Review: The Children of Men by P.D. James

The Children of Men by P.D. James wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I picked the book up. Sure, it had the movie tie-in cover, and I’d seen parts of the film, but the book was completely unlike any of the parts of the movie that I could recall. Maybe that’s a good thing, however. It certainly reaffirmed my stance on reading a book before seeing the movie based on it.

As I was reading, I really didn’t get into The Children of Men. It had an interesting premise: all the men on Earth had become infertile so the human race had less than a century left in existence. A little sci-fi for my taste, but it was something I thought I could deal with. As the novel unfolded, though, I really found myself disliking the main character, Theo Faron. To me, he came off as arrogant, even when he finally agreed to aid a gang of dissidents known as the Five Fishes who were looking to change the way England was governed. I really couldn’t get past Theo being ostentatious, and this definitely affected my reading of the book.

There were so many ways this plot could go, but it ended up being lackluster and unfulfilling. I was bored by this novel, and I don’t often feel that way after reading a book. To me, it was anticlimactic and slow, and Theo falling in love with Julian, a woman who miraculously got pregnant, seemed forced and almost an afterthought. I’m not discrediting P.D. James as an author because I enjoyed her prose, and maybe The Children of Men wasn’t a good foray into her writing, but I think it’s going to be a while before I try something else by her, if I ever do.

Review: Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

Can I keep a secret? Hopefully better than Emma Corrigan, heroine of Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. You see, Emma has a little problem with keeping her mouth shut. Throughout the course of the novel, she keeps getting stung by the things she let slide to the man sitting next to her (who turns out to be the head honcho where Emma works) on a particularly turbulent flight from Glasgow to London.

I’m not usually one for Chick Lit, but I’ll pick one up every once in a while just as a fun, light read after I’ve read something with a bit more weight. And what Chick Lit should be is exactly what Can You Keep a Secret? is: fun and light. While fun and light, Can You Keep a Secret? was engaging, too. I was really taken in by the story and I cringed and winced more than once at the situations Emma was thrust into. As a twenty-something looking to move up in the world, I could definitely relate to the heroine, and I’ve found myself in her shoes on quite a few occasions, though none as bad as having all my dirty laundry aired on national television.

After I got over the initial shock of Emma’s loose lips at the beginning of the novel, she was an incredibly likeable character, though a bit dim sometimes. The supporting cast was just as enjoyable, even Emma’s conniving roommate Jemima. The only thing I find fault with in Can You Keep a Secret? is the quick way the novel wraps up. It was a little wham, bam, thank you ma’am for me, too cut and dry. But it was a pleasant ending, nonetheless. The hero and the heroine wind up together, can you ask for anything more from Chick Lit?

When I’m back in the mood for Chick Lit, I’ll definitely be picking up some more by Sophie Kinsella. She’s got a witty, playful style to her writing and I quite enjoyed it. Probably because she’s British. The British always seem to do the whole writing thing a bit better, in my eyes.