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Gleefulreader

Gleefulreader

Joined May 2016

review
Gleefulreader
Moonlight | Guy de Maupassant
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Pickpick

I‘m really loving the Little Clothbound Classic series and how it introduces me to lesser known works. This short story collection was particularly good with many of the stories really standing out. In particular I found the title story, Moonlight, Happiness, Madame Husson‘s Rose King and especially Boule de Suif to be exceptional and thought provoking.

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Gleefulreader
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Mehso-so

We read this for a book club I‘m in… it isn‘t the type of book that would usually attract me. Margo is in her 60s when her second husband dies suddenly and she finds that she is left with nothing as he gambled it away. She is unused to doing anything for herself so this is essentially a coming of age for seniors. Lots of quirky characters and everything always works out. I can see the appeal as it is charming and funny but just a little too twee.

LiteraryHoarderPenny I love Lesley Crewe. I haven‘t read this one though. 17h
16 likes1 comment
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Gleefulreader
Aftershocks | Auour Jonsdottir
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Pickpick

Another book in translation… this one centres on Saga - a woman who wakes from a grand mal seizure with chunks of memory missing for key events - such as why her and her husband are divorced. The book is an exploration of family dynamics and secrets, trauma and repression. Overall a good book, even when I couldn‘t always feel sympathy for Saga.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

More from the Christmas Ghost Story series. I really enjoyed this one and while not specifically about Christmas, there is a message that makes this a particularly appropriate story for the holidays. Looking forward to the next one!

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Gleefulreader
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Mehso-so

I‘m really enjoying this series of ghost stories for Christmas although admittedly this was not my favourite. I just didn‘t find it engaging enough. Still, sort of like an advent calendar, a fun way to enjoy the time before the holidays.

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Gleefulreader
Of Cattle and Men | Ana Paula Maia
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Pickpick

This slim book had a slightly menacing quality from the first page. Set on a slaughterhouse in Brazil, it primarily follows Edgar, the man responsible for “stunning” the cattle who takes his job seriously, blessing each cow that passes by him. It examines the violence and madness that such a job entails - and the (for many) unacknowledged reality of how the meat gets to your table and the sacrifice of those who make it happen.

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Gleefulreader
A Nail, a Rose | MADELEINE. BOURDOUXHE
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Pickpick

This was a low pick for me. Bourdouxhe was a writer in France prior to and after WWII. Most of these stories focus on the experience of women around this time. I found there were a few stories that really grabbed my interest, and a few that didn‘t (not unlike a lot of short story collections). I am really enjoying diversifying and reading more in translation and non-contemporary works.

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Gleefulreader
How It Works Out | Myriam Lacroix
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Panpan

This was a recent read for book club and… yeah. It purports to be about what would happen if you could do your relationship over again (as my friend said, a Life After Life- type book), except that it is not. There is cannibalism which is over the top and a hammer-like metaphor for an all-consuming love. This book grew out of the author‘s own relationship (yes, one of the characters is named Myriam) and MFA process and it *really* shows.

monalyisha Too bad! Great cover design! 2w
16 likes1 comment
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Gleefulreader
Russian Gothic | Aleksandr Skorobogatov
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Panpan

I think that when a book makes it to the process of translation, perhaps there is a greater expectation of that book‘s worth. Ultimately, I found this just to be another horror story of the way that a man, with deep distrust, paranoia and mental health issues, is violent and destroys the woman he “loves”. It is not a story that says anything unique about Russia as it is a story found in every culture and offers nothing new.

