Welcome to Litsy!

Lil dense at the beginning when he's going into tales revolving around strangers in Greek mythology/literature. Definitely skipped over that but enjoyed the stories of the beginnings of the word xenophobia. Delved a bit too deep into mid-20th century philosophy for me as well, but powered through nonetheless. Not quite the pop non fiction I was hoping for but still had some cool parts.

I know this is supposed to be satire, but it was gratuitous and, quite frankly, kinda gross. And while the writing style was certainly unique, it quickly became distracting. I think I might not be quite smart enough for this one. 🤷🏻‍♀️
That said, there were some funny parts (the running joke about the missing batteries is hilarious, albeit a little vulgar), and I think I liked the ending. (CONT‘D ⬇️)…

Lil dense at the beginning when he's going into tales revolving around strangers in Greek mythology/literature. Definitely skipped over that but enjoyed the stories of the beginnings of the word xenophobia. Delved a bit too deep into mid-20th century philosophy for me as well, but powered through nonetheless. Not quite the pop non fiction I was hoping for but still had some cool parts.

Palahniuk is always darkly funny, twisted, disturbing and this particular work of satire is no different. It‘s told through dispatch reports of a teenage operative from a totalitarian state, who uses staccato broken English, yet has an expansive military/medical vocabulary. The goal? Infiltrate the US to complete an act of terrorism called Operation Havoc - all while making hilarious commentary on American life. Caution: Very adult and offensive

#readaroundtheworld #SouthAfrica

She had me from the first few pages (TMI in comments) - so much going on in such a short novel. Life as a student doctor in South Africa, trying to work out the path to take against the xenophobia aimed at your flatmate, and Just So Tired. (I thought she wrote tiredness so well!) And that‘s before the horrific event takes place. It‘s written as journal entries- I found it powerful and affecting. Trigger Warnings.

This book.

I really wouldn‘t call it a page-turner, but I don‘t want to put it down.

I encourage you all to pick this up! It's written in journal form from the point of view of a young South African doctor who finds herself amidst a broken, xenophobic and corrupt Post-Apartheid society. The body and the nation are blended into one another to represent the journey of a whole generation. Short but intense!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Late night reading before bed. Starting this one on my Kindle ✨

EDIT: Just found that most of you have posted about this book under the title "Evening Primrose" -- I'm guessing it has something to do with the UK/US publication? Both titles really clash--interesting choices.

#MayMovieMagic Day 8: #GimmeShelter says this foreigner in ”The Island.” In return, he experienced glaring xenophobia and outright rejection. While most of the stories we have featured for our immigrant theme share narratives of assimilation and a renegotiation of one‘s identity, this ‘foreigner‘ was never given that opportunity to even feel remotely a sense of belonging. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-40F - a truly harrowing picturebook.