Welcome to Litsy!

It took a while but my Vermont librarian found a copy at the Boston Public Library. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read.

A father kills his wife and children, leaving one boy hiding in a closet. Years later the son returns to the island to try to work through his memories & his own sense of guilt. The residents and the uncle who welcomes the son back display their hesitancy in knowing how to approach him. The island itself is beautifully captured. So good.

I‘m so drawn to books set in remote locations, where the setting almost ends up being its own character. This was no exception! What a beautifully written book. Quiet, but gripping at times, a little mystery thrown in, but mainly asks the question: how do you keep going when your entire family is ripped away? “You didn‘t do anything wrong, Tommy. You only survived.” I loved this.

This very moving book begins with a terrible act of violence. 20 plus yrs later, a young man returns to a remote Scottish island, and what follows is a gentle but compulsive story of his interaction with his very quiet uncle who has to confront the past, as well as the few residents dusturbed by his return. Beautifully written, this will be one of my books of the year.

It was a hard choice between Our Fathers and Amina. So different but both so good. Just like last year, my first two picks of the year came from #auldlangspine match

I had seen many good reviews, and this book didn‘t disappoint. This is a harrowing story of family violence and those who are left behind. The way that stories get re-written and memories that we think are real are not. It is about what a community sees or chooses to see and what it deliberately does not see; how it helps and how it hinders. It is not an easy story to read, but it is beautifully written and so important. #europacollective

What an astounding book. I am so grateful to have encountered it. An amazing end to a Sunday evening with tea and 🥐
#auldlangspine #europacollective #192025 Litsy has made my reading life so much richer and I love you all for it.

Oh my ghosts, my lovely ghosts. Come with me.

90 pages in and this book is nothing like what I had thought it would be when I missed reading it with #europacollective last summer. I am so glad it was on the @TheKidUpstairs #auldlangspine2024 list to prompt me to return to it. It‘s gorgeous and atmospheric despite the gruesome subject. And I am hooked to find the secrets to be revealed.

Looked what arrived in today‘s mail, @Deblovestoread . Thank you so much for thinking of me. The book sounds great. 🥰😘❤️

#12DaysofChristmas #September

I cannot choose between these two books written by Rebecca Wait. Both are 5 🌟 reads. They and The Covenant of Water made September an excellent reading month.

@Andrew65

#12DaysOfChristmas #12BooksOf2023

I adored this book. Not only was it September‘s favorite but also that of the whole year. The desolate setting in the Scottish Hebrides, the uncle and his long lost nephew. Two men of so few words, yet looking for answers.

I have three books I'm trying to finish today (hahaha, dream on), but none of them are favorites. So, here is my 2023 bracket!

Tommy was just eight years old when his father murdered his mother and two siblings on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. Many years later, he‘s back for a visit and also to try to come to terms with his life. By the end of the book, we learn all the secrets as well as the histories of all the major characters. This book will stay with you.

My oldest is a university graduate 💛💜👏🏻 I got to finish my book driving to and from and I‘m thankful for the hope at the end

What a book. Such beautiful writing and descriptions in the midst of unimaginable horror. The character development is impeccable. I was sad when it ended and will be thinking about Tommy and his family for a long time. I‘m officially a Rebecca Wait fan after this one.

@BarbaraBB

Friday night is basically a repeat of Thursday but with higher end chips. Do I know how to party, or what?!

Phenomenal. A quiet, powerful, devastating story about a man who commits a terrible crime. Years later, the only survivor returns to the island he once called home, adrift & struggling with being the one to survive. He isn‘t the only one who wonders about that night, about his father, about what led to the horrific act of violence. I read this for my IRL book club & I‘m sure it‘ll make for a very interesting discussion. Highly recommended.

Totally uninvited, I jumped on the #EuropaCollective read for September after seeing so much love for this one. I‘m telling you, I was blown away!! Themes of isolation, memory, guilt, and inheritance are expertly expressed through grown Tom, who‘s returned to his childhood home on a remote island where he experienced unbearable trauma. Will he be able to heal from the wounds of his past by facing the pain of returning home? A top book of the year!

