Started reading it tonight out loud after we picked it up at Borders. SO GOOD. I love it. Every time I pick up a Hornby novel I remember why I miss him so much when he doesn't have something new out. Just the first chapter was hilarious.
"Are you not landing in New York along with us?" Ben asked. "I regret to inform you that you shall be putting into port elsewhere." "Quarantine, is it?" Ben asked. "New Jersey," Memmo said.
So sad. But amazing. A great story of isolation in post-soviet Russia.
One theme I found interesting was how Vik kept accidentally stepping into things. He stepped into a job, got a penguin, started a loveless relationship, became a "parent" to a young child -- all of this without thinking. All seemingly by coincidence.
This was definitely a worthy sequel to The Meaning of Night. You don't need to read the first book to enjoy this one, but the context makes it that much better.
Wow. Cox makes me want to be a better writer and storyteller. His story packs so many twists and little intrigues that you're constantly wondering if your predictions were right. The pacing is amazing and draws you into this world that so often times is presented in an inaccessible way. Cox manages to bring quite proper Victorian English diction to the table in a way that envelopes the reader yet doesn't cause them to stumble... if that makes any sense. A great read and one of my favourites this year (even if it is still only the first month of 2009). On to the sequel!
I'm almost halfway through the story and am completely enthralled. I almost can't imagine that there is much more to the story, but the narrator keeps bringing more twists into the plot. So good.
Started it this morning and I'm already excited to plow through it. Glad there's a Christmas break coming up.
It took JFK a year of dismissing Eisenhower's conclusion that being prepared to fight an all-out thermonuclear war was the only way to prevent said war - and that nuclear war cannot be fought on a small, limited scale-- to come to the same conclusion as Eisenhower. What an idiot.
I hate Jacob Black. I hate him. Even in previous book. I wish he would just leave. And I wish Bella was smart enough to realize that she needs to make a decision and stick to it. That decision should be Edward. It pisses me off, all of this back and forth, unneeded strife. Bella's mom was wrong, she may be an old soul, but she's ridiculously immature.
Just makes me mad.
Susheela replies...
I felt the exact same way about Bella, but during the first 3 books I liked Jacob much more than Edward (in some ways). I mean, how does some cold hard stony kiss compete with what Jacob delivered??? That's just me though ;P
joelgoodman replies...
Seriously? Jacob's just so freaking immature. I've been reading these out loud to my wife and even she is getting tired of it. I liked Jacob in 1 and 2, but the last two books he's driving me mad. And it's killing Edward who has never done anything (except leave that one time - which he thought was best) to hurt Bella. Jacob was a HUGE jerk after he turned into a werewolf.
Susheela replies...
Yeah, I think that might be my problem with Edward though. Through Bella's eyes he can do no wrong. Even though I'm not sure how she's going to keep it from getting redundant, I'm interested to read "Midnight Sun", just to get a better idea of Edward without Bella's love-sick, rose-coloured filter ;) I mean... Jacob was immature and a jerk, but I could understand his reactions as far as his character/personality were concerned. Because of his flaws, he feels like the most well-rounded character in the series to me.
joelgoodman replies...
I can see that completely. I think it causes some dissonance in my mind because the rest of the story is so fantastical. All of the other characters are so incredibly unreal that he seems surprisingly out of place. And Bella's so fickle despite her supposedly being mature enough to get married and take care of her dad and all of that. We just passed Book II and are moving on to Bella's last hurrah in this story.
kristin replies...
Agreed. I don't like Jacobs character at all. If I have to read the word 'bloodsucker' one more time I think I might vomit.