Welcome to Litsy!

My personal shortlist for this year Man Booker International Prize. A varied collage of genres, themes and styles, some are very serious, some less, but all are worth your attention 😘

Non-conventional novel, whose main thread is death and white color. It is written in vignettes, imageries and that creates very poetic vibes.
Excellent prose, interesting combination of a different media, but unfortunately - this book was not for me and my ‘review‘ stems solely from my lack of interest 🤷‍♀️

Just like is Frankenstein - consisting of body parts of different people is also this novel - patchwork of different genres, POW, stories within stories, with the main theme of the absurdity of the war and about vicious circle of revenge . Interesting way to present the post-war Iraq, sectarian fights, corruption, ineffective government ... through the everyday life, where suicide bombings are nothing special ... ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The story that puts the depression on the forefront - a woman who is trapped between motherhood, the role of a wife and her own femininity, is built of short chapters - images that perfectly presented her fast, chaotic flow of thoughts. Excellent prose, interesting structure and unique presentation of a claustrophobic feeling when an individual is a prisoner of his own life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Two completely different stories (one about author‘s intimate reflections on writing, literature and his life, and one about the killer of Martin Luther King) have one common point - Lisbon. Individually they are excellent, but the structure doesn‘t feel as whole coherent novel, more as forced ... but it is absolutely an interesting blend of perspectives, genres and styles. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Intimated story of the author and her family (with the focus on kidnapped grandfather and dying mother) is painted on the historical background - the terrorist activism of the separatist group ETA in Spain. It is an emotional story, but without excessive sentimentality, and precisely this narrative voice is the strongest element in this average, but very readable story. For now ⭐️⭐️⭐️ but I have a feeling that this is a slowly sneaking up story...

Yes, the story is about a stolen bicycle. This is the main thread of the narrative, and author create around this personal family history and the history of Taiwan. I like the idea, but unfortunately, not the execution. ⭐️⭐️⭐️