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review
Graywacke
Hotel Du Lac | Anita Brookner
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Pickpick

A magnificent blending of Brookner complexity and the elevated language of the self-important.

Edith Hope goes to Switzerland to hide awhile after damaging her reputation with a scandal. She's an author of "romantic fiction", who hopes to get some writing done. Her hotel on the lake is half empty. She has landed in a cozy isolation. So, of course, she gets involved with the other guests. Fun stuff.

Graywacke When asked to sex up her books for the liberated women readers, Edith tells her editor that's not what they want. "...they prefer the old myths, when it comes to the crunch. They want to believe that they are going to be discovered, looking their best, behind closed doors, just when they thought all was lost, by a man who has battled across continents, abandoning whatever he may have had in his in-tray, to reclaim them." 1mo
Graywacke Edith thinks a lot about writing. In one fun line she thinks, "The sensation of being entertained by words was one she encountered all too rarely. People expect writers to entertain _them_, she reflected. They consider that writers should be gratified simply by performing their task to the audience's satisfaction. Like sycophants at court in the Middle Ages, dwarves, jongleurs. And what about _us_? Nobody thinks about entertaining _us_.” 1mo
AlaMich This sounds good! 1mo
See All 7 Comments
LeahBergen I adore this book! 1mo
Graywacke @AlaMich I was. And short. 😉 1mo
Graywacke @LeahBergen yay. It‘s a special book 1mo
dabbe 💛🐾🤎 1mo
54 likes1 stack add7 comments
blurb
Graywacke
Hotel Du Lac | Anita Brookner
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While reading a 950-page edition of Thomas Malory, and the 900-page Collect Stories of William Faulkner, and waiting for The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (came yesterday!), I‘ve started this wonderful 1984 Booker winner.

sarahbarnes I loved this one - the first I read by her. 2mo
Graywacke @sarahbarnes this is only my second by under-appreciated Brookner. It‘s been fantastic, from page 1. 2mo
squirrelbrain I loved this one too! 2mo
48 likes4 comments
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sjc731
Eurotrash: Roman | Christian Kracht
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1 like1 stack add
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LitsyEvents
Voting Day | Clare O'Dea
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repost for @TheSpineView:

Voting is now open to choose our June selection of the #LitsySciFiBookClub #LSFBC
Please let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list.

TheSpineView Thanks! 6mo
32 likes1 comment
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StayCurious
Voting Day | Clare O'Dea
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Hey #LittensLoveRomance, it‘s time to vote for June‘s read. Here is the link: https://forms.gle/ZrYdYuur7rZGrZVk8 as always, let me know if you want to be added or removed from my main tag list. Also, I‘d love to hear your ideas for future month themes!

Kshakal I voted… can‘t wait! 😊 6mo
See All 18 Comments
BarkingMadRead Ohhhhh I actually own one of these already 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 6mo
mcctrish I read The Wall of Winnipeg already and I really liked it. I voted for a different book 😢 6mo
OriginalCyn620 Voted! 6mo
OriginalCyn620 Off the top of my head, for themes, I thought of forbidden love, age gap, a secret royal, fish out of water, and grumpy/sunshine (might be especially fun if the FMC was the grump!). (edited) 6mo
TheSpineView Voted 6mo
Graciouswarriorlibrarian Voted! Thank you!😊 6mo
vonnie862 Voted! 6mo
vonnie862 I second @OriginalCyn620 on the themes. Others: second chances, marriage of convenience, disability rep, Latinx, Asian, POC... 6mo
CrowCAH Voted 🗳️ 6mo
julesG Voted. But I kind of want to read them all. 6mo
TheAromaofBooks Oh this is a fun theme!! Had to vote for the one that's already (unread) on my shelf 😂 6mo
Read4life Voted! 6mo
julieclair Voted! Some theme ideas: time travel, historical, tourist. 6mo
StayCurious @julieclair ooh time travel! Great idea 6mo
39 likes18 comments
review
Jari-chan
Eurotrash: Roman | Christian Kracht
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Pickpick

Not the tagged book, I guess Kracht's newest book isn't in the database yet.

I was sceptical about this, because after all the years since his last book my views and tastes have changed. But only a few pages in I knew, this is my favourite novel by him so far.

Loved the magical realism and the two plot lines that interfuse more and more. Not everyone will enjoy that, but I love it.

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StayCurious
Voting Day | Clare O'Dea
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#LittensLoveRomance - it‘s nearly May already and that means it‘s time to vote for our next read. https://forms.gle/B4vAedu3PSXb2iW78 As always, please let me know if you want to be removed or added to the main tag list.

42 likes17 comments
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StayCurious
Voting Day | Clare O'Dea
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#LittensLoveRomance - although we just had another snow storm where I live, it is in fact nearly April which means it‘s time to vote for our next read. We‘re going back to high school this month-vote here: https://forms.gle/jrYDzQttSkqUemcj9 and as always, let me know if you want to be added or removed from the main tag list.

43 likes12 comments
review
AnneCecilie
Eurotrash: Roman | Christian Kracht
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Mehso-so

This book annoyed my and that might just be a me thing. I never really understood when this book was taking place, if it was a dream or if it happened in an alternative universe. The son and the mum keep spending francs to pay for stuff. The mom went to finishing school in the early 60s and was 80 now, and as far as I know France hasn‘t spend francs in 25 yrs. This annoyed me so much so that the other stuff fell into the background. There‘s a lot

AnneCecilie of mention of Nazisism, denazification after WWII and their ancestors that were Nazis and their wealth. There‘s mention of castles and expensive art and I‘m not sure we ever learn if this was because of the Nazisim. #InternationalBooker (edited) 8mo
AnneCecilie @Graywacke As you can see I had some issues with this novel 8mo
BarbaraBB That‘s clever, about the francs. I didn‘t notice it when reading the book. 8mo
See All 8 Comments
Ruthiella Does it maybe take place in Switzerland, not France? 🤔 8mo
AnneCecilie @Ruthiella @BarbaraBB the setting is Switzerland, but the mention of all the franc has probably had me thinking about France. Do they use franc in Switzerland? 8mo
Ruthiella @AnneCecilie They do use the Swiss Franc CHF in Switzerland, yes. But it definitely was not a book for you because it bothered you and I think in books we enjoy, it‘s easier to overlook stuff like that. (edited) 8mo
Graywacke @AnneCecilie yeah, it definitely didn‘t work for you. 8mo
BarbaraBB @Ruthiella @AnneCecilie That‘s It. They still use the Swiss franc instead of Euro so it wasn‘t a mistake! 8mo
64 likes8 comments
review
sarahbarnes
Eurotrash: Roman | Christian Kracht
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Pickpick

I didn‘t love this one from the Booker Intl. longlist, but I liked it enough to finish it. I think it was mostly the MC‘s mother that kept me invested; the MC himself is somewhat of a letdown, although I think that‘s intentional. I haven‘t read Kracht‘s other work, but his family story in the book is atrocious. By the end, I almost loved his mother for her moments of hilarity and poignancy as she tries in her own way to come to terms with that.

Cathythoughts Great review 👍🏻♥️ 8mo
BarbaraBB Fab review. His mother is what makes the books so interesting I think. 8mo
Chavelafab I agree with your views. I found the dialogues son mother entertaining and well written. The mother is a much more developed character. Yet I wondered what was the point of the book? Yet enjoyed the reading. 8mo
sarahbarnes @Chavelafab I agree with your sentiments. 8mo
48 likes1 stack add4 comments