pick⭐️⭐️⭐️ Story of an Albanian woman living in NYC, working as an interpreter, married to an American. She gets overly involved in the lives of other Southeastern European immigrants, straining her relationships. It had momentum but then the end just sort of petered off. It felt like nothing resolved, which left me wondering what the point was of picking it up at all. 🤷♀️ Between a soft pick and a so-so. #BookerLongList
pickThis novel is a bit like a more serious, more introspective, and more sprawling When Harry Met Sally, but saying that doesn't remotely convey the scope of Desai's story, which includes commentary about and criticism of at least four countries, the art world, journalism, and the nature of familial and romantic ties. Her characters are silly, maddening, and so relatable, and I love that they engage in productive introspection without therapy.
so-soThis is a quick read, and I enjoyed spending time with the characters, but it feels a little insubstantial and a little too on the nose to really feel like satire. The layers of meaning and posturing and hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness are interesting, I just wanted a little more substance (and maybe a little more connection between elements). #bookerlonglist
pick#BookerLonglist delayed review. I was surprised at how quickly this read for such a long book. I was also a bit surprised at the straightforward nature of the story—no gimmicks, nothing to distract from the story of this torn-apart family. Identity…what does it mean to be a person living in another country from which you were born? How does one live with an illness? Are we merely living in relation to who we are to other people?
pickIstván isn't unlike George from The Book of George in the way that he relies on women to shape his life for him, although István is much less whiny than George despite experiencing more actual hardships. He's not a bad guy, he just seems to float along, avoiding any real introspection or connection, sublimating his emotions into sexual expression. The novel is kind of depressing. It will be interesting to see if I remember it in 6 months.
pickAfter being seduced by an older woman as a teen and their relationship‘s traumatic end, Istvan drifts through life, remaining monosyllabic and unaffected. His emotions don‘t drive him but his physicality seems to. He is passive and largely unknowable and yet I still ended up caring about what happened to him. I kept seeing the wounded kid in his inability to let himself feel. Surprised that this ended up a pick for me. #bookerlonglist
so-so#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
GatheringBooks, AnneCecilie, TheKidUpstairs, Chelsea.Poole, rmaclean4, squirrelbrain, Graywacke, ImperfectCJ, Mattsbookaday
pickThomas‘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.
pick#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.
