Out of Africa

Out of Africa/Karen Blixen/Penguin Books

This book is ultimately, doubtlessly, my all time favourite and will remain so for a good many years. The way Karen Blixen takes you across the fields of African safaris and her own coffee plantation is jst purely magical. I can simply close my eyes and picture each blade of grass, each swaying tree. What amazes me is her innitial impression of the country when she first arrived in Africa. Her words brought about the beauty of the landscape out of the pages and into the readers mind. This book truly speaks of her love for the African country and all there is in it.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus/Murray Bail/Harcourt

I can almost smell the scent of the eucalyptus leaves each time I turn the pages. I simply love the way the author brings me along the topography as flawlessly as if we were walking hand in hand over Holland's property. Also, I found myself being transported from one scene to another as if in a dream. It's only flaw, to me, is the way the stranger's stories are always ending abruptly, without a conclusion. Of course, the ending to his stories aren't the point of each chapter. To me, each story seems a progression of Ellen's and the stranger's relationship during their wanderings. Besides the page-turning storyline, the way each chapter relates to a speceis of eucalypt is also my favourite aspect of this book. All in all an interesting read.

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye / J.D. Salinger / Little, Brown and Co.

This is probably the most pointless book I've ever read. Although, I can't quite bring myself to call it a waste of time. Many times it really tested my patience. The story is a monologue by this way-ward sixteen year old, Holden Caulfield, who has a seriously impulsive behaviour. All through the book, he impulsively wonders from one topic to another, without exactly making the point that he set out to when he first ventured into a given subject. He generally has a personal dislike or problem with everything everybody does, from his roomie's shaving habits, to his date's pleasant chatter to a friend. Nothing makes him happy, except for his siblings, whom he adores with all his heart, strangely. It's also full of slangs that are understandable but are irritating as hell. Altogether, not a book I would pick up a second time.