Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Edged humour from a pessimistic prophet, 22 Jul 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Ariel Leve's selection of short columns is something of a surprise. In a world which emphasises and expects individual happiness to be the end-all of existence, the stark honesty behind this book is a breath of fresh air. Pessimism is the order of the day here, ranging across a variety of topics - relationships, travel, health, each approached with the view that things are a) already pretty bad and b) are likely to get worse.
The title, The Cassandra Chronicles, suggests someone providing prophetic truths, which everyone else ignores - and that seems to be part of the context of the book, the author a lone realist in a society of people who wake up in the morning with a smile on their faces.
One of the strengths of the text is the universality of the issues presented; reading it, I often thought "I know how that feels". I imagine most readers will feel the same, though their responses to the situation described might be less pessimistic than those presented. This link from the text to the reader, a staple of stand ups everywhere, is transmitted very well here.
That each column is loaded with wry, self-deprecating wit is an added bonus.
The text specialises in creating a particular mood, and then injecting it with the above humour. In both instances, it succeeds excellently. This may make the text a victim of its own success - I would advise reading this book in short burst, as otherwise the `down' mood can begin to feel oppressive. However, each item in the book can be read separately, and so provide short bursts of melancholy entertainment.
This is an extremely well written collection, which made me smile throughout, interspersed with laughter, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Sharply humorous, with a great insight into every day life, this is a book that proves very hard to put down.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Could I be a Cassandra ?, 12 Aug 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
When I started to read the 'Cassandra Chronicles', I got a shock : it felt like something I could have written !...The more I read, the more I discovered someone who is very much like me : a pessimist ! Nowadays, this kind of people are rare, or they keep quiet, overwhelmed as they are by the legions of forcefully cheerful, 'happy' sort who dictate joviality everywhere. So, how refreshing, how astonishing to read stuff from someone who dares to say that, yes, life is not too short but possibly too long, that going out is a bore, that not doing much with your life is ok, and so on.... A very very funny book if you can take the bleakness of Ariel's outlook on life. (well it's not that bad )
I did not know her columns in the Sunday Times, but the book did not feel like columns put together, but rather like very witty, sarcastic, wry musings and ponderings on every day life. I really want to congratulate Ariel Leve on putting out a book with such audacious views, that so many people will perceive as 'negative'. Well, maybe they are, but thanks god for the change !!!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wry and witty, but a little weary at times, 12 Aug 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This book based on writer Ariel Leve's famous Cassandra column, which was a prominent feature of The Sunday Times Magazine. Cassandra was the Greek Goddess who granted a special gift of being able to prophesise the future, but a curse placed on her by the scorned Apollo meant that nobody believed her. Leve believes that she's afflicted by the same issues and as a result, her meanderings about life in New York and London are dismissed by her more cheerful friends, acquaintances and business associates.
The book is split into various chapters including topics such as `other people's relationships', modern manners and `health concerns' which will strike a chord with most readers. Leve writes in a pithy, witty and extremely engaging way, although this is one of those books that are best read in little nibbles instead of big bites because the constant paranoia and hypochondria becomes rather wearing after a few pages. I did find myself chuckling away at some articles and thinking `thank goodness it's not just me then!' Therefore, I'd recommend this book for anyone's bookshelf who's ever indulged in introspective self doubt and would maybe put a small health warning on the back stating `this book may cause a slight misery in the more sensitive reader.'
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