After making it through the Battle of Waterloo (which tested my patience and nearly had me yelling MERDE on more than one occasion), I am back with Jean Valjean and eager to catch up with the schedule. #readlesmis

A very short volume that challenges our perceptions of those we think of as “the good side” in World War II. The nameless narrator is fighting alongside Dutch partisans and others when he leaves the unit and ends up at a large empty house. He settles in and German troops arrive to billet there. Eventually they leave and the unit he was with returns and the novel descends into a climax of violence. (Cont‘d in comments.)

I read Orstavik‘s Love a while ago and was eager to try another of her books, so I preordered this one in advance of its release. The story centers on the narrator - a woman whose father was deeply abusive and who recently lost the man she loves - and her current, volatile relationship with a much younger man. There is also a story-within-a-story as the main character is an author. A meditation on the impact of abuse and the choice to be set free.

As I get older I find I‘ve been wandering further from new or popular fiction and diving deep into translations and older literature as so much is relevant to our current age or forces me to look at the world through a new lens. This book, a novella combined with a collection of short stories, looks at the history and continued violence in a small mountain community in Turkey and how easy it is to be overlooked by the rest of the country.

If the first two books in this series were difficult but allowed for some… empathy?… towards the main character and the choices they make, this book turns that on its head. Still loosely connected (and you really have to allow for a lot of coincidences) this book examines a character who is so despicable, morally reprehensible and evil that she defies characterization. I am interested in seeing how Boyne wraps this series up.

After reading Water I moved immediately to this book and for a short book (148 pages) it dealt with a lot of big issues such as sexuality, sex work, abuse, and guilt. Again, a difficult read (and at times I struggled with the timeline of this book and how it fit with the previous, loosely connected book). Still, I am interested in finishing the series.

After seeing a lot of reviews about these I decided to dive into the series. And… oof. These books are not for the faint hearted (and the first one is relatively mild, compared with the next two). An examination of abuse and what stays hidden, what do you know and what do you willfully not know and are therefore complicit. Dark but thought-provoking.

I picked this up while on my trip to London earlier this year at Daunt Books, who actually published this novel. I found this to be a hard read - it is the story of a gay man who returns to the home of his now-deceased abusive mother to clean it out and spends a night with a former lover. I came away disturbed and not entirely sure of the point of this except people can be horrible.

My first Zweig and I wasn‘t disappointed. I enjoyed the two narrators (one narrator relates a story including a story related to him by the second narrator). It‘s a story of the horrors of war and the methods of torture and the impact of near madness told through the lens of a chess game.

A few weeks ago my dad was hospitalized after a stroke (it is weird to type those words, as though putting them here makes them real). The last weeks have been filled with hospital trips and hours spent at his bedside. Today I needed comfort reading and bought this beautiful edition of a favourite childhood read. Puppy protection has also been engaged.

I absolutely adored this short volume of collected writings by E. B. White. It is a collection of observations, poetry and short pieces about life in New York. My personal favourite, which I absolutely know I will read again, was Goodbye to 48th Street, about the possessions that collect in a home over a lifetime and the effort to get rid of them. McNally Editions continues to delight with their publications.

Plays are not something I normally pick up to read, but this was for a book club (which I then forgot about due to life events 😂). It‘s a fun story of a woman who befriends crows after being fired from her job at a grocery store when she stands up to rampant capitalism, misogyny and racism. I particularly enjoyed the ending, which I won‘t spoil.

I do so love Europa for their dedication in publishing the books that are not destined for big bestseller lists, and this book was no exception. It is a gentle tale of community and people finding each other in post-war Vienna. People make connections and fall out of touch, all told against the backdrop of a small cafe in a changing city. An utter delight.

This book is tricky. It is a Dutch translation and centres on fraternal twins - a brother and sister. The sister is very dependent on her twin brother while her brother deals with depression and ultimately commits suicide. While well written I found the story oppressive and the characters unhealthy attachment dismaying.

Another book from the Pushkin Collection - this is a collection of short pieces by George Orwell of his observations on England and its sociology. Some pieces are well known (Shooting an Elephant) but it was the final piece of the book - The Lion and the Unicorn - that really captured me, as it is still applicable in many ways today as it was years ago. Warning: some outdated language common to the time in which it was written.

The last few weeks have been chaotic with family issues, so I‘m trying to catch up on recent reads.

This is part of the Pushkin Collection of classics and other overlooked works. It was a quick and fun novel about a man who sees the Mona Lisa while it is being painted and believes the woman exists. What follows is a man utterly obsessed who destroys his life in the efforts of tracking her down. An odd book on the power of art.

This was a purchase while in London and I am just finishing the final piece in it - The Lion and the Unicorn. “England cannot possibly be allowed to remain as a sort of funnel through which deadly ideas from the Atlantic flow into the police states of Europe.” Whew - as a Canadian this is hitting hard looking to the rhetoric from the south these days. Some dated language but many ideas are still so relevant here.

The last of three short translations that are heavier topics. This is written as a novel but seems to be the story of the author‘s friendship with someone now experiencing dementia, and her perceptions of the many changes and losses that dementia causes, both for the person afflicted and those around them. This is beautifully written with observations that stop you in your tracks.

