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Anna40

Anna40

Joined November 2016

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Anna40
The Painted Veil | W. Somerset Maugham
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Kitty is raised to become a shallow woman whose only goal in life is to find a husband who is a ‘good catch‘. She marries Walter, a bacteriologist, because she can‘t find a better eligible match and follows him to Hong Kong. Never in love with Walter she soon starts an affair with an older, married man. When Walter finds out he takes a position in a town struck with cholera and forces Kitty to come with him. Left alone and despised by her husband

Anna40 she volunteers in the convent‘s orphanage. There she experiences the nuns‘ selfless love for the children. Kitty‘s character development is interesting and so are some of the themes. It‘s also a compelling read. However, the racism, ableism and cliched language are off putting. (edited) 5d
26 likes1 comment
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Anna40
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I expected more of a travel rather than a political book but perhaps it is impossible to write about Israel without focusing on politics. It‘s shocking how current To Jerusalem and back is: left wing antisemitism was the same 50 years ago, so was the accusation that Israelis are colonialists, also Israel was and still is held to a higher moral standard than any other country and no other nation‘s right to exist is questioned. The book is outdated

Anna40 because times have changed. Many of the people Bellow met during his Israel visit are no longer alive, there have been more wars, Rabin was assassinated, more peace talks and October 7. It is ok even hip and cool today to say F..k Israel. Where are we headed from here? Peace is the only solution but will it stop the hate? People are concerned about dead children but taking hostages and killing civilians in their sleep is ok? Because those crimes 2w
Anna40 are committed by freedom fighters? I don‘t know what will happen. But I don‘t think the hate and antisemitism will ever end, it will only get worse. 2w
shortsarahrose Yes, the murder of 1200 people and hostage-taking of 250 more by Hamas is wrong, but I don‘t understand how that justifies broad attacks on Gaza that have killed 50k people, the displacement of 1.9 million people (over 90% of the population), and now an ongoing blockade creating an entirely manmade famine. 2w
Anna40 @shortsarahrose I never said the killing is justified. You‘re putting words in my mouth I never wrote. I said peace is the only solution. And I will add here that do not understand how anyone can see Hamas as freedom fighters. 2w
shortsarahrose Fair enough. Perhaps I misunderstood, but the wording made it sound like the two were equivalent. I‘m just saying that they‘re not. 2w
18 likes5 comments
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Anna40
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The concise history of the GDR covers the time leading up to the building of the Wall and ending in 1990. Hoyer aims to show the reader what life in the GDR was like - including welfare state, home and family, popular culture and foreign relations -while also focusing on key figures such as Walter Ulbricht, Erich Honecker and head of Stasi, Erich Mielke. When it comes to women‘s equality, the GDR was one step ahead of the west: women were working

Anna40 full time because they could: there was childcare and there was work and education. But sadly no socialist ideology has ever succeeded and the oppression of political opposition was ruthless. Highly recommended. 3w
JulietteReadsALot You're always reading interesting books 📚📚📚 Love your reviews! 3w
Anna40 Thanks @JulietteReadsALot I love your reviews and book selections too! 😊💕 3w
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Anna40
Slow Horses | Mick Herron
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The slow horses are MI 5‘s losers. They “work” in a rundown office building separated from MI 5‘s glamorous headquarters. Herron deftly created a cast of antiheroes, the plot is full of twists I didn‘t see coming. There‘s humour and action. Slow horses is a well written, clever spy novel. I already borrowed book 2 in the series.

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Anna40
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird: Ten Kafkaesque Stories | Helen Oyeyemi, Ali Smith, Joshua Cohen, Elif Batuman, Charlie Kaufman, Yiyun Li, Keith Ridgway, Naomi Alderman, Tommy Orange, Leone Ross
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Mehso-so

None of the stories worked for me. I‘m perhaps not smart enough to understand “Kafka‘s idiosyncratic imagination meets some of the greatest literary minds” or perhaps I prefer reading original work by Kafka rather than others writing like or being inspired by him. I don‘t know. Didn‘t work for me.

