A quick round-up of my latest books, as life has finally slowed down a little.
- The Female Persuasion – Meg Wollitzer
Much reviewed on here and I believe the general reception has been a bit luke warm. I really wanted to like this, and felt the story had lots of potential. Sadly I found this to be a well written but strangely dull read.
The story was slow and with one notable exception, lacked punch. Characterisation was reasonable but nothing special. I can’t put my finger on what this book lacked – too many characters, unsympathetic characters, a not very interesting story? Who knows. Not dreadful, just a bit meh .
- The Remainder – Alia Trabucco Zeran
A good contender for my strangest read of the year. Paloma, Felipe and Iquela, three adult children of Chilean dissidents stage a macabre reuinion, following the death of Paloma’s Mother. Paloma seeks to carry out her Mother’s dying wish for her body to repatriated to Chile. When the coffin is detained in Argentina because of adverse weather conditions the three friends commandeer a hearse to drive over the mountains to recover the body. So ensues a drunken and drug addled road trip. All three attempt to reconcile themselves with the traumatic events of the past with varying degrees of success.
Very dark and very weird, perhaps a bit too much so for me. Beautiful prose though. I would be interested to see what this writer does next.
- Prayers for the Stolen – Jennifer Clement
I really enjoyed Gun Love by the same writer, which is so far one of my books of the year. This was good too, but in my opinion not in the same league. Written in a very simplistic style befitting of the young teenage author, here Clement explores the story of Mexico’s stolen women and girls.
Ladydi (great name, and yes, she is named after the Lady Di) and her Mother live a precarious existence in a remote and lawless mountainside village in rural Mexico. Ladydi and her friends are in constant fear of being kidnapped by criminal gangs, so much so that they learn to hide in holes dug into the mountainside when they hear the SUV’s approaching. Ladydi’s determination to escape to what she perceives as the relative safety of the city turns out to be tragically misplaced.
Fantastic descriptions of the natural world and moments of dark humour were the highlights for me in this often disturbing tale of the Mexican underworld. Ultimately I think Signs Preceding the End of the World which I read earlier this year covers very similar ground and does it in a more interesting way. Definitely worth a read though if you are curious about this part of the world.
- Some Luck – Jane Smiley
I picked this up in a second hand book shop because it had a large and sprawling family tree in the front cover, and I love family sagas.
The story begins in 1920 in the American Midwest. Each chapter covers one year in the lives of the Langdon family, concluding in the mid 1950’s. This the first book in a trilogy, which I understand will bring the story right up to the present day. This was an easy and gentle read. There were lot of characters, and given that this part of the twentieth century was a very eventful time, there is also plenty of action. Despite this the story was easy to follow and felt undemanding. I think Jane Smiley writes very well, in quite a subtle understated way, which I enjoyed.
I’m undecided as to whether to continue with the trilogy; perhaps because the sheer number of characters mean I’m not very invested in them, or perhaps because I’m less interested in American history post 1950.
- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead – Olga Tokarczuk
I think this was probably a case of the wrong book at the wrong time, as I have had an insanely busy couple of weeks and found I was reading this in short bursts and finding it difficult to get back into it, so probably not doing it justice.
Eccentric animal lover Janina Duszejko lives in the Polish countryside and attempts to make sense of the world through astrology and the poetry of William Blake. When a series of strange murders take place in her community, she and her neighbours and friends try to make sense of it all.
I quite liked this initially but soon began to feel as if reading it was a bit of a chore. It was however, funny and entertaining in places, although unfortunately not enough to redeem it for me. Requires concentration and uninterrupted reading time.