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Justin M

Justin M

"Each person sees his or her own personal rainbow."
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • member since April 2 2008

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 19 reviews
  • Black Swan Green: A Novel
    • Rated 4 stars

    Jason Taylor is a thirteen-year-old village boy, in the closet poet, and has speech impediment. Because he is not popular (far from it, actually) he is picked on by the school bullies. He also doesn't get along well with his older sister. Overall, it is fair to say that life for him is quite terrible.

    I'm not sure what else to write about the storyline of the book without giving too much away, so I'll move on. From the beginning of my 371 page edition of this book I wasn't very impressed. It didn't seem to be going anywhere at all and wasn't holding my interest very well. However, as I read on it became much more enjoyable and when I finished it I was very pleased I had read it. Do you know that happy feeling you get for a few days after reading a good book? Well, that's how I felt after reading Black Swan Green. There were some very insightful moments in this book, particularly after midway through. Overall it was a highly enjoyable book and one I recommend.

    Justin M wrote this review Tuesday, October 27 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Einstein's Cosmos: How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time (Great Discoveries)
    • Rated 4 stars

    As the review says on the back of the book, "you don't need to be an Einstein to understand Einstein."

    Physicist, futurist, professor, popularizer of science and bestselling author Dr Michio Kaku tells the story of Einstein's life, from the early stages, how he formed his theories, and how he changed the world. Kaku tells the reader that simple physical terms that can be understood by a child are much better than shuffling through mathematics when trying puzzle out the deepest mysteries of the universe. It was Einstein's ability to think in terms of simple physical pictures that would ultimately cause him to form his well known theories.

    This is a short and easy to read biography on one of the greatest scientists the world has seen. Michio Kaku tells the story brilliantly, and his deep respect for Einstein as a scientist shines through the pages. This book will be a very enjoyable read to anyone interested in Einstein and science history in general.

    Justin M wrote this review Thursday, October 22 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Death With Interruptions
    • Rated 4 stars

    Ever wondered what it would be like if people stopped dying? That's right, not one death by car crash, not one successful suicide attempt, and not one death from illness or old age. That became a reality in a land-locked country in this book. As the new year began death (yes, with a small 'd') decided to hang up her scythe and leave the people of this country, and this country only, alone. As a result the church is upset (but when is it not), funeral companies are reduced to burying pets, and, worst of all, people suffering illnesses have no choice but to continue suffering while their families have to take care of them because hospitals are now overcrowded.

    This is one very enjoyable book to read. It contains no quotation marks, something occurring all too often in modern novels. However, I found that once you get used to it, it becomes even easier to read than books with the quotation marks because it flows like a normal consersation in the absence of the 'he saids', 'she saids'. Saramago also had a habit of writing extremely long sentences, some of them of them being half a page long. However, it didn't cause me to lose interest at all. Saramago's lyrical prose more than makes up for what some may consider 'run-on sentences'. For days after finishing this novel, the book only taking a couple of days to finish, I was looking for those long, elegant and sometimes pantasmagorical sentences which had previously left me not wanting them to end, not wanting those smooth flow of ideas in the form of words to be interrupted by a full stop, or as some people call them, a period. 64 words. That was my attempt at writing a long sentence. It must be said that Saramago's writing style is not for everyone. I've read reviews of other books in which the reviewer expressed their unhappiness caused by them having to read a book in which the author took a non-quotation mark approach.

    Justin M wrote this review Tuesday, October 6 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Life, the Universe and Everything
    • Rated 3 stars

    In the third book of Douglas Adams' trilogy of five, Arthur and co. have to save the universe after the killer robots of Krikkit plan to destroy it. The book starts with Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect stuck on prehistoric Earth. Luckily they are rescued by Slartibartfast and their adventure continue. They meet up with Trillian later on, and together they have to prevent the universe's destruction.
    One thing I especially enjoyed in this book were the references to Australia and cricket. I liked Adams' jokes on cricket as the most dull game in existence as I definitely agree with that sentiment. I know, so not an Australian thing to say! Although not as funny as the previous books, I found this book to be quite humourous. Adams could have done a better job with the storyline, especially after writing two solid books. I do plan to read the next two, but I won't exactly be rushing to start reading them.