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Anna40
A Shock | Keith Ridgway
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Hmmm. Difficult book to rate. Ridgway is a writer I admire for his beautiful prose and outstanding dialogue. I really liked the first story, The Party, and the diverse set of characters, the setting (London) but I didn‘t get what the central point/theme is that connects the stories and makes them a novel because that‘s how the book is marketed. I also found myself drifting off too many times, the stories meandered too much. Still a pick, but low

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Anna40
Wild Dark Shore | Charlotte McConaghy
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Panpan

I cannot understand the hype around this novel. The beginning was good, the writing ok but overall it was dreadfully saccharine. Why I read to the end? I was hoping it would get better but it didn‘t. The ending is really the icing on the cake of lame “twists”. Character decisions at times made no sense and felt contrived.

ChaoticMissAdventures She is so well loved, but I didn't enjoy the Wolves one and felt Migration was good not great. I will probably try to get this from the library once the rush calms but I will probably fall into your camp. 4w
Anna40 @ChaoticMissAdventures yes, she has a lot of fans and migration and this one got only praise but I don‘t think I‘ll read any of her other books after this one. 4w
LiteraryHoarderPenny I have this marked to read, will definitely wait for the library book though. I read Migrations and was underwhelmed. It, likes this one, has so much love for it - and maybe she‘s an author that clicks for some, but not for others. I guess I won‘t mind having to wait to read this one. 🤷🏻‍♀️ (edited) 4w
Anna40 @LiteraryHoarderPenny you‘re right, novel and author are not for me. And now that I‘ve had a few days to think about it, I get what readers might enjoy: it‘s a blend of mystery and romance while tackling issues such as climate change. 4w
24 likes4 comments
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Anna40
Three Floors Up | Eshkol Nevo
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I‘m glad I finished the book because the last novella (I think we have 3 novellas here rather than a novel) brings Nevo‘s thoughts & themes to the fore and there were a few ‘a-ha now I get it‘ moments. Overall, the first & second story are a bit forced & the sex scenes range from despicable to weird. The last story‘s familial conflicts were what I could relate to most & also found most interesting. Overall, this is not a great but an ok book.

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Anna40
Simple Recipes: Stories | Madeleine Thien
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Relationships are at the center of all stories: child and parent, husband and wife. Other themes are displacement through immigration and how the generations cope differently with their longing for the other country. I love Madeleine Thien‘s writing style, the way she crafts characters and leads us into their world is masterfully done. It makes me want to read everything she ever wrote. Definitely a pick.

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Anna40
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It‘s a very low pick, the writing is good, the stories are original but the author was trying too hard to reveal some deep meaning, yet didn‘t really succeed. Also, many stories dragged on for too long. I liked Butter Chicken but the rest wasn‘t for me.

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Anna40
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Chick lit is not my genre but I was gifted ticket and book for the Jennifer Weiner event by a friend and I‘m so glad I got to see and listen to her talking about women, women‘s literature, her writing process, publishing, women‘s bodies, how they were and are shamed in media, motherhood and so much more. She‘s funny, intelligent, charming and generous. I had a great time! Looking forward to reading her book.

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Anna40
Landbridge | Y-Dang Troeung
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Y-Dang Troeung was a scholar& wrote this beautiful book at the end of her life.It‘s marketed as memoir but I‘m not sure that‘s the word we should use as it is a book told in vignettes or fragments containing stories of survival her parents &brothers recounted, her own thoughts on Cambodia&travels to the country but also letters to her son&her memories. It‘s a book about refugees, war, unspeakable cruelty&survival.The writing is lyrical&haunting.

TheKidUpstairs Such a fantastic book 2mo
Anna40 @TheKidUpstairs I agree and your review of this book is wonderful. 2mo
kwmg40 I too loved this book 1mo
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Anna40
Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies | Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
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Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is an author from Canada.In this book of prose fragments&poetry she explores decolonisation,resistance&healing.”You see, tragedy happened again. The details don‘t matter because details are hopeless, overwhelmed, shut down.”
The painting is by Clemence Wescoupe(Anishnaabe/Ojibwe),1975.I saw the exhibition on the Woodland Artists today.After two tough weeks&no end in sight this book&the paintings brought some solace.