Another book in translation and another heavy topic. The narrator is an artist in her 60s who returns home and attempts to reconnect with the mother who cut her off after seeing herself in her daughter‘s artwork. It‘s a story of the trauma of broken mother-daughter relationships and the lifelong effect that can have. Heartbreaking but gorgeously written.

This is a tricky book to review as I can‘t say it was an enjoyable read due to its heavy content, but it was extremely well written. Clara lives in an apartment with her sick father and her young daughter. As time goes on, Clara becomes increasingly paranoid about the world outside and cuts the family off from the outside world. This is a heavy book with abuse and violence and incest, so read accordingly. A low pick due to content.

I had this book on my shelf for a while but picked up the audio on sale and I‘m SO glad I did. Haynes narrates the book and she is funny and opinionated and highly compelling and I could not wait to get back into my car to listen to her take various women in Ancient Greek myth. I have book Divine Might waiting for my next car trip. Highly recommended, particularly on audio.

I rarely annotate my books and yet here I am, busting out the flags for my #readlesmis read-a-long. My vacation had me fall behind but I should be caught up by the end of the day. I am finding it fascinating how relevant this book continues to be, and how despite its size, it is immensely readable.

I had read Michael Ondaatje long ago, but I hadn‘t read this one. On a discussion with my massage therapist he said this was one of his favourite books, and so I picked it up. I was not disappointed. This is a Toronto novel through and through, reflecting an era of major public works (the Danforth bridge, the water plant). It is a story of love and the immigrant experience. The writing is beautiful and the story timeless. Loved it!

This was a vacation purchase, found in a delightful Oxfam store (you Brits are mighty lucky!) This is an ominous novella filled with foreboding. Sylvie is 17 and spending a summer with her parents and a university group living as ancient Britons and getting a glimpse outside her life with her extremely strict and abusive father. The book veers towards its inevitable climax and was a compelling examination of our continued primitive nature.

I continue to love the writing of Claire Keegan and this short volume did not disappoint. It is the story of a disconnected farming family and the secrets that are upended after a series of unexpected events. I don‘t want to say too much to give it away, but again - Keegan‘s masterful at giving voice to the emotions of those working families who are often viewed as stern or lacking in emotion.

This was a murder mystery that wasn‘t so much a mystery but an exploration of the impact that an act of violence on those left behind and on the ways people cope (and don‘t cope). It covers guilt and trauma and lack of resolution. I really wanted this book to work more for me, but somehow it just didn‘t in ways I cannot even quite put my finger on.

I‘ve been delinquent in updating my finished books here while we were on vacation and then the post-vacation catch up, so apologies in advance for the post dump!
I read this just before I left and it is an odd book of extremely short stories with interconnected characters that become progressively weirder as the book goes on. I don‘t know that I retained much but I definitely enjoyed it while reading.

Yesterday was a day filled with walking and I spent some time alone visiting Hatchard‘s, Daunt Books and Books on the Water (an absolutely lovely bookstore in a river barge). The tagged book is a signed edition from Daunt. I am fortunate to have an exceedingly understanding husband (plus bonus money that I earn judging trampoline gymnastics) that allowed me to splurge. Best book trip ever!

What happens when a Canadian who loves smaller press and translated fiction hits London, finds used books by the Thames, goes to Brick Lane Books *and* Blackwell‘s in Oxford? This happens (oh, and I still have Daunt Books and Hatchards before we leave). And even better? Three of them are signed editions!

I couldn‘t sleep last night so I pulled out my kindle and read this short novella. It was a perfect choice as it is a gentle and touching story of a Jewish child who is hidden in Belgium during World War II. Despite its subject matter, it was neither saccharine nor overly sentimental, nor filled with horror. Instead it is a book about hope and sacrifice and the goodness of many everyday people. It was a perfect read for the current climate.

Well, this was a delight. It is most definitely “experimental” fiction, often absurd and chaotic. Told in short vignettes, the unnamed narrator has stayed in her parents‘ large home, which her married siblings covet. The narrator is a misanthrope and she desperately wishes to leave her small town. One day a visitor comes to stay - although we are never told what the visitor is (Human? Dog? A manifestation of the narrator‘s depression?) Con‘t ⬇️

I wasn‘t quite sure what to make of this book - the story of a friendship between the Narrator and his lifelong friend Fanny, a woman with mental health struggles. The Narrator - who clearly cares for Fanny - writes about her as though she is a study sometimes. However, the last part of the book really clicked for me and how it looks at what mental health/illness means and a glimpse from the other side.

Took my time finishing this one as I wasn‘t really ready for my time with the Thursday Murder Club to be over (for now). I have found myself enjoying these books far more for the friendships and relationships and the author‘s observations of aging than the mystery itself (although those are fun too!) This book actually made me tear up, which is a rarity for me. A series I will revisit for sure.

This was a fun and delightful bit of twist, mind-bending interlinked short stories. It starts with a mix up where a man gets his first cell phone and begins receiving phone calls for a famous movie star. It then tears off in other directions and touches on what is fact and fiction. While the tone is consistent, no two stories are similar, despite the connections. Fun!

