The Strange Case of Peter the Lett (French: Pietr-le-Letton) is a 1931 detective novel by …
Review of 'Pietr the Latvian' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I'm glad I didn't start with this book when discovering Maigret, it's the first book in a very long series, so it's more interesting as an example of how a writer develops as they write more books.
The writing isn't as good, the world isn't as lived in, and the supporting characters are still being figured out. At the same time, the seed of all their potential is there, so it's fun to see the ideas in their infancy.
As a very short light read it's still a totally fine time though.
Celebrated author Ursula K. Le Guin witnessed the rebellions and upheavals of the twentieth century, …
Review of 'Space Crone' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Fascinating essays from a brilliantly inventive and original writer, giving insight into her views on feminism and the changing place of woman in society. The Fisherwoman’s Daughter was a fave.
Some of the issues are no longer as significant now - which is a good thing - but some are still very relevant. As a man I enjoy the hubris of deciding which is which.
A vagrant living under a bridge is assaulted at night, knocked hard enough to fracture …
Review of 'Maigret and the Tramp' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
My intro to the French Sherlock Holmes and I will definitely read more. The Paris of the book feels messy and grey and the inspector is refreshingly human.
Instead of being a super-genius, Maigret is just some guy slowly figuring out the case with plenty of reassessment, mistakes, and double checking of details. Plus the constant references to the Parisian streets and the french lifestyle (you better believe he's going home for lunch) builds this visceral feeling you don't get with Sherlock.
Don't know if it's because of the original author or the translator but the writing itself isn't anything special. To be fair as a Le Carré fanboi I might have impossibly high standards.
It's also a short read, which adds to the pulpy feeling of the experience.
Review of 'Children of Time 3-Book Set by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, Children of Ruin, Children of Memory)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A brilliant expansion of the previous books themes and plot, with some fantastic new additions. Thoroughly entertaining high-concept space opera. It's fun to think about trying to explain this book to someone who has never read science fiction.
The only criticism you could make is that the section where the original crew land on Nod and slowly discover what is happening there is one of the most thrilling and thought-provoking pieces of sci-fi horror ever written. Even though the rest is still great, it’s impossible for any book to match the perfection of that section.
The Riders (1994) is a novel by Australian author Tim Winton published in 1994. It …
Review of 'The Riders' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A haunting, beautiful book that has you so frustrated with the main character but that frustration just shows how deeply you're invested in his crazy journey.
Sometimes when reading a book I will be laser focussed on where it is going, and what will happen there, that I don’t enjoy the book for what it is. Its only after I finish and satisfy that curiosity that I can look back and appreciate the journey that I was on. It is so easy to fall into that trap with this book but luckily I caught myself before the end so I could enjoy it in the moment, rather than only when looking back.
Also thanks to this book I’m now into folk music, I’m literally listening to The Dubliners while writing this. So that’s an automatic 5 stars.
I'm a sucker for insanely vivid and viscerally detailed descriptions with the most brazen display of writing ability and that is Alan Moore's bread and butter. It's the closest you can get to seeing pictures while still reading words.
I see why the comics medium appealed to him in the first place.
Some of the stories in here are fantastically high concept, others are good old fashioned small town horror, and his takedown of the comics industry will leave you feeling suitably dirty afterwards.
The Secret Pilgrim is a 1990 episodic novel by British writer John le Carré, set …
Review of 'The Secret Pilgrim' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
His most disillusioned book yet, and the books before it weren’t exactly rosy. Honestly feels like we’re about two books away from le Carré becoming a card-carrying communist.
This is essentially a collection of spy-themed short stories in the format of a man looking back on his career, which also mirrors the decades of gradual Great British decline.
Le Carré takes advantage of the format to tell the kind of stories you couldn’t put in a novel. There were definitely a few standouts but it was all solid.
Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up or Peter and Wendy, often known …
Review of 'Peter Pan' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A profoundly beautiful book.
I had never read this before, only knew it from the Disney movie. On the surface the two seem pretty similar but it takes a while to realise just how much is changed by those small alterations.
The innocent cruelty of Peter, the vague adolescent attraction, the extended ending. It all works to build this intensely touching story both honouring the joyful imagination of youth while at the same time showing how one day, it’s nice to grow up.
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far …
Review of 'Crying in H Mart' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
If anyone doesn’t understand how ‘whiteness’ has nothing to do with skin colour you can just show them this book. A book about being half Korean written by the whitest woman in the world.
She manages to make everything about her. The most obvious example is her father. You would think she would have some empathy, after all whatever she is feeling for this distant mother figure she barely interacted with must be a thousand times harder for the man whose life was completely defined by her, who lived with her his entire life. But no, instead she tries her best to demean and belittle his experience, culminating in the weirdest scene in the book, where she asks the reader to join her in smugly judging a grieving widower for committing the sin of acting like a tourist in a foreign country.