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Anna40
Good Girl: A Novel | Aria Aber
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Nila,the daughter of doctor refugees from Afghanistan,grows up in poverty in Berlin because both parents cannot work in their profession.she hides her identity,saying she‘s Greek or Israeli&instead of studying for college,goes to raves&techno clubs.One night she meets Marlowe&is mesmerised by the older man whose debut novel made him an Indy celebrity.lots of drugs,sex,art,books,self hate,hate for Germany&its racism,Islamophobia,oppression of women

Anna40 I‘m so not the target audience for this and soon got bored with manipulative Marlowe, self hate, drugs, sex but the writing is good, the characters are compelling and I can see why Aber and this book receive so much praise. 2mo
squirrelbrain Yes, I found it rather repetitive after a while too. 🤷‍♀️ Great review though! 2mo
Anna40 @squirrelbrain it gets boring. It doesn‘t really go anywhere 2mo
charl08 Yeah, I'm not a fan either. Maybe first novel syndrome though: I'd pick up her next book. 2mo
Anna40 Yes @charl08 and @squirrelbrain I wanted to add that too: it‘s her debut and the next books might be very different 2mo
41 likes5 comments
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Anna40
Long Bright River | Liz Moore
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I really enjoyed Long Bright River.It works on many levels:it‘s a mystery but it‘s also social commentary. It‘s about poverty& addiction& about people who abuse women in vulnerable positions.And then it‘s about family, grief& loss.I also loved the questions it raised about motherhood& taking responsibility for a child, really having their best interest in mind &what that means.

Anna40 I saw on Litsy that it‘s been adapted for screen. I can see this story and characters work extremely well on TV. Liz Moore is an author I will return to. Curious to see what she writes next. 3mo
CatMS Long Bright River is a series on Peacock, enjoying it and so far is very close to the book. I also enjoyed the book. 2mo
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Anna40
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Japan 1903:Ichi,daughter of an ama&a fisherman from Iojima, is sold into prostitution. In the Shinonome brothel she is trained in the art of pleasing customers but also attends school where Tetsuko,a failed prostitute from the family of a samurai, teaches “writing to women trapped in the prison of bestial desire” and finally to read and understand their account books since the women are often charged too much for food or clothes&deliberately kept

Anna40 Dependent on their owners. The novel is based on a real historic event when prostitutes went on Labor strike inspired by a shipyard strike in the UK. I loved the beautiful language, the rich depiction of place, the women& their struggles. “ ‘Because prostitutes are not human‘, they said. ‘Not human?‘ ‘Lower than humans.‘ Shinonome bit her lip and listened in silence as Tetsuko‘s voice continued like the steady dripping of rain. ‘The law (Livestoc (edited) 3mo
Anna40 Emancipation law) stated that prostitutes have lost their human rights and therefore are the same as livestock. (…)‘ “ 3mo
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Anna40
The Divorce: A Novel | Moa Herngren
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Bailedbailed

Divorce is a difficult topic for a book& although the writing is good, it feels too much like a reality tv show where we get too close to a couple &witness something that should be private. It doesn‘t help that Bea &Niklas are both unlikeable characters.Bea “sacrificed” career for the sake of family & with divorce looming has financial worries, that feel very real for many women even today.Yet she also loves luxury items

Anna40 &spends too much money. Financial responsibility weighs on Niklas & forces him to take on a job he doesn‘t want. There‘s a lot of ranting & ugliness that is normal perhaps when two people separate but do I want to read about it? No. Really disappointed as I was looking forward to the novel. Not sure if it could have been a better book if the story had been written differently. Is it even possible? Divorce is not a good topic for a novel, I guess 3mo
24 likes2 comments
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Anna40
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Mehso-so

The graphic novel written by Evie Wyld and illustrated by Joe Sumner was only ok. Evie remembers growing up in Australia where her shark obsession begins. Interspersed with shark attack stories this is really about family and loss but stays too much on the surface to be a moving, heartfelt memoir. I enjoyed Sumner‘s artwork.

