WEEK SEVEN - 'THE LITTLE STRANGER' & 'ON THE ROAD'

'The Little Stranger' by Sarah Waters
February 8 - 11, 499 pages

I can't remember the last time I read a ghost story. I struggle to believe in anything paranormal and so am not much of a fan of this genre. However, when protagonist Dr Faraday continues to supple rational explanations for the strange happenings at Hundreds Hall even I want to shake him: there's obviously a ghost!

This was a nice book, quick to read with wonderful descriptions of the old house - 'the essential loveliness of the room stood out, like the handsome bones behind a ravaged face.' The novel really was about Hundreds, an ode to a beautiful old building and, as a lover of architecture, it was a pleasure to read.

'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac
February 11 - 14, 291 pages

This book was lots of fun. I felt like I really experienced mid-century America. 'All he needed was a wheel in his hand and four on the road.'

'On the Road' was wild. It made me want to leave home and just see something. Be somewhere different and exciting. It's written exactly how he lived it: fast-paced, impulsive and pure. 

Some quotes from 'On the Road' which I scribbled on my bookmark:

'... I had reached the point of ecstasy that I always wanted to reach, which was the complete step across chronological time into timeless shadows, and wonderment in the bleakness of the mortal realm ...'

'the thing that bound us all together in this world was invisible' 

'But no matter, the road is life.'

And my favourite: 'Until you learn to realize the importance of the Banana King you will know absolutely nothing about the human-interest things of the world.'