This was a sweet little book. A recent aimless high school graduate is shipped off to a remote mountain town by his mother to learn forestry. Told thrThis was a sweet little book. A recent aimless high school graduate is shipped off to a remote mountain town by his mother to learn forestry. Told through the young man's journal, the town's people are initially quirky, the job impossible and all he can think of is escape. There's also an elusive and crushworthy girl so his existence he decides isn't entirely bleak. But that's all mere backstory to me because what really charmed me about this book was the trees and the tending to them. I have a short list of fiction books that have to do with trees and forests and the care or mistreatment of them and I was in the mood for one so this more than filled the bill. It was interesting and relaxing and just the read I needed.
I may read the second book. Recommended if you're in need of a slow, easy and calming read.
A mystery in translation set in the wintertime. This checked quite a few boxes for me when I chose to read it. Taking place after WWII in Argentina, tA mystery in translation set in the wintertime. This checked quite a few boxes for me when I chose to read it. Taking place after WWII in Argentina, the story opens at the apartment where many European emigres happen to live and a woman is found dead in the elevator. It's a very intriguing set up and as the police detectives arrive and interview the residents it's clear to see many have secrets.
The story takes a few twists and turns (it's a short volume) and I admit that I did not peg the murderer. That made for a good point but this ends so abruptly and matter-of-factly that I can't say I was satisfied. I can't even attribute the ending to being a translation quirk, there can't be more to translate when there is no more. So, a fine enough police procedural with detectives I'd happily spend time with again but I'd hope for a bit more breadth. Three stars to this outing of Argentina's Christie!...more
This was a very enjoyable historical mystery/police procedural. Set in the first days of 1950 with the consequences of Partition still churning, PersiThis was a very enjoyable historical mystery/police procedural. Set in the first days of 1950 with the consequences of Partition still churning, Persis, the first woman police officer in her country is tasked with a complicated and politically sensitive murder investigation. Her being the first woman is a major theme here and she's inundated with obstacles along the way but of course, she persists. Her colleagues, all male, were an interesting bunch and had surprises to the very end. I liked Persis and also the insight into her personal relationships with her family. She was determined and cared to find the truth, not just any answer served up to her for expedience. I adored the family bookstore her father maintained and her deep love for him. Even her Aunt Nussie was a good character with her overbearing ways.
The mystery of who killed Sir James Herriot was a tangled one for many reasons. He's found alone in a room with his throat slit and sans trousers. There were burned remnants in the fireplace and his safe is empty. The files of an investigation he was carrying out are missing and it's clear very quickly that he's not the good and honourable man he presents. There were many leads and threads of the investigation and I appreciated the turns it took. I enjoyed the final solution and how Persis arrived at it. I do have to admit that there was a lot of historical information on Partition and that sometimes felt like it slowed down the narrative. I can't imagine how else to have included the information than the way it was done and it was important but at times it did feel a bit like a history lesson, even in a historical novel. Still, I did feel the tension from the characters and understood the depth of it because of those details.
I'd read another by Khan and given that I realized when I reached the end of this that it's the beginning of a series, I suppose I will do.
I'm in a book hangover after reading this. I couldn't put it down but it really depressed me while I was reading about the lives of these women. It enI'm in a book hangover after reading this. I couldn't put it down but it really depressed me while I was reading about the lives of these women. It ended on a note that made me feel that even if all the things didn't work out well, each woman was resilient enough to be okay.
There's so much I want to say about this relatively short book but I just don't have it in me to do a detailed review. I do want to give a word on a passage where Wonna talks to her in utero daughter about what kind of relationship they'll have, how much joy Wonna would take in her daughter's happiness and how important it was for the daughter to know she was loved and cherished. I loved that and it felt important, especially because Wonna was not a cherished daughter. It was important to her to give her daughter what she hadn't received. I was (still am) a cherished and loved daughter. My parents gave me that but my mother was not a cherished daughter. Her depth of love for me sometimes takes my breath away and I can honestly say that I didn't really truly comprehend it, until I became a mother. This part, Wonna's hopes for her daughter, will stay with me most. Well done.