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Anna40
Long Island | Colm Toibin
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Eilis returns to Ireland after 20 years for her mother‘s 80th birthday &to escape her husband‘s infidelity& the child he has with the other woman.She gets close to Jim again who is now secretly engaged to Nancy& who in turn doesn‘t tell Nancy about his feelings for E.A big mess in the States is followed by a big mess in Ireland.Frankly this is a telenovela script&although I do appreciate the questions of:can you return to an old unfulfilled love?

Anna40 What does marriage mean and are you still bound by vows when they are broken? I also the theme of betrayal BUT I disliked all the characters, especially Jim & Eilis and Nancy is really better off without Jim. 3mo
Susanita I liked Brooklyn but didn‘t love it, so I didn‘t feel the need to read this. 3mo
Anna40 @Susanita I bailed on Brooklyn. The first 50 or 60 pages of LI were actually pretty good and Tóibín is a fantastic writer, yet, after that I got more and more annoyed with the characters and I only read to the end because I hoped none of them would be as terrible as they turned out to be. … 3mo
AmyG This one disappointed me. 3mo
Anna40 @AmyG me too 3mo
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Anna40
God of the Woods | Liz Moore
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In 1975 Barbara vanishes from the summer camp on her family‘s property.In 1961 her brother disappeared in the same woods&was never found.Told through the eyes of several mostly female characters&jumping back&forth in time could have been confusing but is done so well that it adds to the suspense.I love that Moore wrote both an engaging story with an unexpected (sad) ending&created characters the reader can relate to.Her criticism of sexism

Anna40 Resonated with me too. This book is worth the wait! I was initially 433rd in line at the library!!! 3mo
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Anna40
Three Years | Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
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Laptev falls madly in love with Yulia who does not reciprocate his feelings but marries him anyway. They move to Moscow,the only thing that makes the marriage bearable for her.Both suffer. “There did not seem anything to talk about, and both had been silent since morning. From time to time he looked at her over the top of his book and thought:whether you marry for passionate love or entirely without love-isn‘t it all the same?”

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Anna40
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In the first case of the Avraham Avraham Series, a teenage boy,Ofer, disappears without a trace.Told alternating from Ze‘ev,the boy‘s creepy& strange neighbor, &Avraham‘s perspective,Ofer always remains a mystery as neither the parents nor the few people who knew him have much to say about Ofer-except Ze‘ev.But is he a reliable witness?The story with its focus on complex characters rather than filled with action&red herrings is very Israeli.

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Anna40
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Perhaps one of the most beautiful books I have recently read. The narrator, a woman in the middle of her life, removes herself from this world of greed&destruction. In a convent she finds time to reflect&we have the privilege to accompany her on her contemplative journey into memory,remorse &grief. There‘s so much to unpack in this book:spirituality& the meaning of religion&community, the plague &the nemesis who are also a symbol for the

Anna40 Narrator‘s past mistakes & our greed that has led to the distinction of species, destruction of nature. Throughout the book the horror of death&disappearing emerge in the form of past & current events. A wonderful book & writer that deserve every bit of praise they have already received. 3mo
rachaich Really want to read this! 3mo
Anna40 @rachaich it‘s wonderful! Based on your reviews I think you‘d love it too! 3mo
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Jas16 I really liked this one too. 3mo
Anna40 @jas16 I think your review brought this novel to my attention 💕 3mo
squirrelbrain I loved this one too! 3mo
Suet624 So good and I do think I could use a reread 3mo
BarbaraBB Yes! I loved it too! 3mo
Anna40 @Suet624 @BarbaraBB I already miss the narrator 😊 this will definitely be a reread for me too 3mo
quietlycuriouskate This would have been my Booker Prize winner. 3mo
Anna40 @quietlycuriouskate she would have deserved it 3mo
Gleefulreader I‘m really looking forward to reading this one. 3mo
Anna40 @Gleefulreader hope you enjoy it 3mo
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Anna40
Il mare non bagna Napoli | Anna Maria Ortese
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Published in English under the title Neapolitan Chronicles&translated by Goldstein&McPhee, Ortese is one of the best post Ww2 Italian&perhaps most overlooked authors.The book consists of 5 chapters (3 fiction,2 journalistic accounts) that present a Naples shattered by war&corruption. Ortese‘s style is a blend of realist narrative&”almost surreal tone”.Ortese talks about her book having the effect of disorientation.