Then there’s the food, just endless irrelevant lists …
If anyone doesn’t understand how ‘whiteness’ has nothing to do with skin colour you can just show them this book. A book about being half Korean written by the whitest woman in the world.
She manages to make everything about her. The most obvious example is her father. You would think she would have some empathy, after all whatever she is feeling for this distant mother figure she barely interacted with must be a thousand times harder for the man whose life was completely defined by her, who lived with her his entire life. But no, instead she tries her best to demean and belittle his experience, culminating in the weirdest scene in the book, where she asks the reader to join her in smugly judging a grieving widower for committing the sin of acting like a tourist in a foreign country.
Then there’s the food, just endless irrelevant lists that make the eyes glaze over, like you’re at an asian restaurant with a white friend who wants to show off how worldly they are. The best food writers will go out of their way to place food in the context of the place it comes from and the culture it represents, using food as a way to build understanding of another people and another way of thinking. Not this author, for her Korean food only represents a chance to show off how interesting she is. She can’t risk actually engaging with the culture beyond a superficial level because then she might have to consider other people worldviews. There’s something so quintessentially millennial white woman about it. This is the Eat, Pray, Love of grief.
To be fair, this story would be perfect as an article, it would be heart wrenching and beautiful. As a book all it does is reveal the emptiness underneath.
I will say though, if you lost your mum I’m sure it would hit the feels, its so saccharine it can’t not. And also if you want to know what it’s like to be the worst, this is the book for you.
Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued …
Review of 'Emma Jane Austen 1815' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This book is A Confederacy of Dunces with a privileged white woman as the lead. It's a hard read until you realise she's a buffoon you're meant to laugh at the entire time.
She is smug, classist, and closeminded, the kind of person who genuinely believes they care about others but are completely incapable of seeing anyone elses point of view. Even after her journey of self discovery it's made very clear - with her attitude towards Harriet and Mr Martin - that she is still plenty classist and closeminded.
Maybe it's society conditioning me, maybe it's my own insecurities, but if I'm honest I kinda love her spoiled white ass.
The language is odd with some interesting word choices peppered throughout, I don't know if that's the translator or the writer. It's a distinct style of writing that I warmed a little more too as it went along.
But the first half is sooooo dull, if I hadn't a book club schedule to stick to I don't know if I would've pushed through. Then it gets to the second half and it's weird to say it gets better since it just gets so damn depressing, but it's definitely more engaging.
This book plays with the reader brilliantly, lulling you into a false sense of vague discomfort but not outright alarm, so when it takes a turn into bleaker territory (and sweet mother does it get bleak) you're left to reflect on the fact you didn't see it coming from the start.
Review of 'Killers of the Flower Moon' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This is a book about exposing a hidden chapter of history rather than building a single narrative. The focus is on research and analysis and showing the facts of this mass murder.
It's definitely not dry but it does mean the emotional weight of this book comes from learning what happened, not from a specific characters journey.
Extremely well researched, with broad analysis of the events of the Osage murders that provides horrifying breadth to the tragedy that occurred. David Grann also avoids sermonising, letting the facts and the history speak for itself. By the end every reader reaches their own conclusion about the psychology of a country with this kind of darkness in its history.
Glad I'm in Australia where this kind of racist cruelty never happened.
In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in …
Review of 'In Cold Blood' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Listening to this on audiobook is like hearing the First True Crime Podcast. The tension with the slow reveal of what happened, the focus on the criminals as much as the victims or the police tracking down the criminals, the homoerotic undercurrent, it set the standard for much of what was to come.
This book stays with you, it makes a strange case for both the need to keep certain people away from the general public forever but also why capital punishment isn't the answer.
The first time I read this I remember expecting more in terms of motivation and connections between the victims and the criminals and feeling a little let down. This time around I appreciate that it's that very lack of connection that makes the aftermath of the town so fascinating to focus on.
Also it's hilarious how much more interesting a character Perry was out of …
Listening to this on audiobook is like hearing the First True Crime Podcast. The tension with the slow reveal of what happened, the focus on the criminals as much as the victims or the police tracking down the criminals, the homoerotic undercurrent, it set the standard for much of what was to come.
This book stays with you, it makes a strange case for both the need to keep certain people away from the general public forever but also why capital punishment isn't the answer.
The first time I read this I remember expecting more in terms of motivation and connections between the victims and the criminals and feeling a little let down. This time around I appreciate that it's that very lack of connection that makes the aftermath of the town so fascinating to focus on.
Also it's hilarious how much more interesting a character Perry was out of the two criminals, Truman does his best to seem even handed, keep Dick in the picture, but basic-ass Dick never stood a chance.
