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The Lost Book of Adana Moreau
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau: A Novel | Michael Zapata
The mesmerizing story of a Latin American science fiction writer and the lives her lost manuscript unites decades later in post-Katrina New Orleans In 1929 in New Orleans, a Dominican immigrant named Adana Moreau writes a science fiction novel titled Lost City. It is a strange and beautiful novel, set in a near future where a sixteen-year-old Dominican girl, not all that unlike Adana herself, searches for a golden eternal city believed to exist somewhere on a parallel Earth. Lost City earns a modest but enthusiastic readership, and Adana begins a sequel. Then she falls gravely ill. Just before she dies, she and her son, Maxwell, destroy the only copy of the manuscript. Decades later in Chicago, Saul Drower is cleaning out his dead grandfathers home when he discovers a mysterious package containing a manuscript titled A Model Earth, written by none other than Adana Moreau. Who was Adana Moreau? How did Sauls grandfather, a Jewish immigrant born on a steamship to parents fleeing the aftershocks of the Russian Revolution, come across this unpublished, lost manuscript? Where is Adana Moreaus mysterious son, Maxwell, a theoretical physicist, and why did Sauls grandfather send him the manuscript as his final act in life? With the help of his friend Javier, Saul tracks down an address for Maxwell in New Orleans, which is caught at that moment in the grip of Hurricane Katrina. Unable to reach Maxwell, Saul and Javier head south through the heartland of America toward that storm-ravaged city in search of answers. Blending the high-stakes mystery of The Shadow of the Wind, the science fiction echoes of Exit West, and the lyrical signatures of Bolao and Mrquez, Michael Zapatas debut shines a breathtaking new light on the experiences of displacement and exile that define our nation. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a brilliantly layered masterpiece that announces the arrival of a bold new literary talent.
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Twocougs
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Pickpick

Superb writing, fascinating story go back and forth in time.

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Cortg
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I think I would have preferred to have read a physical copy rather than the audio for this one. I enjoyed the story, characters, and friendships and how the characters are interwoven together around a science fiction book. I also like how the outcome of a sequel was completed. It was a sad story but I loved that Maxwell‘s father was a pirate! #pop22 ~ a book with a constellation on the cover

Cinfhen It‘s funny, certain books REALLY are meant to be read vs listened to and sometimes some books NEED to be heard!!! 1y
squirrelbrain What a fab cover! ❤️ 1y
Cortg @Cinfhen True that! 1y
Cortg @squirrelbrain Right?! I picked this one up BECAUSE of the cover. Not gonna lie. 1y
Megabooks Great choice for this prompt! 1y
36 likes5 comments
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TracyReadsBooks
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Pickpick

Disappointed to say I didn‘t love this one. After the first section, which I really liked, it just never really came together for me. This story of a young man trying to return a book to the author‘s son delves into displacement, parallel universes, friendship, & the power of stories. The writing is generally very good & occasionally great, many of the ideas interesting, but after a fast start, the pacing slowed & the story was just okay.

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TracyReadsBooks
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I also started this one today and wow is the writing good. Also loving the story…

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mcctrish
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It was finally above 0° so I could go for a swim ??‍♀️ this book ( a debut) is amazing! It is so many things; a book about connections, friendship, writing, the power of a story, living in exile, family ( biological or chosen). The ‘Lost Book‘ is fantastical but this book is fantastic

Palimpsest I loved this book! 2y
DivineDiana You are swimming outdoors!?! 😲 2y
TracyReadsBooks The author Kathleen Rooney often came to the bookstore where I worked. Whenever she did, I asked her for a recommendation and this book was the most recent one she gave me. I‘ll have to move it up in the TBR pile! 2y
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mcctrish @DivineDiana it is heated 🤣🤣 2y
mcctrish @TracyReadsBooks this would be a really great book club book, there are so many things going on ( connections, stories that unravel, people in the story telling stories ) it‘s so well crafted ❤️❤️ (edited) 2y
mcctrish Also @TracyReadsBooks how awesome to get book suggestions from KR 🤯❤️ 2y
TracyReadsBooks @mcctrish She‘s lovely! Perhaps you can catch her on tour someday! 2y
TracyReadsBooks @mcctrish Also, I love that you think this would make for a good book club book—I might have to suggest it to mine! 2y
53 likes8 comments
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mcctrish
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Started this today. I love the cover

shawnmooney This looks interesting! If you end up liking it, I‘d like to have you on Bite-sized Book Chats to chat about it. Interested? The playlist is here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU-61cZp1pQdBH5V0Zb9q-2ujl4PY8nhf 2y
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Michael_Gee
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Has anyone read the tagged book or the other two pictured? They all intrigue me and I‘m trying to come up with a book club suggestion.

