The House of Doctor Dee, by Peter Ackroyd

First published 1993.

OK. Having been passed through the hands of two other book-crossers whilst managing to not yet be completely read, I was determined to plough through this one.

How difficult a task had I set myself?

It was whilst trying to explain to my wife how I felt about this book that I think I hit upon a winner: Reading this novel was like watching a film by David Lynch. You know that what is going on is amazing, well-written stuff, but it is all so damn high-brow that it walks that very very fine line between 'brilliant' and 'extremely difficult to understand'.

I am on record for hating David Lynch. He is a talented Director that never seems to use his talents to create coherent stories.
Do I hate this novel? Not quite. The individual scenes - both in present-day London and the pre-scientific world of advanced philosopher John Dee - were sometimes vividly realised and most of time extrememly interesting. Yet it was a deep struggle to maintain enthusiasm for the overall book because of the obscure themes.

Without giving anything away, the final plot twists/revelations are of the kind that either make you re-evaluate the entire novel or shake your head in dismay. Personally, I like the type of questioning of the reality of narrative that the conclusion introduces, but it was too little too late to rescue the ungraspable, high-brow nature of the majority of rest of the book.

This may be an absolute gem for the right person. Perhaps a historian/scholar in early science/magic or someone really interested in philosophical thoughts on the identity of great cities like London over vaste expanses of time.

Give it a go, but don't hesitate to pass it on if you don't like the first three chapters. It doesn't "settle in" at any stage.

One of those deals where you suspect that the fancy ingredients are supposed to impress you, but they're not as good as more common fare. Chicken generally tastes better than pheasant.

The House of Doctor Dee -

This was a book-crossing book.

The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink

Published 1995

This book is a very good short read. Surprisingly devourable, given the heavy expectation of a novel dealing with the holocaust, Schlink introduces a complex humanity to all sides of his story. Guilt, and the proper ownership of it's past, are intrinsically connected to the relationship between a young man and older woman representing two very significant generations in recent German history - those that lived through the Second War and their children, who grew to denounce their parents' complicity.

A poignant story that refuses the luxury of dehumanising that which we don't understand.

Done to perfection, this high class dish can be easily enjoyed by anyone. Highly recommended for a quick bite.

The Reader -

This book was a BookCrossing book.

Jpod, by Douglas Coupland

Published 2006.

It has been a while since I have read a book as casually outrageous as JPod.
Focusing on the daily distractions and philosophies of a seemingly average gaming programmer, Ethan, Douglas Coupland gradually heaps an increasing amount of absurd realities onto Ethan's daily plate. The catch appears to be that because Ethan lives, breathes and works in an 'unreal' world of micro-management and forced, bizarre creativity, he accepts the daily insanity in his 'real' world with the minimum of protest.
Ethan, along with his 'JPod' colleagues - all surviving together in a Microserf purgatory (read: "Microserf", another of Coupland's acclaimed novels) - spend more time using their genuine intelligence to evade the reality of work, then they do in pursuing their mutual potential. This is the great blackhole of productivity that is 'the JPod' work environment, and just in case we don't get it, Coupland writes himself into his own novel as a support character to make a few points 'in person'.
A deliciously written novel, a lot of inane fun is had by author and characters alike as they amble through the very lightweight plot. There is, fortunately, an underlying sinister criticism on the wasted potential of the brighter new generation, all utterly apathetic in the face of a reality governed by their parents' generation - the 70s/80s corporate, selfish, self-empowering generation.

A good looking lunch item that promises more on the menu than delivers in the eating. Nonetheless, a satisfactory snack.

JPod -