Edinburgh: A Novel | 
pickFee is 12 when he joins the choir lead by Big Eric who soon starts sexually abusing him and other boys. The first half was beautiful. I loved the writing, the metaphors, depths&the way Chee handled the horror of sexual abuse. I also loved Korean folklore interspersed in the story because of Fee‘s heritage. I didn‘t care much for the college years. I thought they lacked the strength of the first half. Overall, a sad but beautiful book.
My bookish Scottish holiday continues… The Writers‘ Museum Edinburgh: Robert Burns & Sir Walter Scott & Robert Louis Stevenson
Bookish holiday - Part I
Which one did I get?
When you booked a bookish Bed & Breakfast - Part II 💪💪💪
When you booked a bookish Bed & Breakfast - Part I 💪💪💪
pickSo, this was a well-written book with beautiful, word-smithy language but not my usual read. I was kind of afraid I would want to toss it across the room like A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, which I hated for ending up being purely misery porn. Edinburgh had it's share of misery but didn't leave such a bad taste in my mouth. I found it a quick read and I should have posted some of the quotes I loved. 4/5 with the caveat this is a tough story.
Look what I just bought @TrishB 🙈Who can resist a #KindleDailyDeal ???? #ZeroSelfControl although hubby has hidden package 😁
pickAlexander Chee has taken a subject that is ugly and perverse and has sculpted it into something moving and somehow, beautiful.
A young boy joins a boys‘ choir in Maine. Aphias or Fee is 12 and Korean-Scottish. He may look a bit different from the other boys but like them, he is sexually abused by the choir director.
Edinburgh is the story of how he overcomes this childhood trauma and the loss of those he loves.
It‘s really a bit chilly to be sitting outside but the boy‘s tennis class is outdoors today and I‘m waiting for him to finish up in a few minutes. Meanwhile, I want to mention this book and it is such a beauty. It may not look much from this cover but inside is such a stunner full of great writing, something so compelling and dreamy emerging from material that is ugly and painful
Loving this book! Have you read it or other books by Chee?
The relief of nothing to say. I'd always prized silence for being the absence of other noises. In this house I come to see how one can prize silence for being articulate, as well.
pickI started this book yesterday morning and stayed up late to finish it. Beautiful and haunting, such amazing prose (as Chee‘s prose always is). And it‘s not just that the sentences are beautiful—though they are—but the book is structurally perfect and even the punctuation feels so deeply considered. Deeply felt, honest, and true.
I was just thinking about the fact that this book doesn‘t use quotation marks, and then this section break. Bang. What a terrific use of language.
“and the letter slips in and out like a cartridge in a rifle.” Wow.
Three hours early for my flight seems like a good time to start a new book.
Book gifts from my in laws! Along with a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card. 👌🏻 #christmasbookhaul
K - Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird
E- Edinburgh by Alexander Chee
R - Rebecca by Daphe du Maurier
R - Ring Around the Moon by Mary Burnett Smith
Y - You Don‘t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
Alexander Chee writes a gut wrenching essay about Kevin Spacey. https://www.them.us/story/what-do-we-owe-kevin-spacey
When asked by a friend of Chee's whether he was gay, Spacey replied "Just because you scuba dive, doesn‘t make you a scuba diver.” Chee responds to this idea in this memorable and powerful essay.
#ACityInTheTitle on the left and #BookSpiral (more like circles and shapes) on the right #LGBTQ #UncannyOctober
“Blue. Blue because it‘s the color people turn in the dark. Because it‘s the color of the sky, of the center of the flame, of a diamond hit by an X-ray. Blue is the knife edge of lightning. Blue is the color, a rose grower tells you, that a rose never quite reaches.” p191-192, Alexander Chee, Edinburgh
#30daysofreadathon
Nothing beats half priced books when you're having a bad day
Got the books I won today from Book Riot and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt! Thanks guys-- can't wait to start them!
I'm taking some time in the quiet morning to curl up with this beautiful, tragic book.
Going for a few days to Edinburg soon. And I need some bookstore and food recommendations!! Breakfast, lunch and dinner sugestions are all very welcome. And of course quaint bookshop are the best! 😀
Books about #Innocence for today's #AugustPhotoChallenge
These books deal w/loss of innocence as a child by learning about human fault, often via people they trust, & about injustices in the world around them. They span sexual abuse, racism, family trauma, war, and just nasty things people do to others out of prejudice & hate. These characters often have trauma but also learn of human good through resilience, love, & standing up for others. 🌷
Reading Edinburgh for the first time and swooning all over the place.
pickThis book was deeply thoughtful and moving, with beautiful prose and compelling characters. No one writes the story of a secret better than Alexander Chee.
Love this quote - it so perfectly captures what I love about being a teacher.