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Gleefulreader
I Fear My Pain Interests You | Stephanie LaCava
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Pickpick

In many ways a difficult read, due to the subject matter. We follow the narrator - a young woman born to famous parents and grandmother, who have been cold and distant with her her entire life. After a bad breakup with an older Director, she heads to Montana where she meets with another older man who diagnoses her inability to feel pain. The story quickly turns dark as she finds herself in yet another dysfunctional relationship. Con‘t in comments

Gleefulreader This is a dark story about the price exacted on the children of the famous, and the ways in which men and society (and family) exploit young women. The story is told in nearly clinical language, but I found the ending fascinating, and it has stuck with me. 3w
sarahbarnes This does sound intriguing. 3w
17 likes2 comments
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Gleefulreader
Stories with Pictures | Antonio Tabucchi
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Mehso-so

Another book in translation. I was intrigued with the origins of these stories - each based on the artwork that precedes each story in the collection - and the idea that a story based on an artwork takes the story being told by the original artist in an entirely new direction. That said, while I enjoyed the first several stories, I found later stories and essays just too abstract and difficult to parse for my liking.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

Last of the recently read books. Another one from the Biblioasis Christmas Ghost Stories. This one is about the haunting of a small cottage that a woman lets for her aunt in a small village. Ghostly happenings ensue! The delightful thing about these books is the lack of gore or true horror… just a quick ghostly story suitable for almost anyone or age level. Terrific for family story time.

TheKidUpstairs I love Biblioasis, for many reasons, one of which is these excellent little Christmas ghost stories! 4w
14 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Gleefulreader
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Panpan

I think of myself as an adventurous reader, not put off by a more challenging book, but I have to admit i nearly gave up on this book. What is it about? No idea. The blurb says it is about a man revisiting memories, but there is so little structure or consistency it is hard to say. If you read it is poetry, I think it might work better. Aggressively defying categorization or narrative is the best I can say.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

Another short story from the Christmas Ghost Story collection by Biblioasis. This one is about the strange happenings on a nearby island to Venice and what happens when two people are rowed to the island one day, encountering a stray kitten.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

I am adoring this series of short, illustrated ghost stories that are put out by Biblioasis Press. It was a tradition during Victorian times that ghost stories were read at Christmas (although not necessarily about the holiday). This one was pretty good - about a bereaved father who suddenly finds enlightenment while walking home during a wild storm of thunder and lightning.

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Gleefulreader
A General Theory of Oblivion | Jos Eduardo Agualusa
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Pickpick

I am spending a lot of time lately with small press or non-North American writers. This book was fantastic - set in Angola during the revolution, it is the stories of a number of interconnected characters told in a manner similar to a short story. I enjoyed how we saw various sides of the conflict through different eyes, and the disillusionment of revolutionaries as time passes.

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Gleefulreader
Shred Sisters | Betsy Lerner
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Pickpick

Not always an easy read, but a compelling story of two sisters. Ollie is the sun around which her family revolves. Ollie also has severe mental health issues and blows in and out of their lives, causing chaos. Amy is the diligent, fastidious younger sister who spends her life cleaning up and making herself small. The story is told from Amy‘s point of view of loving, and sometimes hating, her sister and her effect on her own life.

7 likes1 stack add
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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

I wasn‘t sure with the first book in this series but I‘m so glad I continued because I‘ve grown incredibly fond of this gang. The mysteries are fun enough, but the real strength of this series lies in the humour and the genuine empathy Osman has for his characters and the beauty, and the losses, of aging. The characters are real - with all the same fears and longings that transcend age. I am very much looking forward to the next one.

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Gleefulreader
Gunflower | Laura Jean Mckay
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Pickpick

It took me a long time to finish this series of short stories as they were often challenging or were somewhat bleak in their outlook. They deal with modern society including our impact on the earth, and sometimes wander into speculative fiction. Standouts were the title story - of an offshore ship providing abortions, and the story “2020” - a pandemic story told from the perspective of a family of Covid deniers. A thought provoking collection.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

A rather bleak novella about a group of people working at a firm where they moderate online content for a significant, unnamed client. In only a handful of pages, it demonstrates the bureaucratic, corporate-speak nonsense the determines what remains online and what goes. It also shows, rather than tells, in incredibly detrimental nature of such work, and its impact and insidious effect on those who work in the industry. Depressing but important.

