OnlineBookClub.org

I read this book then went straight back and read it again. First time ever.Why is this book so close to perfect ? I annotate this book.I have never done that before. I put markers in so that I can quickly find the paragraph I want . I have to know where it is so that I can refer to it at any time..Anyone else similarly obsessed ?

That novel is an absolute triumph for Ford. It's so beautifully crafted that it makes me want to eat the entire book with chips. I wrote an essay for university on this in which I did a psychoanalytical reading of the novel. It's so complex and interesting that it just sucks you in immediately and refuses to spit you out

I picked the book up a couple of times in the local library and put it back on the shelf thinking ,' Two wealthy couples and their self-indulgent life styles who lived one hundred years ago. Nothing there for me.' Then one day, wanting a short novel for a train journey, I decided to give it another go. It's a cliché, I know, but I was blown away. I read it ,then read it again immediately. Then I started making notes on the sequencing .Then I read it again. It is a constant companion. It seems to be about all of us .I am not sure how Ford managed to get it so right. . It is complex and laugh out loud and grittily accurate about the horrors of being human.

-- 11 Oct 2014, 02:19 --

I picked the book up a couple of times in the local library and put it back on the shelf thinking ,' Two wealthy couples and their self-indulgent life styles who lived one hundred years ago. Nothing there for me.' Then one day, wanting a short novel for a train journey, I decided to give it another go. It's a cliché, I know, but I was blown away. I read it ,then read it again immediately. Then I started making notes on the sequencing .Then I read it again. It is a constant companion. It seems to be about all of us .I am not sure how Ford managed to get it so right. . It is complex and laugh out loud and grittily accurate about the horrors of being human.

I was super impressed with this book and captivated right from the opening sentence.

"This is the saddest story I have ever heard." What a fascinating opening. Truly the saddest? You have experienced nothing sadder than this? Why did you say it's a story you heard? You are the narrator and you were part of the story - you didn't just hear it!

The story unfolds from there and, yes, it's sad, but mainly it's a story of dysfunctional relationships and the abuse of power.

Ford has done a marvelous job with this and I have Parade's End sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. If only it is nearly as good!

Do you read Patrick White? I wept when he died because there wouldn't be anymore books by him. I particularly like Voss and Vivisector.And A Fringe of Leaves. And Solid Mandala. Do Australians like Patrick White ?

Am reading travel books at the moment. Do you know Ryszard Kapuscinski ? Just finished The Last Train to Zona Verde (Paul Theroux.)