Review: Catherine the Great and the Small

Catherine the Great and the Small by Olja Knezevic
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This year in my Around the World reading I'm tackling Europe - the countries I've never read anything from and deepening my knowledge of others. I posted a list to Twitter and got great suggestions so I jumped into this book from Montenegro author, Olja Knežević. It is translated by Paula Gordon & Ellen Elias-Bursac and came out in 2020 from Istros Books (who seem to be a good resource for translated literature from the Balkans.)

Catherine is coming of age in Titograd in the 1980s (which becomes Podgorica by the end of the novel,) and the book follows her life before and after the Balkan Wars. A lot of the political conflict and economic crises take place in the background of her life and her family and community. It looks at isolation and separation from home more than it tries to look at history and war.

"We each sit on the clean soft grass of our new countries, alone. Alone in a crowd, alone even when we’re with our new friends, who don’t hear the roar of the wild mounting inside us. Always at the start of summer we pine for the pungent smell of home."

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Read in October: Books 257 - 278 of 2017

Books pictured are 5-star reads for October 2017.

257. Hanna Who Fell from the Sky by Christopher Meades ** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
258. The Readymade Thief by Augustus Rose **** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
259. In the Country We Love: My Family Divided **** (audiobook from Audible; my review)
260. Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont **** (interlibrary loan; my review)
261. Elmet by Fiona Mozley *** (personal copy; my review)
262. Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica **** (whodunitbymail book swap; my review)
263. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf ***** (library book; my review)
264. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado ***** (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
265. Springtime: A Ghost Story by Michelle de Kretser **** (library book; my review)
266. Another Place You've Never Been by Rebecca Kauffman **** (library book; my review)
267. Before We Visit the Goddess by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni **** (book swap; my review)
268. Autumn by Karl Ove Knaussgard **** (library eBook; my review)
269. Sugar Town by Hazel Newlevant **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
270. Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee **** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
271. Hadriana in All My Dreams by Rene Depestre **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
272. Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions by Amy Stewart **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
273. The Sarah Book by Scott McClanahan ***** (personal copy; my review)
274. The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn **** (Goodreads giveaway; my review)
275. Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn ***** (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
276. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury **** (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
277. Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal **** (interlibrary loan; my review)
278. Juventud by Vanessa Blakeslee ***** (interlibrary loan; my review)

Total books read: 21
Review copies: 7
Audiobooks: 4
eBooks: 7
Print books: 10

2017 Borders Reading Project: 5
Man Booker Prize list: 1
National Book Award List: 1

New Books In - March 2016

This was a lighter month for buying books and most of them were for vacation!

The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy
Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh
All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer
Light Years by James Salter

We spent a few days in Beaufort, SC, and considering Pat Conroy's recent passing and Beaufort being his longtime home, I thought bringing one of his earlier books with me would be wise. Of course I didn't end up reading it this time around, and will probably save it for our next trip to the low country. The McIntosh was one of the Amazon Kindle daily deals, although I'd had it on my to-read list. The Salter was a book I'd gotten from interlibrary loan but knew I wasn't going to enjoy reading the type and yellowed pages, so bought a paperback. Haven't cracked it! The Steinhauer was my response to my husband asking me to pick an audiobook for us to listen to on our drive down, and is the only book from this list that I have finished.

Have you brought any new books home lately?

Jenny's Books Added April 2014

This has been a lighter month on book acquisitions.

Physical books:



The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
I keep hearing about this book and a copy came available on Paperbackswap.com.  It will be added to my Books on Books shelf in GoodReads.

Pantry: poems by Lilah Hegnauer
An offering from the local Hub City Bookshop, half price for poetry month, poems inspired by kitchen utensils (but not about them.)  My review is in GoodReads.

eBooks:



Women's Work by Kari Aguila
I challenged myself to read a self-published book after a discussion about self-publishing on Episode 3 of the Reading Envy podcast, and came across a review of this title in Publishers Weekly.  I started it but haven't gone back to it.

Zoli by Colum McCann
One of the Kindle daily deals.

Serena by Ron Rash
Ron Rash is a well-known southern author, but I've never read anything by him. He will be at the SC Book Festival in May, so that moves him up the list.  Then this book was $1.99 and I can't resist a book I want to read at that price.

The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year: Volume Eight, edited by Jonathan Strahan
This is a review copy I received from the editor.  I have really enjoyed previous volumes so I am looking forward to it.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch
An eARC from NetGalley, but it sounded post-apocalyptic and trippy, with a comparison to J.G. Ballard.  I need to move this one up the list.

From Souk to Souk: Travels in the Middle East by Robin Ratchford
An eARC from NetGalley, this interested me because of my Iran-Iraq-Turkey reading goal this year.

Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
An eARC from NetGalley, but a topic I felt would benefit me.  I HATE criticism.

