Welcome to Litsy!

The Game is not chess, even though it‘s on the cover and in my pic. And it‘s not even really the focus of the book. It‘s sisters and mental health and struggling to know your identity. Published in 1967, it has that era‘s focus on characters who feel trapped. The prose is, like that in Possession, florid and full of “five dollar words,” but it packs a punch. 👇🏻

I‘m struggling to decide how I feel about this book, because it‘s undoubtedly well done, but it‘s also difficult to read and near impossible to recommend – even long after turning the last page, I feel unsettled and upset by it, which is undoubtedly the point. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/trust-exercise-susan-choi-review/

4.75⭐️ I really liked this book and was quite surprised that I did. I‘m no ballet expert but it seems like it‘s pretty accurate. I also liked the background of the height of the #coldwar rather than #wwii. I am really curious as to what next this author produces. #2025 #historucalfiction #russia #unitedstates #fiction #literaryfiction #family #rivarly

I'm not 100% sure I caught everything that was going on there, and yet, it was understood. For the most part. The structure is very unusual, but I was relieved by how short it was.

Yeah, I'm kidding myself with this one. This is clearly not the book I should be reading right now.

Not a DNF! Just... on hiatus!

I will rejoin the narrative when I feel more inclined to take a philosophical journey up my own 🍑

This book isn't bad, but it is sombre, creepy, scratchy, parasitic, windy, and dense.

If you're after some existential dread, this will be your jam!

How clever is Ann Patchett to find a way to write about a happy family without sacrificing dramatic tension? The warmth of the family relationship and the angst of Lara‘s coming of age are so beautifully balanced. I‘m really glad I waited until I‘d read Our Town (serendipitously chosen by my play reading group last term) to read this book. While I think I would have enjoyed it anyway, it made the story much richer. I loved it.

This was so well written it pulverized my heart over and over. I can't quite imagine the hurt and anguish they can impart onto each other but would have loved to have been part of the love.

I gave myself one day to read this before it's due back at the library. ? I just spent 6 hours grading 8th grade writing, so I'm very excited to have some "me time" for the rest of the night.

@BookmarkTavern already tagged the first book that popped into my head. Luckily I had the tagged book as a very close second. The pirate story is a novel within the novel.

#SundayFunday