The hamster did not have "a full life"

It was one of those lines that Bart Simpson had been made to write on the blackboard at the start of the show. The faintly disturbing question I'm left with is: just what had Bart done, to have to write that out so many times?

Dem bones, dem bones, dem lovely bones

What did I learn from this book? Mainly, don't finish books in a rush if you want to get the most out of them! But I knew we were going to discuss it the next day at the "Honestly, it's not a Book Club" book club, so I wanted to finish it...

I wasn't sure what to make of it, though. The narrative was a little disconnected in places, perhaps a victim of the wider perspective of time from "the afterlife", perhaps due to my lack of sleep. Some of the ideas were fascinating - some less so. Susie's ability to touch people after her death was taken in unexpected directions, and her personal (if surprisingly impersonal) heaven was an interesting way of allowing her to explore her "aftermath".

The writing was pretty good in places (though a one-session, un-put-downable book it was not). Some of the characters were extremely convincing, well drawn, with a breath of reality, and some were interestingly offbeat. The grandmother was a wonderful counterpoint to some of the gloominess, but the mother was just strange and inexplicable - not so much enigmatic, with distant ocean eyes, as random. I found her goings and comings again pretty inexplicable. Maybe it's my complete, though understandable, lack of feminine intuition. Maybe it's because I expect there to be reasons for things. Maybe there are clues in the more autobiographical "Lucky". Maybe I was too tired that late at night.

Still, for a book which begins brutally, with Susie's rape and murder, it was a surprisingly cheerful and positive account of how the broken bones of a family are able to knit together, over time, and how those left behind, as well as Susie herself, were able to let go and move on.

And the icicles and the "perfect murder" idea were a nice touch!

"You'll like it if you like that sort of thing"

Next time, we'll watch a film though! Honestly, we're not a "Book club!"

No skiing this winter :(

Didn't organise any skiing this year :(



Last year was fun, though!

Hello World

What's all that about then? I really don't know. Think of this as a test, a trial, perhaps an evaluation. Kind of like this life is for whatever happens next? Well, maybe not like that. Think of it however you like - it's a postmodern age, after all, and apparently I'm not allowed to tell you how you should think about it. Not according to the Grand Narrative that is postmodernity, at any rate. But that's another issue altogether. Don't get me started on that!