Irvine Welsh, The Sex Lives of the Siamese Twins

I'm a fan of Irvine Walsh (see my reviews of Filth and Skagboys) but if I ever got the opportunity to meet him I think I'd be a bit scared, his novels are so dark and violent that I'd be worried that he'd be a bit of a bruiser. His author photo in he inside cover doesn't hep, he looks tough.

Anyway...

 The Plot: Lucy Brennan is a personal trainer in Miami, she has no patience for obesity or laziness and is obsessed with her own calorie count. When she disarms a gunman, she is touted as a have-a-go-hero by the media, and the publicity attracts offers of a tv show. Lena Sorensen witnessed Lucy's heroism and in a bid to emulate Lucy and improve her own life, the overweight and reclusive artist becomes her client.

Rating: 3.5/5

I read banned books

I've just discovered that it's banned book week. The whole point of a dedicated week, is to explore ideas of censorship, politics and immorality.

There's a list on banned-books.org that lists a selection of book that have been banned historical or are still censored today. This wiki page also lists banned books.

I thought it might be fun to go through the list and pick out the banned books that I've read:-

Lionel Shriver, Big Brother

I’ve found it difficult to settle into a book the past week, I’ve started 4 or so but have abandoned them all. Not that any of them were bad books, I was just feeling restless and none of them were what I wanted.

Lionel Shriver’s BigBrother on the other hand was a novel I had no trouble getting into.

The Plot: When Pandora meets her brother at the airport after a four year absence, she is shocked to find Edison is now mortally obese. Edison’s appearance makes Pandora confront her own relationship with food, and her relationship with her sibling.

Rating: 4/5

Trigger Warning: weight, eating disorders, fatphobic.