I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland, but definitely not the Ireland in this book. The Heart’s Invisible Furies tells the story of post-World War II Ireland, a country culturally under the thumb of an oppressive Catholic Church. Most of my understanding of the legal impact of Catholicism in Ireland was in relation to abortion rights (or lack thereof) and horrifying institutions for unwed mothers, so it makes sense that it would be an equally horrible, horrible place to be gay. And oh boy. So this is […]
Love can overcome any obstacle
This is my SHINY SHINY SHINY book While I really enjoyed Echo’s Sister by Paul Moiser, the writing is in a “debut author” style (meaning it can be a little “unsmooth” at times) even though this is his second book. It is also overly optimistic and “sweet” while dealing with a tough subject. With all that said, it is aimed perfectly at the audience of ages (high reader or concept understanding) 8 or 9-year-old up to about 10 years old. However, a slightly older […]
No amount of redistribution or reorganisation of rotten meat will make a dead body more palatable.
Quarter Cannonball achievement unlocked! I am a huge fan of Mary Shelley and the Frankenstein story, so I was super intrigued by Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi. I wasn’t disappointed by this retelling, some of it told from the monster’s point of view, but I’ll admit there were parts of the story that just didn’t grab me. Frankenstein in Baghdad is a darkly comic story of life in Baghdad during the years just after the US invasion of Iraq. It’s an English translation from the original Arabic, so I’m […]
When Uncle Stevie tells us that a book is scary, we should most definitely listen. #CBR10Bingo
I’ve been away on vacation (or a series of vacations) for a little over a month, and have a large stack of books to review. But this one had to be first. The quiet horror of it will last with me for a long time. I first heard about The Hunger from Stephen King, who tweeted about it in March: THE HUNGER, by Alma Katsu: Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark. Of course, that shot it up to the […]