Despite this book being raved about by so many, and making an appearance on tons of “My Favourite Books” lists, I had no idea what it was about. I picked it up on a whim during a long road trip when I just wasn’t feeling the books that I had packed (THIS is why you always overpack books, people!). From the description on the back cover, I was expecting an easy-breezy, chick lit style book about a quirky-but-loveable character – and initially that’s what it […]
It was the end of the world and it made me cry.
In 1859, during the Battle of Solferino, a young lieutenant saves the life of Emperor Franz Joseph I. of Austria, and so begins the story of the family Trotta, which is paralleled to the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The focus lies mostly on the son and grandson of the Hero of Solferino, who dies relatively early, although his legacy looms over their lives in the same way that the omnipresence of the emperor looms over the lives of his subjects. The book […]
Perhaps nothing is certain in this world, but at least we can believe in something.
Killing Commendatore (4 stars) There were parts of this book that brought me back to my favorite parts of 1Q84, but this book doesn’t equal that one in terms of quality, spirit, or impact. Which doesn’t make this a bad book – by any measure – but I don’t think it’s amongst Murakami’s greatest works. The protagonist of this book is unnamed. He’s an artist who’s fallen into portrait painting to make a living. His wife abruptly tells him that she wants a divorce, and […]
Life is Way Too Short to Spend Another Day at War With Yourself
If your plan was to start 2019 with a blast of body positivity, you might want to avoid this book. Through a series of 13 potentially standalone stories, Mona Awad focuses on Lizzie, self-described fat girl, from her teens to her late twenties. Awad is brutally masterful in her depiction of one young woman’s battle with her body and how that shapes in mostly horrifying ways the relationships she has in her life—with friends, family, and romantic partners. There is something so bleakly realistic about […]