When I picked up Olivia's First Term, I was more than a little sceptical. The book was light purple, with splashes of silver on it. It did not promise to be the kind of book I would like. I don't like books that run on crushes and fantasies and lipstick and shoes and make-up. And lavender, purple and mauve books are often filled with just that.   Happily, Olivia's First Term was nothing like that. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I experienced after a very long time the joy bordering on addiction that I felt when I read Malory Towers the first time. When I read Malory Towers now, I cringe with embarrassment at the fact that eighteen-year-old Darrel behaves as if she is eleven. But I cannot deny that when I read the series the first time, I devoured each book and wished Enid Blyton had written more. Olivia's First Term gave me that same simple, childlike happiness. I … [Read more...]

I love novels that read like short stories. I don't like it when the plot is so complex that my excitement reaches its peak too early. When I read a book like that, I'm just waiting to find out what happens in the end, not enjoying the journey. The book I read before this, The Boy Who Fell Down Exit 43, was like that. In the last two chapters, you're just waiting for resolution, no longer anticipating what could happen. The Court Painter's Apprentice was nothing like that. In many ways, I found its telling old-fashioned, and I liked that. I liked how different incidents come together to create a story. There was a build-up with no unnecessary crests and troughs. One story after another, with very few sub-plots. Didn't Aristotle say that that was the making of good literature? A young painter's talent is discovered when he is still very young. Apprenticed to Hugo, the leading painter of … [Read more...]