The Light of Day. Graham Swift.

Waterland is very very dull - although his descriptions of landscape are spot on - I did it in my first year and it almost made me weep. I havent read any others of his, understandably.

Oh that's funny, I really liked Waterland. Found it very atmospheric and the story intriguing (mind you, I'm very easily intrigued). I'm reading Swift's Last Orders at the moment - I was enjoying it, but I must admit I put it down a few days ago and haven't bothered to pick it up again yet, so maybe not a good sign. [%sig%]

Did you? I thought it was sooooooooooooo monotonous. The narrative style didnt work for me either - i found the teachery stuff really distracting. Atmospheric descriptions yes - I live on the fens, so I know where he was coming from - but just too descriptive. Overly long. Draggy, you know?

I remember enjoying the film of Waterland and I tried the book but it wasn't to my taste. I've just read Atonement and that was a struggle to finish. It was well written but dull; I only carried on reading as I'd heard the war section was very good. It wasn't. There was nothing new in there; chaos, pointless killing, hunger, thoughts of home. No story though. The idea of writing a novel as an act of atonement I liked, but it seemed too much of a literary exercise. Which of course, it was. I've also recently read Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thomson. Like his other books flawed but brilliant. I've just bought the set of Penguin 70s - they all look nice and I'm currently reading H G Wells - War of the Worlds. This is great. Nice to see you on here d bes - what are you up to?

Believe it or not, Rupert was in my class at school: lovely bloke. I started watching the film of "Last Orders" on telly, but nodded off; like "The Light of Day", it was a flashback mosaic: maybe I'm unsophisticated, but flashbacks drive me bonkers. I started "Atonement" but gave it up as dull. The opening chapter of "Saturday", printed in the Guardian, struck me the same way. Well-written but dull would sum it up perfectly. (McEwan irritated me recently by saying that he'd been 55% in favour of the war (eh?) - and "Saturday" strikes me as a post-rationalisation. Funny how you never meet anyone in real life who was 100% in favour of the war - yet opinion polls showed a majority in favour at the time. Perhaps we should only have gone 55% to war.) d.beswetherick. Not much, Drew.

I remember you say about Rupert Thomson before. I love his writing. Apparently he wrote this one while living in a caravan. I don't think I shall attempt 'Saturday'.

Hi! I'm from Germany and I have to do an essay on The Light Of Day. Here is my problem: I need another book or a short story which I can compare to The Light Of Day. And I actually do not have a clue... It would be great if you had any suggestions for me!! Greatings from Germany, Martinad.beswetherick wrote: > This is the only one of the last six or seven contemporary > novels I've bought that I actually finished. Even so, it's a > bit rum.. > > All it is, really, is a crime story about a woman who murders > her husband. There's no mystery about the murder except how it > was done, which you find out towards the end. But Swift keeps > you on tenterhooks (or in a state of irritation - it's a close > thing) throughout by constantly using flashbacks to tell the > story, at the same time following the detective through a > single, slightly dreary, day in his life, years after the > murder. > > The smart thing about the book is the language; Swift uses the > simplest words possible, almost to the point of banality, but > he keeps breaking into his own rhythms to freshen the effect, > and so you need your wits about you the whole time. In the end, > though, I didn't have the feeling I'd read anything of > substance; I'm usually disappointed with literary writers who > try genre - the form tends to defeat their attempts at > originality. > > Still, I'm pathetically grateful to have found a book I didn't > want to throw across the room. > > What are Swift's other books like? [%sig%]

Hi! I'm from Germany and I have to do an essay on The Light Oft Day. Here is my problem: I need another book or a short story which I can compare to The Light Of Day. But I actually do not have a clue... It would be great if you had any suggestions for me!! Greatings from Germany, Martina

Hi! I'm from Germany and I have to do an essay on The Light Oft Day. Here is my problem: I need another book or a short story which I can compare to The Light Of Day. But I actually do not have a clue... It would be great if you had any suggestions for me!! Greatings from Germany, Martina [%sig%]

Atonement is awful. I swear that people who say it is brilliant don't actually mean it but feel obliged to say it out of some vague, unformulated respect for what is perceived as high art. Dull, dull, dull. McEwan is to English literature what Lenny Henry is to English comedy. Has anyone ever been involved in an opinion poll and asked what they think? I don't know a single person who has ever been polled. I'm not into conspiracy theories, but.... Anyone read Eleanor Rigby by D Coupland? I'm a major fan but can't decide on this but keep going back. As an aside, Hey Nostradamus - does anyone agree that it starts excellently and then the arse falls out of the book just over halfway through?

Marc, I loved Eleanor Rigby. But it is a very sad book. What I liked about it, and in fact Hey Nostradamus, and also All Familes Are Psychotic, are the random dramatic plot elements that are introduced - in E. R. the airport sequence. I read those three close together and then bought, Microserfs, Girlfriend in a Coma and Miss Wyoming. They've been on my shelf for 6 months now and somehow I can't bring myself to start them. I don't know why. If you've read any Marc, which would you recommend? Incidentally books I have just read are The People's Act of Love by James Meek, and Ten Sorry Tales by Mick Jackson. I'd recommend both of these.