This month CM Lowry is talking to Graphic Designer and RPG Creator Marco Serrano about The Long Rain by Ray Bradbury in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Kansas being scientifically flatter than a pancake!
The Long Rain is a short story by
Ray Bradbury, which is a sci-fi psychological thriller. It's only 12 pages long and takes the reader on a real jaunt in that short space of time.
Marco reads a quote from the story for us which illustrates how relentless Bradbury's writing is in the story- an intensity that illustrates the persistent rain on Venus and how it gradually drives the inhabitants crazy.
CM asks Marco what his favourite thing is about the story
The psychological aspects of the story are really interesting - observing all hope being stripped away from a platoon of soldiers who are trying desperately to find shelter and one by one loosing all hope and succumbing to the rain and the madness and death it brings.
CM asks Marco to share some of the most haunting aspects of the story
The band of soldiers has 4 members to start with - they are trying to find the Sundome, a safe place. They walk in circles and return to their ship to find two of their members already dead. The deaths and descriptions of these men going insane are really deeply sad.
CM asks Marco if there is anything problematic with The Long Rain
Marco doesn't, as he tried …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Nathan Philpott about All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Nathan and Chris discuss struggling with pronunciations, translation difficulties and seeking to be culturally sensitive and respectful to the creator
Nathan shares a quote with the listeners that illustrates the intensity of Sakurazaka's writing and the fact that the title is a clear indication of what's going to happen in this book.
Spoiler Alert - Humanity is fighting an alien invasion and the the main plot of the book is about a soldier, who is stuck in a 30 hour time loop, seeking to find a way out of it by training himself to survive longer each time and kill a certain number of special aliens in order to break out of the loop.
Nathan shares his favourite thing about the book
When he first red it at sixteen years of age Nathan felt that he could relate to the main protagonist, who is a young man who has joined the army after a romantic rejection. The story of his experiences were really gripping to teenage Nathan
As a 28 year old Nathan is perhaps less interested in some aspects of the book but still enjoys re-reading it, even if just to recapture the headspace of being a teenager again.
It's a thrilling and compelling read.
The book is written in an interesting manner - switching from a first person …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Sandra Bond about Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Sandra gives us an introduction to the book Three Men in a Boat.
First published in 1889, the book tells the story of three men on a boating holiday on the River Thames. The fact that it still holds its own, is funny and relatable to modern audiences, says a lot about how well written it is.
There is a narrator in the book who tells the story of these three men and the ways that they annoy each other which makes for great comedy. They're friendships survive but they certainly irritate one another along the way.
Sandra shares a quote from the book for us
Jay, the protagonist, is trying to get the train from Waterloo to Kingston on Thames. The usual platform uncertainly ensures, something anyone who uses public transport in the UK can relate to.
Sandra shares her favourite thing about the book
The sense of humour - the book is written almost like a string of comedy sketches. If it had been written now it could almost be material for a comedy show featuring three friends, such as the BBC series Peep Show.
There is an exactitude of language that Jerome K. Jerome uses, and the words he uses really add to the hilarity.
The book is based on a rowing trip that the author took, …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Flora Qian about Little Reunions by Eileen Chang in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
The fact that Eileen Chang actually wanted
Little Reunions to be destroyed, not published. It was not published until after her death.
Flora shares a quote from Little Reunions with us, that illustrates the autobiographical nature of Little Reunions and the sadness that surrounded the relationships between Eileen and her parents.
CM Lowry asks Flora to share her favourite thing about
Little Reunions. Flora lays out the fact that this novel is written during an incredibly interesting time in Chinese history and this provides a really wonderful backdrop to the lives of the protagonist and other characters.
Flora also then shares some of the things she doesn't like about this novel.
The protagonist, Julie, has a great deal of flaws, along with being quiet original. Her relationship with her mother and lover are explored in great detail - Julie is quite cold and uncaring. Flora wonders if this is born out of Eileen's own childhood trauma Flora suggests that if, perhaps, Eileen Change had some therapy, she would have been able to portray the protagonist with more depth and develop her character further.
There is a lot of denial in the novel as well - Julie's denial of obvious character flaws in her lover suggest that Eileen also overlooked abuse and infidelity within her own romantic life. Flora wishes that the author had …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Dan Sumption about Viriconium by M John Harrison in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Viriconium is actually a collection of books, now published as a single volume, of which 'Viriconium Nights' is Dan's favourite. These stories tell tales of the city of Viriconium, loosely based on the historic Roman town of the same name, which represents in some ways every human settlement that has ever existed
Dan reads a quote for us that gives us a good sense of the quasi-alternative reality and semi-mythical feel of the world that M John Harrison is creating.
A common theme through Harrisons stories is the doomed search for escapism - a drive to find some fantastical alternate reality while missing the beauty of the world around us.
Dan shares his favourite thing about the book - That no matter how often you re-read these stories they are never the same twice - the don't sit still - you'll always find some new nuance that you've not noticed before. Dan isn't keen on re-reading but has always been drawn back to reading these over the course of his whole adult life. Harrisons inclusion of lots of British folklore is always something that Dan really enjoys.
Dan shares some issues he has with the book - They are quite bleak and hero quests tend to end up in the characters just giving up. There are also very few strong female characters.
