“Book club liked this more than me.
I had high hopes having heard good things about other novels he has written, but was disappointed.
If you like David Mitchell or Haruki Murakami you will know the type of magical/fantasy style. It falls short compared to these other two authors.
Book club 6/10 me 4/10
Score 4/10
Date read May 2016
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“Parts of this novel I really liked, the Jazz club scene, his writing style is always good. But on the whole I wasn’t convinced. Perhaps I’ve higher expectations of Murakami.
Only child grows up and loses touch with childhood sweetheart, now married and successful she enters his life again
5/10 I’d recommend others by him before this one.
Score 5/10
Date read May 2016
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“His second novel and what a difference from his excellent first.
Following along we reengage with Bernie Gunther, the German detective.
Where this falls down from the first novel is it lacks the sparkle and humour. Reading this a few years since it was published (1990) had the distinct feeling of political incorrectness and dated.
Not for me 3/10
Score 3/10
Date read May 2016
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“What a thoroughly great book this is.
I laughed many times out loud.
Liam and Aldo are best friends. Aldo is a true genius character which I’ll always remember. Set in modern days in Australia we follow the scrapes Aldo goes through, of which there are many, Liam also tells the story and bales him out when things go wrong.
If Toltz could bring Aldo into another novel I’d read it like a shot.
Highly recommended. Our book group scored it 7.5/10 I loved it and gave it 8.5/10
Score 8.5/10
Date read April 2016
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