An uncorrected proof—which clearly states is not for resale on the cover—is not what I ordered but it‘s what I got. Sigh. The dangers of buying used books online I suppose. This is the first time it‘s happened to me (but probably not the last). That being said, I didn‘t pay a lot and I‘m not disappointed to have an ARC—it‘s always fun to compare it with the published edition—so it could be worse.

#Two4Tuesday

🍁 Tagged is my one 5🌟read for September.

🍁🍁 Scarathalon…the reading, the games, the community, the fun 🎃

Tagging everyone!

My weekend feels like I‘m spinning my wheels as I try to do some school work, clean my house, get weeds in the garden under control, catch up on reading, do 4 loads of laundry ( I do love doing laundry so that‘s not a big deal) and take it easy. Simultaneously. #mentalmadness but it feels like summer so I only want to do outside things

What a great start for #EuropaCollective - 5/5

What does it mean to be the only survivor of a family massacre? How to live with being related to a man capable of such atrocities? How to make sense of such a tragedy? What could have been done differently? How to live with ghosts?

All these questions are present in this beautifully written book. Every word, every sentence rings right, feels true. This novel is a tour de force. It's just perfect.

I've been slowly collecting Europa Editions titles for years (probably starting with Elegance of the Hedgehog?), so I've been very much looking forward to our first #EuropaCollective read. This book did everything right for me. I'm drawn to fiction with a literally bleak landscape, and Litta was perfect. I was so shocked by the "bombshell" surprise at the end, BUT what Tommy said to Fiona at the end put everything in perspective so well.

I absolutely tore through this one—it was incredibly compelling even through it was not especially plot-driven. The book examines the psychology of a small, tight-knit community, and how social expectations weigh differently on people of different temperaments. How pride and a desire not to be found lacking can catastrophically hinder communication and intimacy even in a place where everyone knows everyone else‘s business. Gripping and profound.

#EuropaCollective

#IdiomInsight Day 15: There is a literal and metaphorical #UnderTheWeather vibe to this book that is grim, brooding, and grief-stricken. I love our first #EuropaCollective title. I have been abandoning novels left and right so I am glad to have finished reading this while reading three other novels I have been reading on and off for months now.

#EuropaCollective

I collect Europa Editions because they are, bar none, fabulous reads. This was no exception.
Tom, the only survivor of a family annihilation tragedy that took place when he was young, returns, floundering, to the isolated island where it happened. His return stirs up emotions and fears in the islanders as they are all forced to deal with the slow motion fall-out of the event and what led up to it. Beautifully, movingly done.

There‘s not much more that I can add to all of the other #europacollective reviews for this wonderful book.

It‘s a quiet book but with a powerful impact - loved the burgeoning relationship between Malcolm and Tom. Did anyone else think that they‘ll stay in touch?

As you can see we‘re having a ‘van day‘ in the Lakes due to the iffy weather…. Much reading will be done today!

Emily St. John Mandel‘s blurb on the front accurately describes this book. It will definitely be on my best of 23 list and I will be thinking about it and sharing it often. Excellent 5🌟

Thanks @jlhammar for starting #EuropaCollective This book might not have come to my attention otherwise. And I can‘t wait to read what‘s next. I think Europa Editions has magic sauce in picking out their publications.

#SummerEndReadathon Book 6 of 20

#EuropaCollective

#EuropaCollective

“He would never again forget that although he and John had grown up in the same house, they had each had a different set of parents, an entirely different childhood.”

I often wonder if this is always true or just in homes that are dysfunctional.

Loving this book so far!

#IdiomInsight Day 9: The only survivor of a family trauma / tragedy inevitably feels #DownForTheCount in this atmospheric novel where setting and weather almost play like another character. Brooding, grim, and haunted. I am loving this #EuropaCollective pick for the month of September. 💕

Brilliant!! 💫 An incredibly tense & gripping atmosphere pervades the story as characters plumb the depths of their guilt over the murder of a local family. The physical and emotional isolation makes it palpably claustrophobic, and the desolation of a Hebridean island is the perfect setting! #europacollective

I don't know what I can add to all the other reviews praising this book. It was absolutely brilliant, definitely one of the best of the year for me.

Years ago, on a remote island in the Hebrides, John Baird murdered his wife and two of his children before turning the gun on himself. Now, surviving son Tom returns to the island to try and find sense in the riot of memories that haunt his brain.