    Justin M wrote this review Thursday, August 6 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • After Dark
    1 of 1 members found this review helpful.
    • Rated 5 stars

    The story begins at near midnight in a restaurant in Japan. Mari, a nineteen-year-old girl, is reading her book when a young man intrudes on her solitude after recognising her. Unbeknownst to her at the time this meeting of chance would turn her ostensibly quiet night out into one she would no doubt remember for a long time to come. Meanwhile, her beautiful sister Eri is experiencing an unnatural deep sleep, one that her not her sister, parents, nor anyone else can wake her from.
    I'm not sure where to began with how I felt about this book. It had this feel to it that intrigued me immensely. The book moved along slowly in the tranquilness of the night. Our darkened world also seems to move slower than the illuminated one, and things can happen at night that wouldn't at day. I like a book that makes me think deeply about certain topics, even if causing the reader to think about those things wasn't particlularly the author's aim. This book had my mind in a flutter with all sorts of thoughts; mainly about the many sorts of relationships we have with various people and how we communicate, how an almost stranger is sometimes the easiest person to talk to, and the so very different lives we lead, especially the vast differences in personality of siblings.
    This is definitely one of my favourite reads of this year. While I didn't particularly enjoy Murakami's After the Quake, I will certainly be on the lookout for his other books after my reading this one.

    Justin M wrote this review Thursday, August 6 2009. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink )
  • All Quiet on the Western Front
    • Rated 4 stars

    I really enjoyed this book. I liked his style of writing. It was almost poetic at some parts. The story reminded me of the tragedy of war. It's not about the good guys vs. the bad guys. These are all people with family, friends, and lives outside the war. And they lost it all because the world's powers couldn't think of a better way to resolve their problems. Also, what war can do to the mind is truly terrifying. One is never the same after they come back from warfare.

    We humans should have known by the 20th century that war was not the way to go. It only causes pain and suffering and does little to resolve any problem. Instead of looking into those foreign eyes and seeing an enemy we should see a friend, someone we can help and someone who can help us. At the very least we should leave each other alone. Sometimes I fear that war will cause the end of the human race. Anyway, enough of my rambling.

    This is a powerfully emotive and thought-provoking book. A classic anti-war novel.

    Justin M wrote this review Friday, July 24 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Mother Tongue
    • Rated 5 stars

    A history of the English tongue. Some very interesting facts and factoids about our language and the history of its speakers. I always enjoy Bryson's wiity and humourous writing. If you love language and/or Bill Brysson you'll love this book.

    Justin M wrote this review Friday, July 24 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Old Man and the Sea
    • Rated 3 stars

    This is a reasonably short novel (my edition was 99 pages), but I still found it didn't hold my interest for the most part. The best part was the beginning with the dialogue between the old man and the boy. I sped through that pretty quickly and thought I would like the rest of the novel because of it, but sadly that wasn't the case. The boredom (I use that word mildly) began when the old man pushed off to sea. I do wish to read more of his novels and I'm hoping the quality of his books increases with their length.

    Justin M wrote this review Saturday, July 18 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • David Golder
    • Rated 3 stars

    David Golder is about a wealthy man, a poor poor wealthy man. His ungrateful daughter always screeches for money and Golder, blinded by his love for his her, always allows her to take some. His wife also takes her turn to annoy him and request money but he doesn't give in so easily to her.
    The grumply old David Golder reminded me of Ebenezer Scrooge from the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Indeed the book was filled with as much life as Dickens' book if not more. David Golder was a quick and easy read and I can't wait to read Némirovsky's Suite Française.

    Justin M wrote this review Wednesday, June 17 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • by Daniel Mason
    • Rated 4 stars

    To put it mildly, I did not like Daniel Mason's first novel The Piano Tuner. When I heard he had another novel on the shelves, I had to find out how he could have persuaded the people at Picador to publish it. This one is about a girl named Isabel and her brother Isaias. They live with their parents in a farming village called St. Michael. There is a harsh drought, and the people of the village are struggling to survive. Isaias' dream is to go to the city and make money playing the fiddle. Isabel, who adores her brother very much, has to stay behind. At least for a little while.
    On his second attempt, Mason manages to come up with the goods. It's still every bit as slow, low on action, and melancholic as The Piano Tuner, but this novel has a much better storyline, one I managed to read without skimming over pages to get to the end.

    Justin M wrote this review Wednesday, May 20 2009. ( reply | permalink )
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