The Hours by Michael Cunningham

I enjoyed reading this book; I was very conscious of it being well written, good prose. But at the same time I was wondering, how did this win the Pulitzer Prize? And then, in the very last line, I finally saw the final connection. Read the last chapter again and was surprised I'd missed it! And that seemed to make it all worthwhile. Interesting.
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City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende

This is one of Allende's books for young people, and as such it reads very differently from her other novels such as House of the Spirits. I have to say that I prefer her writing for adults, but this is quite a magical story. Alex and Nadia meet in the rainforest, and go on a spiritual journey in order to grow as people and, more importantly, to save the People of the Mist. Sometimes it is unclear whether the events they are experiencing are hallucinations or real.

I suppose this novel falls under the genre of magic realism; however, I sometimes wondered if I was supposed to believe certain descriptions, with the willing suspension of disbelief, or not.

I have enjoyed this story, but I look forward to be more transported by an adult Allende novel in the future!


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