Saturday, July 24, 2010

Book Review: Come, Thou Tortoise

I have just recently become the proud owner of an Orillian library card. Geeky, maybe. But being a poor student, this now means that I can read new books, instead of rereading the ones I have for a zillionth time.

Anyways, I wandered throughout my maiden voyage to the library. And of course I had to take a peak at the 'new books' wall. I won't deny that I'm some who does judge a book by its cover. Bad, I know. But it's the first thing that draws me in. That being said, if I know the author, or have heard great things about a book, I will still pick it up regardless of the cover.

Come, Thou Tortoise was a cover that caught my eye in an instant. Even better, it is by Canadian author Jessica Grant.

My first word to describe this book is, odd. But it's a good odd. It doesn't have any punctuation for speech in it (I'm talking about these bad boys: " and "), but you get used to the style quite easily. It's a nice summer read too - very light.

It is about a young women, Audrey - also known as Oddly - which already tells you that this book will indeed be odd. She has a pet tortoise Winnifred, who she must leave with friends as she attends to her comatose father back in Canada. The story takes the perspective of both Audrey and of Winnifred; I was a particular fan of Winnifred's thoughts (especially when she gets excited about tortoises being to the exponent of 60 - I can't tell you more than that). Audrey has a special take on life, and it's just a refreshing to view it through both Audrey's and Winnifred's eyes (mostly Winnifred's to me).

What I love most is that it isn't 'in-your-face' funny. It's very subtle, like what is occurring is an everyday thing.

I give it 4 adorable tortoises out of 5. It was a great book, but I was able to put it down and proceed with other life tasks. (A 5-book is one which literally consumes me).


This is my first book review, and there's so much that I want to say, but I know that I can't since you have to read it for yourself, and I would hate to spoil anything.

1 comment:

Amanda said...

i keep meaning to get myself a library card... but i like owning my books too much. :P

this one sounds interesting, might have to pick it up. i totally judge based on the cover too. hehehe