It was very good but I think I'm going to go find an apocalyptic or pandemic book to cheer myself up. I'd read another by Cha in a heartbeat... post-pandemic.
You know you're in trouble when the murder mystery couldn't save it.
The summary drew me in but sadly this did not ultimately deliver. There's a murdeYou know you're in trouble when the murder mystery couldn't save it.
The summary drew me in but sadly this did not ultimately deliver. There's a murder and six suspects who had motive and opportunity so the fun is in the teasing out the threads and following the leads to figure out whodunnit. I feel that the story lost its way at the suspects pov level and everything that sprang from that was tainted. To be fair, I did enjoy a few of the suspects' narration but cannot forgive the thoroughly unbelievable mess that was the sole American. Even if everything else had been perfect, he was so glaringly off, his existence would have thrown me out of the story and cost this a couple of stars. As it happens, he wasn't the only problem and by the time I'd arrived at the end (which was both preachy and a let down), I didn't feel like I'd read the book I was told this was. At least it was over.
I love books that can take me to a place and through a wide cast of characters either closely or tenuously connected to one another, provide an immersive, cohesive and satisfying story. I'm going to recommend Tash Aw's Five Star Billionaire here, in case that's your thing. Read that. Skip this....more
Good mystery that had some interesting turns. It wasn't quite the story I thought it was going to be and I enjoyed that. Gorgeous cover. Full review tGood mystery that had some interesting turns. It wasn't quite the story I thought it was going to be and I enjoyed that. Gorgeous cover. Full review to come....more
Ania is just as exhausting as I remember Austen's Emma so Rao hit that mark perfectly. Actually maybe a little more because she had social media preocAnia is just as exhausting as I remember Austen's Emma so Rao hit that mark perfectly. Actually maybe a little more because she had social media preoccupation & lived in a state of perpetually being accessorized appropriately just in case some random took a pic and posted on Instagram (she'll carry around an empty hatbox just to look "casually" perfectly accessorized). Admittedly, while I'm an Austen fan and always want to get my hands on retellings, Emma is not my favourite work. I'm a Persuasion and Anne devotee so based on personality and tone alone, Emma's disposition is, for me, a harder sell as anything remotely charming. But Rao reeled me in by vividly painting the landscape that is Dehli, the Khurana estate and environs and all of the others who populate these places and have to deal with Ania's breathtaking entitlement and machinations (the self-serving explanation of "check your privilege" she gives to her father was hilarious). There's rich detail expressed in landscape, furnishings, food and even the weather. It was witty, immersive and I was swept up in the entire story. I even admit to taking complete delight in Ania's spectacular failures of judgment. Couldn't happen to a more deserving meddler.
There are also enough pieces that are a bit of a departure from Emma as a consequence of the modern setting that I think elevated the story and kept my interest. While in the end, Ania is mostly as she began, remaining ever "Emma" and to my mind, the case still isn't made as to why her "George" would fall for her, I don't hold it against the story as it's true to the original. If Austen didn't convince me, Rao need not. I did very much enjoy the trajectory of others but most especially of Nina. Hers was quite heartbreaking in the end and all the realizations she comes to while at the Royal Opera House will remain with me. It was one of my favourite parts of the story.
With regard to wit and its clear look at the monied class and all its attendant conceits, obsessions and quirks, this definitely reminded me of Crazy Rich Asians. And I was actually a bit sad this is a standalone because I wouldn't mind checking in on many of these characters again, especially Ania (because growth is a thing and she's got plenty of room to grow).
