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In a Strange Room is a thoughtful meditation on the power of solitude. Being alone in an alien environment is the motif of this novel. Galgut explores the power of solitude and alienation to help us to understand ourselves and our place in the world. All this makes it sound like a peppy, Eat, Pray, Love kind of story but it‘s far from it. This is a novel about difficult, confronting experiences in a world that defies human mastery.

I thought this book quite brilliant I loved the slipping from first to third person. That is just like what it is to recall the past. Highly recommended

Read this for uni and during a #readathon over on instagram and really REALLY loved it. It's subtle in its approach to sexuality and honest with how neurotypical people respond to mental illness, while recognising it as not great. Also the main characters avoidance issues are incredibly relateable, with issues in intimacies romantic and platonic alike, and using travel as an escape method every time it goes wrong.

Starting a new book on a lazy Sunday morning ☕️

This is such an odd book, I am still undecided about it. The switch between the third and the first narrator is confusing at times but the prose aches with a certain melancholy and loneliness. Also, there are a few lines which are worth remembering. An interesting read nonetheless.

I'm actually still undecided about this book. It was an impulse borrow from the library. I found the odd way in which the author fluctuated between third and first person was confusing yet effective. I may look out some of his other books.

Complex. Stunning. Beautiful. Harrowing. Original. (I recommend a bit of Beniamino Gigli as a great musical score while reading.)

When a book is described as an intense study of loneliness, I have no choice but to read it.

$5 book sale find #18:
I'm into South African fiction. I really liked his novel 'The Good Doctor' when I read it a decade or so ago. Time to see what else he's been up to…