2012: Top 5

Bu son 2012 yazısı. Ben de 'en iyiler'i seçmezsem çatlarım. Öyle lafı uzatmayacağım. Buyrunuz, top 5'im...

2012 etkinlikleri!

2012, son bir kaç yıla oranla çok daha fazla kitap okuduğum bir yıl oldu. Bunda, bir parçası olma şansını yakaladığım etkinlikler de önemli rol oynadı. Bakalım neler yapmışız...

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

Set in Los Angeles in the early 1980's, this coolly mesmerizing novel is a raw, powerful portrait of a lost generation who have experienced sex, drugs, and disaffection at too early an age, in a world shaped by casual nihilism, passivity, and too much money a place devoid of feeling or hope.

Clay comes home for Christmas vacation from his Eastern college and re-enters a landscape of limitless privilege and absolute moral entropy, where everyone drives Porches, dines at Spago, and snorts mountains of cocaine. He tries to renew feelings for his girlfriend, Blair, and for his best friend from high school, Julian, who is careering into hustling and heroin. Clay's holiday turns into a dizzying spiral of desperation that takes him through the relentless parties in glitzy mansions, seedy bars, and underground rock clubs and also into the seamy world of L.A. after dark.

I first read this book ten years ago when I was 18, my first year in college far, far away from home. What made me want to read it was seeing that it was a book about someone my age at the time coming home on his Christmas break. I was to experience the whole "coming home for Christmas" ritual for the very first time in my life, and I thought I'd find out how it was for somebody else, even though he was fictional. Little did I know that none of my 'coming home's would be like this one.

The story takes place in the 80's, revolves around the 18-year-old Clay, who goes to college on the East Coast and comes home to LA on his Christmas break. He gets together with his family, his girlfriends and his friends from home. They're all rich kids, sons and daughters of people in the movie business, and as you read more, it seems like all they do is drink, take drugs and watch MTV. Then as they interact more and more, events start to unfold, obviously. Some make you uneasy, some make you think and some are just plain disturbing.

Less Than Zero once again reminded me of Albert Camus's L'etranger, which is one of my favorite books of all time. These characters don't have a purpose in life (at least they really seem not to), but their actions lead them to situations that they didn't necessarily sign up for. The silver lining, of course, is that they couldn't care less. When this integrates with Ellis's simple yet strong, raw writing, you can't help but get sucked in and find yourself caring for the mostly 'on-the-surface' type characters.

I decided to re-read it before I read Imperial Bedrooms by the same author, which focuses on the same characters 25 years later. I'm glad I did because even though there are parts of it I vividly remembered to this day, there were some that escaped my memory.

I have a feeling you'll either like this book a lot or simply hate it, but I do believe it's worth giving a shot. 

P.S. I also recently heard that this was made into a movie in 1987, which I'm going to check out.

Deniz - John Banville

Ex Libris kitap kulübümüzde bu yıl için seçtiğimiz ilk kitap John Banville'nin Türkiye'de Can Yayınları'ndan çıkan, 2005 Man Booker ödüllü Deniz isimli kitabıydı. Kitap seçimlerimiz için ancak Ocak ayının ortalarında buluşabildiğimiz için (onda da kar nedeniyle bir kişi eksiktik zaten) birinci kitabımız kısa bir şey olsun dedik. Deniz, hem ödüllü, hem de ince bir kitap (İngilizcesi 195 sayfa) olduğu için bunu seçtik. Kitap inceydi ince olmasına ama okuması genel olarak zor, çok zordu!

İlk başta küfür etmiş olmama rağmen sonuçta sevdim kitabı. Gerçekten çok güzel bir dille yazılmıştı. Uzun betimlemelerden hoşlanmıyorum normalde ama bu kitaptakiler o kadar güzeldi ki rahatsız etmediler. Ancak cümlelerin çok uzun olması sinirimi bozdu. Bazı cümleler 5-6 satır uzunluğundaydı. O nedenle 195 sayfalık kitabı okumam bir hafta sürdü.

Bu yıl kitap kulübü olarak ödüllü kitaplara öncelik vermeye çalıştık. Yukarıda belirttiğim gibi, John Banville'in denizi de bunlardan bir tanesi. Daha önce hiç Banville okumadığım için kendisini şöyle bir Google'ladım kitaba başlamadan önce. Pek çok yerde önceden ödüllere aday gösterildiğini ve Deniz'i özellikle kazanmak için yazdığını gördüm. Tebrikler, Banville amca, cidden uğraşmışsın!