Anna40 Central themes are the inability&the need to ‘see‘. I absolutely loved A pair of eyeglasses & maybe even more so Family Interior. Highly, highly recommend! 3mo
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Anna40
The Rabbi's Cat | Joann Sfar
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An Algerian rabbi‘s cat can speak, argues with the rabbi about theological matters, demands a bar mitzvah, is jealous when his mistress (the rabbi‘s daughter) falls in love with a young rabbi from Paris and accompanies the couple and rabbi to France to meet the in laws. Funny, clever. Thanks @Adventures_of_a_French_Reader for recommending! 🥰

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Anna40
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I read this with my son to get him to read books with a broader vocabulary than what he encounters in the comics he reads 🙄. We both enjoyed it. It‘s a bit slow at times for the attention span of a 10 year old but I love how the author transports their readers into the past and introduces them to art while telling an entertaining story. The writing too is good. I think this could appeal to 9-11 year olds.

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Anna40
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I think this needs to come with many warnings: kidnapping/incarceration in a bunker,suicide,murder. I wanted to bail towards the end but decided not to. It‘s a claustrophobic, heartrending story ¬ for everyone. It reminded me a bit of The Wall by Haushofer because of its focus on women,solitude & there‘s this element of “fantasy” which is the wrong word, speculation perhaps “what if” without answering questions of why,how or even when or where?

Anna40 while creating a world where women are cut off from the rest of the world. But what is this world? It‘s simultaneously familiar and foreign. The story is filled with metaphors and the book overall is one “big” metaphor. This is a novel that shocked me, moved me, made me feel as if I was locked up alongside these women,caught in this dreadful world. A masterpiece but a very tough read. (edited) 4mo
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Anna40
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Bailedbailed

Miranda‘s grandparents are survivors from France. Anna,a doctor, & Armand,an interpreter at the Nuremberg Trials& later the UN,separate after the war, divorce & don‘t speak to &only with hate about one another for fifty years.Miranda goes on a journey to find out why/what happened to them. As much as I wanted to get to the end, this is another book I‘m bailing on. 😢

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Anna40
Barkskins | Annie Proulx
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Bailedbailed

I did make it to chapter 27 (there are 70 chapters) and I did, really did want to hang in there but I fear I‘m in a reading slump and a 700 page novel is perhaps not the best book to get me out of it.

Lcsmcat It is long. I did it on audio and had to renew it multiple times! 4mo
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Anna40
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This book about the hospital Craiglockhart & two of its most famous patients, Siegfried Sassoon & Wilfred Owen, tracks the effects of industrial warfare on soldiers & the origins of PTSD. Shell shock was seen by many commanding officers not as an illness but cowardice& thus punished. It was thanks to physicians such as Dr Rivers who treated the men with compassion that some lucky few found healing. The strongest parts of the book are the poems

