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Glad I persevered but sorry to use such a word where reading is concerned.
My FIL was a Baptist minister and I've good memories of comet Hale-Bopp (I was pregnant), so there's that.
I did enjoy it in the end but it's a qualified pick: the vibe was more 1897 than 1997, which was disorienting, and several minor characters, along with the whole Maria Vaduva story arc, didn't quite come into focus.
I did like Grace and Thomas's complex friendship.

Hate to bail on this as I really liked The Essex Serpent and Melmoth but I‘m just over 100 pages and I don‘t feel invested at all and I‘ve sort of been just putting off reading it.

Have to say I'm relieved to have finished this book. The synopsis was just what appealed but I found much of the story quite dreary and struggled to keep motivated. I liked some of the characters driven sections but overall it didn't entice.

I seem to be in the middle of a bunch of titles that I would describe as "meditations." This one is relatively interesting, spanning the course of 20 years and dealing with events that happened well earlier, but it's also rather slow and kind of frustrating in the way that life is often frustrating...a whole lot of tedium punctuated by getting sort of what you want but not quite. So, a qualified pick for me.

Not as good as Essex Serpent (but the cross overs were enjoyable). But she writes beautifully, and lovingly about her characters flaws. One reviewer was annoyed about the closeted main character, but I found it believable in a strictly religious small town in the 90s

Hhhhmm, I found this quite irritating on a few levels. I didn't connect with any character, didn't feel the enlightenment. It was a disappointment as I adored her other 2 books.
However, the writing is good. I think this is a bit of a hit and miss with a lot of people.
#Booker #Longlist2024

A book mostly about unrequited love, but also about how choices effect your life, faith, being different, astronomy and friendship.

Thomas is an older journalist and writer who gets interested in astronomy and a female astronomer that supposedly hunting a house. Grace is several decades his junior falling in love for the first time.

Another #Booker book read

I feel this is a Marmite book, people will either love it or hate it.

I‘m definitely in the “love” category.

After reading in fits and starts around work and other commitments during the week, I devoured the last 200 pages this afternoon. The writing style won‘t be too everyone‘s taste, but I loved the slightly old-fashioned vibe to it. I loved the characters, I felt their pain, their loss, their happiness.

My top read of ‘24 so far.

“It was the restless period between summer and autumn, when it was never possible to guess the weather, or dress correctly for it.”

Describing Britain right now!!

#booker #booker2024 #longlist

Just finished my 4th. I‘m of different minds. One is to take it as a tale on its own terms, slightly removed from reality. The other is to be annoyed at how it simplifies relevant concerns of reality. Another is just to acknowledge it was ok and be done with it. And another is to embrace Thomas and Grace, give them a pass, and a hug. I am not enlightened, not wowed. Not carried away. Maybe slightly provoked.