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Gleefulreader
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Panpan

Another book that took me longer to finish than it should have. These are older stories as Csath was writing in the early 1900s. The stories themselves were quite oppressive. Csath was an opium addict who eventually murdered his wife before committing suicide and many of his stories reflect the noise in his head. CW for animal abuse, etc. One of the few Europa that wasn‘t really for me. #europacollective

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Gleefulreader
The Beginners | Anne Serre
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Mehso-so

For a short book, this felt remarkably long. It is a translation from French, about a middle aged woman, Anna, who has a wonderful relationship with Guillaume. One summer she becomes obsessed with another man, with whom she embarks on an unusual affair. She is torn between the two men and much of the time is spent in her head trying to justify. She‘s an incredibly selfish and self-centred character and I just didn‘t care about the outcome.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

Just finished the 7th book in the Gamache series and I have to say I am finding these books better the further I go along. It absolutely required a suspension of belief that no one can find this village, that there are this many murders per person and that one man can be *this* good. And yet, I enjoyed the dive into the art world, the continued character development, and the examination of the many ways we hurt, and heal, others.

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Gleefulreader
Slowworm's Song | Andrew Miller
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Terrific day at the used bookstore with lots of great finds from Europa and other small presses. Also was able to hit the amazing periodical store (which unfortunately is closing after many years due to a rent hike - hoping desperately they can find a new location) and snagged the two most recent Paris Reviews. #europacollective

Lindy Elena Knows ❤️ 2mo
Tamra Enjoy Elena! It‘s marvelous. 2mo
11 likes2 comments
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Gleefulreader
We Meant Well: A Novel | Erum Shazia Hasan
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Pickpick

Read this one for the Heliconian Lecture Series. Maya works for a NGO in an unnamed African country and is asked to rush in site when a young woman from the community accuses one of the staff of rape. It is an examination of what the meaning of charity is, the chasm between the community and the visitors to that community. It is also a story of bias and complicity. Parts of the book didn‘t work and there is some clunky language, so a low pick.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

Another from the Massey Lecture series. Steiner‘s premise is that western civilization continues to look for certainties - in Marxism, in Freud, in astrology and the anthropology of Levi-Strauss - to fill the gap left behind by the decline of the Christian religion. He further posits that the search for ultimate scientific truth (for ex. that one day the earth will cease to exist) is something we cannot grasp which is why we turn elsewhere. Con‘t

Gleefulreader This is a good companion to The Prisons We Choose to Live Inside, and is still relevant today. Important note: it was written in 1974 and therefore there is some language in reference to hippies and their appropriation of Eastern culture that is outdated. 2mo
10 likes1 comment
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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

The last update on recently finished books. I read this on a combination of audio and kindle. An Irish family in London faces the possibility that their 11 year old daughter/granddaughter/niece has been accused of murdering a young girl in their housing estate. The death of the young child is just the route that it takes to examining unwed parenthood in Ireland in the 1980s, alcoholism, generational trauma and unintended consequences. Con‘t >

Gleefulreader It also looks at the nature of poverty and dead ends versus the dreams people have for their lives, particularly during the late 70s and early 80s in Ireland and Britain, and the viscious and predatory nature of the tabloid press. A brilliant book without easy answers. 2mo
BarbaraBB Great review. Brilliant book indeed 2mo
8 likes2 comments
blurb
Gleefulreader
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“The cults of unreason, the organized hysterias, the obscurantism which have become so important a feature of Western sensibility and behaviour during these last decades, are comical and often trivial to a degree; but they represent a failure of maturity, a self-demeaning, which are, in essence, tragic.”

As relevant today as it was in 1974.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

After seeing @BarbaraBB post about this book, I realized I had never reviewed it even though I continue to think about it months after I read it. A group of women has been imprisoned below ground by men. The youngest does not remember the before times and a sudden incident has the women released into a world where it seems everyone has perished. > more in comments.

