Saturday, January 10, 2026

Gulliver's Wife

Gulliver's WifeGulliver's Wife by Lauren Chater
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I am rather disappointed with this book.
I could not find a STORY in it.
L. Gulliver returns home after his visit to LilliputLand and does not connect with his family - end of story.
Actually I looked to the source - Gulliver Travels by J Swift...
"During my short stay in England, I gained much by showing my cattle to various distinguished people and commoners. Before I undertook my second trip, I sold them for six hundred pounds. I stayed only two months with my wife and children.... I left my wife 1,500 pounds and settled her in a comfortable home in Redriff. My son, John, attended elementary school, and my daughter, Elizabeth (who is now married and has children), learned sewing."
I highly appreciate author's skill and effort in presenting conditions in which London midwifes in XVIII century lived and operated.

Saturday, January 3, 2026

The Great Man

The Great ManThe Great Man by Al Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read a Polish translation of the book, while reading I got memories from many years ago when I heard it as a radio play.
My memories were good and resulted in a positive rating - based on cold reasoning my rating would be lower..
The story - a very popular radio presenter dies, radio bosses are planning to deliver a new one. The book shows how cold and ruthless process it is.
Story is told from the position of a candidate to replace the star who died.
He investigates the career of his predecessor and learns many bad things about him and it looks that if he follows this career path, he will be the same.
On one hand I was bored a bit with the details of dependencies in radio business, on the other hand I liked author's writing style.

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