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#BookerLonglist #6

A highly original novel about 3 Ukrainian women on a road trip with some men they keep captive while Russia invades their country. Also, they are looking for a special kind of snail. I loved the fist half and the part which is an interlude by the author herself. Then however I lost interest a bit. So many super interesting story lines and yet I felt like nothing much happened. A so-so for me.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #28 #Albania

Thomas‘s life is made up of unending labor with every day almost exactly like the last and no real hope for something more. When a Hollywood producer comes on the scene there is suddenly a chance that maybe life could be different. This is the quietest of the #bookerlonglist titles I have read but the writing is so detailed and evocative that what is at heart a simple story becomes so much more. This would make my shortlist with ease.

#BookerLonglist —perhaps my most ‘looking forward to‘ of the list. Endling didn‘t disappoint and did stretch my brain in ways, blending auto-fiction with several other themes and formats. But you know what? I was anticipating more snails. I just need more snails. But still, a great read. This would be a good one to dissect. But no snail dissection, please.

Woah, what a book. I know this one is going to stay with me. It‘s got a lot to say about masculinity and the negative impacts of this on men, the lack of tenderness. I highly recommend reading it, I‘m going to read it again. I devoured this in 2 sittings. Has anyone else read this? What were your thoughts?

#davidszalay #bookerlonglist

#BookerLonglist #5

Very elegantly written, I became engaged in the book immediately I enjoyed following the narrator‘s struggle to live in NYC while she‘s still strongly rooted in the Albania she left behind. Het empathy for other refugees jeopardizes her mental wellbeing as well as her closest relationships. She moves between this empathy and self-preservation and there seems no closure. An impressive read.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #27 #Albania

Catching up on reviews! #BookerLonglist edition

While this one has some pacing issues, I'm glad I stuck with it to discover its many, murky layers. A story of family disconnection and buried trauma, I appreciated the thematic ideas of a flashlight's focused beam obscuring more than it illuminates, and how difficult it can be to see the full picture of those closest to us.

Cont'd in comments...

Yes! A #bookerlonglist title that I loved! It starts off focusing on three women in the Ukraine, a scientist trying desperately to save rare snails from extinction and two sisters taking part in tours that match foreign men with potential Ukrainian brides. As the three characters become entangled in a scheme Russia invades and everything changes. I don‘t want to spoil anything but this book has so much to say and is so smart and darkly funny.

#WeeklyForecast 36/25

I am reading a short Japanese novel (Someone to Watch Over You) ad then am ready for another #Bookerlonglist book, the tagged. I also want to read the new Sarah Moss, that I bought because of @TrishB ‘s review.

A Chinese family in Malaysia spends the summer at their small family farm. There is a lot of tension about the farm and within the family. Amidst all of this two teenage boys forge a relationship. This is one of my favorites from the #bookerlonglist so far but the fact that it is the first in a four part series makes sense to me because it felt like it was building towards something that it never became.

Overall I enjoyed spending an evening with this book, but it did feel rather unresolved. It's hard to discuss this book without giving spoilers, so suffice to say that I enjoyed what I thought was a mildly satirical piece full of stereotypes, but from there it moved on to a sequence of unlikeable characters and several truths about the media that are no revelation. I'm not entirely sure what the author wanted me to take away from this story.