Ana karakter Max Madden, orta yaşlı bir amca. Direk yaşını söylemiyor kitapta ama olaylardan anlaşılıyor. Karısını kaybedince küçüklüğünden hatırladığı yere geri dönüyor. Burası, yazları ailesiyle birlikte vakit geçirdiği, deniz kenarında bir yer. Aynı zamanda da Grace ailesiyle, 'tanrılar' olarak anlattığı insanlarla tanıştığı yer. Graces ailesinin çocukları Chloe ve Myles'la arkadaş oluyor Max. Onlarla yakınlaşmak istemesinin ilk baştaki nedeni ise anneleri Connie Grace'i görünce o çocuk aklıyla kadına vurulmuş olması...

Kitap şimdiki zaman ve geçmiş zaman arasında gidip geliyor. Max, geçmişi hatırladıkça okura anlatıyor. Anılarından bölündüğü zamanlarda ise şu anda nerede olduğunu ve etrafında gerçekleşenleri... Şimdiki zamanda Max, küçüklüğünde Grace ailesinin evi olan evde kalıyor. Yaz aylarında onlarla nasıl vakit geçirdiğinin yanı sıra daha karısının ölümünden bahsediyor.

Bu kitaptaki karakterlerinin hiç birini sevmedim; belki biraz Chloe ve Myles'ın bakıcısı olan Rose'dan hoşlandım. Kitabın başlarında silik bir karakter kendisi. Yalnızca çocukların, özellikle Chloe'nin nefret ettiği ve işkence etmeye çalıştığı bir dadı. Kitabın sonlarına doğru ise daha bir görünür hale geliyor Rose ve kendisini garip olayların içinde buluyoruz.

Max'i sevmememin başlıca nedeni ise kendi de dahil olmak üzere hiç kimseden hoşlanmaması ve etrafındakileri sert bir şekilde eleştirmesi. Ailesinden zengin olmadıkları için utanıyor ve Grace ailesi yalnızca zenginler diye onlara 'tanrılar' olarak hitap ediyor. Kendisinin yetişkin bir kızı var ancak kitabın bir yerinde çocukların içindeki Gilles de Rais'i uyandırdığını söylüyor. Gilles de Rais 1440'larda çocukları öldürmüş olan bir seri katil. Ve bu adamın bir kızı var. Daha fazla bir şey söylememe gerek var mı?! Bunun yanı sıra kızını çirkin bir yaratık olarak tasvir ediyor. Böyle bir babayı kimseye dilemem cidden...

Chloe Grace ise cidden gıcık olduğum ikinci karakterdi. Max ve kardeşi Myles'la oyunlarına, vs. bakılınca küçük bir psikopat olduğu anlaşılıyor. Aynı zamanda bu velet dadısının ölmesini diliyor içten içten. Boğulmasını. Küçük bir çocuğun böyle bir şeyi gönülden dilemesi korkunç bir durum bence.

Kitabın ortalarına doğru Max bize alkolik olduğunu söylüyor. Bence bunu söylemesine gerek yoktu çünkü kitabın en başından itibaren bu tarz bir durum olduğu bariz bir şekilde hissediliyor. İçinde kalan bazı şeyleri netleştirmek için Grace ailesinin evine geri döndü ama halen hiç bir şey netleşmiş değil ve bence bu da daha fazla bulandırıyor Max'in beynini...

Kitabın en sevdiğim yanı diliydi. İngilizce yazımda beğendiğim bazı kısımlara yer verdim. Buradan okuyabilirsiniz. Şimdi burada uğraşmak istemiyorum açıkçası Türkçe'ye çevirmekle. Banville'in Deniz'i geri dönüp tekrar okumak isteyeceğim bir kitap değil ancak okuduğum için de mutluyum. Bence özellikle kitabın sonu sizleri çok şaşırtacak.

