Just sneaking onto the end of the thread with a few reviews
14 Flights by Olga Tokarczyk (trans Jennifer Croft)
This interweaves multiple narratives that explore the themes of travel, identity, movement and the human experience. The novel follows various characters, including several fragmented stories and reflections on their thoughts while traversing various landscapes. Some ideas are just a few lines long, while some are several pages. It delves into the interconnectedness of lives across time and space. This won the International Booker Prize in 2018. In some ways it was beautifully written, and at over 400 pages, relatively easy to read, but I got a bit frustrated in the end by the fact that anything that sparked an interest wasn’t really followed up.
15 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
This has been widely recommended on the thread and I loved it. It is the correspondence between Helene Hanff, a New York writer, and the staff of a London bookshop, Marks & Co, set in the mid-20th century. Their letters, spanning several decades, reveal a shared love for literature, demonstrating friendship and connection across the ocean despite their divergent lives. It is also really funny. A bold for me.
16 The Hike by Lucy Clarke
This was quite a good twisty thriller set in Norway during a hiking holiday. It tells the story of four women, their relationships and worries, but ends with the death of one of them. I thought the female British characters were more believable than the male Norwegian characters but it worked quite well as an audiobook as was narrated from various perspectives.
17 The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
This is a lovely follow-up to 84, Charing Cross Road, chronicling Helene Hanff's trip to London in the 1970s for a book tour, where she finally visits the bookshop and meets its staff. The story highlights her adventures through the city, meeting the staff and their families, her encounters with various fans, and her deepening affection for London. It is a bit sad though as it is after Frank Doel has died so she never got to meet him.
18 Black and British: A Short Essential History – David Olusoga
I picked this one up by accident as I wanted to read his black history book – this is a slimmed down version aimed at children/teenagers. It was good though and I hope to read his adult history soon.
19 Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian
This historical novel follows the story of a young Armenian boy named Vahan during the Armenian Genocide, which took place in Turkey during the First World War. It is a fictional account written by an Armenian American author, based on the life of his great uncle. At the beginning of the novel, Vahan is living a privileged life as the youngest son of a wealthy Armenian family in Turkey. This secure world is shattered when some family members are whisked away while others are murdered before his eyes. Through Vahan's perspective, we see the tragic events that unfold, as he navigates loss, survival, and the quest for identity amid the horrors of war. I really liked the character of Vahan, who retains a level of innocence despite the horrific things that happen to and around him, but it is obviously pretty sad. It will stay with me.