The Iron Man - Ted Hughes

 

It hasn't taken me that long to finish my latest read, partly because it is a children's story that I am looking at next term and partly because it is such an enjoyable tale.

It is a well known story and it has been around for a long time, first published in 1968, it has been read by many children at school. Even I can remember doing this story when I was in primary school and I hope to be able to recreate some of the fond memories with the children I will be working with.

This is a wonderful story. The plot is simplistic and easy to follow yet loses no enjoyability in this account. It has been hailed by some as a modern day fairy story and I agree with this description. The tale follows the formula for this genre. I don't want to divulge too many plot details as I want readers to go out and try this book but I will say that the growing friendship between a boy and a giant metal man is touching.

Another thing I really loved about this book was the rich description I found. It was beautiful to read and Hughes had a truly unique voice. The book will appeal to both the boys and girls in my group as it is aimed at children and every word Hughes has written shows this. The scenes are vivid without the language being to weighty. The pacing is spot on too, no point is over or underwritten, no word is dead weight in the novel, which makes a welcome change from some books I have read in the past!

The characters in the novel are also well thought out, simple yet balanced. They young boy who befriends the Iron Man will be easy for children to relate to and even the Iron Man himself comes across as a misunderstand giant who is just after something to eat!

I don't really have any criticisms of this novel as its one I grew up loving and one I was too happy to re-read as an adult. I hope the kids I work with will enjoy it as much as I did and still do and that they will attach good memories to it as well. I can only try my best to help them get the most out of it too. If you have never read this story, I would suggest you do so, it is a wonderful book!

Post Captain - Patrick O'Brian

The next in the Aubrey/Maturin series is Post Captain, the book I have just read. I enjoyed the first one so much I thought I would launch straight into the next without a break to see if it was as good.

It was. The story begins with our two heroes being on land and living in a rather well to do state, country cottage, fox hunting and all the other joys of being rich in the 19th Century brings. The pair soon find themselves in a spot of bother which leaves the fleeing the country to avoid being thrown into prison. While in France, war is declared and their escape into Spain is none other than comical, yet expertly written and a credit to the author. The story is woven together and flows very well. We also learn a great deal more about the two characters and their relationship develops over the course of the novel. It doesn't always do so well, they almost come to blows over a matter, which I shall not divulge here - you'll have to read it yourselves, but are able to move on from it nonetheless. In fact, the ability to argue gives credibility to the characters, making them seem more realistic. We all fall out about the smallest of things don't we!

There are some downsides to the story however, aside from needing a working knowledge of sailing ships, or a nearby smartphone to look up unknown terms. The narrative, although excellently written, can be a little hard to follow at times. It tends to jump at times which can leave the reader from wondering what happened. It's not small jumps either, one moment you could be sailing on a ship, the next in a hall listening to classical music, its a bit confusing but thankfully it doesn't happen too often.
The ending was also an issue for me. It left the novel with an unfinished feel to it and although I know there are many more in the series, I would like some more closure than I was given. Maybe that's just me being picky, I'm not sure. The books have been around for a long while and have had flying reviews so maybe it is. Still, it was a point I felt I should mention. I'll read the next one soon, however I have some more I need to read for school. Next review will be Ted Hughes The Iron Man, a book I remember fondly from childhood, so looking forward to reading that!

Master and Commander - Patrick O'Brian

I have been wanting to read this book for some time and I have finally managed to sit down and do so, between the craziness that is preparing for World Book Day (7th March) and the other tasks that have been assigned to me. Here are my thoughts:

If I could have sat down and read this book from cover to cover without interruption from the real world, I would have. I instantly liked the hero - Jack Aubrey. Many of you will know him as played by Russell Crowe in the 2003 film. He seems to have two states of emotion to begin with, super happy or super angry. Fortunately he gravitates to happy and its so easy to get caught up with his fervor and passion for all things, from his love of music to the enthusiasm for his newest command. He is a simple enough character and easily likeable. I was quick to sympathize with his confusion part way through the novel when one of his lieutenants was forced to make a tough decision without his knowledge and then took his frustration out on Jack. The hero was much like a wounded puppy for a long while and it certainly earned my sympathy. In fact, it became rather hard to remember at points that this kind-hearted character had bite, but he does and wasn't afraid to use it either. His simplicity was delightful, especially after reading some novels with characters that are tough to like or get to know, Roland Deschain for example!

As a complete foil for Jack, is the ships doctor Stephen Maturin. He is a rich character but taken to dark moods and thoughtful contemplation rather than action. The two become fast friends and they work so well together. He is not always serious and there is an air of mischief about Maturin at times which I found delightful, like him putting in foul tasting additions with his medicine to make sure the crew know they are being physicked and when he falls overboard and the rest of the crew jump in to save him. The dynamic is a credit to O'Brian's skills as a writer and one of the reasons I was so hooked on the novel as a whole. The rest of the supporting cast are all individuals and you know who is speaking without it being tagged with a name - perfectly written and well balanced.
 

The story itself is relatively easy to follow for the most part. The sea battles are well written and kept me glued to my kindle. If not for work constraints I would have been reading well into the early hours. The battles were exciting and concise, I had no trouble following the action, nor the thoughts and feelings of the crew involved. I was routing for the crew and the Sophie all throughout their trials. Even the 'duller' aspects of sea life were interesting and well written. However, it was not always easy to tell where the crew were and there were some parts that jumped around. I found from one scene to the next drastic changes had happened. They may be aboard ship one moment and roaming around on shore the next with not much clue as to when that change occurred. This made parts of the novel hard to follow.

 The other aspect of the novel which was difficult to grasp was the terminology. I've studied 19th century sailing ships a little for a book I am working on so know a little bit about the parts of a ship, however I struggled with some of the names. If you don't know your forecastle from your mizzen and your foretopgallant from your mainroyalstay, you're going to have an issue. I'd advise you to keep a dictionary - or smartphone - close by while you give the book a read just to keep which sail is which clear in your head.

Don't let that put you off reading about two of the best characters I have met so far this year. There are 20 books dedicated to them and I'm going to go download the next one onto my kindle now. It's just too much fun not to.