Gleefulreader Cont‘d The book does not focus on the whys or hows of the initial conceit - why are the women there and what happened to their jailers. Instead, it is a deeper look at humanity and community in the face of privation, and how humanity can be rebuilt after it has been suppressed. What does it mean to be the last person alive? How do you go on? This is a book I will definitely read again as I find myself returning to it. 2mo
LiteraryinPA Wow, that sounds really impactful. 2mo
BarbaraBB Thank you for this wonderful review. Can‘t wait to read it. 2mo
IndianBookworm Have it on my TBR since years, can't wait to read it. 2mo
Anna40 Wow! Great review 2mo
14 likes4 stack adds5 comments
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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

This was an absolutely lovely fable about the power of grief. A father with two young boys faces the unexpected death of his wife. A crow - is it real? imagined? - comes to help heal the family through their grief. Despite the premise, it is never saccharine or sappy but instead raw and real in the ways people grapple with the death of a loved one. It reads in many parts like poetry and I feel it is a book I will return to. Highly recommended.

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Gleefulreader
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Mehso-so

Another recently finished book. This one sits between a so-so and a pick for me. A difficult and challenging read, I suspect that I would glean more from it on a second read. Set in the present in a norther country, it is a story of historical injustices and the ways that communities avoid facing their past, and personal complicity in those injustices. Not a fun read, but I think there is something worth the difficulty here.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

Catching up on some reviews of recent books. This is an older CBC Massey Lecture from 1985 that is just as relevant today. Lessing addresses our human tendency to fall prey to political rhetoric and unquestioning belief. She also examines our own personal responsibility for those “prisons” of unquestioning belief that we choose to live in. Thought provoking and timely.

Suet624 Ooohhh. Sounds good. 2mo
11 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Gleefulreader
Forgotten on Sunday | Valrie Perrin
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Pickpick

This was a recent vacation novel and as with all Valerie Perrin novels I have read thus far, quite good. Perrin is an expert at telling the stories about the secrets we keep, their long term impact and how we hurt and are hurt by others and how we heal. Perrin also doesn‘t need to tie everything up with a bow at the end or find resolution where perhaps it cannot ever exist. Thoughtful and sad.

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Gleefulreader
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Mehso-so

I recently read this for a book club that I was then unable to participate in, which was unfortunate as I would like to have heard others views. This is a book of short stories all centring on the indigenous Canadian experience. I felt some stories were stronger than others, and in cases some stories seemed repetitive. These stories were written before the author‘s first novel that was quite large and I think it shows.

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Gleefulreader
Killer in King's Cove | Iona Whishaw
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Pickpick

This is my first Lane Winslow mystery and I really quite enjoyed it. Set in post-WW2 Canada, the characters are quite delightful, as was the mystery. Cozy but not twee. Will definitely be reading more from this series!

Jaimelire Great series 3mo
15 likes1 comment
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Gleefulreader
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Mehso-so

A quick read that was hand sold to me in the local bookstore. Generally uplifting in that slightly twee way that seems to be a hallmark of this genre of a Japanese fiction. Talking animals and life lessons and all that. The translation was better than others out there with dialogue that flowed a bit better. I think if you love this genre of book, you will enjoy this for sure.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

Nothing better than a book stack haul after a vacation (this time in Palm Springs and Los Angeles where I visited The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs and Skylight Books, respectively. Tagged book is part of the Wildsam travel guides which I highly recommend. Where most travel guides just give you a list of things to see, this is more like a mini history of the location. Absolutely fabulous!

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Gleefulreader
Gallows View | Peter Robinson
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Pickpick

My first Inspector Banks book and I have to say I‘m a fan. While it was written many years ago now - leading to some outdated scenes (smoking in an office!) - it still contained some frank and interesting observations about changing views and gender roles, marriage, sexuality and policing - all while covering three interesting and entertaining mysteries. Definitely going to be back for more!

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Gleefulreader
My Murder | Katie Williams
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Mehso-so

Another book that didn‘t quite work for me although I can see how and why it would be quite popular. A group of women have all been murdered by a serial killer and have been brought back to life by the “Replication Committee”. One woman works to investigate the mystery of her murder. An interesting conceit and covers some heavy issues like post-partum depression, but ultimately it just felt too far fetched for my liking.

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Gleefulreader
Behind You: A Novel | Catherine Hernandez
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Mehso-so

I read this for an upcoming book club, and while I wanted to love it, it just didn‘t quite work for me. It attempts to grapple with the effects on women who lived through the era of the Scarborough Rapist/Paul Bernanrdo, told through a fictional lens. Unfortunately there was just too many other topics that covered and it didn‘t quite gel for me. There was also some horrendously bad dialogue. I appreciated the attempt but it didn‘t quite get there.