Audiobooks:

The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych #1) edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey
 I jumped at the chance to get a review copy of this audiobook.  I'm about 1/3 through, and all the stories are about what happens right before a big event.  John Joseph Adams describes it as "the match."  The future books in the triptych will continue some of the stories that start here.  Great concept, and I do love a good disaster!

Please come find me in GoodReads and friend me there.  That is where I keep track of all the books I want to read and review the books I've read.  

Review of Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond

Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond by John Joseph Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Why I read it: It came up as an option in NetGalley, and I always look forward to anthologies by John Joseph Adams.  I was actually sent a review copy in audio too, but passed it on to another reviewer for SFF Audio.  When she has reviewed it, I'll post a link!

I struggled with this anthology at first. Don't get me wrong - I almost always love the JJA anthologies and own several. I blame myself for never reading the original Oz books. I've always meant to and wanted to but never got around to it, so my only experience is through the movies of the Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz. I know that the original book had emerald glasses, but I don't know any of the other characters, back history, weird details, etc. So it made it hard for me to know which of the ideas in these stories were borrowed and magnified from the original, and which were unique to the contributors. This is all on me, but the best readers to enjoy this anthology will know Oz the way Baum intended it before digging into it reimagined.

Now I really want to read the Oz books. But first, comments on the stories in this volume! The basic premise is the Oz story or characters or setting - reimagined into something new. The authors, well-known for stories in science fiction and fantasy, all go in slightly different directions.

One of my favorites was "Dorothy Dreams" by Simon R. Green. The first line:
"Dorothy had a bad dream. She dreamed she grew up and grew old, and her children put her in a home. And then she woke up and found it was all real. There's no place like a rest home."
Ha! That made me laugh, but after I was done laughing, I enjoyed the bittersweet story very much.

A similar premise was "One Flew Over the Rainbow" by Robin Wasserman, which I think Baum would have liked, considering the veins of insanity that seem to underlie some of the original story (from what I understand). The reference should be obvious, I think.

In "The Veiled Shanghai" by Ken Liu, the story is about Shanghai revolutionaries, with the same characters. I liked this spin, but I wish it had slightly less of a "The City and the City" premise. He also included paper animals like in his short story, "The Paper Menagerie." It also had a silly line (many of them make references like this) that said "I'm certainly not on Kansu Road anymore." Har har har.

Another favorite, even though it also utilizes the simultaneous city idea, is "Off to See the Emperor" by Orson Scott Card, which suggests the basis for the entire world, in a real town in Kansas that also had an Emperor of the Air.

This isn't all the ideas. Other stories feature tornados employed for even worse purposes, Dorothy becoming a witch, girl detectives, murder cases, cyborgs, automotons, steampunk, and some stories from the perspectives of minor characters - a cobbler, a window washer, a farmhand. This is definitely an enjoyable read. The more you know Oz, the better.

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The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Why I read it: I enjoyed her last book, and jumped at the chance to read this before it came out through NetGalley.

I do not give out five stars lightly, but there are several reasons why I think Karen Lord's novel deserves it. This is pure science fiction, which was a surprise after reading her previous novel, Redemption in Indigo, which while enjoyable was a retold myth or fable. Since Karen Lord is one of three Caribbean authors writing in science fiction and fantasy, I have been looking forward to seeing what she would do next.

I have reamed novels set in space when they trade scientific description for unrealistic character portrayals. I would say that creating nuanced and interesting alien races is her strength. It isn't all science, as all the races have a slightly vague, mythological history. Are the Caretakers real? What is the connection between Terrans and the Sadiri?

The two main characters are Dllenahkh, who is in charge of Sadiri refugees, and Delarua, who accompanies him on a mission because of her scientific and language ability. Karen Lord was inspired by the statistics of how many more women than men were killed in the 2004 tsunami, and applies that idea to the disaster that makes the Sardiri into refugees. To further their culture, they have to go look for societies that may have ancient connections to their own, little pockets of taSadiri throughout the universe. Because of this, the author explores genetic mutation between alien races, and what remains of an original culture.

I felt the alien races were well-developed, and I liked the concepts of Sadiri communication, and the examples of people who have abused their natural abilities. There is a good balance of interpersonal conflict alongside broader issues. I feel like anyone who likes Melville's Embassytown because of the anthropological challenges but prefers their novels to be more readable, and anyone who enjoys the space novels of Ursula K. Le Guin, will connect with this novel.

Highly recommended.

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The Hobbit, Final Week

"So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending!"

I am participating in the "The Hobbit" Read-a-Long instigated by Unputdownables.  As I previously mentioned, this is my first time reading The Hobbit! Some of my observations may seem like no-brainers, but I hope you can forgive my naive perspective.

