Sara's reading log

I am a book hoarder and reader. My main genre is SF, but I also love magic realism, fantasy and general fiction. Favorite authors are Iain M. Banks, Ursula K. LeGuin, Haruki Murakami, José Saramago, Isaac Asimov, Ben Aaronovitch and more. My rating system is based on five stars. I rate books based on my expectations and what a books aims to be. This means that the brilliant 'Fahrenheit 451' gets five stars because I thought it would be good, people said it was good, and it was good, but 'A Closed and Common Orbit' also gets five stars because in its series, in its style, I really enjoyed it and was not disappointed.

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

  • Started on: 2011-05-13
  • Finished on: 2011-05-18
  • Read in: English
  • Rating: ****-
  • Genre(s): Historical Fiction

This book came incredibly highly recommended by the member of Library Thing, and with the book being made into a TV mini-series on the BBC, I just had to read it. This is the story of Sugar, a prostitute in late nineteenth century London, who meets William Rackham, up and coming perfume brand owner. Sugar wants to get out, and William may be able to offer her that oppurtunity.
Starting the book I loved the style of the narrator, where we are transported through London, following several characters before getting to the main part of the story.
The story itself swept me away, I couldn’t put the book down. The thing I did not like about the story was the ending. To me it seemed that the writer had a set amount of pages, and just ended the story quite abruptly.
After I finished the book I read an interview with Michel Faber and his wife, where he talked about how William was such a villainous character. I really didn’t experience him as a villain, but as a tragic character that despite everything, couldn’t help himself in trying to do the best he could to fit in to society. The book gets four out of five stars.

  • Started on: 2011-05-13
  • Finished on: 2011-05-18
  • Read in: English
  • Rating: ****-
  • Genre(s): Historical Fiction

This book came incredibly highly recommended by the member of Library Thing, and with the book being made into a TV mini-series on the BBC, I just had to read it. This is the story of Sugar, a prostitute in late nineteenth century London, who meets William Rackham, up and coming perfume brand owner. Sugar wants to get out, and William may be able to offer her that oppurtunity.
Starting the book I loved the style of the narrator, where we are transported through London, following several characters before getting to the main part of the story.
The story itself swept me away, I couldn’t put the book down. The thing I did not like about the story was the ending. To me it seemed that the writer had a set amount of pages, and just ended the story quite abruptly.
After I finished the book I read an interview with Michel Faber and his wife, where he talked about how William was such a villainous character. I really didn’t experience him as a villain, but as a tragic character that despite everything, couldn’t help himself in trying to do the best he could to fit in to society. The book gets four out of five stars.