Thanks, Marc, for mentioning the term backshadowing during a discussion of this book. I think that term nails what makes this book so powerful, havingThanks, Marc, for mentioning the term backshadowing during a discussion of this book. I think that term nails what makes this book so powerful, having been witness to the Rwandan genocide & seeing this (fictional) look at Rwanda in a time prior to -- but not far from -- the genocide. What once might have passed as something minor or as teenage "mean girl" actions suddenly carries much more weight & danger when reading with the knowledge of impending, absolutely crushing, real events. It's not just internal strife either; there's a complete burn to the West for its apathy, its fetishization, its imperialism, its ignorance.... There's more too (including misogyny, religion, royalty, faith, duty, abuse, patriotism, & militarism), all done with a light touch, played out in miniature by the students in their daily life at the lycée. The juxtaposition absolutely cut me to the core.
While there were various elements (art, unreliable narrators, magical realism/surrealism, an interesting location) of interest, the parts never fully While there were various elements (art, unreliable narrators, magical realism/surrealism, an interesting location) of interest, the parts never fully coalesced into a satisfying whole for me. It was ok but also missed the mark for me. ...more
I'm just not sure about this one. Because there were numerous overly crude behaviors/speech (especially related to appearance & sexuality) throughout I'm just not sure about this one. Because there were numerous overly crude behaviors/speech (especially related to appearance & sexuality) throughout -- enough to yank me out of the storyline repeatedly. Still, is it an unflinching look at life in a Peruvian small town like where events take place? Likely so. Is it an examination of racism, classism, sexism, & power imbalances in society? Yes. Is it a product of the the times in which it was written? Also yes... & some things just don't stand the test of time. There's some value to be found but I also had to muck through loads of icky stuff to get there. I did not enjoy it nor can I recommend it....more
A fast-moving time travel/crime/sci-fi story. A few things don’t fully hang together & I got a few characters mixed up, but still a thumbs up for a fuA fast-moving time travel/crime/sci-fi story. A few things don’t fully hang together & I got a few characters mixed up, but still a thumbs up for a fun to read book. ...more
Appreciated & enjoyed this one (though the story could have been tightened with a bit more editing). The chapters are short so it was easy to justify Appreciated & enjoyed this one (though the story could have been tightened with a bit more editing). The chapters are short so it was easy to justify "just one more chapter", which meant I had a couple of nights of staying up too late. I liked the slightly different viewpoints, the Apache & Chickasaw lore/lessons, & the cast of mainly female characters. As in Freshwater and Lying Awake, the idea of mental illness/schizophrenia/brain tumor vs. visions/opening between worlds/portal plays a role. It's a fascinating viewpoint to me.
If I had to sum it up I'd say it was about standing up & finding your voice. Though White Horse seems to be categorized as horror or scary, I would say it's adjacent to those categories, meaning it's probably readable by those who don't always like horror.
All in all, it's a book I enjoyed & would recommend.
(A side note is that I noticed at least three typos in the last couple of chapters [when I hadn't noticed any previously; this is the ebook version] & the sudden appearance of a few in a short span made me wonder if somehow the final chapters were never properly edited?)...more
A note on the 2022 Penguin Classics edition I read -- Partway through the Introduction, it says, "Note: The following pages contain details of the story that can spoil the plot. The first-time reader of Blind Owl is urged to skip over this part of the Introduction and return to it after having read the novel." Thank you, Sassan Tabatabai, for that!
In reading about Blind Owl, it seems like there is a bit of an urban legend around it, that it can drive readers to suicide. This may be partially due to the fact that the author himself did so, as well as the unrelenting madness/grimness of the story. It was originally banned in Iran when it was first published (1936) & again later in 2006. ...more
A cool book. I will point you to Henk's review which is what spurred me to read it in the first place.A cool book. I will point you to Henk's review which is what spurred me to read it in the first place....more
**spoiler alert** First, I'll say that I did enjoy large swaths of this book. Some of the Southernisms made me laugh, I enjoyed some of the Southern G**spoiler alert** First, I'll say that I did enjoy large swaths of this book. Some of the Southernisms made me laugh, I enjoyed some of the Southern Gothic flourishes & appreciated the historical background, including learning about this horrific event in GA history (that I had not previously heard about), as well as the rumors surrounding an (unknown/hidden) island along the GA coast where "escaped slaves" coexisted & lived free since the Revolutionary War days (referred to in the book as America's "Masada").
Great. I am glad the history is being brought to the light of day, even if it's not fully explored yet. There are similar stories from other locations, including in this 2016 Smithsonian article talking about similar places in the VA & NC swamps. The existence of this American "Masada" is the crux of the action in the book, the big secret, the "treasure" to be protected, etc. I'm skipping ahead to a major plot point here (p. 241):
"But he doesn't go. He looks up into the shimmering silver sheets of rain in the church floodlight. He says, "By the way, I don't have that treasure but I do know where to find it."
"You do?"
"Stony told me not to tell anyone unless something happened to her. I guess it's time."
