Nothing like a good book on a rainy afternoon

The extraordinary journey of the fakir who got trapped in an IKEA wardrobe
- Romain Puértolas

This book is not affiliated with, authorised or endorsed by IKEA or the Inter IKEA Group or any of its companies.

Page 23: The page had been torn from the June 2012 Ikea catalogue, 198 million copies of which had been printed worldwide, double the annual print run of the Bible.

Page 30: Inside his chest, his heart was beating to the rhythm of a Bollywood soundtrack.

Page 74: One of the men laughed. It sounded like a spring mattress groaning under the bouncing weight of two lovers.

Page 207: The rhythm of his heartbeat went from hip hop to techno, finally ending up on Vivaldi.

Page 222: Ajatashatru Oghash Rathod had been pacing up and down for several minutes now, like a dog that cannot decide where it wants to sleep.

Page 243: But his hand was shaking so violently against his briefcase now that it was audible. He sounded like a Brazilian percussionist during carnival season in Rio.

Page 278: ... and he would spend his evenings watching her beautiful curled eyelashes batting in rhythm with his heart.

© Le Dilettante 2013
English translation © Sam Taylor 2014

Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore? – Henry Ward Beecher

Books I read during the holidays.

Book club for 1

Books I have read over the past 2 months.

Collection of words

I collect other people words, and then make them up into books.