The Childhood of Jesus, by JM Coetzee. Pub 2013 I don’t know what I was expecting with this book. I thought perhaps it would be a take on the childhood years of Jesus Christ, a period that is not covered in any great detail in the bible and so subject to much speculation, conjecture, and... Continue Reading →
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Book report #14 (2022)
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Pub 2005 I don't recall where I heard about this book, but it must have been in late 2021 because it was on the list I gave as Christmas suggestions. I am very glad I did and that it was included in that Christmas bounty, as it was excellent.... Continue Reading →
The Overstory, by Richard Powers. Book report #13 (2022)
The Overstory, by Richard Powers. Pub 2018 This book was a slog and a half. I started it in the first week of January and have whittled away at it over the past 3 months, finally closing it this past weekend. It is long but felt oh-so-much longer with its complex and convoluted characters and... Continue Reading →
A Deceptive Devotion, by Iona Whishaw. Book report extra #2* (2022)
A Deceptive Devotion, by Iona Whishaw. Pub 2019 Book 6 in the Lane Winslow series continues the thread of intrigue and spy-craft from Book 4, with Soviet, British, and Canadian intelligence agencies battling to secure a retiring spy and his important information. As usual, all the plot lines end up leading to Lane’s lovely house... Continue Reading →
When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamin Labatut. Book report #12 (2022)
When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamín Labatut. Translation by Adrian Nathan West. Pub 2020 This book was an impulse purchase. At the bookstore to collect some books for work, I overheard the clerk telling another customer about this one and was intrigued by her effusive praise for the strange science and compelling... Continue Reading →
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Book report #11 (2022)
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Pub 2021 I selected this book as a Christmas present, based on my recent reads of other Ishiguro works. Oddly, I have not read his most famous, The Remains of the Day, but I suppose that will happen eventually. SPOILER ALERT: Klara is an android/robot, known in the novel's... Continue Reading →
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. Book report #9 (2022)
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. Pub 1949. As I saw on Twitter recently, satire writers are having a hard time these days keeping up with reality. In the current state of the world, reality seems like it must be satire, and writers have difficulty making up things that are too absurd. There are also plenty... Continue Reading →
A Sorrowful Sanctuary, by Iona Whishaw. Book report extra #1* (2022)
A Sorrowful Sanctuary, by Iona Whishaw. Pub 2018 Book 5 in the Lane Winslow series looks at yet another slice of early 20th century Canada, bringing a national story to a local setting in King's Cove, BC. In this story, Whishaw explores the difficult history of displaced persons and enemy aliens, especially in the form... Continue Reading →
Everything is F@cked, by Mark Manson. Book Report #7 (2022)
Everything is F*cked, by Mark Manson. Pub 2019 This book was a gift from a friend and colleague, arising from a discussion last year wherein I'd said that I did not especially enjoy Manson's previous book as it didn't flow well (that book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, was essentially a compendium of... Continue Reading →
Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion. Book Report #6 (2022)
Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion. Pub 1970 Joan Didion died in late 2021. While I had heard of her before – my impression was of an elite New York writer dissecting upper class America – I’d never been moved to learn more about her or her writing. Until I read an obituary... Continue Reading →
rclr 