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2023 - Personal Lists
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Rusalka's 2023 Stroll
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I first read and performed the story of Antigone 24 years ago and loved it. This is a sophisticated, intricate, clever, relevant, heartbreaking retelling of an already powerful and compelling story.
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The first book from Burundi that was translated into English, which shows us a country emerging after war through the backdrop of a story of a misunderstanding in a village. The energy of the people in this book is palpable.
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Lots of fun mystery with a retired inspector and his newly inherited elephant called Ganesha. I think this series may become a regular visit.
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Enjoyed this book a lot, but a couple of little tiny niggles got in the way of me giving it 5 stars. But wonderful characters which drives the story of a whole heap of people locked in a house. Deserves the respect the novel has received.
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A story about our main character and how she has been viewed as unnecessary for most of her life. He story is told in snippets between books she has read, music she has listened to, and books she translates every year starting on New Years Day on the dot. Her strength and solitude is admirable but at the same time, you wish more for her. Beautiful, but I think I need to be better read for this one.
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I forgot to report on this in Feb. Another fun romp around Asia with the super rich. Nothing is really going to be learnt from these books, but I enjoy the antics and the fluff. Nick and Rachel, the two main chars are nice enough people, even if the rest of the cast are caricature nightmares. But that's part of the fun, and amuses me that some of these stories are based off real experiences.
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Well this one went all over. I think this is the weakest in the series so far. Less fun action, more product placement. Half the book was Ava dressing herself. Definitely don't start with this one.
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Jazz, Berlin, Nazis, Louis Armstrong, documentaries, friendship. This book has a lot going on. Interesting look into what happened in Berlin in the mid-1930s when it went from bustling art scene to Nazi HQ, and what that meant for the artists who had come from all over the world to be in the most happening of places. More than they ever could have expected, we now know.
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Do not rush this book. It is lyrical and semi stream of consciousness. Imagine you are sitting with a 60 something year old Irishman and he is just speaking. It may jump all over the place, but it is almost like a song. Once you get him speaking, you don't really want to get him to stop even if sometimes you cannot follow. This dialogue deals with some pretty heavy issues, so approach with care for yourself and for the storyteller. But they are issues that need to be reckoned with.
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Oh, man, I just do not think this series is for me. I just don't like the tone of it. It doesn't sit right at all and distracts me from the story. But the stories can be so thin on the ground there is nothing to distract you as well. I have one more book on my shelf but I think I am the one who disagrees on this series.
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Italy - My Brilliant Friend
I finally got to this book to see what the hype was about. And apparently the answer is not very much. No likeable characters, pretty boring story, couple of interesting interludes, moments of lovely writing. But... meh.
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I get poetry! It only took me 30 years,
I remember learning by wrote Mugla Bill's Bicycle at 10 years old -
T'was Mugla Bill from Eaglehawk
Who caught the cycling craze...
And even ignoring all the issues (and there are many) of Banjo Patterson, I never really ever got poetry besides a sonnet or two. And this book... I got it. Incredibly moving pieces about really revelent, contemporary issues, about a country and islands that have borne the brunt of some really shitty things. It's not bleak, it's beautiful and insightful. Recommend.
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An interesting take of what happens if you know some folkloric creatures exist, and some group of teenagers are kicking it in your apartment carpark when you come home a little pissed.
And what happens after? How does your messy life intersect with this creature? And how does that mesh with all the research you are reading about these creatures, which we are reading too.
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Zimbabwe - The Hairdresser of Harare
I didn't really like this book. But I realised I was reading it from a context that the characters in the book didn't have. The tropes were obvious. I didn't agree with the character decisions. But on reflection, I realised I was reading this from my very, very different life experience perspective. I still wasn't a fan, but realising you are judging characters from a perspective they haven't had is hard.
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I honestly didn't know much about the witch trials in Denmark and Norway. I learnt a little from a doco a couple of months ago, and apparently they were just as horrific as the UK/US ones. So I very much empathised with the characters.
Until it wouldn't progress or stop. The book just kept going on. It needed 100pp less. The middle was very same same
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Story of a girl who gets pregnant outside of marriage in a Bedioun village. She has to escape as her family wishes to honour kill her for the shame this has brought them. This is the story of the before, the during, and the escape. I found it very hard to empathise with Salma, although the situation was really easy to empathise with - I mean, who wouldn't feel for her! But just, a bit of a slog.
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Set in 1920s Mexico where the country is changing rapidly in the cities, but not quite in the rural areas. Casiopea gets tied to a Mayan god of death and has to help save him, but the idea of a 17 year old, unmarried girl running off with a man is scandalous. Turns out to be a great adventure.
Really enjoyed the Mayan mythology, and I am a sucker for a smart, feisty heroine.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Gods of Jade and Shadow (other topics)Gods of Jade and Shadow (other topics)
My Name Is Salma (other topics)
The Witches of Vardø (other topics)
The Hairdresser of Harare (other topics)
More...
I cut down to 5 this year as my reading has been a bit off the past couple of years, but I can always roll more!
• Peru - Bel Canto• Lebanon - An Unnecessary Woman• Germany - Half Blood Blues
• Pakistan - Home Fire• Jordan - My Name Is SalmaTo the Finish Line for Jenny:
• Bolivia - The Puma Years
• Burkina Faso - American Spy
• Burundi - Baho!• Grenada - Crystal Rain
• Marshall Islands - Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese DaughterOthers:
• Botswana - Morality for Beautiful Girls• China - China Rich Girlfriend• Denmark - The Keeper of Lost Causes
•Finland - Troll: A Love Story• India - The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra
• Ireland - Old God's Time
• Italy - Death in a Strange Country or My Brilliant Friend• Mexico - Gods of Jade and Shadow• Norway - The Witches of Vardø• Zimbabwe - The Hairdresser of Harare
• Curacao, Hong Kong, China, Denmark, Faeroe Islands, UK, Ireland, US - The Wild Beasts of Wuhan