Now we have come to the end, and I am writing this weeks in advance since I finished the book in early December.  I have loved this reading experience.  I have valued the words, the storytelling, the song, and the feedback of friends in reading communities who have offered their own thoughts as they journey with me through this book that seems to be a favorite of many.  Oh how I wish I had read this as a child.  It feels like a book that has nostalgia built-in.  The songs, the poems, the characters, the lands, the descriptions, the way action builds - these are clearly geared towards a younger audience, but I still enjoyed it very much.

I was surprised at what Bilbo did with the Arkenstone of Thraine.  I suppose I thought the battles and Gandalf's return would have enough momentum to resolve the story line, but I love that the Hobbit's actions prove central to the resolution of the story of the same name.

I'm not sure it does enough for Bilbo, who still just wants to go home, but he clearly earns the respect of Gandalf:

"'Well done! Mr. Baggins!' he said, clapping Bilbo on the back. 'There is always more about you than anyone expects!'"

Thorin has an excellent last-words speech to give to Bilbo, somewhat of an apology really:
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

I will end this experience with this very poignant moment between Gandalf and Bilbo as they are close to the Shire:
"There is a long road yet," said Gandalf.
"But it is the last road," said Bilbo.

The Fun Parts by Sam Lipsyte

The Fun Parts by Sam Lipsyte
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sam Lipsyte has an ability to make me laugh uncomfortably, the way you would do after having a shared awkward experience where someone loses it in front of you. The characters in his short stories are always out of place, trying to cope with reality, failing, and the author is not afraid to push their scenarios to the most outrageous conclusion.

My favorites - The Climber Room (for the ending), The Wisdom of the Doulas (is the male doula "doulo" crazy, or is the world?).

Also - don't have kids. We forget, when we are grown up, how serious life was in our teens and pre-teens. Lipsyte hasn't forgotten, and it is terrifying.

To be honest, I really did enjoy these stories, but I liked The Ask even better.   Short stories tend to vary in audience and tone, and not all of these had the same punch.  The entire novel of The Ask did that for me.  I'd start either place if you are new to his work.

The Hobbit Week 7

"It is an ill wind, all the same, that blows no one any good."

I am participating in the "The Hobbit" Read-a-Long instigated by Unputdownables.  As I previously mentioned, this is my first time reading The Hobbit! Some of my observations may seem like no-brainers, but I hope you can forgive my naive perspective.

This week we read chapters 13-15.  Full disclosure, I am writing this post ahead of time, because I went ahead and finished the book a while ago.  The pace was too slow for me, plus I wanted to see the movie the weekend it came out.  Towards the end I'll probably review the movie as well!

This section is the action the entire book is building up to - acquiring the treasure alongside an unexpected multifaceted struggle with elves, eagles, goblins, wolves, and even more dwarves.  Townspeople and Gandalf also figure into the story again.  I admit to skimming parts of this section.  I will feel the same way in the movie(s), I'm sure, since battle scenes are always in the category of yawnworthy for me.  There is also a lot of posturing between Incredibly Stubborn Thorin, the Elvenking, Bard, and Gandalf.  Nothing is fully resolved, and we leave the story with Bilbo grumbling about food again, tired of the mountain, tired of cram, and I think he's going to do something drastic!
 
There are a lot of little peppy quotes in this section, and I was the annoying reader who kept turning to her husband and reading them out loud.

"While there's life there's hope!"
"Third time pays for all."
"It is an ill wind, all the same, that blows no one any good."

The Hobbit Week Six

"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations."

I am participating in the "The Hobbit" Read-a-Long instigated by Unputdownables.  As I previously mentioned, this is my first time reading The Hobbit! Some of my observations may seem like no-brainers, but I hope you can forgive my naive perspective.

This week we read chapters XI-XII.  Chapter XI details the dwarves and Bilbo finding their way into the mountain where the treasure they have been journeying towards is said to lie.  Chapter XII shows Bilbo venturing into the mountain to seek out the treasure and the dragon.

Place names mentioned in this section: Long Lake, River Running, Lonely Mountain, Ravenhill

Now that all the dwarves are back in their community because of the wine barrel escape orchestrated by Bilbo, he is an outsider once again.  At the same time, he is still in somewhat of a leadership role.  While the dwarves seem content to forget about the treasure and the mountain, he is eager to move forward:

"[Mr. Baggins] would often borrow Thorin's map and gaze at it, pondering over the runes and the message of the moon-letters Elrond had read. It was he that made the dwarves begin the dangerous search on the western slopes for the secret door."

 And still they complain. What is the burglar for? Why isn't he spying?

Bilbo's poor-me response: "It is always poor me that has to get them out of their difficulties, at least since the wizard left. Whatever am I going to do? I might have known that something dreadful would happen to me in the end."

Later on there is a funny scene after Thorin declares it is time for Bilbo to earn his reward. He protests that he has already saved them twice, which is above and beyond his charge. I liked how he talked himself around into helping them, and talking himself down from being afraid.  He has pretty well-developed emotional intelligence, for a hobbit.