Welcome to Litsy!

#ToBwaiting These are a few titles being talked about for possible inclusion for next March‘s Tournament of Books. We should see the Long List in a couple of weeks.

I do hope Poor Deer is selected- I am enjoying the audiobook. Wild Houses was offered as an Audible freebie (or discount - can‘t recall) so I have it up for a listen soon.

A deceptively sophisticated book about unrequited love, self-sacrifice, and the seemingly impossible task of trying to be true to oneself while doing right by others and becoming part of a community. The protagonist is a smut writer dealing with the impending death of a beloved aunt on the one hand and birth of an unwanted child on the other. Full of fantastic dialogue and insightful observations that feel wholly organic, never forced or tacked-on

Starting today The Drowned by John Banville a DI Quirke forensic pathologist & DI Stafford book, which were originally published under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. Love his books no matter which name he publishes under.

It might be a “it‘s not you it‘s me” thing but I didn‘t really like this one. Based on the premise, I thought I was getting a western with doomed lovers set in the Montana winter 1891. What I got technically followed the description but I never really felt like I was reading any of those things. Lovely lyrical writing but surface level with no sense of place. I never truly felt like I understood the characters & they could have been anywhere. ⬇️

The New York Review of Books usually hits it out of the park with their reprints and this novel by late author John McGahern is no exception. Set in Ireland during the 70's, a struggling writer publishes erotica to make ends meet while caring for his ailing aunt. Enter a one sided affair with an older woman and our protagonist drowns himself in drink as he reflects on his life in this literary book of love, loss, and longing.

Hard to put down once the love story kicks in.

https://youtu.be/UwbYj6BKLxI?si=rWnMia1wQo-DxIzR

Introduction

A couple milestones

Mystery guest

Week in review

The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Archibald Colquhoun (Translator)

The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

The Misses Mallett by E.H. Young

Off Keck Road by Mona Simpson

Spinster Kang by Zoë S. Roy

The Art Lover by Carole Maso

The brother of a drug dealer is kidnapped. That character and the sweet and anxious man who must open his home to the kidnappers, and the girlfriend of the kidnapped man are all characters you root for. While I enjoyed the novel I can‘t say I was fully invested in it even though the Irish small town setting, the characters and the intrigue normally would have kept me focused. I enjoyed the writing though. #bookerlonglist24

#Booker 9/13

Not sure how or why this book ended up on the Booker longlist but I did enjoy it. It‘s a fast paced story about a drugsdeal gone wrong and the consequences for a bunch of interesting characters. I especially loved Dev and Nicky and I loved the ending, especially what it meant to Nicky!

(📷 Dordrecht, Netherlands)