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Gleefulreader
Eastbound | Maylis de Kerangal
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Pickpick

I‘ve been on a real small press/translation kick lately, and this slim volume did not disappoint. This is set in modern Russia on a train traversing the country. Two strangers meet - a French woman leaving a relationship and a young man recently conscripted into the army and travelling to his post with a group of conscripts. A stifling view of modern Russia where freedom is still incredibly limited.

Suet624 I liked this one too. 4mo
18 likes1 comment
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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

In an unusual twist for me, I watched the series of this prior to reading the books as I hadn‘t realized it was a book series first. That said, I really enjoyed this take on the police procedural and that Det Roy Grace as more depth and compassion than many of the literary police detectives. The book hewed closely to the episode of the series but I‘ll definitely be reading more.

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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

This was as good as the reviews had suggested it would be. A lovely story of two sisters told from both their viewpoints alternating between present day and the past, as they have a week vacation together in their recently-deceased grandmother‘s house. It deals with many difficult topics - abuse, mental health, infertility - but ultimately is about the beauty of a sibling relationship with all its ups and downs. Highly recommend. #europacollective

14 likes1 stack add
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Gleefulreader
The Island of Last Truth | Flavia Company
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Pickpick

An intriguing hier novella that is part adventure story, part mystery.

A man ends up stranded on a deserted island for with another person. When he returns he does not tell his story for years until he is ill and dying at which point he finally tells his story to be published. Interesting, thought provoking and with a great twist. #europacollective

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Gleefulreader
Our Strangers | Lydia Davis
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Lydia Davis is lauded as a US treasure and a master of short stories, but I think she is an author who inspires either adoration or rage - I can‘t see there is any middle ground. Her short stories are *short* - indeed sometimes they are only 2 lines. Can these still be called short stories? However she is a master at calling attention to the unnoticed moments in life. These don‘t seem to linger in the memory but were enjoyable nibbles of prose.

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Gleefulreader
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Mehso-so

Not quite sure what to make of this book. It fits into a genre of Italian literature in which comedy, satire and in this case, murder mystery are used to illustrate deeper social issues. I liked the construction of the novel where we first hear from a character, then followed by the accused‘s journal entries of his interactions with that person. The mystery component was…meh, but the theme of racism in Italy was fascinating. #europacollective

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Gleefulreader
The Missing Word | Concita De Gregorio
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Pickpick

This is sold as a novel, but is based on a true story, and the author‘s interviews with, a woman whose husband (while separated) did not return her twin daughters at the end of his parenting time, committed suicide and the children were never found. It is gut wrenching and harrowing yet absolutely gorgeous as it explores loss and memory and how one can still love and wish to live in the face of devastation. #europacollective

BarbaraBB What a beautiful cover 🥰 4mo
10 likes1 comment
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Gleefulreader
Goodnight Tokyo | Atsuhiro Yoshida
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Pickpick

An interesting book of short vignettes where various characters meet and intersect and storylines converge over several nights in Tokyo. A quiet but fast and engaging read. #europacollective

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Gleefulreader
The Unknown Bridesmaid | Margaret Forster
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Pickpick

Another Europa Editions, and I continue to be impressed by the titles they publish. This book offered no easy answers or resolution, but rather was a look at the impact of childhood secrets, trauma and disruption. Without offering excuses it examines the impact on children of responsibility and feeling beholden to others, and how that can result in undesirable behaviour and the accompanying guilt. Lots to think about here. #europacollective

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Gleefulreader
The Feast | Margaret Kennedy
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Mehso-so

Finished a little bit ago. This is an older book, but interesting to see it in context of how it was written, and set, after the Second World War and its impact on England. It was interesting exploration of the impact of the war in terms of rations/economy, disruption to class structure, and perceptions of those who “skipped” the war. At times the book dragged a bit but I enjoyed the ending with its lack of resolution despite the dramatic events.

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