Welcome to Litsy!

We meet Gopi in the aftermath of losing her mother. She's the youngest of 3 girls and Dad, in his quiet way, isn't coping. No one in this family is dealing with their grief.

Grief and loss open up massive spaces and Gopi fills her space by playing Squash at Western Lane every day.

This is a short book at less than 200 pages but I feel like it needs a good edit. I like what this book is trying to communicate but the execution falls flat.

6th book read from the Women‘s Prize for fiction-long list
😬Sorry this one didn‘t work for me. I‘m not a fan of novels about sport even though the story has other topics. I wasn‘t interested in the story and I couldn‘t believe so decision made. 2.5/3⭐️

Moving one-sitting read. I liked it, but not nearly as much as the other two #WomensPrize titles I‘ve read (Ordinary Human Failings and Brotherless Night).

Was this a victim of overhype? Should I have read a print copy rather than listening to the audiobook? I‘m not sure but I feel like whatever the multiple nominating committees of various prizes found in this I missed. I appreciated the way squash takes center stage but otherwise was disconnected from the characters.

The description and cover suggest this short novel is all about squash and, while it is, it‘s also about grief, connections, and trying to find your way after major loss. Gopi is 11 when her mother dies, and she and her father cling to the game they both know, steeping themselves in it, as they try to cope with going forward without her. I really liked this and, frankly, didn‘t expect to.

A well crafted story about grief and a family left behind. While I found it interesting that squash was at the center of this - and I learned a lot about the sport from the book and much googling - the characters where a bit basic, and overall the story a bit bland. Unfortunatly this is not a book that is going to stick with me. It was a quick an easy to get through read.

Read for the Women's Prize for Fiction Long List 2024
3⭐

I got a little buzz from the #Booker2023 award, and ordered these five the same night. They just arrived.

Three sisters mourn their mother and try to accommodate their father's grief while also defying the expectation that he can't raise them on his own. The youngest plays squash compulsively and watches old Jahangir Khan matches with her father. Nothing much happens. This is all vibe, and only the sketch of a plot, but I found it surprisingly captivating. Even the squash trivia.
#booker
#womensprize #longlist #womensprize2024

When your current read suddenly intersects with your surroundings. It's currently Diwali and I can hear fireworks in the distance. 😃

This slight novel packs a big emotional punch. It‘s the story of a family grieving the loss of their mother / wife and channeling those feelings into competitive squash. I know nothing about squash and yet this books could‘ve been 4x as long and I‘d have loved every bit of it.

A curious book to get on the booker shortlist ahead of some others I rd however it was a very readable story about a young girl in a English Pakistani family + her 2 sisters deal with the grief of losing their mother. The grief that she + her father feel is managed by his obsession with his daughters becoming squash greats like his hero jahangir Khan. The book combined squash + family life well, altho I wondered what wd happen next. Lovely cover

I moved from Alberta to BC in October and I noticed that it affected my reading. I was fussier, for one thing (and didn't finish 3, which is unusual for me). Another thing is that I was particularly drawn to visual narratives. I've tagged my favourite of the month, although I haven't gotten around to writing a review for it yet.

Friday Reads October 6: Canada World Youth in Sri Lanka; National Book Award for Young People‘s Literature; memoirs in audio & comics; etymology; blindness; travel; graphic novels for kids and teens; Booker books

https://youtu.be/qc7hOdhZuVo

#booktube

I really wasn‘t planning on reading the Booker shortlist but I was curious and ended up checking to see what was available at my library and one thing led to another. Honestly not sure how how this book about a grieving family made the short list. There was nothing that stood out to me in the story or the writing other than the fact I have never to my recollection read a book where a character plays squash.

This slim novel about a man and his daughters struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife/their mother has some beautiful wetting, and lots of imagery, but somehow failed to hit the mark with me. Call me low-brow, but for a novel about racquet sports, I preferred Carrie Soto is Back

#BookerPrizeLongList
Third finish for #SummerEndReadathon @TheSpineView
#Rushathon @DieAReader @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES

Book number 6 for our longlist panel.

Another book about grief and parental loss from this list. Makes me wonder if the Booker judges have some unresolved issues. Surely not all top books published jn the last year revolved around parental loss.

It‘s an average book. Not terrible but certainly not one of the top 13 books. You can read our full reviews here: https://thereadersroom.org/2023/09/04/2023-booker-longlist-western-lane-by-chetn...

