This is not a normal 10 out of 10 type book for me but it still qualifies. Such a well written story of intrigue, mystery, detectivism and discovery. A really brilliant detective book that keeps you glued to every next page until all is revealed. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down, even cancelling previously scheduled engagements so as I could keep reading. But, then, like all the best books, when I'd finished it I felt a huge void, wishing I hadn't yet read it! Check it out, great story and very well written, parts of it sublime-like poetry.
One of his great short stories. A brilliantly told story of a particularly pain inducing and torturous execution tool. Will make you squirm and laugh at the same time. Brilliant. Part of the book Metamorphosis and other stories. All very good, though this one is particularly good. (Love the cover of this book too, brilliant).
My favourite book of all time. Completely brilliant. Such a wonderful story and so well told. Incredibly beautiful. Life affirming. Natural euphoria inducing. Completely perfect. Incredible.
On a side note, Hemingway has many other good books and short stories too. Fiesta for example is very good. As is the short story My Old Man about a gambler and his son... absolutely fantastic. Also, if you like these check out Michael Shaara's For Love of the Game (listed below)... they say if Hemingway ever wrote about baseball it would have been this book.
Written in 1889 and considered one of the very best Brazilian fiction books ever. Thoroughly engaging book with themes a little similar to Catcher in The Rye in terms of a man who questions everything and everyone's motives and relationships. The question of whether or not his wife was unfaithful to him pains the protagonist and also the reader. So much so that a group of Brazil's best writers all met a few years ago to discuss the book and try to reach agreement on whether or not she was unfaithful.... In the end they still could never agree! Absolutely loved this book.
Totally different type of action book. No idea when or where it is set (though feels like Northerly winds similar to those of England or Ireland, though the landscape is much different). Just a brilliant adventure / action book with very ominous overtones giving it an easily felt darkness throughout. The darkness of the lead character's mind. Not knowing what he is going to do. As the sleeve of the book says: 'They call him Cale. He is destined to save the world... or destroy it'. Can't wait for the next in its series later this year.
A fantastic piece of fiction with a story that makes you think about how to fully live and enjoy life. For some it is feeling free and weightless, like a natural euphoria. For others it is the complete opposite, that to feel alive they must feel the positives weights of the world on top of them. All of this is realised by the reader subconsciously as you read through the beautifully written story.
Possibly my favourite book ever. Incredibly well written and quite unbelievable at times that it is all fiction and not a true biography. Absolutely fantastic. It's a collection of seven stories of one character at different times throughout his interesting and unusual life. Incredibly engaging character and huke kudos is owed to Alvaro Mutis for his skills in creating him. An absolute must read. Utterly sublime.
Wow, absolutely brilliant book. One of my favourites of all time and exactly the type of book I'd like to write. Capturing all sorts of emotions perfectly while also building an awesome story about an legendary baseball player and an epic game. Ten out of ten. Captures the sublime so well. Awesome.
Fantastic account of Theodore Roosevelt's expdition along an untouched tributary of the Amazon in 1914 after relinquishing the presidency. An adventure story that happened in real life. Spectacularly written, thrilling story with great characters and descriptions. Candice Millard has a special touch for bringing to life through words, and engaging your imagination, about the ever living Amazon jungle. You can literally see and feel each part of it as though it were right there in front of you. You will be left feeling wonderment at the sheer audacity of the whole expedition. Particularly brilliant chapters about the animals, the rainforest, the trees, the whole environment teaming with life and activity 24/7. Congratulations Candice Millard, fantastic book and thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating from page one right through to the end.
The title story in this book of short stories / musings is fantastic. It leaves you wanting to go and lie in a green field, near a stream, on a beautiful spring day and just enjoy being alive and among nature.
Wow, what an incredible book. Essential reading for everyone. Fantastic, marvelous and sublime. Leaves you feeling on top of the world and ready to become the person you know you can be. It is best summed up by the quote written about the book, in the introduction: "Reading the Alchemist is like getting up at dawn and watching the sun rise while the rest of the world is still asleep". One of my favourite books ever.
What a great book. Though it starts a little slow you later realise that the beginning is really excellent, you just need to read the whole story to appreciate it properly. I particularly liked and literally laughed out loud during his descriptions of how he could even adapt to being confined to the hollow of a big tree and learn to enjoy it. Brilliant. Laughing now even thinking of it again.
On a side note I bet this is a book Haruki Murikami loves and also Machido de Assis would have loved. Actually I'd be surprised if anyone could read this book and not enjoy it.
