pick4 ⭐
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"It is summer and luminous.
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@ShyBookOwl
so-soThe characters are great and there is tons of atmosphere. That said, it was plenty dark without much in the way of resolution.
panI‘ve read many a book that is grim & have a capacity to appreciate good writing that moves you to despair. I‘ve never read one that made me question whether reading books was something I needed to stop doing. I‘ve debated how to rate this - the story is certainly realistic and the writing kept me reading. Ultimately, I‘m panning it because it requires lots of crime tape around it. (Caution, caution, this will mess you up & think life is hopeless.)
pickA family from Kosovo finds refuge in Belgium. Jimmy befriends the family, their son Tristan becomes his best friend. When the family gets summoned to leave the country, Tristan has a plan that can assure them of being allowed to stay in Belgium. He needs Jimmy‘s help. Jimmy will do anything for his friend. A great short read.
(Pic: Chefchaouen, Morocco)
#BirthdayPixieReadathon
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pickI don‘t know if I even have words to describe this one. It sickened me, broke my heart, and is generally overall hopeless. Arsim is one of the most unredeemable characters I‘ve ever read. The story of how he meets, falls in love, and cares for Milos starts so promising. But he is married, has a child on the way, and is Albanian and Milos is a Serb. The war will tear them apart, but they do that on their own. Homophobia, war, ⬇️⬇️
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!
#ABookADay2023
pickThis was excellent. The story of Arden and Milos is beautifully told with clean writing (well translated) & despite being unsentimental it‘s heartbreaking seeing their lives unravel under the pressure of war & repression. The occasional fable extracts add another layer of depth. The tension builds as you see a character losing his mind and there is a bleak undercurrent but it doesn‘t feel heavy. Great sense of place in Kosovo.
