and a bit more reading

hey there

i am not at all sure if it is a lack of time or motivation, or indeed both, look you see, which sees my level of reading drift away momentarily. well, everything drifts away, eventually, i suppose, but such speak is a bit too clever for me. 

so, i have not read just one, and not as many as three (or more) but two novels since i last did a post of this very nature. time, then, enough to have a look at what i read, along with a brief overview. should you, reading this, be interested. which i shall assume you kind of are. 

going on the order they are above, which is handy for it is also the order in which i read them, The Guest List by Lucy Foley is (presumably unintentionally) preposterous and silly with some outlandish and outrageous contrived bits, but was rather entertaining reading. Holy Cow by Mulder out of X Files is (presumably very much intended to be) preposterous and silly and is enormous fun to read. 

right, then, a closer look (if interest remains) at each (or both) of the two novels. whereas every care and consideration shall be taken with this, for sensitive types then yes, please note a *** SPOILER WARNING *** of sorts should generally considered to be in place from here on out, or after this paragraph. should that mean you depart now, know both are well worth a read, in particular the one off of Mulder out of X Files. 

there is something of a traditional, or classical (maybe) feel to the provenance of my copy of The Guest List. a novel which i am starting off with since that is what i read first. i picked this up at, or off of, Tesco, when they had it as their "book of the week" thing, meaning it probably cost me £3.50 but also it may have been 50p south of that, as their pricing tends to fluctuate. 

plot? a fancy wedding is being held on a quasi mystical island off the coast of Ireland (but yes, of course, marketing types have ensured anything to do with Ireland is "quasi mystical"). the wedding is between a lady who is a sensationally successful publisher and a handsome, rugged chap who is a Bear Grylls style "reality" TV star. no, it doesn't ever mention (and i did put a spoiler warning in) if he has a weird obsession with drinking his own urine like Bear has, but let us assume yes. but of course it is so that the bride, groom, families and guests bring a great deal more baggage to the island with them than just their luggage. tensions and dramas shall of course come to the fore as a consequence of this, but will it all spill over to deliver a tragic moment of justice or a justified moment of tragedy? well, there would not be much of a novel if not........

at face, or surface, level, this novel is pure tosh, or trash, or whatever the word is. some of the twists, connections and developments are just so outlandish and contrived that one tends to giggle at the farcical fact that someone somewhere said "yes, publish that". all of these are, however, a necessary evil to deliver a splendid read. working out who, exactly, does what to who requires such things. of greater impact (for me at least) were the thoughts and comments from some of the narrators (it is all told from the perspective of several people). i found a great many number of thoughts and feelings expressed in the text resonated some, and all too easy to identify with. when a book hooks you in such a way you tend to wriggle in uncomfortable resistance but eventually accept fate. 

i am not as familiar as i could be with the works of Agatha Christie, so cannot say whether the comparison made on the cover of The Guest List is valid. maybe it is, but i am not quite so sure her works were famed for being as equally contrived and obvious in their "twists". perhaps someone shall come along to me one day and say yes, the comparison is accurate, or no it is not. leaving that aside, kind of yes, all the same, i would recommend this novel, mostly for the characterisation reasons listed above but also it is genuinely intriguing and somewhat compelling reading. 

now, i do not rightly know or recall how it was that i came to learn of a novel written by Mulder out of X Files, or how i had not known such existed prior to such discovery. having previously read, endured and at times punished myself with fictional works by some so-called "celebrity" novelists, such as Hugh Laurie, Steve Martin, Morrissey and David McCallum, i had kind of sworn of any further ones, but the plot of this one intrigued me. 

plot? basically it is the tale of a cow who wishes to escape to a better life. that's it, no more, so no spoilers. 

how about provenance? well, internet, and yes, that great big car boot sale of the web. purchased from Germany or similar, no less, for about £3 or even south of that. and thankfully it did indeed turn up in an English language format. also, indeed, it is a hardback book, a format i would not normally purchase as it is just more comfortable to read a paperback, but it seemed this was the only variation which one could find the book in. so, there you go. consider it default, a Hobson's Choice, or a symbol of my devotion and loyalty to Mulder out of X Files. 

this was simply wonderful good fun. sure, all of it is probably also some sort of metaphor, or parable, or post-modernist social commentary, but never mind, it is just really wacky and funny. you read it in your mind hearing the voice of Mulder out of X Files narrating it, even if the ostensible narrator is a lady cow of the lady variety, but i believe all cows and lady ones and the boys are bulls, or something. 

maybe this did get greenlit as a sort of quasi vanity project for Mulder out of X Files, i don't know, but what i am aware of is that this is genuine fun light reading. whereas i have said next to nothing of the book itself, i wholeheartedly endorse it as a particularly agreeable, lighthearted work of sheer escapism, if you will excuse the pay on words. 

right, good, well, anyway, that's that. yes, no i had not noticed both books what i read here had predominantly white covers until i lined them up for a picture. 

certainly i have another book by my bedside, but as with a lot of things my enthusiasm for reading appears a bit presently in decline, or on the wane. oh. hey ho, should i make it that far then as and when i have read that one and another, surely i shall post comments here for anyone interested. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!