The Engagements is one of those books that jumps around in time, but instead of focusing on the secrets and passions of a single family or group of friends, it views the post-World War II era through the prism of a diamond ring, passed down through the decades not as an heirloom but by accident, coincidence and carelessness…and in one case crime. This ring unites different couples and families, serving as a symbol of both hope and disappointment, and providing a window on shifting concepts […]
Not as much fun as Real Vampires
I read this book a year or two ago, but I completely forgot that I had, picked it up from the library for some light entertainment, and got about three-quarters of the way through before I realised that the gory crimes and girly characters and burgeoning love triangles seemed strangely familiar. So…it’s basically unmemorable–generic in all senses of the word; indeed, it attempts to play with how closely it follows the procedures and developments of detective novels by being set among a group of avid […]
“Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder”
I used to write for Cannonball Read as Funkyfacecat, but as my twitter handle is doombiscuits, I decided to make life simpler and update my ID here as well. A friend of mine had enjoyed the film, so when I saw Wonder Boys available very cheaply in a January sale, I snapped it up, thinking that a disillusioned and satirical take on academia would be fun to read while waiting for the last stage of my own studies to begin. It’s the story of a […]