Welcome to Litsy!

Apologies for the bad highlighting. #europe #normandavies #history #europeanhistory #rewritinghistory

"If we don't remember all that we want to forget, we are exposed to the danger of forgetting to forget certain things."

This one starts so promising but then it feels all over the place in terms of writing and ideas. The narrator arrives at an old-style grand hotel that seems to have lost its past glory and the story moves back and forth between the time of his stay in the hotel, and his memories with his former lover Clio.

It‘s late, but not too late for a discussion. We just read multiple variants of defining the “West” from the “East.” Many are shaped by the times themselves and can seem abnormally outdated. In fact, the whole idea of West and East seems outdated, but we keep defining it. It‘s currently 2025. How do you define West and East? Where do you draw that line when you hear these terms? #europe #normandavies #west #east #history #worldhistory #politics

This book gets high praise in the Netherlands but I didn‘t like it at all. A parade of northern African people travel between Amsterdam and Paris where all of them live and meet and tell stories. Because there are so many of them it all feels kind of disconnected . So after 50%, I bailed.

Thank you so much @MrsGagnonreads2024 ….I so look forward to reading this! And Tony‘s….the best!
Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

@MaleficentBookDragon #jolabokaflod #jolabokaflodswap

I received my Jolabokaflod package today. Thank you @jdiehr and @MaleficentBookDragon !

Now the hard part is waiting to open it!!

Sent off my #jolabokaflod package out to Ontario

My #Jolabokaflod swap was sent!
@MaleficentBookDragon

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of Dickens‘ writings from Europe in the 1840s - 1850s. A mix of letters & a couple of short stories, they display his usual lively writing & compassion. Characters & towns spring to life. A letter to E M Forster describes crossing to Chamonix & seeing Mt Blanc in vivid detail. My highlight was ‘The Italian Prisoner‘, a masterful, funny & moving short story (& true tale).