Cont'd in comments...

This is me…..🤣

The temperature has finally dropped a bit, so I can enjoy some outdoor reading time. This book is absolutely fantastic so far. I'm so glad it was chosen for this month's #EuropaCollective read, I don't think I would have read it otherwise!

Our. #EuropaCollective title for the month is also a fit for #IdiomInsight Day 8 since this is murder #FairAndSquare

Grrrraaaah!

Does anyone else have issues with hoopla jumping around in a book? I was reading the tagged, and it jumped ahead a chapter, then jumped a couple pages forward again. When I tried going back a couple pages to find my place again it jumped straight back to the beginning.

So frustrating, and it's not the first time this has happened. Off to buy the book instead!

“Oh my ghosts, he thought. My lovely ghosts. Come with me; we‘ll try Glasgow.”

What a moving closing passage 😭 Our first #EuropaCollective pick is a stunner! I loved it. Deeply affecting. And wow, the writing! So many tender and insightful passages that stopped me in my readerly tracks. See comments below for some of my favorites. I definitely need to seek out some more Wait.

Can‘t wait to read all of your thoughts in the days and weeks ahead!

#EuropaCollective ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I kept putting away this book because I didn‘t want to read on, didn‘t want it to end. It is drowned in sadness. The desolate setting of a small Scottish island. A father killing his family, a surviving son.
Years later Tommy returns to the place that has haunted him ever since.
And yet. The “terrible beauty” of the island, the awkward kindness of his father‘s brother. Two men of few words, looking for answers. ⬇️

I couldn‘t get a copy of the book. So , kindle it is.
I was very excited as I started this book .. ‘ Thriller of the Year‘ and so it began. I thought it was good , just not what I expected. It turned out differently, more of a thoughtful book. I loved the Scottish island, the weather, the people. A deep reflection on Tommys tragic life. I did enjoy it. I just wanted ( expected ) to be more scared 🙈. A pick 👍🏻 #EuropaCollective

“If she had survived, Katrina would have said what people always say: that it had been a day like any other.”

#FirstLineFridays
#EuropaCollective

Repost for @jlhammar

#EuropaCollective ✨September 2023✨

Salutations Storks,

It‘s almost time for our inaugural read, Our Fathers by Rebecca Wait. Read the book sometime in September, post your review &/or any thoughts along the way and be sure to tag the group.

All are welcome!

Original post - https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2626207

#EuropaCollective ✨September 2023✨

Salutations Storks,

It‘s almost time for our inaugural read, Our Fathers by Rebecca Wait. Read the book sometime in September, post your review &/or any thoughts along the way and be sure to tag the group.

All are welcome!

Our first six reads for #EuropaCollective! Thanks to everyone who helped with the selection process this week. It was so fun and I can‘t wait to read all of these with you!

SEPT23 Our Fathers - R. Wait
DEC23 A Novel Bookstore - L. Cossé
MAR24 The Postcard - A. Berest
JUN24 The Road to Dalton - S. Bowring
SEPT24 A Long Way From Verona - J. Gardam
DEC24 Belle Greene - A. Lapierre

I‘ll post reminders during the lead-up. All are welcome.

Okay #EuropaCollective, let the voting begin! I hope you haven‘t read either of these yet. I‘ve got back-up choices if you have.

Which of these would you most like to read in September? I‘ll add links to the Europa catalog in the comments.

If anyone plans to join us that I didn‘t tag, do let me know. All are welcome to read along with us!

This was recommended by a dear friend who has never steered me wrong. She usually challenges me to move out of my reading comfort zone, and it looks as if this do the same.

I really like this authors writing, she writes families, fears and miscommunications so well. This is quite a sad little read, claustrophobic setting on a small Scottish island, but I was engrossed as we found out what happened.

Short and simple but emotionally resonant. The only survivor of a brutal murder returns to his home island in the Hebrides to make sense of his memories and his similarities to his father, the murderer. I finished this in a few hours and maybe it won‘t stick in my memory loads, but it was nicely written and had very precise restraint, not too melodramatic. Between a so so and a pick but I recommend if you like a more gentle emotional thriller