Crossroads discussion

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The Tsar of Love and Techno

5 stars

With only two books under his belt, Anthony Marra has quickly become one of my favorite authors and while I do not want him to write so quickly that he writes without the care and skill which his two works display, I have a great need to read more from him. When I saw Anthony Marra after I read A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, he explained that he does many rewrites before he considers the book completed. He considers each sentence carefully, so this painstaking process takes time, but he is only 31 so we can expect much more from him.

While Love and Techno is set in Russia with visits to Siberia and Chechnya, it differs in style of construction from Constellation. Like David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas it is a series of interlocking stories. Do not think that it is simply a short story collection, because each story fits together with the other ones strung together like a spider web. It is a thing of beauty.

Reading The Tsar of Love and Techno, I was compelled to highlight (relax I read on a kindle) sentence after sentence of the book, as I did with Constellation. I just have to share some of these with you:

He'd received the only sentence suitable for a madman who poisoned others with the delusion that heaven awaits us. Paradise is possible only here on earth, possible only if we engineer it. One shouldn't envy this woman's blind devotion to a man who has proven himself unworthy of love. One mustn't.

The stomach is not the only vital organ that hungers.

The portrait artist must acknowledge human complexity with each brush stroke. The eyes, nose and mouth that compose a sitters face just like the suffering and joy that compose his soul are similar to those ten million others yet still singular to him. This acknowledgment is where art begins. It may also be where mercy begins. If criminals drew the faces of their victims before perpetrating their crimes and judges drew faces of the guilty before sentencing them, then there would be no faces for executioners to draw.

Hipsterdom's a tightrope strung across the canyon of douche-baggery. He clung by a finger.

I loved this book. It was my first 5 star of 2016 and I hope that I can encourage other readers.

Booknblues wrote: "The Tsar of Love and Techno

5 stars

With only two books under his belt, Anthony Marra has quickly become one of my favorite authors..."

1. Already on my list. It just moved up.
2. Note to self - get a kindle copy
3. Thanks!

Jgrace wrote: "2. Note to self - get a kindle copy"

I love reading on kindle and I love the ability to highlight, but for the really good books, I sometimes regret not having a DTB, however who am I kidding...I seriously don't need more clutter in my life.

Booknblues wrote: "Jgrace wrote: "2. Note to self - get a kindle copy"

I love reading on kindle and I love the ability to highlight, but for the really good books, I sometimes regret not having a DTB, however who am..."

Indulge me: I live not under a rock, but in the Oz Outback.. What is a DTB, please?

Lesley wrote: "What is a DTB, please?"

A real book...Dead tree book.

Booknblues wrote: "Lesley wrote: "What is a DTB, please?"

A real book...Dead tree book."

Ta..

Booknblues wrote: "Jgrace wrote: "2. Note to self - get a kindle copy"

I love reading on kindle and I love the ability to highlight, but for the really good books, I sometimes regret not having a DTB, however who am..."

I always tell myself that I will buy a DTB hardcover of any book I classify as a favorite but never seem to get around to it.

One of my very favorite books ever is City of Thieves by David Benioff, set in Russia during the siege of Leningrad.

Blueberry wrote: "One of my very favorite books ever is City of Thieves by David Bennioff, set in Russia during the siege of Leningrad."


I love that book. I wonder if he has written anything since then.

Booknblues wrote: "Blueberry wrote: "One of my very favorite books ever is City of Thieves by David Benioff, set in Russia during the siege of Leningrad."


I love that book. I wonder if he has writte..."

I check every now and then. He is a screenwriter; The Kite Runner and Troy. He is co-creator of the tremendously popular, award-winning Games of Thrones and is married to Amanda Peet. He also wrote The 25th Hour which was made into a movie by Spike Lee. Pretty accomplished.

Blueberry wrote: "One of my very favorite books ever is City of Thieves by David Benioff, set in Russia during the siege of Leningrad."

It is an excellent book, albeit somewhat disturbing at times.

I loved it, too. Listened to it. Great choice for audio.