Chris asks …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author James Flanagan about Extremophile by Ian Green in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Extremophile is a bio-punk speculative sci-fi story written by Scottish author
Ian Green, who also wrote The Gauntlet fantasy series. Extremophile is billed as a breakneck biohacking thriller set in climate-collapse London.
James's discusses his love, and also hatred, of
Extremophile!
Extremophile is, at times, hard sci-fi as it deep dives into genetics and epi-genetics and is written by a genetic scientist. That said it is balanced by lots of action and even an energetic punk gig in the middle of the book.
James shares his favourite thing about
Extremophile
The characters - they leap of the page really well - and the way that the complexity of their lives weave together the main story.
SPOILER ALERT - James shares some specifics from the book for a couple of minutes that you might want to skip if you're planning to read the book
James also shares some things about the book that he doesn't like
The idea of writing without quotation marks for dialogue - in Cormac McCarthy style. This made it incredibly difficult for James to understand whether he was reading narrative or dialogue and who was saying what.
There are lots of different characters, with their specific points of view, and switching between those different perspectives across the course of the book can be quite difficult and also slow down the …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Beatriz Seelaender about The Razor's Edge by W.S. Maugham in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Beatriz shares the reasons why she loves this book:
It's very humorous
It follows the story of a group of people over the years surrounding Maugham as the central character.
The meta-fictional paradox - Maugham discloses that this isn't really a novel as it's based on real people he knows and true stories he has experienced.
Beatriz shares a quote with us from Maugham's introduction in which he explains the peculiar methodology he employed in writing this novel.
Beatriz then shares with us some of the things about this book that really grabbed her:
The meta-fictional aspect of the writing - He isn't just an observer but actively involved in the dialogue
The humour - Maugham writes about the characters appealing to fictional people created by themselves or says things like 'she look at them all is if they were characters in a novel'. Maugham's writing is very fanciful.
It lives on the Razor's edge between fiction and autobiography which is fascinating and begs the question 'what are the properties of fictionality'
CM Lowry asks the question 'how we do know this is a novel and not a biography' and they discuss the fact that Maugham's life was very public and there has never been any real evidence that the people these characters are based on every really existed. Therefore it's most likely …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Sara Norja about The Dark is Rising book sequence by Susan Cooper in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
The premise of The Dark is Rising, which is book two of The Dark is Rising Sequence, is that Will turns 11 and discovers he is an Old One. It's based on English folklore, centred in Buckinghamshire and set around Christmas time
Sara reads a quote for us and highlights the beautiful poetic prose that Susan Cooper uses throughout her work.
CM asks Sara what her favourite aspects of The Dark is Rising are
Sara details the fact that it manages to capture the essence of Christmas alongside being a bit creepy at times
Coopers use of British folklore and mythology such as the inclusion of the Wild Hunt, and some Welsh folklore in book five.
Sarah & CM discuss the five book arc of The Dark is Rising Sequence and how the characters are introduced and their storylines intertwine through the series.
Sarah discusses some of the problems she has with The Dark is Rising such as the use of the memory wipe trope and the overtly White Anglo-Saxon 1970's Buckinghamshire setting. It's perhaps to British-centric.
CM asks whether the dissonance between the Christian celebration of Christmas and the folklore and mythology is acknowledged and commented on within the book.
Sara shares some recommendations of other books to read if you enjoy The Dark is Rising
Robert McFarlane's …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Cécile Cristofari, about The Accursed Kings book series by Maurice Druon in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
The Accursed Kings is series of Historical Fiction books about the Capetian Kings in France. These books are based on the legend that this dynasty were cursed by the Grand Master of the Knights Templar while King Philip the Fair burned him at the stake.
Cécile & CM have a fun chat about opposing views on the role and importance of France and England in European History
Cécile reads a quote for us, which she has translated herself from the French language copy of
Le Roi de fer (The King of Iron), book one of the series, which was first published in 1955. It gives us a wonderful example of how incredibly vivid Druon's writing is.
Cécile shares her favourite thing about the book - that even though it was written about the middle ages, it was filtered through the history of the time - Druon used this historical narrative to encourage the French people of the 50's as they were busy trying to rebuild their country and society after the 2nd World War. The book has layers - it is both about French history and the Monarchy, and also about modern times and the corrupting nature of political power.
CM Lowry asks Cécile has the book is as a story since it's 2000 pages as therefore has the …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Stephen Hart, about Blue Moon Rising by Simon R Green in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Stephen points out that Simon R Green is somewhat unknown, dispite being a New York Times Bestseller, and is most widely known for writing the novelised version of the classic Kevin Costner film 'Robin Hood: Price of Thieves'. The royalties from this enabled Green to clear his mortgage and so he is now able to live off the income from his creative endeavours
Blue Moon Rising was Green's first Bestselling novel and is part of a wider series of fantasy novels set in The Forest Kingdom.
Stephen loves this book due to the characters - they are very real, and the heroes are brave and winsome, even in the face of insurmountable odds and opposition from friends and family. Prince Rupert in particular is intriguing as he knows the quest he's being sent on is a death sentence and yet he does it for the good of the Kingdom.
Another reason that Stephen loves this book is that it is a serious book that has a lot of humour in it. It's not a comedy, but there is an amazing sense of humour written into it. The interactions between characters are so true to life and that makes for some very fun reading.
Green does really well at creating characters that the reader will have empathy for. Even his monsters …
