Litsy

lil1inblue

The Terminal Man | Andrew Donkin, Mehran Karimi Nasseria, Sir Alfred Mehran

#storysettings #airportorplane

Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

6 likes

perfectlywinged

Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar

I think the description of this book‘s contents made it sound like there was a lot going on or that it would be more experimental but that was not the case: so far each of the stories told are these raw human stories and all of them are so compelling and vividly painted I am fully immersed. The prose is perfect- it‘s both beautiful (you can tell the author is a poet) but also not over done.

14 likes

Floresj

Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar

pick

This novel is wonderful. One flawed character that tells the story, with different characters‘ POVs to round out the gaps in perspectives and time. It‘s funny, sad, engaging, and cringey. Fantastic.

16 likes

monalyisha

The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise | Pico Iyer

so-so

Would it be wrong if I just posted a screenshot of @Chelsea.Poole ‘s review? I agree wholeheartedly! It took me a long time to settle into Iyer‘s narration. He speaks very deliberately & also very haltingly. His British accent feels remarkably posh.

Iyer travels to places that lay some claim to being “paradise” on Earth: Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Jerusalem. Of course, these places are also known for being “circled by violence & terrible poverty.” 👇🏻

monalyisha 1/2: Ultimately, the author finds comfort in the words of teachers like the Buddha, Thomas Merton, and the Dalai Llama, who have all worked to find joy amidst suffering, who deny nothing and endeavor to find paradise in the wonder of a moment and in becoming human. 6d

monalyisha 2/2: None of these conclusions were expressed in a new way, unfortunately. One positive result of listening was a desire to learn more about Kyoto‘s Bridge to Heaven. Iyer‘s description of the silence of the place resounds. I‘d skip this one…or maybe try it in print. I plan to listen to Katherine May‘s interview with Iyer to see if that lends me a different or heightened perspective. 6d

Chelsea.Poole I‘m glad I wasn‘t the only one who felt this could be a skip. Though I do think you got more out of it than me! 6d

monalyisha @Chelsea.Poole I almost abandoned it entirely. I honestly don‘t know why I kept going. 😅🙈 I think it‘s because he was a new-to-me author and it was so short (though it didn‘t feel that way), that I figured I should give it the fairest shake I could! 6d

monalyisha @Chelsea.Poole Just finished Tom Lake, which, ironically, got Pico Iyer‘s whole point across much more effectively than he did in his nonfiction text (where he states it plainly)! 😆

Tom Lake: A Novel

62 likes5 comments

HettyG

Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar

pick

What a strange and beautiful novel! I found this to be a challenging read, I read it in audio format with an A++++ narration by Arian Moayed. Intensely readable, with characters that are easy to love. This was outside my usual reading comfort zone, I‘m so glad to have not passed this one up, I just loved it. 💜

HettyG I also highly recommend the Nerdette podcast episode interviewing the author. He is a fascinating and brilliant artist, and he speaks as poetically as he writes. 1w

MysticFaerie I'm just about to read this one... glad it sounds good! 1w

HettyG @MysticFaerie Let me know what you think, I have not stopped thinking about this book and I am now listening to a lot of podcasts discussing the book, I think I am going to get the print format and read this book again. And possibly a third time! 1w

HettyG Advice nobody asked for: read this book as you would read Shakespeare, it is a novel written in prose which I guess is why I found it so challenging but also compelling. 1w

24 likes4 comments

kspenmoll

What We Owe | Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde

pick

When I started this book,I immediately wanted to bail.Nahid,the narrator has just been diagnosed with cancer.She came across to me as a despicable person-angry,nasty, to her daughter & those around her.But something pulled me back into her story & I am so thankful I responded to that pull.As her life story slowly emerged,as she struggled to understand her journey herself & cope with her diagnosis,I began to feel empathy.A refugee of the Iranian🔽

kspenmoll 🔼 Revolution,she threw herself into her role with idealism & little understanding. She was marked as traitor to the Iranian regime for life.So she& her husband immigrated to Sweden.The trauma of herself as a refugee,& her compounded losses:family,culture,roots,country, never left her.She cannot get over all these losses- she states starkly:”You are condemned and your children are too. Everything remains, and everything is passed down.”🔽 (edited) 2w

kspenmoll 🔼 Her statement reminds me of The Postcard & the idea that the Holocaust & its resulting trauma stays in survivors‘ body cells for generations. (edited) 2w

65 likes2 stack adds2 comments

rmaclean4

Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar

pick

Love this novel about recovery from addiction, trying to find your place in the world, and choosing life. It is entertaining and surprising. Loved the audio book. Highly recommend. 4 🌟

20 likes1 stack add

rwmg

Darius the Great Deserves Better | Adib Khorram

pick

After the family's return home from Iran, Darius gets a boyfriend, his dream job as an intern in a tea shop, and a spot on the school's soccer team.

There were times I felt the intricacies of tea connoisseurship and sports were taking over the story, but I still want to know how various relationships were going to develop further at the end. There wasn't really a cliffhanger, it just left me wanting the story to continue.

Reggie Is this the one where he goes and advocates for his little sister against her teacher? 1mo

rwmg @Reggie Yes 1mo

24 likes2 comments

rwmg

Darius the Great Deserves Better | Adib Khorram

#coffeeandabook

24 likes

rwmg

Darius the Great is Not Okay | Adib Khorram

pick

Darius Kellner, a high school sophomore (which makes him what, 15 or 16?) and his family go on a trip to Yazd in Iran where he meets his mother's family for the first time.

I enjoyed this story of a teenage boy trying to navigate a culture unfamiliar to him when he doesn't really fit in at home either. ⬇

rwmg The author says in an afterword that he 'wanted to show how depression can affect a life without ruling it'. I don't think he did. Darius seemed a normal enough rather self-absorbed teenager coping with a bully at school and a hypercritical father. If it weren't for the references to him and his father taking their medication I wouldn't have known depression was an issue until a conversation about 30 pp before the end about the events 7 years b4. 1mo

28 likes1 stack add1 comment

Welcome to Litsy!

Trending Hashtags

Trending Books