I shouldn't've left you...
I’ve been missing for a while from my book reviews. I’ve actually read 3 books since the last time I posted: The Witch of Portobello, The Sandkings, and before I die.
The Sandkings by George R.R. Martin
“Have you ever owned an animal that worshipped you?”
I started Witch of Portobello first but got sidetracked by this short story. The Sandkings is science fiction but it reads more like a horror story. Never again will I look at ants the same. This story positively had my skin crawling and I had to run away from the book a time or two. I screamed a time or two for good measure.
It’s science fiction, so of course it is set in the future. I wonder if anyone ever made a science fiction story set in the past…hmmm. Anyway, it follows the story of a brilliant, callous man named George. He doesn’t have a regular day job but gets paid well enough for what he does to have a mansion in the middle of nowhere. To pass the time in his isolated environment, he likes to acquire exotic (sometimes illegal) creatures and show them off to his friends at his parties. In his quest to always have the weirdest and strangest animals, he gets these ant-like creatures called Sandkings. So what’s so interesting about ants, George wonders. They worship. They worship whoever their master is and not in the way a dog does (that’s just loyalty anyway). If you want to be more philosophical about the book, it begs the question “Is the character of the people reflective of the god they serve?” But I just read the book for good fun and just tried to go deeper now. Either way it’s a great book and only 30 or so pages. It took me a week to read though just cause it was so painful…definite recommended read if you come across it.
The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coehlo
I keep giving Coehlo’s books another chance and always leave disappointed. I really liked 1 of his books (Eleven Minutes) and loved 2 of them (The Alchemist and Veronika Decides to Die) so I keep thinking I’ll find another discovery. And keep getting let down.
The book wasn’t terrible but there was nothing inspiring about it. That’s a tall order to ask of any author but I have come to expect it from Coehlo. Anything less is a failure in my eyes. The most interesting thing about the book was that I finished the book while I was in London. So I actually went to Portobello Road the day I finished the book. That’s it, that’s the coolest part.
Next book…
before I die
Can’t write something about this feeling cynical right now…tomorrow maybe or Tuesday