I'd gladly read another from Rao and will be looking forward to it. Definitely recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for the Advanced Readers Copy....more
It being December, I've been leaning toward reads with Christmas themes or snow and this checked both those boxes. It's the sixth in a series and whilIt being December, I've been leaning toward reads with Christmas themes or snow and this checked both those boxes. It's the sixth in a series and while it took a little to get into the ongoing travails of the detectives in the story, I don't think it suffered any with me dropping in now and reading it as a standalone. The descriptions of the setting really drew me in and gave a wonderful sense of place. I also liked the way the story moved along. There are 107 chapters but they're fairly short and I didn't feel bogged down. The characters were well enough done and I was guessing a good deal about who did the murder. I happened to enjoy how so many threads tied up neatly and I thought the murder was cleverly done.
I would read another in the series but not at the moment because it's December and I'm still looking for murder under mistletoe and crime secreted under snowdrifts....more
My only complaint with this is that I didn't want it to end. Such is the peril of reading the novella. There's some exceptional writing here and with My only complaint with this is that I didn't want it to end. Such is the peril of reading the novella. There's some exceptional writing here and with the yearning of Mars always in the background of the story, I really loved the atmosphere and how Moreno-Garcia painted this world.
Amelia is a twenty-something who is stuck in the mire of poverty due to college being stopped to care for her dying mother and the inability to parlay her skills into marketable remuneration. It's a bleak existence and one that eerily doesn't feel so far off in the real Western world (I haven't heard there's massive blood selling going on just yet). Still, there is hope threaded through in her long desire to relocate to Mars. Her interactions with Lucia were some of the best, not just for the look at Mars through old B-movies, but mostly for the relationship built between the two women. The other characters from Amelia's sister, to the ex-boyfriend who found her on Friendrr (a service people sign up to for companionship), to her ever-resourceful friend, Pili were well done for a short work but I could easily see how they could be expanded in a longer work.
I was surprised at how many passages I highlit as this is a novella but I will share one here.
"Since the expensive buildings required abundant water and electricity, the poor residents in the area had to do without. The big buildings had priority over all the resources. There were also a few fancy buildings that had halted construction when the latest housing bubble popped. They remained half-finished, like gaping, filthy teeth spread across several gigantic lots. Indigents now made their homes there, living in structures without windows, while three blocks away, women were wrapped in tepezcohuite at the spa, experiencing the trendiest plant remedy around the city."
I feel it really gave a sense of place and reminded me of something I read once about the Superbowl festivities in some city or other in the last so many years. The article made mention of the homeless seeming bemused by all the high-end amenities in the pop-up city of vendors around them (most particularly the hot dogs dressed in gold leaf for the eating pleasure of those who could afford it). The display of poverty adjacent to decadence, when presented so starkly, remains jarring.
While I've tagged this one science fiction, I think it feels more like speculative fiction (I don't have a dedicated shelf for those). I am hoping Moreno-Garcia expands this story and gives readers more of Amelia's story.
I want to read more by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Definitely recommended....more
I was so stoked when I came across this book. I wanted a mystery that wasn't the usual setting I tend to read and Saudi Arabia as a setting sold me. TI was so stoked when I came across this book. I wanted a mystery that wasn't the usual setting I tend to read and Saudi Arabia as a setting sold me. Teenage Nouf goes missing and is found dead providing the main of the mystery for the story. Who wanted to kill her? Why? How did they devise and carry out this plan? There were a good number of red herrings and I kept thinking that those answers were far too easy. Funnily enough, the reveal of the murderer fell a little flat because the character was only in the story tertiarily. So this wasn't one of those the reader could have solved themselves from clues all along. A minor quibble.
My major quibble was with the characterization of the mains. Nayir was more than anything weighing the story down with his worries about piety, finding love and many more internal angst points that I had to read through but refuse to relive in the recount. The pace was hampered y this and that's a problem with a mystery. I felt too much time was spent in his head with his issues and took him from awkwardly charming to cringeworthy and annoying. Katya, I quite liked but she didn't get as much time at the forefront as Nayir and she wasn't as much of an angst churner so I much more enjoyed my time with her in the story. She's the only reason I'll continue with this trilogy.