Anna40 written by Sassoon & Owens. I also enjoyed learning about the pacifist movement in the UK & how the war was perceived by those not involved in combat. Overall, the men who received treatment all had very privileged backgrounds, the poor private was sent right back to the front without any compassion or treatment … 4mo
Suet624 Ugh. So sad. 4mo
CarolynM Stacked🙂 4mo
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Anna40 @suet624 yes, it is. I think many more than we think still believe PTSD in soldiers = coward or is something to be ashamed of 😢 4mo
Anna40 @CarolynM it‘s not an easy read but it really pulled me in. I‘m interested in reading Sassoon‘s and Owens poetry collections. Very powerful poems 4mo
CarolynM I‘ve got a particular interest in First World War literature with particular reference to Owen and Sassoon. Owen is a tragic figure and his poems are really moving. Sassoon was such oddbod, he is endlessly fascinating. Have you read his Sheraton trilogy? 4mo
Anna40 @CarolynM I had never heard of either of them before reading this book. Would you recommend starting off with Sheraton trilogy? 4mo
CarolynM It‘s fictionalised autobiography so it‘s a good way to get to know him. The first volume, Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man is pre war, the other 2 during the war and cover the Craiglockart experience. Sassoon also features in Robert Graves‘s memoir Goodbye to All That. 4mo
Anna40 @CarolynM thanks! Sounds great 💕 4mo
CarolynM And for a fictional take on Owen and Sassoon at Craiglockart 4mo
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Anna40
The Burning Plain and Other Stories | Juan Rulfo, Pablo Cortes, W.C. Miller
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I give it a pick although most stories were not for me but that‘s me not the author. The stories feature fugitives,migrants, revolutionaries or widows.The strongest story is The Man. Narrated first in 3rd person, the perspective switches back and forth from “the man” to his “pursuer”. Then it‘s narrated in first person from the perspective of a shepherd.But who is the pursuer&who the pursued? I think overall the stories were too bleak…

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Anna40
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I‘m glad I didn‘t bail, almost did a few times.There are 5+ characters who are connected,2 timelines,the story is only told through diary entries,letters or newspaper articles. It‘s a bit boring at the beginning & Sophie&Allen‘s love declarations for one another are a bit too saccharine.I‘m also normally not a fantasy/magical realism fan but this worked for me because the “fantasy elements” were taken from

Anna40 Alaskan myth, fable or folklore(hybrid beings:part human,part animal). I found the characters (especially Sophie) well developed & each voice so deftly captured. The evocation of place was also outstanding. I enjoyed this very much & it helps that it‘s not too gloomy. So the saccharine in the end turned out to be a good thing. Our world is gloomy enough (edited) 4mo
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Anna40
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Mehso-so

Katie Holten is an artist who collected poetry, recipes, excerpts from essays, thoughts related to trees. Some are philosophical, some scientific. Authors range from Ross Gay to Ada Limon, Robert MacFarlane, Richard Powers, Plato or Radiohead. I enjoyed reading bits and pieces but overall, I wonder: what is this? I don‘t understand what “a rewilding of literature and landscape” means and what the point of this book is. Not for me.

CatMS That picture of the trees is beautiful 4mo
Anna40 @CatMS yes! You‘re right! The artwork is great and especially this one 4mo
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Anna40
The Weekend | Charlotte Wood
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Adele (a broke &once successful actress),Wendy (an intellectual & once acclaimed writer)&Jude (a former restaurant manager) gather at Sylvie‘s beach home to clean out the house so that Sylvie‘s daughter can sell it. Sylvies‘s death impacts their relationship in ways none of them could have anticipated.They all deal with grief, aging & other losses differently. Wonderfully relatable, beautifully written. Switching points of view is so

Anna40 skilfully done & gives the reader so much insight into the thoughts & memories of the women but is never boring or shallow. Oh & there‘s also Finn, Wendy‘s old & deaf dog. Relatable, deeply moving, funny with wonderful characters. What an amazing book. I couldn‘t put it down. This is how you write female characters in their 70s. We need more books like this one! 5mo
Bklover Sounds wonderful! 5mo
kspenmoll I just got this from the library! Great review! 5mo
Anna40 @Bklover 😊yes, I think it‘s a wonderful book @kspenmoll hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. 5mo
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Anna40
The Wall: A Novel | John Lanchester
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Mehso-so

We follow Kavanagh as he starts his 2 year tour of duty as Defender at the Wall.The Wall was built to keep water and the Others out of an unnamed country which has been affected less by climate change than the rest of the world,hence,the Others are trying to get in.The ones who make it are either sent back, killed or can become Help=slaves.Life at the Wall is dull,dangerous&cold.yet if you become a Breeder,I.e. start a family