Booknblues wrote: "The Tsar of Love and Techno

5 stars

With only two books under his belt, Anthony Marra has quickly become one of my favorite authors..."

I finally read this one. And I did have a kindle copy, borrowed from the library. As predicted, I highlighted many many passages. Now I have to purchase the kindle copy to preserve my highlighted phrases. But I think I also want a paper copy. Kindle does not make it easy to flip around in a book to recheck how each story is connected. In that way, this one was like Cloud Atlas. I wanted to go back and forth to fit the puzzle pieces together.

For what it's worth, I also tried the audio and didn't like it at all.

Jgrace wrote: "But I think I also want a paper copy"

This is one of those books that I would like a hard copy as well....Before I do that I want to get rid of my rather large stash of DTB on my TBR...

What is DTB?

Blueberry wrote: "What is DTB?"

Dead Tree Book = DTB

I was at the library about the same time I checked out an ebook copy of Cloud Atlas so went ahead and checked out a DTB as well. It sounds like that was a good decision. There's a waiting list for the DTB copies on The Tsar of Love and Techno so I'll just have to hope I don't want to refer back too often. At least it's shorter.

I'm only in about 12 pages into Cloud Atlas (2days). It hasn't reached out to grab me. I think I was expecting trumpets.

Jgrace wrote: "Blueberry wrote: "What is DTB?"

Dead Tree Book = DTB"

Cloud Atlas isn't really exceptional in it's individual parts, except as a demonstration of Mitchell's virtuosity. It's like there's no genre he can't write expertly. But what really made the book for me is the devious ways the stories interconnect. It's very clever.

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Several years ago, I attended an exhibit in Washington D.C. of the many treasures of Catherine the Great. I came away from that display intrigued by what I had seen, with a desire to learn more about this female pillar of history. Robert K. Massie's thoroughly absorbing biography provided that knowledge and more.

Catherine was born a princess of a minor German noble house. At birth, she was known as Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg. At the age of fourteen, accompanied by her mother, she journeyed to Russia, where she would reside, and eventually rule, for the rest of her life.

At the age of sixteen, Sophie converted to Russian Orthodoxy, was renamed Catherine, and married the Empress Elizabeth's nephew, Peter. Although Peter was the heir to the Russian empire, he lacked many capacities, both mentally and physically. The future Tsar Peter III played with toy soldiers and could not consummate his marriage to Catherine. This inability began the cycle of "favorites," men who provided Catherine with love, affection, heirs, and an empire.

Overthrowing the incompetent Peter III by a coup d'etat; Catherine became Empress of all the Russias. Thus began an illustrious 34 year reign. Viewing her rule through a 21st century lens would not be appropriate. She is to be appreciated for what she was at the time: Matuschka, the mother of her people; collector of fine art, a follower (although unfortunately not a practitioner, due to political factions) of the Enlightenment, a builder of empire, cities, and military. She was also a foreign born woman who was able to draw her adopted country behind her; overthrow her own husband; bear three children by three fathers while unmarried, later putting one of them on the throne. It is amazing to realize that her rule began before the revolution that formed the United States, which still has not had a female president.

I consider this book to be one of my "Badass Women of History" series. What a woman!!

It sounds intriguing, Deborah. Who else is in your badass series? I would assume Elizabeth.

Any recommendations for good HF on Catherine?

Blueberry wrote: "One of my very favorite books ever is City of Thieves by David Benioff, set in Russia during the siege of Leningrad."

That book is awesome....found it in my son's room, he had to read it for history. I stole it and devoured it.

Denizen wrote: "It sounds intriguing, Deborah. Who else is in your badass series? I would assume Elizabeth.

Any recommendations for good HF on Catherine?"

Another "badass" is indeed Elizabeth I. One of my favorites who I discovered recently is La Maupin; see my review of Goddess

I actually have not read any historical fiction with Catherine II as the subject....must look into that...she is fascinating.

Denizen wrote: "It sounds intriguing, Deborah. Who else is in your badass series? I would assume Elizabeth.

Any recommendations for good HF on Catherine?"

Denizen, this one looks really good:The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great