I found Western Lane to be “meh”. The writing was fine, the characters were fine but I‘m not sure what the point was. A widower with 3 teenage girls uses squash as an outlet or a way not to have to talk about their loss?
My first off the Booker long list.

Readathon wrap up: Made some intended progress and then left the intention for other books. Seems to be how I roll lately. Best laid plans and all that.

Thanks for hosting @Andrew65

I have questions.
What happened after that?
Did she ever play squash again?

A good read (and as you can tell, I'm invested) but I would be surprised if it won - another relatively "quiet" book.

@squirrelbrain @TheKidUpstairs, @BookwormM, @vlwelser, @JamieArc, @BarbaraBB, @sarahbarnes #Booker23

Like most of the titles on the Booker Award Longlist, I had never heard of this one. However, I was intrigued about this story of a girl and her father who process their grief through playing squash.

The good thing about this book is that it is clear that Mario has the potential to be a fantastic writer. However, I don‘t think she‘s there yet with this book. The language was lovely, but I didn‘t get the emotional deep dive I was looking for.

I don‘t know how I feel about this one, making it hard to rate. I listened to the audio and that might be part of the reason even if the narrator was great.

A father and his three daughters is left to deal with the grief of losing their wife/ mother.

7th book for #RushAThon
Booker 1/ 13

#BookReport

Confession: Getting back to working was tougher than I thought it would be. I‘m born for lazy days. So my reading suffered a little

I‘m still catching up on The Pickwick Papers

I continued my reading of Femina

I finished the audio of Western Lane and In the Approaches

I‘ve started This Other Eden on audio

#WeeklyForecast

I want to continue and hopefully catch up on The Pickwick Papers. I‘m also thinking about maybe starting another buddy read, The Sum of Us

I want to continue my reading of Femina and my audio of Western Lane

I want to finish In the Approaches

I prioritized my own books during my vacation, but that don‘t mean that no library book arrived. Due soon at the library and with a waiting list is the Haratischwili one so that‘s next

I know this one hasn't quite worked for everyone, but for me, it's a big pick. I felt so strongly for these girls who don't know what to do with their grief, and their father, who is so lost in his own he can not guide them. I was fully engaged as the rhythms of the game became the rhythms of their life and the story, and it broke my heart to see how much they lost in what they could not say to each other.

My first Booker read and I am left wanting (no surprise there). There were nice moments, and more I expected more from, but there were a lot of things that happened that I didn‘t quite understand, leaving me confused. It reminded me of a bleaker, less fleshed-out version of Claire Keegan‘s novels.

When your contemporary read (tagged) mentions the same place as your classic read (Vanity Fair). Both read in the same day. Weird and wonderful.

A slight novel about grief, family, human connection, and sport. I found this meditation on the myriad ways we process grief, and the complexity of family dynamics thoughtful, easy to read, and at times affecting. In the end, the narrative whole felt a little directionless or underdone, and maybe that was the point but this reader left this story feeling like something was missing.

#BookReport 29/23

Four books this week! I liked Katalin Street and the tagged one a lot, both others less. A satisfying week nevertheless.

This is a little book about grief and not knowing how to handle it. No one speaks about the mother that died, instead the sisters and their father play squash. Fanatically. But the silence becomes oppressive and I as a reader was waiting, hoping for it to break. Such a sad story! #CampToB #Booker23 2/13

I loved some parts of this book, but there were more parts that I just didn‘t connect with. It‘s a study of grief from the perspective of the youngest of 3 sisters, who is just 11 when her mother dies.

Their Dad thinks the best way to get over this is to immerse themselves in something; in this case, playing squash.

There were too many unanswered questions and confusing incidents for me to really find meaning; therefore a soft pick only.

Popped into the library to pick up *ONE* reservation ( the tagged book for the real Tournament of Books summer camp).

There was a library book sale on, so that‘s the bottom 3 (the May is for hubby).

Everything Inside and the Kincaid are for #readingtheamericas23 and the others are… just because! 😁

Maybe it‘s my book hangover from The Birthday Party, but I thought both of these books were just okay. I liked the premise of both of them, but each fell a bit short for me and I didn‘t fully connect with the characters or stories in either. #campTOB

@Cinfhen I think you felt similarly about Western Lane.

From the official #ToBSummerCamp list - it‘s a coming of age story mixed with overcoming grief and sadness yet I never connected to any of the characters. A family trying to cope with the loss of their mother/spouse, each channeling their emotions in different forms. #GoodNotGreat #BorrowNotBuy