Recommended for setting novelty in a mystery. I can't imagine this is what one takes as an accurate representation of modern Muslims (Nayir's inner monologue alone was neurotic to the point of paranoid & that's not how practicing Muslims I know, live their faith). The women also were mostly thin as characterization goes, save Katya and that was rather disappointing. Still, there were passages I quite enjoyed, times I actually chuckled and cheered and I was always pulling for Katya and Nayir to solve this murder. I'm not quite sure what Katya's attraction to Nayir stems from entirely but she had been through a lot by story's end and had a limited number of options available. I'm still loving her job.
I'll read the next of the trio (already bought it) and hope that Katya is more the main character next time. ...more
I came across this book when reading an article about books in translation and as I always feel that I don't read enough of those, I was interested. WI came across this book when reading an article about books in translation and as I always feel that I don't read enough of those, I was interested. When I found out that this was an apocalyptic scenario, I was really excited because I rarely get science fiction in translation, this made it a "must have right now" book and I'm so glad I read this.
Anya is fleeing suburban Moscow with her husband Sergey, son Mishka and father in law, along with the neighbors (Lenny, Martina & little Dasha) she dislikes from across the lane and finally, Sergey's ex-wife Ira and son Anton. To add to the pack, some friends of Sergey also show up to add to Anya's list of "People you'd least like to be left with at the end of the civilised world". And to top things off, Anya's grieving the loss of her loved ones who couldn't get out of quarantined Moscow and have succumbed to the deadly virus.
While reading, I always wanted to know what was next and if the group would make it to their destination or how many would be lost along the way. The states of societal breakdown and disorder they encountered as they went along were well done and so were the ethical contrasts within the group on what should be done given any situation. Even when I didn't agree with everyone, I completely understood where they were coming from, so it was a good exercise in thinking about where I'd fall in a similar circumstance. I loved that.
I admit to finding all the women in the group annoying at one time or another with their pettiness and whinging but then it occurred to me that it probably is just how some people would act given the situation and how very short a time they'd all been thrown into it. So though irritating, it felt true. Anya, in particular tended to be angry when she wasn't consulted in major decisions but she wasn't actively participating in most of the work, so I couldn't care as much that she was left out. I felt that I'd have empathized with the women more if they exercised more agency and activity and less lip service. They all seemed perfectly willing to leave the hard work to the men while they indulged in what I can only describe as "Princess" moments. I did my fair share of eye-rolling because of this but I still cared about everyone. As to the ending, it was a bit abrupt but still satisfying in its own way as the reader's been on tenterhooks wondering if the group would make it but as there's a sequel, there's more to the story to come.
I've found out that the second book is out already so here's hoping the translation is being worked on as I type because I very much want to know what happens next for the group. Recommended....more
I knew going into this that it was a translation and I may not get the next in the series soon if ever but I jumped right in anyway. And now I'm hopinI knew going into this that it was a translation and I may not get the next in the series soon if ever but I jumped right in anyway. And now I'm hoping when the next will come or if it will.
The setting of Como was just lovely to read about and the food sounded enticing as well. I read this on vacation and was immersed in it while I sat on the beach. I quite enjoyed the mystery and also investigator Valenti. I wanted more of her backstory but as this is the first in a series, I expect there's more to come. The mystery itself had a foot in the past and present and while some of the outcomes weren't a real surprise, they were well done in the reveal. Also as this was a translation, some of the transitions were abrupt from one scene to the next. Still, I didn't think it diminished the reading of the story itself.
Recommended especially if you're a mystery lover who likes something outside the usual destinations....more
How did it take me so long to read this one?! I bought Crazy Rich Asians when it came out and my TBR list being an ever growing thing because I keep fHow did it take me so long to read this one?! I bought Crazy Rich Asians when it came out and my TBR list being an ever growing thing because I keep finding things I want to read, it languished. I was reminded of it when China Rich Girlfriend debuted but instead of reading it then, I bought CRG and they languished together. Last week I read a novel set in China that I loved so well, I determined to finally, FINALLY get what Kevin Kwan wrote in my brain. And it was good.