2012 Oscar Ödülleri

2012 Oscar Ödül töreni 26 Şubat'ta gerçekleşecek. Takip edenler özellikle son yıllarda Oscar törenlerinin sıkıcı olduğunu, bilinmezliğin kalmadığını ve ödül alacak isimlerin bariz belli olduğu konusunda hemfikir. Ancak ben elimde olmadan yine de heyecanlanıyorum. Son dakkada bir sürpriz olur belki diye bekliyorum. Eskisi gibi sabahlara kadar uyanık kalıp da canlı izleyemiyorum töreni, orası ayrı...

Bu yıl aday gösterilen filmlerden yalnızca Paris'te Gece Yarısı'nı (Midnight in Paris) izlemiştim. Hepsini izlemem bayağı zor ama en azından En İyi Film (Best Picture) adaylarını izlemek istiyorum. Bu yıl En İyi Film kategorisinde aday gösterilen filmler: 1. War Horse (Savaş Atı), 2. The Artist (Artist), 3. Moneyball (Kazanma Sanatı), 4. The Tree of Life (Hayat Ağacı), 5. Midnight in Paris (Paris'te Gece Yarısı), 6. The Help (Duyguların Rengi), 7. Hugo, 8. The Descendants (Senden Bana Kalan), 9. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Çok Gürültülü ve Çok Yakın).

Bu yıl aday olan filmler arasında iki adet de kitaptan uyarlanmış filmler var. Bunlardan biri Kathryn Stockett'in The Help, diğeri de Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The Help'i henüz okumadım; filmi izlemeden önce okuyayım istiyorum ancak zaman kalmazsa önce film, sonra kitap olacak. Jonathan Safran Foer'in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'u ise 2003 yılında, çıkar çıkmaz okumuştum. Öncesinde Everything Is Illuminated'i (Hey Şey Aydınlandı) okumuş ve çok beğenmiştim. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close da oldukça iyiydi. Filmler çoğu zaman kitaplar kadar iyi olamadığı için yüksek beklentilerim yok filmden. Göreceğiz artık...

Siz de Oscar'ları takip ediyor musunuz? Öncesinde tahminler yapıyor musunuz?

The Sea by John Banville

Title: The Sea
Author: John Banville
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 2005
Number of Pages: 208 (Kindle Edition)

In this luminous new novel about love, loss, and the unpredictable power of memory, John Banville introduces us to Max Morden, a middle-aged Irishman who has gone back to the seaside town where he spent his summer holidays as a child to cope with the recent loss of his wife. It is also a return to the place where he met the Graces, the well-heeled family with whom he experienced the strange suddenness of both love and death for the first time. What Max comes to understand about the past, and about its indelible effects on him, is at the center of this elegiac, gorgeously written novel — among the finest we have had from this masterful writer.

This was a hard one to read, and I think it's even harder to review. The Sea is the first book we've read in my book club Ex Libris this year. We couldn't meet until mid-January to make our selections for the year, and since half the month was already gone, we thought we would start with a thin book. It's a thin book, alright, but it took me a week to read, and quite a bit of effort.

That isn't to say I didn't like it, because I really liked it in the end. It really is a "gorgeously written novel," and even though I'm not a big fan of long, way-too-detailed descriptions, Banville is such a master at his craft that I enjoyed them. My only problem was the long sentences that would last for 5-6 lines. It worked well for the purpose of the book, but also made it hard to read. This is why even though it's 200 pages it took a while to get through.

This year in book club we're reading quite a few award winners, and this is one of them. Banville's The Sea is the 2005 Man Booker Prize winner. I did a little bit of internet research after I was done reading, and found out he's been a runner up before, and he wrote this book to win. Well, congratulations, sir! Now, getting to the story. . .

The protagonist, Max Morden, is a middle-aged man. Not that he says this himself, but from everything else it's quite obvious. He recently lost his wife, and he goes back to the place he remembers from his childhood. A place by the sea where he would spend the summer with his family, also a place where he met the Graces, "the gods" as he calls them. He befriends the kids, Chloe and Myles, who are around his age. The reason for him wanting to get close the family, at least in the beginning, is that he has a crush on the mother, Connie Grace. 

The book goes back and forth between the past and the present of Max, him remembering and thinking he's remembering. His mind is foggy, which I guess makes up for the very long sentences and the confusion in his narrative. At present, he's staying at what used to be the home of the Graces, where he would hang out quite a bit that summer he spent with them. Through his foggy memory, he's telling us about that summer, and about his wife's last days.

