Ah, I thought this book was great—it made me feel the way I did after reading SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU by Peter Cameron. I read it in 1Ah, I thought this book was great—it made me feel the way I did after reading SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU by Peter Cameron. I read it in 1.5 sittings, which is the way to do it, I think; I would have been happier with a single sitting, but my plane ride was 25 minutes too short.
Like SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU, this book is largely about nothing. No, let me back up and 'splain. HUMMINGBIRD dives so deeply into the details of a Marco Carrera's life that it forms a naturalistic snapshot rather than a plotty page turner. Letters from a childhood friend/ possible flame offer some delicate structure, but the real propulsive pleasure is in meeting Marco and getting to know him better and better and better, through Veronesi's careful observation. Marco's a kindly, durable soul, and we want the best for him. Unfortunately, he doesn't always get the best. That's pretty much the only point of the novel. For me, that was enough.
I offer this recommendation in much the same way I offer recommendations for THE NEW POPE (another piece of media that is both full of Italians and often about nothing), knowing it's not for everyone, but also knowing it was only a recommendation that made me pick it up in the first place. Don't judge it by book jacket copy; try the first few pages. Nothingness might be just what you're after....more
A meticulous, kind, hyper-realistic portrait of messy, flawed humans—if Elana Ferrante wrote Bridget Jones, if Nick Hornby did a Jane Austen.
I read tA meticulous, kind, hyper-realistic portrait of messy, flawed humans—if Elana Ferrante wrote Bridget Jones, if Nick Hornby did a Jane Austen.
I read this because so many novelists I admired had wonderful things to say about it. I liked it a lot, although it was clearly a product of its era (80s). I think a lot of women will find our stumbling, smart, contradictory heroine relatable, and it has a lot of clever, non-preachy things to say about power imbalances in relationships. ...more
This was recommended to me as a good time, but I'm not sure who it would be a good time for. Probably not for women or for cars, both of whom have a pThis was recommended to me as a good time, but I'm not sure who it would be a good time for. Probably not for women or for cars, both of whom have a pretty rough go of it in these pages....more
(ETA:Across social media, people are asking me how I got out of high school without reading this book — I didn't go to high Well, that was depressing.
(ETA:Across social media, people are asking me how I got out of high school without reading this book — I didn't go to high school. I left after a partial year.)
(look, don't do as I do, do as I say: STAY IN SCHOOL)
Merged review:
Well, that was depressing.
(ETA:Across social media, people are asking me how I got out of high school without reading this book — I didn't go to high school. I left after a partial year.)
(look, don't do as I do, do as I say: STAY IN SCHOOL)...more
A brief first person account by a Japanese seaman who navigated one of the handful of suicidal two-person microsubmarines during the attack on Pearl HA brief first person account by a Japanese seaman who navigated one of the handful of suicidal two-person microsubmarines during the attack on Pearl Harbor, POW #1. This was written for a Japanese audience, not an American one, to explain—to justify—his transformation in the POW camp, from cog in the military machine to something more complex. The chapter on Japanese POWs and suicide was harrowing; I didn't intentionally read this so soon after seeing Oppenheimer, but it certainly was a potent pairing. ...more
This is the story of how this novel first came to my attention:
I was standing in a bookstore when a young man walked in, straight to the new release sThis is the story of how this novel first came to my attention:
I was standing in a bookstore when a young man walked in, straight to the new release section, and pointed at this book. He hissed at it furiously, "You're a bad book!" and then, without further remark, walked away.
About a year later, I could no longer fight my curiosity. I bought a copy.
What do I think? Is it a bad book? I think it is an ambitious, tangled, heady sort of book that is magnificent when it works and dully impotent when it doesn't. It is the sort of ambitious novel that is difficult to judge, since it only drops so many things because it is trying to carry so much. I expect it to be loved or hated, but most of all remembered. Since I think that's the author's stated purpose for it, five stars....more
A precisely written collection from a writer with a firm place in the horror genre's pedigree. These closely observed stories are more dreadful (in thA precisely written collection from a writer with a firm place in the horror genre's pedigree. These closely observed stories are more dreadful (in the sense of invoking dread) than horrific (in the sense of the modern horror genre), with most of their uneasy power coming from a razor-sharp portrayal of the mundane. I didn't love any of these stories, just as I didn't love her novel-length WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, but I can see how she landed a place in canon.
It's worth noting that this collection ends with "The Lottery," a story everyone except for me seems to have read in school. I see why it's assigned; the tale of how we all participate in perpetuating small horrors in the name of tradition is still gruesomely true today. Humans, man. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em....more
I read this voice-y "thriller" on a plane and found it a well-constructed tale, although not "thrilling" in the least (I say this as a fond reader of I read this voice-y "thriller" on a plane and found it a well-constructed tale, although not "thrilling" in the least (I say this as a fond reader of thrillers and of non-thrillers. This one belongs in the latter). It's more of a contemporary fiction with thriller aesthetics. After a young woman is assaulted by an influencer, our jaded narrator is brought in to enact revenge against a presumably impossible-to-prosecute aggressor. The author is a public relations crisis manager, and he brings his expertise to this morally gray narrative.
It was fascinating to read this on the plane ride over and watch Tár on the plane back. Both of them are examinations of real villainy versus cancelable villainy, and both see bad actors go down for crimes they didn't commit in order to get justice for the more secret crimes they did. I preferred Tár's examination as it felt more constructed and layered, but FALSE LIGHT was a perfectly diverting time, if not a re-read for me. I'll be interested to see what Dezenhall does next....more
[*note: I tackled this book as part of my 2023 reading challenge to read books from this crowd-sourced listwell, this was not a fun time, she remarked
[*note: I tackled this book as part of my 2023 reading challenge to read books from this crowd-sourced list of recommended standalone novels published between 1985-2007: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Please know that I am a brittle and crotchety reader, so please don't take my opinions on these novels as universal.]
This might be my last attempt at my retro-reading challenge, guys. Mayhap I have already read the books I wanted to read from that time period....more
I recently read this battered, strange book—a 1955 memoir by a German soldier who escaped from an American POW camp...and founded a bookstore in ChicaI recently read this battered, strange book—a 1955 memoir by a German soldier who escaped from an American POW camp...and founded a bookstore in Chicago under an assumed name until his capture years later.
I was reminded of this book today because I was told Shiver was among many books just removed from Clay Co. libraries in Florida (other titles removed include BAN THIS BOOK, by Alan Gratz, WINTERGIRLS by Laure Halse Anderson, and WE ARE HERE TO STAY: VOICES OF UNDOCUMENTED AMERICANS). A single man nominated them for removal and assessment.
Pabel, the author of this memoir, was sent by the Nazis to "liberate" Ukraine on the Eastern Front, finding out how false the hero narrative was many months into the war. He spoke both Russian and German, and as a bibliophile, he visited libraries even in the countries he marched through. He wrote at length about the different ways both Germany and Russia censored books-sometimes by altering content, sometimes by simply limiting access. He also writes of how shocked he is to find Americans able to say and read anything they like, speaking against atrocities. Eventually, he became an American.
It's a hard, graphic memoir of war, obviously severely biased by the era and author, but it really drove home how censorship and book banning, no matter what you call it, is not about a particular political party: it is simply about consolidating power.
My kids are now about to turn 18 & 19 and both will tell you that I was a strict parent. But I never felt threatened by the contents of my school library, because I talked with my kids, read what they read, made sure the door was open for them to be curious and critical.
This openness is what made us a brilliant place to live; I sincerely hope we don't let fear shrink our world to a place we don't recognize....more
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