Anna Erde > Recent Status Updates

Dear Emilia, I can't believe they made us read the absolutely boring novels of your lover Pérez-Galdós when we could have been reading yours and actually enjoying them while learning something from one of the first Spanish feminists. *sigh*

I could never have predicted this book, with its crass language, half drawn characters and unsettling homoerotic references to the gonads of molluscs, would rip my chest open to expose the depths of my experience as a woman and as a mother.

I've started reading this in Spanish in digital form in an edition by Editorial Anagrama and the editing is a disaster. There are parts that seem taken from the unfinished manuscript, like author's notes to Elbe expanded later (for example, Book 2 the "Clarence" episode: "his mathematical treaty. Title. Summarize." Or "his creative methods. Give 2-3 examples.") This makes me mistrust the whole translation.

I thought it would be a lighter read, but how could it have been when talking about armed conflict? I didn't do my homework when I visited Perú back in 2012 and knew nothing of this part of its history.

With so little of the book to go, I fear it's physically impossible for the author to gracefully wrap up all the threads of this story :'(

How did I manage to get myself into another Wolf Hall so soon??? I was expecting Moana-style adventure and Polynesian myth come to life and I've been plunged head first into a political epic where I have to check who is who every 2 paragraphs.

It started out fine with some witty punchlines that made me chuckle and a potentially strong premise. It's going quickly downhill, however. Strongly reminds me of A Harvest of Hearts, which is not a great recommendation. I think I'm starting to be weary whenever I read reviews that frame a story as "cozy fantasy" and such like...

10% in and I'm heartbroken 😭

Well, I certainly did not expect this book to be the one to send into a deep abyss of a reading slump. It started out well enough and then I found myself distracted, reading just a few lines before putting it down, and sighing tiredly when trying to pick it up again. Such a different experience from reading Beartown, which, admittedly, is my only other Backman reference.

I was really enjoying this, with it's intriguing religious/ caste system, the laugh out loud asides, the moments of almost insurmountable tension... until I reached chapter 14-15 and the whole thing just fell flat. To continue the story I'd need to harness a degree of suspension of disbelief I don't think I have in me right now.

Picking this series back up where I left off!

I hope this starts picking up soon... So far all characters are slightly annoying

Oh no, I think I'm deep into a reading slump. Why? Why??? This is so great, really, I'm loving the attention to subtle expressions of emotion, the exposure of the unseen side of history. But I'm hating the confusion and that I'm spending more time reading about what I'm reading than enjoying it arrrggg

Mantel's writing style is peculiar, but somehow allows for an amazing level of subtle understanding of the hidden motivations and personality of her characters.

This just got unexpectedly interesting

I'm ashamed to say I knew nothing about the Chinese traditional mid-autumn Moon festival and the legend of Chang'e, the Moon Goddess, until I saw a Netflix animation film some years ago about it. Ever since I've wanted to learn more about her and the festival, and learn how to make moon cakes. Alas, reading this novel will probably have to suffice for now (the recipe looked complicated as f*** to me)

I'm struggling with this - I can feel a reading slump coming in unless some pieces start to come together soon...