Books I Read in August 2016 (197 - 222)

Pictured: 5-star reads in August

197. Falling by Jane Green (review copy audiobook; my review)
198. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (library book; my review)*
199. Watching Edie by Camilla Way (review copy audiobook; my review)
200. Xala by Ousmane Sembene (interlibrary loan; my review)
201. Meat by Opal Carew (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
202. The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)*
203. The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko by Scott Sambach (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
204. Work Like Any Other by Virginia Reeves (library book; my review)
205. Indelible by Adelia Saunders (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
206. Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle (library book; my review)
207. Mathilda by Mary Shelley (Serial Reader; my review)
208. Angel Catbird Vol. 1 by Margaret Atwood (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
209. The Girls by Emma Cline (own from BOTM; my review)
210. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (library book; my review)
211. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (own; my review)
212. The Seventh Elephant by Alexis Stamatis (own; my review)
213. The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian (own in audio; my review)
214. My Own Cape Cod by Gladys Taber (interlibrary loan; my review)
215. My Antonia by Willa Cather (interlibrary loan; my review)
216. The Last Wish by Andrzei Sapkowski (own; my review)
217. Indiana by George Sand (own on Kindle; my review)
218. A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
219. The Rain in Portugal: New Poems (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
220. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (interlibrary loan; my review)
221. Lady Susan by Jane Austen (Serial Reader; my review)
222. The Many by Wyl Menmuir (library book; my review)


Abandoned:
The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish
Hystopia by David Means
Eileen by Ottesa Moshfegh
Storm Rose by Corina Bomann

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't get a chance to read this before it won the Orange Prize for 2012, but this year was a remarkable year for fiction written by women in the countries that qualify for that particular list. I would have been happy to see it go to Esi Edugyan or Anne Enright based on reading their nominated novels, and I haven't had chance to read the Harding or Patchett yet. I don't disagree with the decision to award it to this novel, and even better, this is Madeline Miller's first!

In The Iliad, the character of Achilles is devastated by the death of his comrade/friend Patroclus, and Miller explores the history of that emotional response in this novel. She explores the idea of a romantic relationship quite believably, starting with a boyhood friendship after Patronclus is banished from his home.

Hearing it described as so rooted in Greek mythology, you may be turned off from reading this. I know I was. The last time I read The Iliad was in high school, and I worried I would be lost. On the contrary, this was very readable, and I zoomed through it in an afternoon. The author is clearly knowledgeable about the classics, but also manages to make everyone in the story relatable and interesting. I felt myself feeling along with Patronclus as Achilles starts down his path of heroism.

I found a few reviews in GoodReads that come from people more knowledgeable about the original subject matter than me, and I think reading them will bring you understanding the way they did. Thank you Judith and Richard!

Skios by Michael Frayn

Skios: A Novel by Michael Frayn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was one of the few books longlisted for the Booker that I could get my hands on immediately.  

It makes sense that Michael Frayn is best known for his plays, because it is impossible to read this without seeing it staged in my mind. Only after I finished it did I realize he is the same playwright who wrote Noises Off. It has the same feeling to it - farce, silliness, chaos, characters who are so wrapped up in being themselves that they don't pay attention or fix their own problems; necessary for the entire thing to work.

Instead of a stage, this is set on a tiny Greek isle. I laughed a lot and took intentional breaks because it went by too quickly, and I wanted to enjoy it. 

As far as novels set in Greece though, it would be hard to displace The Magus in my mind.