Welcome to Litsy!

After 1177 BC, by Eric Cline (2024)
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Premise: An exploration of the latest evidence on the recovery of the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, and Mespotamian worlds in the aftermath of the Late Bronze Age Collapse.

Review: I am a big fan of Cline‘s book 1177 BC, which documented the disappearance within a single generation of a centuries-old network of civilizations. ⬇️

10 pages a day—small steps out of the reading slump. Has anyone read this one?

This was a vacation purchase, found in a delightful Oxfam store (you Brits are mighty lucky!) This is an ominous novella filled with foreboding. Sylvie is 17 and spending a summer with her parents and a university group living as ancient Britons and getting a glimpse outside her life with her extremely strict and abusive father. The book veers towards its inevitable climax and was a compelling examination of our continued primitive nature.

A quick, impactful read. It's an infuriating exploration of how easily we can become complicit in victimization and how easily we can justify harmful actions. There's also commentary on class and regional differences that doesn't feel heavy-handed. "Enjoyed" isn't quite the right word, but I definitely appreciate this novel.

This is such a unique setup! I expected a novel when I pulled this off the shelf, but that is not what I found. Lowry begins with a discovery: the Windeby child unearthed in Germany in 1952. She creates a fictionalized account of the life of that child, shares further history, and tells a different story of the Windeby child. It‘s a fascinating exercise. I can see this being an excellent example for beginning storytellers. And it‘s # 100 for 2023!

While the second half was tense and atmospheric, the first half felt dull. It was difficult to grasp any real understanding of the inner lives of any of the characters. That said, the ending was quite eerie and ambiguous. #shortyseptember23

Wonderful addition to Lowry‘s impressive repertoire! Intrigued by the discovery of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body in Northern Germany in 1952, Lowry conjurés up an identity and backstory for the young person found there, pristinely preserved by the peat. The body was radiocarbon-dated to between 41 BC and 118 AD. Fascinating!

#Pantone2023 @Clwojick
#20in4Readathon @Andrew65 Day 2: 1.5 hour

This is the second or third time I‘ve tried to listen to this novel and it isn‘t sticking. The historical tidbits are interesting enough, but the characters and plot aren‘t getting any traction.

Moving on…….

I loved Lowry‘s Anastasia Krupnik series and A Summer to Die in my girlhood so was excited to learn she shares my fascination with bog bodies. I enjoyed this. Might work well for a classroom, 5th grade maybe? It is written in such an interesting way, part fiction, part nonfiction. Lowry talks about the history and her writing, explaining how and why she went about telling the story, two versions, of what may have happened to this young person.