SamAnne I‘ve read Fruit of the Drunken Tree. It was a 3.5 star read for me. It really puts the reader in Bogota Columbia during the drug wars of the early 90s and paints a vivid picture of the different realities of the haves and have nots. It was a decent book club read with good discussion. 3y
Michael_Gee @SamAnne Thank you! 3y
Reggie I loved Fruit of the Drunken Tree. It was one of my favorites from 2 years ago. 3y
Michael_Gee @Reggie oh nice!! 3y
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Palimpsest
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Thanks for the tag @vivastory This was hard to narrow down. I haven‘t read that many books this year, but I‘ve been fortunate to have liked almost all of them. This is the stack I‘ve narrowed it down to as Sense & Sensibility was a re-read. The tagged book is a runner up as it is a wonderful book as well. Would you care to share @jenniferw88 and @CarolynM #top6reads

vivastory Great choices! I've read large portions of the Basbanes, need to read it all the way through someday...what do you think of the forthcoming Luhrman adaptation of Master & Margarita? 4y
Velvetfur @vivastory What - Baz Luhrman is doing a film of The Master and Margarita?!?! I suspect one of my favourite books is about to get butchered.... I've never been able to watch one of his films all the way through! Thanks for the heads up, I'm going to Google it now 👍🏻 4y
Velvetfur @vivastory (btw I know there's been a few films of it already, which I haven't seen, but I just don't like Luhrman films! No offence meant if you like his films, they're just not my kinda thing!) 4y
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Palimpsest @vivastory the Basbanes is long, I really did enjoy the first half about the older books better, but felt it worth reading. If I had heard about a Master and Margarita adaptation I had forgotten, but I can imagine Baz Luhrman possibly getting it right when I picture Moulin Rouge, one of my favorites. Especially with the spectacle of the theater. I know it‘s Russian, but I pictured German Expressionist garish colors, chartreuse, absinthe green, 👇 4y
Palimpsest So I think it could work. I pictured Koroviev as the man from Singin‘ in the Rain as he‘s describing what a talking picture is, but he‘s long dead and I don‘t know his name, that‘s just who I pictured when I read the book. I loved the jump back to Jerusalem so much in the novel. I‘ve never seen a film adaptation of it before. I‘m hoping, like the forthcoming Rebecca that it‘s done well. Always hard when it‘s a favorite though. How about you? 4y
CarolynM Thanks for the tag😘 4y
57 likes6 comments
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Mogoeg
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Whew, this book is so damn good, I hardly know what to say. It‘s full of stories & voices & lives - sad & beautiful & defiant & enduring. It‘s also filled to overflowing with wonderful & mostly imaginary books (I know because I looked so many of them up!)- books of sci fi & history & theoretical physics & I want to read them all. It‘s the kind of book that you can open at random & read something wise or moving or just incredibly evocative.

Butterfinger Great review!! 4y
Palimpsest I loved this book 4y
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Nitpickyabouttrains
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This book said it was about a woman who wrote one book in the 1920/30s and another which was lost to time. But it was really full of tales and stories of survival and revolution. It was a story about families. Extremely well done.

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transemr
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transemr
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my haul from CityLit Books and Roscoe Books #shopsmall #supportindiebookstores #shoplocal #chicagobooks

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JSW
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I liked this one, but it's definitely not for everyone. It doesn't really fall cleanly into a category. Zapata plays with overlapping generational narratives, treating time as something to be crossed (like a border, like a sea). The stories weave in and out and the writing is very good. A thoughtful, cerebral book of stories.

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CindyE09
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Overall enjoyed this novel within a novel that focuses and storytelling and memory. It had some pacing issues and was a bit over-ambitious in what is was trying to achieve, but the individual stories were interesting themselves even if the combination of them was a bit messy.

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Chelsea.Poole
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A very ambitious #weeklyforecast
I don't think I'll get to all of these this week, but these are my next reads. I had to stop in at the library to get these jewels while we are closed. I had to stop anyway to do some business as well. #libraryhaul

Smartypants I can‘t wait to hear what you think of The Water Dancer! 4y
juliegumdrop Ten Thousand Doors of January is very good! 4y
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ElleMNOpe
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Panpan

A case of “it's not you, it's me. I could not connect with this book. Feeling like an attempt to fit too much into a small space, it has several timelines & subplots. Pacing is erratic, with long stretches of slow burn followed by quick bursts of intriguing movement. But, the writing is highly descriptive with excellent attention to detail & may be perfect for lovers of character-driven tales.

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The.Intentional.Reader
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This book was/is amazing! Definitely one of the best I have read in the past few years. Check it out if you get the chance.

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Redwritinghood
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I loved this book! It is an ode to classic storytelling and a memorial to the great sci-fi writers. It is a dual timeline story, but it is also a classic story cycle like the Arabian Nights (which the author alludes to many times in the beginning of the book). It is enchanting and peopled with fascinating but realistic characters. 5⭐️ #hoopla

ljuliel That‘s a unique cover. 4y
JennyM Ooo...I‘m curious. Sounds great 👍 4y
Palimpsest Yah! I loved it too! Nice review! 4y
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carys14
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So many layers within this beautiful yet sad story of a Dominican science fiction writer, her family and a lost manuscript. I likely missed a few layers as this is probabaly not the best book for multitasking. Book 27/100.

(Knitting while listening was fine but not so much working around the house over the weekend. Hopefully I will be done with the orange by the time I finish the next book).

Redwritinghood I‘m almost finished with this one and am loving it. 4y
Reagan Wow! The knitting is beautiful! What pattern? 4y
carys14 @Reagan thanks! It is a Hue Shift Afghan (my fourth one). Here is a picture of it before I added the dark orange and lilac. https://www.instagram.com/p/BrJZ_ULFwUQ/?igshid=1kw76ockkg5jt 4y
carys14 @Redwritinghood it was really good and so layered that I might need to do a reread at some point. 4y
Nute Gosh! Your knitting project is lovely! 4y
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Palimpsest
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Five stars. A beautiful novel about how we carry stories with us and how those stories connect us, it‘s about refugees and survival, science fiction and stars, beauty of unknown parallel earths, and the decisions we make and how they create our own worlds. I just loved this book and highly recommend it.

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MagdaRosol
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Hypnotic, interconnected, thrilling ode to storytelling.

5 likes1 stack add