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#manbookerinternational2019
review
Redwritinghood
The Pine Islands | Marion Poschmann
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Panpan

I really did not understand what the author was trying to do with this book. I understand that Gilbert travels to Japan on a whim and decides to follow in the steps of Basho. In Tokyo, he meets a young man following a book on places suitable for suicide. At each spot in their travels, the reality doesn‘t fit the splendor described in the books. No suitable spot for suicide is found. The majesty of Basho‘s Japan no longer exists. Otherwise, 🤷🏻‍♀️

83 likes1 comment
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Emilymdxn
At Dusk | Hwang Sok-Yong
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Next up from #mbi2019 #manbookerinternational2019 - I adored the other book I read by this writer so I‘ve got high hopes! Probably my favourite cover of the bunch too.

fleeting Did you read her The Familiar Things? I have that but haven't gotten around to reading it! 6y
fleeting I mean is that the one you liked? :) 6y
51 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
Emilymdxn
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Pickpick

#mbi2019 #manbookerinternational2019

Hard to review - beautifully written, completely original and I adored the experimental but intuitive structure (I think this will divide opinion but I loved it). My only issue is that I don‘t know if I can really root for a book that disturbed and depressed me this much. I think I can, which is why I went with ‘pick‘ but this was one of the emotionally hardest books I‘ve ever read.

52 likes1 stack add
review
Redwritinghood
Four Soldiers: A Novel | Hubert Mingarelli
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Pickpick

#manbookerinternational2019 #hoopla This was a short, sweet novel about a small group of soldiers in the Russian Civil War. This isn‘t a war novel, though. It‘s about the friendship between the four young men of the title, how their friendship grows, and how it quickly falls apart in the face of war. The writing is spare and direct to the point of feeling choppy. It is also, unfortunately, spare of details of time and place. Overall 3.5⭐️ #mbi2019

77 likes2 stack adds
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Emilymdxn
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On to my next #mbi2019 #manbookerinternational2019 book! This is great so far, but I‘m having a bit of a hard time reading at my usual pace atm. The political situation in the UK is really messing with me and even tho I‘m doing better than I have in years just personally with my mental health, every time I get reminded what country I live in I just feel awful and exhausted. :/

Susannah I‘m from the US, and I totally understand. Four and a half months after Donald Trump was inaugurated, my anxiety and depression temporarily got the better of me. It was—and still is—a scary time for our countries. Turn off if/when you can. Take care of yourself. 🙂 6y
Freespirit I feel for you @Emilymdxn and @Susannah . Here in Aus we have had as many Prime Ministers in the past 5 years. Politicians seem polarised in their extreme views and what's best for the country is not their priority anymore..and policy is short term fixes rather than long term. Lucky we have books😍 6y
Emilymdxn @Susannah @freespirit it‘s pretty miserable and very hard to cope with - small bit of god news though, did you see about the new president of Slovakia? Female human rights lawyer and anti corruption activist who ran on the slogans ‘stand up to evil‘ and ‘humanism, solidarity, truth‘. Let‘s all move to Sovakia (edited) 6y
See All 7 Comments
Tonton So real; sometimes I can‘t even face the newsfeed for what fresh hell... 6y
cmarie I feel this so much, it's just so draining. It's literally everywhere you go, everyone wants to talk about but we're still stuck in this god awful loop of no one knowing what to do. I'm steering well clear of political or dystopian novels until it's sorted. Try go back to reading old favourites for a while to get you back in a happier mindset ☺ 6y
saresmoore I‘m so sorry and I empathize deeply. Every day has me fearful for any sort of future for my daughters, the planet, humanity, let alone the country! It‘s so good to focus on the small hopeful bits. UK & US news is increasingly hopeless, it seems. 6y
Emilymdxn @Tonton @cmarie @saresmoore thanks for your solidarity guys it means a lot to know it‘s not just me being beaten into the ground by this. I just wish the atmosphere of despair everywhere I go wasn‘t getting to my reading commitments so much - I don‘t want to be this behind on my prize lists :( 6y
49 likes7 comments
review
Emilymdxn
The Remainder | Alia Trabucco Zern
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Pickpick

The first #mbi2019 #manbookerinternational2019 book to blow me away! I could happily see it make the short list and win. I wasn‘t always completely sure what was happening, but the language and characters meant I didn‘t completely care. It was trippy, fairytale-ish and absurdist and I could have read it for double the length. Comparing this to the shape of the ruins, I think I prefer my political novels as dreamy and bizarre as possible.

mreads Poor Earnesto . Grat book, not sure I understand what happened at the end. 6y
Emilymdxn @mreads I‘m not clear on the ending either, I know I loved reading it but not much more! 6y
Simona I like how we disagree on almost all books from longlist 😘 6y
Emilymdxn @Simona I‘m incredibly impressed anyone got anything out of the shape of the ruins! 6y
53 likes4 comments
review
Redwritinghood
Mouthful of Birds: Stories | Samanta Schweblin
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Mehso-so

While I liked the taut, evocative writing and the gorgeous cover, the stories themselves often felt empty to me. These stories are absurd and sometimes horrific, but horror and absurdity alone are not enough for me. There are some really great stories here, but not enough to make up for the more so-so ones. 3⭐️ #manbookerinternational2019 #mbi2019

sarahbarnes I just finally read Fever Dream and was interested in this one. Appreciate your review! 6y
Redwritinghood @sarahbarnes Thanks! I was also so-so on Fever Dream, so if you liked that you may also like this one more than I did. 6y
81 likes2 comments
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Emilymdxn
The Remainder | Alia Trabucco Zern
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I‘m at around 5.5 hours for #24b4monday and just starting on my next #manbookerinternational2019 pick! The writing style is amazing so far I‘m so excited.

It‘s a Friday, it feels like spring and I‘m just waiting for my bf at the cinema to see Us which I‘m very excited for. Good evening!

Naj Great plans! Have fun 6y
51 likes1 comment
review
Emilymdxn
The Shape of the Ruins | Juan Gabriel Vsquez
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Panpan

It‘s too many damn pages for any man to understand!

I just couldn‘t get on with this one. I feel like a philistine but the politics was impenetrable and the characters didn‘t feel real enough to bear the weight of it. I spent most of it thinking about how much longer there was to go. #manbookerinternational2019

Kshumake omg Hamilton yes! 6y
51 likes1 comment
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Emilymdxn
The Shape of the Ruins | Juan Gabriel Vsquez
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Few pages of my next #manbookerinternational2019 pick before I go to sleep. This one is Colombian. It looks very unusual, drawing two different political crimes together in a series of investigations, and I‘m a bit confused about how it will fit together as a novel. I‘m hoping to find it surprising and original but it might just be odd. I have to go in optimistically tho!