I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did. It is the story of Marie-Antoinette as told through her own voice in a rambling, interior voice. I liked that it attempted to give her some substance but found that it never really found its place. The author has an extensive afterward where she attempts to explain her intent, and I couldn‘t help but think if it required that many pages to explain to the reader, it didn‘t really work.

I‘ve been having the greatest reading adventures lately - diving into older works and translations and generally reading outside the mainstream North American publishing world. This collection of short stories by Gogol dives into the absurdity of life in pre-revolution Russia with its rigid hierarchy and social norms. The stories are sly and humorous and pokes fun at the establishment. Very much enjoyed!

This book of short stories (indeed, most were under 10 pages) was a terrific, albeit heartbreaking read. The author is Bosnian and lived in the former Yugoslavia worker as a journalist and writer during the war. His stories focus on the disruptiveness and impact of the war both directly and indirectly, and the cost to relationships between people and their land. The final story, The Library, affected me deeply. Recommended!

I whipped through this book in less than a day. The narrator is married to a much older man, and for a couple of weeks finds herself engaging in an affair with a younger man while sequestered for jury duty. It touches on lots of areas - from the ways in which the law works and doesn‘t work, the difficulties of juries, the nature of large age gap relationships, and the fallout of an affair. The author herself was married to a much older man… ⬇️

I absolutely adore the cover of this edition, and I quite enjoyed the book for its unique style of telling the story of a plot of land over generations. Mason captured the ways in which the land has changed and had change forced upon it - and the ways in which the land remembers its history. Occasionally had a few too many coincidences and supernatural for my preference, but overall a pick!

It‘s been a run of so-so books lately. This is a slim volume of short stories and what is described as a “novella” but really just seems to be a slightly longer short story. Some of the stories really worked - with The Hedges being the highlight of the book for me. However, the writing is off-kilter and dissonant and sometimes uncomfortable to read or dissect, with wild phrases that I occasionally found challenging.

I am having difficulty in rating this book. It is a frank look at the unexamined history of those who collaborated with the Nazis in France and their lives, the secrets they carried and the impact of that history on their family. My problem stems from the fact that this is supposedly a fictional novel based on the author‘s family and at times it read more like non-fiction than fiction. It is almost as though the author couldn‘t commit. ⬇️

This is a book that hit the right note for me. A short volume, in reprint, it js written as a series of letters from the narrator to an unnamed friend describing her predicament. Her husband has left her, leaving her in an expensive apartment in New York with their daughter and her teenage stepdaughter that she despises. Blackwood does not shy away from making her main character‘s thoughts and actions morally reprehensible. More in comments ⬇️

I have Torres‘ Blackouts on my TBR shelf, but first I wanted to start with one of his earlier novels. Three brothers are raised in near poverty by the parents and have a close, but brutal relationship to each other borne out of love and violence. The chapters are short set pieces and some work better than others, but the book races to a climax that in some ways felt forced and unnecessary. Torres lacked finesse and subtlety in this volume.

The beginning of this year has seen me continuing my journey through small press and translated fiction. This is the story of a Norwegian girl who goes on a school semester in Australia where she ends up living in a renovated brewery with another girl. The brewery has only thin walls and the borders between the girls and sound and reality blur. While it was an interesting exploration of intimacy and loneliness it didn‘t fully work for me.

Here we go! Joining the #readlesmis read-along and finally knocking this one off my TBR.

Ooh - this book was so good. I went into it not knowing much about it and was delightfully surprised. It is a post-apocalyptic zombie novel - but a *literary* post-apocalyptic zombie novel. As such, it is a beautiful meditation on life and memory and the nature of being, but with some moments that are somewhat humorous or make you go “huh”. Highly recommended!

This is the third and final novel in the De Luca trilogy and unfortunately it was a bit of a pass for me. It picks up a few years after the second novel, and the cliffhanger from that novel is not fully explained. De Luca has been demoted to the vice unit in Bologne where he again falls into a homicide case. While the politics of the time are interesting, the plot felt weak and it also ended on a cliffhanger with no further books in the series.

This book definitely lived up to the buzz. Elena‘s daughter has been found dead, and she doesn‘t believe it was suicide. In a single day, despite her Parkinson‘s, she traverses the city to the only person she believes can help. I do not want to give too much away, but it is a stinging indictment of the church and attitudes towards women, who holds control and the attitudes and hate women internalize. Definitely reading more Pineiro!

This was my first finished book of the year and gotta say this one just really didn‘t work for me. Gisler is a Swiss writer and yet I kept feeling like the book was Japanese fiction as it had that feeling to it. A brother and sister care for their nearly feral, mostly housebound uncle. Sadly, I just didn‘t see the point.

It was absolutely lovely to end off 2024 with this book, one of my favourites for the whole year. Ruth steps in and takes responsibility for her granddaughter Lily, as her daughter Eleanor is a drug addict. This is such a gentle story of a woman leading a hard life, who keeps going and offers the best of herself to her granddaughter. Beautiful and heartbreaking and a rare book that brought me to tears.