I’ve really been enjoying reading this thread recently. So many good reviews and recs. Here are my most recent reads (in brief):
99. The Nothing – Hanif Kureishi
Warning, sexual quote below in this review!
Honestly, one of the worst books ever. Super-pervy old film director on his last legs (terminally ill) suspects his much younger wife of having an affair with a man who wheedles his way into their home and affairs. This was horrendous, with so many unpleasant sexual references about women being perved over by old blokes and was just generally yuk. For example, one chapter opened like this:
“Anita was not a woman a man could look at for long without wanting to put his penis in her mouth”. I mean WTF!
98. Manhattan Beach – Jennifer Egan
I made the decision to finish this rather than give up (I hate giving up) but ultimately felt underwhelmed. However, it’s an interesting account of diving in the naval yards during WW2 from a female perspective. Although I liked Anna, the protagonist, I felt I couldn’t must much enthusiasm for the story in general and felt the first two thirds were better than the latter, which seemed to lose pace.
99. Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata
I rather liked this short, simple tale of a woman who has been regarded as ‘different’ all her life and is unable to fit in to society as anything other than a convenience store worker. The convenience store gives her routine, purpose and allows her to engage with others, giving her the opportunity to ‘mimic’ what she believes are the key elements of a socially acceptable every day existence, such as certain patterns of speech and fashionable clothes.
100. Lolly Willowes – Sylvia Townsend Warner
Coincidentally I read this at the same time as Satsuki and fully agree with her review upthread. I did enjoy the first part, but the latter, involving witchcraft, was somewhat harder to engage with being somewhat out of sync with the first part. Still, rather entertaining all in all.
101. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street – Natasha Pulley
Chaotic, badly plotted historical/magical fiction book set in 19th century London. This had so much potential with an unusual tale involving a Japanese watchmaker and Irish bombings but failed to deliver on every count. I did not rate this.