I honestly did not like any of the characters in this book, maybe except for Rose, who's Chloe and Myles's nanny. Her presence is quite indistinct toward the beginning parts of the story: just the nanny whom the kids (especially Chloe) hate and torture. But toward the end, we find quite a bit about her, and she unfolds disturbing events. 

My biggest problem with Max was that he didn't seem to like himself or anybody, and he judged everyone around him pretty harshly. He's ashamed of his family because they're not rich, and just because the Graces are, he sees them as "the gods." He has a daughter, but somewhere in the book, he says, "kiddies in general, I'm afraid, bring out the not so latent Gilles de Rais in me." Now, Gilles de Rais was a serial killer who killed children in the 1440s, so all I could say to that was what the fuck, Max? He also describes his daughter as an ugly creature who doesn't bother to live up to her potential. Long story short, it would be painful to have a father like that, I think...

Chloe Grace was the second character I truly disliked. She's quite a psycho, with the way she plays with her brother and Max and wishing Rose will be "washed away." "I hope she gets drowned," she says. Who, even a kid, would wish that upon anybody?

Max later reveals, "I drink like a fish but no, what fishes do is breathing." This might be a tiny spoiler, but really, it's pretty obvious throughout the book that he's somehow drugged. This adds to his confusion. While he describes the bed he sleeps in at the Graces house in the present time, he says, "By the way; the bed, my bed," which leads me to believe he still doesn't feel like he belongs even though he came back to the Graces house to get some answers and set his mind at ease. Also, as broken as he is about his wife's death, he's also mad at her for leaving him: "You cunt, you fucking cunt, how could you go and leave me like this?"

The best part of the book, I think, were in the descriptions and some of his analysis. I noted quite a few while reading, but I'm going to share two of my favorites:

One of the older boys from the field assured me one day with a snicker that a fringe like Chloe's was the certain sign of a girl who played with herself. I did not know what he meant, but  felt sure that Chloe did not play, on her own or otherwise.

Happiness was different in childhood. It was so much then a matter simply of accumulation, of taking things--new experiences, new emotions--and applying them like so many polished tiles to what would someday be the marvelously finished pavilion of the self.

This is not one of those books I'd want to go back and re-read, but it's a book worth reading, especially if you like a challenge. And I assure you that the ending will surprise you.

New Girl by Paige Harbison

Title: New Girl
Author: Paige Harbison
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Number of Pages: 320

Welcome to Manderley Academy
I hadn't wanted to go, but my parents were so excited.... So here I am, the new girl at Manderley, a true fish out of water. But mine's not the name on everyone's lips. Oh, no.
It's Becca Normandy they can't stop talking about. Perfect, beautiful Becca. She went missing at the end of last year, leaving a spot open at Manderley—the spot that I got. And everyone acts like it's my fault that infallible, beloved Becca is gone and has been replaced by not perfect, completely fallible, unknown Me.
Then, there's the name on my lips—Max Holloway. Becca's ex. The one boy I should avoid, but can't. Thing is, it seems like he wants me, too. But the memory of Becca is always between us. And as much as I'm starting to like it at Manderley, I can't help but think she's out there, somewhere, watching me take her place.
Waiting to take it back.

I received an ARC copy of this book through NetGalley.

In the beginning, what sold me on this book is seeing "Manderley." Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca is one of my favorite books, and when I hear Manderley, I instantly think, Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again... What I didn't realize was that New Girl IS actually a retelling of Rebecca, which is very exciting...

Lately I've been very careful about choosing Young Adult titles because I feel most of them are a repetition of one another. This, however, did not disappoint me; it was different, and it did a very good job of paying tribute to one of the much-loved classics of all time. The main character is a pretty regular teenage girl from Florida who ends up at Manderley Academy, a boarding school far, far from her home. This isn't a troubling situation as you think because apparently she dreamed of going to boarding school when she was younger, and her parents made it happen when there was an opening at the school.

For those of you who haven't read Maurier's Rebecca, I don't know how you might picture Manderley, but the image I head in my head the entire time was what Du Maurier had created. And, I must say, it worked very well with the story. The main character's name isn't mentioned toward the end of the story, so I'm not going to tell you what it is. She (the main character) finds out when she arrives at the school that she's a replacement for a girl who had disappeared. Her name was Becca, she dated the most popular, unattainable boy at school, and she was loved by everybody. Becca's friends, some cruel, some alright, very much treat her as a replacement, which doesn't help her "new girl" status at all.

