Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers) -

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Susanne Reading I Woke Up This Morning by Stuart Ayris

14 Oct 2012, 07:30 AM | Post: #1

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Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

The discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs by Roger Knowles is now open.

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb

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LindaL Reading Seesaw Rosen Trevithick

14 Oct 2012, 07:52 PM | Post: #2

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

(14 Oct 2012 07:30 AM)Susanne Wrote: The discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs by Roger Knowles is now open.

This is the first book from this author I have read. It was a bit different but enjoyable. I felt sad for Smelly Harry the time spent in the cupboard under the stairs very obviously had a profound effect on him. The killings were very horrible (as all killings are) I did enjoy the book and will try another by Roger.

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joo Reading Punchline by P.A. Fenton

14 Oct 2012, 08:11 PM | Post: #3

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

I really rather enjoyed this. I am not sure quite what I expected. I think I might have thought it would be more psychological.
When I pictured Bug and Eric and the rest of them, I imagined them to be a bit bigger than the gnomes they were described as at the end.
It was a bit gory and adult, but that didn't bother me too much.

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Susanne Reading I Woke Up This Morning by Stuart Ayris

15 Oct 2012, 07:01 AM | Post: #4

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

I'm afraid this book just didn't do it for me. Apart from the unbelievable storyline (and I accept that it is a horror story in part and so, unrealistic things occur), I found the story badly written and certain sentences just made me grind my teeth. The book also jumped from one character to the next without any cohesion. Had it not been the bookclub choice, I would have given up on it very early on.

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb

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sujay Reading The Glass Guardian by Linda Gillard

15 Oct 2012, 08:49 AM | Post: #5

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

This is the first of Roger's books that I have read, and I have to agree with Susanne, it wasn't really my type of thing. I like to feel entertained when I read a book, but found this a bit gruesome in parts. This wasn't a fault of the book, but my squeamish nature. I dare say that someone who likes reading this type of book will have found it fine. It isn't the type of book that I would have chosen through choice, but I did stick with it to the end so I could talk about it here. I did feel that the character of Harry could have been developed more, so we really got to know how his mind worked, and I did like how we learned a bit about the characters before the inevitable happened.

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Happy Reader Reading Blood Count by Robert Goddard

15 Oct 2012, 12:19 PM | Post: #6

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

I quite enjoyed the book. It was extremely gory in places.

Is this only me, in the final two chapters two different scenes were set. Which one was the "real" ending? Is the author saying that Spoiler

Or did I read the book and completely miss the point. Blush

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rogerk

15 Oct 2012, 01:20 PM | Post: #7

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

Hi Everyone,

I’d like to thank you for downloading the book and taking the time and trouble to comment, that’s very much appreciated – the negative comments are as valid and helpful as the positive ones. And a special thank you to Joo for the Amazon review!

Susanne, I’d be ever so grateful if you could give an example of a sentence that made you grind your teeth – that might help me to avoid the same mistake in future!

And, Happy Reader, I don’t think you missed the point because, to a degree, I left it a bit open to allow the reader to draw their own conclusion. However, if you revisit the first sentence of the epilogue, that might provide a clue as to what my own view of which the real ending is.

Thank you all again.

Roger.

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Susanne Reading I Woke Up This Morning by Stuart Ayris

15 Oct 2012, 02:39 PM | Post: #8

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

(15 Oct 2012 01:20 PM)rogerk Wrote: Susanne, I’d be ever so grateful if you could give an example of a sentence that made you grind your teeth – that might help me to avoid the same mistake in future!

Roger.

Roger, sorry to be a spoilsport, but we can't all like the same things. You asked for an example, here are a couple:

Location 2902:
The thought heightened his concern and he hastened his pace further.

Location 2850:
Neither was sexually experienced and there were no plans for an orgy.

Just my opinion. At least I appear to be in a minority! Smile

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb

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rogerk

15 Oct 2012, 02:57 PM | Post: #9

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

Hey, Susanne, that's not being a spoilsport, it's expressing an opinion, and a perfectly valid one, so thank you for responding with the two examples - I now have some useful food for thought.

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Notoriety Reading The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi

15 Oct 2012, 03:03 PM | Post: #10

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RE: Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

I hadn't realised that Roger was a member here and hesitated about posting here my annotation after reading the book. Sorry about this - it's pretty tough. Other members will know that other authors here have had some difficult reviews from me. I just did not think this worked at all well.

Banal cliched writing. Unimaginative and lacks empathy with the characters. They remain as wooden as the murderer’s carvings and could as well be called Victim #1 etc. Slightly better when it changes from a rather unpleasant slasher horror story to a police procedural, but with not that much to redeem the lazy tics and tropes of the genre. Impossibly the police forget to search the suspect’s premises and 2 cops are killed as a result, a clanger that goes unnoticed by either “the brass” or the interfering and stupid press. An attempt to blend Stephen King and Ian Rankin with all the scariness of a pair of wet socks and the intelligence of a wooden gnome.

You may indeed wonder why I stayed with it. It was only to find out how the author squared the gritty world of a serial murder investigation and the (oddly) slightly whimsical horror/fantasy tale of a family of murderous carvings come to life. Basically it boiled down to WDC Baggot saying that she agreed with Tompkins version that she had indeed been gnomed to near death, despite Tompkins’ efforts to protect her. The force shrink explains this as Tompkins “thought transference”, which all accept and live happily ever after . OMG Omg

! If as Roger has just suggested it was "Tompkins' nightmare", then it's all a lot of effort for not very much.

Tony

Arab proverb: Only a fool lends his books and only a fool returns them.

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