February reading
by Sunita
We’re already almost done with March and I realized I forgot to write up my February reading. Oops! It was a good reading month. I read 8 books, which is more than I expected to in 28 days. But travel and alone time and the fact that I barely watch TV made the difference. Also, a bunch of them were short. In chronological order:
Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants by Mathias Énard. Enard is a fascinating author who speaks multiple languages and writes on the interactions of the Middle East and Europe (or, in outdated terms, the Orient and the Occident). This is a slim novella in which he builds a historical-fiction story out of a trip Michelangelo took to Istanbul, to design a bridge over the Bosphorus. It’s speculative and atmospheric and has a hint of romance in it.
Moonlight Over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan. In which I continue my reading of the from Manhattan With Love series. I read and reviewed this here for SuperWendy’s TBR Challenge. I really enjoyed it and it’s probably my favorite of this series.
In the Beginning Was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson. This is an old and now quite outdated book in which Stephenson ruminates and rants about DOS, MacOS, and even BeOS. I still enjoyed reading it, and it reminds me of why I like command-line approaches. I don’t miss big clunky computers, but I wouldn’t mind having some things back about WordStar. Yes really.
Westin’s Wyoming by Alice Sharpe. #511 on my Harlequin TBR, from the Intrigue line. A Princess (of a fake country, naturally) shows up at a Wyoming ranch. Not a dude ranch, a real ranch. She has a Big Secret and a fiancé back in the home country. One of the ranch family’s sons is on hand, and he protects her while Intrigue-stuff happens. It was not great. Not enough Wyoming, either.
The Spirit of Science Fiction by Roberto Bolaño. Another trunked novel by the late great Chilean novelist and poet. This is his first novel and was seriously trunked, but it’s better than that. Yes it’s early work with everything that implies, but you can see the bones of his later novels and it is just fun to read. Suffused with the feel of discovering a new and vibrant city as a young person.
The Order of the Day by Éric Vuillard. This is a short, angry-satire novella about Nazi Germany in the 1930s, specifically the support of industrialists for Hitler and the acceptance of Nazi Party by European leaders. Through a series of vignettes Vuillard shows how many levels of European society and politics were complicit in Hitler’s rise to power. It has garnered some mixed reviews, but I found it powerful and chilling.
Life in the Court of Matane by Éric Dupont. This is a lovely coming of age novel by a Canadian Quebecois author. His most recently translated book, Songs for the Cold of Heart, was shortlisted for last year’s Giller Prize. It is funny and poignant and utterly charming. The “Court of Matane” is how Dupont describes his family, in which his father is Henry VIII, his mother is Catharine of Aragon, and his stepmother is Anne Boleyn. It works beautifully. I am mostly ignorant of Quebec history of the 1970s and 1980s (except for the separatist politics) but I had no trouble immersing myself in his world.
Seventeen by Hideo Yokoyama. I read Yokoyama’s first English-translated novel, Six Four, last year and thought it was very good, so when this was released I immediately picked it up. The title refers to a jumbo jet crash that happened 17 years before the novel opens and focuses on how it is covered by a provincial newspaper. The narrator, Yuuki, is in charge of the coverage and the challenges he faces back then echo issues today. The past timeline alternates with a present story. Once again Yokoyama’s style is discursive and focused on the mundane and quotidian, but I found it engrossing.
Full reviews of all these novels are at my Goodreads account.
I’m so glad you’re posting (or that I saw it, I suppose; I’ve been in a dark hole). 🙂 I’ve missed reading your voice!
LikeLike
Catherine, how lovely to see you in the comments! I have wondered how you were doing. I’m sorry things have been tough. You are not alone in that, but it’s not much consolation.
I am trying to blog regularly again (again) and I’m definitely reading, so I should be around.
(((hugs)))
LikeLike
Yes, I feel you on the again again thing. I told readers I was back in January and then changed jobs. Drama much? Sigh. 🙂
I’m doing the A to Z Challenge, so I’m determined. ~looks determined~
(The squirrels. THEY’RE MULTIPLYING.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
That Bolano sounds interesting. I’ve only read 2066 but enjoyed it very much.
LikeLike
I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I wound up liking it quite a bit. It’s not nearly as demanding as 2666, but it has some of the characteristics of that book’s 1st section (if the writers and academics were in their college years, if that makes sense).
LikeLike
Ugh. Have to sign up for good reads reviews! BUT so enjoyed these! I like the sound of the first! Might look it up!
I enjoyed Morgan’s (an author you turned me on to btw!) Christmas Sisters. I so vividly remember the scene where the husband of the middle sister goes, when reunited with his wife, speaks of his experience caring for the kids on his own with—but they eat all the time! It made me laugh. I have the same feeling with my 1.5 yr old. We end up spending SO MUCH time on his meals! Or preparing for them!
Will look into this book in the Manhattan series too.
LikeLike
I am sorry about that! That’s one reason I’ll start posting them here. You can get to them via each book’s page at GR, but I don’t know how far down the review list I am for each book, since I’m not an important GR reviewer. 🙂
I think you’ll like this Morgan book. It’s a warm fluffy blanket of a story.
LikeLike
It is also possible to find all of a person’s reviews by clicking on the person’s name in the people you follow list, then clicking on “reviews” under the icon that pops up at the top of the perosn’s profile. Ratings (a differen list) can also be found that way.
Here’s the page with all your reviews, Sunita, for Juhi to bookmark if she wants:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/48150822-sunita?order=d&sort=review&view=reviews
LikeLike
Sadly, that only works if you are a GR member. That’s why I need to repost them over here.
LikeLike
I didn’t realize that. Bummer!
LikeLike