"Where is it?"
"The. Treasure. Of. The. Kingdom. Dot com. One word, no spaces, no caps. Thetreasureofthekingdom dot com. I hope Stony will be OK. I hope your uncle will be OK.""
Reader, I looked. Does the site give some historical insight? No, it's the motherfucking publisher's page about the book! There are four short video "interviews" (one to two minutes each) of Savannah people on the page so I thought maybe they would add to the history related to the crux of the story. Nope.
Just wtf? Really, your big reveal in the story itself is to point you to the publisher's page for... a book you're already reading!?!
That pissed me off an inordinate amount.
[image]
(And, honestly, the dude giving up the secret gave it up pretty quickly & easily if it was info he was supposed to be protecting.)
Some other things that pissed me off about the book: -- Stony, an African-American contract archaeologist, is portrayed as a homeless woman. I get that she travels for her work but.... -- Jaq, another African-American woman & main protagonist, is part of an old Savannah family through marriage (a mixed-race lesbian couple). Which is fine but it felt like a forced, let's get all the tropes in move. I can't pinpoint why I felt that, but it just gave me that vibe. -- The bad cop is of Greek descent (so not a traditional white dude, I guess). -- The female judge had an interaction with Stony's mother that did not (imo) fit her character, at least based on the rough sketch of her. Plus, the judge (multiple times) is surreptitiously checking herself out in a little compact mirror while she's on the bench overseeing cases. Hey, author, do you think this is how females in powerful jobs act? -- The back has some historical notes which are helpful & appreciated. But some of them refer to links that are either no longer working or require subscriptions (such as to the Washington Post) in order to read the actual article. So... not entirely helpful.
I don't know exactly when I passed the point from enjoying the story to starting to get a chip on my shoulder about it but I certainly did do a 180 while reading the entire thing. Which is too bad. It started pretty well & I thought I was in for a good story. By halfway through, I was feeling kind of grudging. And when the "secret" (of the book's website) was dropped & I realized it's a marketing ploy (I guess?), I was just pissed.
Starting out, I might have given it four stars for fun. Then maybe three. After ruminating, I feel generous if I give it a two.
I'm not quite sure how it came across my radar. As usual, I didn't know anything about it prior to reading other than the title & the nomination.
And, I'm not quite sure how it came across my radar. As usual, I didn't know anything about it prior to reading other than the title & the nomination.
And, it was... ok. I guess. I don't know really what I expected, exactly, but it wasn't this. Well, I do know that I expected something different. It wasn't. I kept reading (past one incidence involving an animal where I decided to skip a couple of pages), thinking *something different* would happen. But, no, it really didn't. It seemed pretty straightforward.
Otoh, it did give a clear (& depressing) picture of life lived as a tenant crofter on Scottish land in the late 1800s &, later in the book, the new-ish field of criminal psychology. Sure, you can spend time discussing/arguing the merits of what is termed "criminally insane" or "morally insane" vs. sane but I didn't feel like it had any real surprises. (I have read other books set in a similar time frame with the burgeoning field of criminal/psychological examination/investigation so maybe that's why it seemed a bit ho-hum to me?) I did learn a lot through the historical fiction lens but that's most of what I can say about the story overall.
Honestly, I am surprised that this was nominated for the Man Booker AND that it made it to the shortlist. (To be fair, I didn't read any of the other nominees from the 2016 list.) To me, it was entirely mediocre, neither better nor worse than that. A grudging 3 stars from me. ...more
This is supposedly the first (or one of the first?) novels written in Yoruba (in Nigeria in 1939). It's extremely fantastical. I found it interesting This is supposedly the first (or one of the first?) novels written in Yoruba (in Nigeria in 1939). It's extremely fantastical. I found it interesting because it introduced a whole new (to me) group of mythical creatures & stories. If you like mythologies/epics from other cultures, you might find this interesting. Like many tales with mythical beings, it's very over-the-top in terms of the adventures & escapades the protagonist encounters. Probably 3.5 stars....more
This is a collection drawn from four of Maya Abu Al-Hayyat's works with the poems printed in reverse order of publication (2021, 2016, 2012, 2006). ThThis is a collection drawn from four of Maya Abu Al-Hayyat's works with the poems printed in reverse order of publication (2021, 2016, 2012, 2006). The newer ones feel more grounded while the older ones feel more dream-like -- reflective of the aging process, I think, the dreamier verses from longer ago, the more grounded from more recently. A slightly different perspective borne of more time, more experience, more life in general. Many of the poems feel universal whether examining the mundane or the extraordinary & then you are reminded of living a life under occupation, a place where you try to get children to sleep while shelling is going on or you get a gun pointed in your face at a checkpoint. Wedding Anniversary made me chuckle & I Don't Ask Anymore was one of my favorites. There is humor & there is heartbreak with humanity firmly at the center of each piece. I don't always like poetry but this is quite a wonderful collection. Recommended....more
This is the first book from a female in Equatorial Guinea to be translated into English. The story is told by 16-year-old Okomo about life in her smalThis is the first book from a female in Equatorial Guinea to be translated into English. The story is told by 16-year-old Okomo about life in her small village as part of the Fang people (part of the Bantu ethnic group), the rigid gender & sexuality roles, & Okomo's struggles both being being a part of the structure while also pushing to break free. It comes across simplistically, episodically, similar to some YA books, which fits as it reflects the perspective of the young narrator. Asymptote has a good review of it by Parker Brookie. Electric Lit also has a short interview with the author: How Do You Advocate for LGBTQ Rights When Your Culture Has No Word for Gay? I'd probably give the story itself 3 stars but will give it 4 for challenging the status quo & gender norms. A good read for Women in Translation Month as well as one for those seeking LGBTQIA2S+ books.
