Four brief reviews

Devil Wears Prada-
A book which doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression, but for its whole duration is light and entertaining enough. The character of Miranda Priestly is the main selling point as she is a great antagonist, who thankfully the author never tries to redeem (unlike the film which suffers for this). Nothing about this book makes it particularly stand out, but you won’t regret reading it.


Oryx and Crake-
An extremely solid book, let down by its awkwardness in balancing the light and dark moments. The story is fascinating and the characters are well rounded from the insecure Jimmy/Snowman, to the brilliantly minded yet disturbed Crake. But the book is often unsuccessful in injecting humour into the story, and once people start to die in vicious circumstances, the lighter instances seem like a waste. Also the book doesn’t quite successfully end with any degree of satisfaction, leaving the story at an odd moment, which doesn’t settle well. But Margaret Atwood is a fine writer and Oryx and Crake is a terrific read for the most part.


The Understudy-
Simply great! No one could claim this book has anything important to say or would be called a classic, but each page was a pleasure to read. The writing is fantastic; creating one of the most likeable leads I’ve seen in a book for a long time. The story while simple (downbeat actor falls for wife of A-list actor who he is currently the understudy of), is never dull and the author blends drama with laugh out loud comedy flawlessly. A truly entertaining book, well worth your time!


The Lovely Bones-
The best book I’ve read this year so far. The perspective of this story, which is told by a murdered girl is fascinating, but it is the effect this murder has on her loved ones which makes the book special. From heaven, she watches as her family cope with her death, and how their lives change for the better or worse. And her pain of not being a part of this world anymore is incredibly moving. Superbly written and very touching, The Lovely Bones is near perfect.