We get the present story from the New Girl's point of view, and Becca tells us what's happening when she was around. This I enjoyed a great deal because it gives great insight to the story itself. It's interesting to see how very different yet the same the two girls are. Apart from being attracted to the same boys, sharing the same room, bed and roommate, they're both insecure in their own skin. New Girl, however, stands up for herself and tries to find reasoning behind people's behavior against her. She doesn't lash out right away, until she's very much fed up, and that I quite appreciated. Let's face it, who likes a "Me! Me! Me!" type, whiny and self absorbed teen, right? 

Right, but that's exactly the type of teenager Becca is. She wants to be adored, wants to be the most popular, date the hottest guy in school because he's unattainable while she sleeps around with his best friend... I must admit I also appreciated the author not trying to hide the fact that teenagers DO have sex whether is right or not. I'm not going to name names, but some YA authors go out of their way to keep the sex out of the picture. This is very unrealistic when we know and THEY know what's actually going on.

Other than that, New Girl is a story about the relationship between these kids, and what certain kinds of situations will do to people's lives. I think Harbison did a great job with the flow of the story, and I very much enjoyed the suspense and the complications. You're gonna want to read this till the end even if just to find out what New Girl's name is.

On a different note, the one thing that really bugged me about the story was how and why New Girl ended up at Manderley Acamedy. I've mentioned before that she had wanted to go to boarding school at one point. But her reasoning for it was that she watched Harry Potter, and boarding school looked cool. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't think Harry Potter makes anyone yearn for boarding school unless one's absolutely sure it's a school of witchcraft and wizardry. 

New Girl by Paige Harbison will hit the shelves on January 31st.

50 Books in a Year 2012 Challenge!

As I'm typing this, there's one more week till the year is over and I'm on book #39 of 2011-- shame! But I figured there's no harm in trying again next year. So, here we go... The 50 Books in a Year Challenge of 2012!

The rules are:

1. The goal of this challenge is to read 50 books within 365 days. Very reasonable, no?

2. Anyone can join in. I've screwed up Mister Linky this year, so I'll add participants manually. Please leave your name (or your blog name; however you wish for it to appear) and your URL. If you prefer, you can just RSVP on GoodReads anytime.

3. Everything counts: any genre, eBooks, AudioBooks, re-reads, textbooks, books read for other challenges.... As long as it exists and you read it, it works! (Essays, single short stories, etc. do not count, obviously.)

4. Challenge begins on January 1st, 2012 and ends on December 31st. Books read before or after do not count.

5. You do not have to make a list of books and stick to it. Go ahead and make a list if you like, of course, but you don't have to stick to it.
6. Please link back to this post in your challenge posts or anywhere on your blog. Below are banners in different sizes I've made for you to choose from.
7. Thank you for joining and happy reading!

PARTICIPANTS

1. Simay @ zimlicious
2. Marti @ martiuctu
3. Sophie
4. Stefany
5. Bonaluram
6. Gulsen
7. Pinar
8. Ikikavanozbal
9. Dogan
10. Sam
11. Engin
12. Cynthia
13. Ozde
14. Burcak
15. Ipek
16. F.C.
17. Euphoric
18. Ertan
19. Darkshadow
20. Hanife
21. Crazy Love
22. Audrey
23. Ginath13
24. Emily
25. Belma
26. JHS
27. Ozgur
28. Asli
29. Chiydem
30. Lorielle @ Just Bookin' Around
31. Chen
32. Lena @ dreamcatchers-rezensionen
33. Tanya Swann @ antiquestar 
34. Güngör @ Renkli Kitap
35. Lavinia 
36. Pueri Puellae Physicus 
37. Violet
38. Yağmur
39. Millie
40. Düş Kızı 
50. gözlemevi/observatory
51. kitapları seven mühendis
52. Hayat Devam Ediyor
53. Gördü Bihter 
54. Suzangia 
55. Akın @ Sihirli Kitap 
56. Ruz
57. Kitaplık Manzaraları
58. Euphoric

250x250px

200x200px

150x150px