Also, random fact when I was looking up things about the author, Equatorial Guinea, etc. -- while the book itself used the term Equatorial Guinean (which is what I would use too) for someone from there, a common version I found online is Equatoguinean. Which just seems like a lovely & pleasing word to me. ...more
This is much like a long-form essay examining how the government, press, & the public portrayed four female murderers during the 20th century in ChileThis is much like a long-form essay examining how the government, press, & the public portrayed four female murderers during the 20th century in Chile, looking at these cases through a lens of 21st century feminism. How do these groups (gov't, press, public) "explain" murder in order to assure the public that there is no need for worry or general panic? Throughout history, the idea of women being dangerous is an idea that has been squelched. It is also a bit of musing on how women's voices are silenced through history, their records often erased, as well as the painstaking work to even find old records to research for this book. I'd call this one true-crime-adjacent (because it's not really an examination of the actual crimes or trials) with interesting angles & commentary to ponder in relation to the lens of how these crimes were "marketed" for the court of public opinion. A compelling book....more
On the surface, this is a quiet & lovely book revolving around art & family & memories. Like Ernest Hemingway & Eduardo Galeano, Mairal spins a tale oOn the surface, this is a quiet & lovely book revolving around art & family & memories. Like Ernest Hemingway & Eduardo Galeano, Mairal spins a tale of great detail in few words. (And never before have I so wanted to see a work of art that has been depicted in words. I so wish Salvatierra's art was a reality that could be visited & seen.)
But considering the history of Argentina, as well as the impact of silence in relation to Argentina's history, The Missing Year of Juan Salvatierra takes on much deeper meaning exploring the impact of silence, the witnessing of history & the destruction of the past even as it informs the future. (The link is from a short interview with Nancy J. Gates-Madsen who authored the book, Trauma, Taboo, and Truth-Telling: Listening to Silences in Postdictatorship Argentina.)
Do you ever start reading a book and immediately picture one of the characters as an actor? I pegged Aris Kindt as Anthony Hopkins...and the rest of tDo you ever start reading a book and immediately picture one of the characters as an actor? I pegged Aris Kindt as Anthony Hopkins...and the rest of the book played out as a movie in my head the whole time I was reading it. (This is a good thing. I love movies.) I also saw some mentions of it having a David Lynchian quality and I cannot disagree. [image] [image] In the afterword, author Laird Hunt mentions W.G. Sebald's The Rings of Saturn as an inspiration. (Having never read The Rings of Saturn, I read the first few pages online and could quickly see the tip of the hat to Sebald's book.)
An homage to Sebald's book.
Plus the aftermath of 9/11 & NYC.
A bit of Kafka thrown in.
And a heavy debt owed to Rembrant's painting "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp". [image] It equals a great base for a murky world of crime & deception.
Or deception & crime.
There's a bit of a dream-like feel as the story unravels in alternating chapters, differing versions of reality that travel criss-crossing paths, eventually intersecting & colliding.
Exquisite in both the beautiful & the ugly, the before & the after, the mundane & the extraordinary.
This is one I started a few months ago, then set aside when I was having a lot of trouble reading (in general). It took me a few stories to get into tThis is one I started a few months ago, then set aside when I was having a lot of trouble reading (in general). It took me a few stories to get into the rhythm & style of storytelling (& it helped immensely when I realized there's a glossary) & I ultimately found this to be a compelling collection of somewhat intertwined stories of village life among the lower castes. I'm really pleased I got this one to expand my reading horizons as it did exactly that. Lovely cover art too. I've read only a couple of books from Tilted Axis Press but I am impressed with their choices.
Read for Women in Translation Month. Dalit ("untouchable") feminist stories, trans. from the Tegulu (a Dravidian language used in some parts of southern India)....more
Another one from the "light/fun/Southern" book category for my irl book club.
It's from the 1990s so everything didn't quite make it unscathed throughAnother one from the "light/fun/Southern" book category for my irl book club.
It's from the 1990s so everything didn't quite make it unscathed through time but there were a few chuckles in there even so. I'm not sure why it had chapter designations as the content always quickly veered away from the topic. It would have been fine as one long stream-of-consciousness story. Not really my cup of tea but not the worst thing I've read. What can I say? It was... ...more
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