Anna40 you‘re exempt from serving at the Wall&receive privileges. Story&characters didn‘t work for me.It all sounded a bit ludicrous,twists& social commentary fell flat for me too. I thought this was a great idea & I liked the first 20ish pages. But once the whole breeder, help, robots, intergenerational conflicts started, Lanchester lost me. It was a bit too silly, far fetched for me. 5mo
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Anna40
The Drowned: A Novel | John Banville
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Ireland in the 1950s: A man appears out of nowhere in the night claiming he lost his wife, then says that she drowned. He behaves oddly: seems more excited than distressed. Told through the eyes of different characters this is such a well written and skilfully constructed story. The ending was a bit rushed and weak but it doesn‘t matter, I couldn‘t put the book down. I absolutely loved it.

kspenmoll I just got this from the library! Great review! 5mo
Anna40 @kspenmoll 😊thank you! Hope you like it too 5mo
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Anna40
Reality: And Other Stories | John Lanchester
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I‘m not a big fan of ghost or horror stories but for this author I make an exception. Lanchester can scare you, make you laugh and nod your head in agreement at the social commentary in his stories (cell phone addiction, social media, Trump and stupidity or reality TV). My favourite were Coffin Licker, We happy few and Reality.

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Anna40
You Were Made for This | Michelle Sacks
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Mehso-so

Warning: contains child abuse. This started out dark& depressing but also powerful. Merry& Sam move to Sweden with their baby Connor. Sam has inherited a house in the woods. Slowly we learn that he‘s a mysoginist but Merry too is no saint. When Frank, Merry‘s best friend,comes to visit, things get worse not better. Initially I thought this was a feminist take on motherhood & marriage borrowing from Bergman films& Stepford Wives, sadly

Anna40 It isn‘t. This is between a so-so and a pan. Disappointing, because I really liked Sacks‘ short story Freedom and Death in Michigan Quarterly Review Summer 2024. 5mo
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Anna40
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This is a solid mystery with lots of leads that mislead. I love Vera.She‘s a fantastic character&detective. The reveal is bit disappointing & so was the tedious older-women-are-invisible, unattractive or good looking “for their age” repeated one time too many 🙄. But the strong, reliable characters and the outstanding writing make up for the shortcomings. Would love to watch the series. I wonder if the actress plays Vera as Cleeves envisions her.

Bookwomble We love the Vera TV show, and my wife says that (national treasure) actor Brenda Blethyn interprets the character very well. I also heard an interview with Cleever on the radio a couple of years ago, and she said she was very happy with the TV adaptation, so it might be worth your time checking it out 😊 5mo
Anna40 @Bookwomble I just got back from the library with a set of Vera episodes. Sadly, our dvd player isn‘t working 🙄😬. But I‘ll definitely try to find a way to watch Brenda Blethyn as Vera. Thanks for the insights - now I‘m really curious to watch it. In the meantime I‘ve started another Vera book. … 5mo
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Anna40
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Bailedbailed

I decided to bail after trying for weeks to read Rabbi Sacks‘ essays on morality. I‘m having a hard time getting over some of his conservative views on family and marriage. His essay on media (Unsocial Media) fell flat for me too. I do want to get back to this book sometime later …

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Anna40
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Mehso-so

I wanted to love this collection but although I did enjoy Creed or The Quiet I was disappointed with many of the stories, especially The Travelers and Wicked Fairy.

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Anna40
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Dufour has a background in anthropology and the arts. This book is inspired by her doctoral research-who inhabits Canada? What is their history, who are Canadians? The graphic novel was created with the help of more than fifty Indigenous and non-Indigenous contributors. Dufour is “convinced that all inhabitants of the territory should feel concerned by questions of coexistence, equality and social justice.” Sadly, my French is

Anna40 Terrible. Have to get it in the English translation. (edited) 5mo
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Anna40
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A brief graphic novel about the abduction, sexual assault and murder of Helen Betty Osborne in the 1970s. It draws attention to the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada and the failure of police/ government to investigate these murder cases and/or protect these women. Henderson‘s artwork is powerful.

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Anna40
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Baron emigrated to Palestine in 1910, wrote in Yiddish and Hebrew, yet her stories were not set in her new home but in the world of the East European shtetl. Themes in her short stories are marriage, divorce, death or birth but giving the Jewish woman a voice. Kaddish, Sister or Burying the books are critiques of misogyny in traditional Jewish communities. I loved that Baron‘s Torah and Talmud knowledge shaped her literary work. In the beginning

Anna40 marks the passing of time (summer, fall, winter) with the Torah portions read throughout the year. Baron‘s prose is well crafted, the translations by Seidman and Kronfeld are a pleasure to read. (edited) 5mo
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Anna40
The Mission House | Carys Davies
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The story is told mainly through Mr Byrd‘s point of view, a middle aged English man traveling through India after a breakdown in the UK. In the remote mountain town where the English had found respite from the heat in the plains, Byrd also finds an idyllic quiet home in the bungalow near the presbytery. He fills his days driving around town with Jamshed, having dinner with the padre& teaching his young protege Priscilla. But … .

Anna40 Davies is an Exceptional storyteller. I loved this book & couldn‘t put it down. (edited) 5mo
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Anna40
The Passenger: A Novel | Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz
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Shortly after Reichskristallnacht,Otto Silbermann boards a train unsure of where to go&what to do.His wife is Aryan,thus safe,& so Otto is on his own.Since he looks Aryan&has money, he can travel without being arrested,yet his passport is already stamped with the infamous J for “Jude”&he cannot leave the country without a permit.The novel relies heavily on Otto‘s thoughts,observations&conversations with other passengers.Hate,indifference is what

Anna40 He encounters&a world turned upside down. There are no decent people pretty much sums up this nightmarish story until the devastating end. Not a perfect novel but since this was written by a young German Jew in the late 1930s who did make it out of Germany, it truly is a literary sensation. 5mo
Dilara Oh that's another book in my wishlist! 5mo
Anna40 @Dilara looking forward to reading your thoughts on the book 😊 5mo
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Anna40
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It is a pick, yet, if von Schirach was not an established successful author, I don‘t think this would‘ve been published. Coffee and Cigarettes is a collection of thoughts on scenes from films von Schirach watched or thoughts on the death penalty, German politicians smoking (Helmut Schmidt) or lawyers who defended RAF terrorists but also flash fiction, perhaps even auto-fiction. It was a pleasant read but I‘m not sure I‘d recommend it.

Anna40 It‘s a bit like peeking into someone‘s notebook. 5mo
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Anna40
The Outrun | Amy Liptrot
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It‘s wonderful that Liptrot found a way to live her life without binge drinking self destruction&that her memoir/writing has garnered success.Yet,the first half of the book is heartbreaking&exhausting.The second half,set on the islands of Orkney,where she grew up but doesn‘t feel she really belongs&where she finds stability/some form of healing(for lack of a better word), are a fine blend of nature writing& introspection.But it was very heavy&sad.

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Anna40
A Fist Or a Heart | Kristn Eirksdttir
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Elín,makes props for theater&films,is “mother to no one”& has no family. She lives in an old house she remodeled,with a tenant,yet I‘m not sure if the tenant is real or imagined. Especially towards the end reality,memory& imagination seem to blur. On her latest job she works on a play written by Ellen, the illegitimate daughter of a famous Finnish author. The girl is as lonely as Elín& she starts stalking her. There‘s something that

Anna40 Connects the two women. There‘s no real story line,most of the narrative takes place in memories. We learn about Elín‘s trauma& inherited trauma & we learn more about Ellen but some of the things that happened to Elín seem so surreal or unbelievable that I‘m not sure if they really happened. A very, very strange book. I loved it but I‘m sure it‘s not for everyone 6mo
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Anna40
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I thought Hadley is not for me,then I listened to the most recent The New Yorker Fiction Podcast: Savaş reads& discusses Hadley‘s An Abduction & her thoughts on Hadley‘s writing, in particular what happens inside of her characters made me want to read her again. I picked up this short story collection & am still not getting the genius of After the funeral which I had first read in the New Yorker but I loved Old Friends, Mia & My mother‘s wedding.