Economics professor, Rachel Chu of New York is invited by boyfriend, Nicholas Young (history professor) of Singapore to the wedding of his best friend Colin Khoo to Araminta Lee. Not that it sounds so simple to invite the Significant Other to a wedding, but this unfurls as a thing so complicated it reads as tantamount to an international incident. Nicholas comes from a family of dynastic wealth. The real sort, where it's so deep and far reaching that the social media driven world has never heard of them and more to the point, doesn't see them. Where their property is obscured on Google Maps and reads blank on a range of satellite imaging. I'm a sucker for a story about people who know the true value and power of anonymity and privacy so this captivated me straight away.
This is not to say that all of Nick's extended family are about privacy & eschewing ostentatious displays of wealth. There's a cast of true characters that follows in this family that run the gamut from eccentric (hello, Oliver!) to soulless (I'm looking at you, Eddie!). Like all cloistered enclaves, there's a lot of competition between the old money guard and the nouveau riche are attempting not just to get a foot in but also to learn the rules and if they can pull it off, break and remake some. It all adds up to a sometimes dizzying game.
Upon finding out Nicholas is bringing Rachel home to meet the family, his mother, Eleanor, spends the first half of the book avoiding meeting Rachel & on a quest to find out something scandalous about Rachel that I was sure would either be a lie or something Rachel herself had no knowledge of (did anyone believe her mother's story that Rachel's father was dead?). She even gets a sort of Mean Girl brigade to try to do some damage to Rachel & Nick's relationship. Nick's father spends as much of his of his time as he can in Australia away from his wife. No one sane or kind can blame him for that.
Cousin Astrid was a great character and had an interesting story going on herself. She married Michael who isn't from a wealthy family and the differences between the families status has taken its toll on her husband. While I felt for Michael, I have to say that the most romantic gesture in the story is done by Charlie, Astrid's ex-fiancee. The lengths he went to, anonymously, to help foster her happiness and marital success was lovely. It was illegal but grand. Cousin Eddie (brother to Alistair & Cecelia) is married to Fiona & they have 3 children (Constantine, Augustine, and Kalliste). He maintains spread sheets detailing his family's wealth & how much he'll inherit that he updates weekly as he waits for his grandmother to kick. He's a gaping maw of emptiness that is trying to fill in with designer brands. He fails. I think he was supposed to be a bit of a comedic foil but as I found him abusive to his family, so that fell flat.
Rachel luckily had some allies along the way. Piek Li, a friend from college, is from a nouveau riche family of builders. Her father is all kinds of put out about the Young property that Google dark. Her mom has three portly Pekingese dogs names Astor, Trump & Vanderbilt and has a penchant for gold covered everything. It hurt to read but their kindness won out over their taste challenges. I hope to see more of them in the following books. In addition to Piek Li, Astrid and Colin's cousin Sophie were also helpful to Rachel along the way and I hope they all grow closer.
Cloistered enclaves, no matter where they are, tend to be suffocating & limited petri dishes where nothing much is as great a pass time as gossip, back-stabbing and envy. Next level schadenfreude is happening. The descriptions of the opulence here didn't court my envy but the descriptions & variety of food did. I want a gastronome touring package holiday in Singapore with a side jaunt to Malay!
One slight criticism I have is that Rachel & Nicholas' angst sometimes read as teens and not the 29 & 32 year-olds they are. This problem extended a bit to the bachelorette guests (Francesca and Amanda specifically) as well. I had to keep reminding myself that these "girls" were full grown degreed women. The ending wasn't one so much as it was a scene cut. I can't be the only reader who hoped to actually see Nick propose to Rachel. I have the second book in my TBR pile so at least I can continue with the story immediately. This was compulsive reading at its best. Definitely recommended....more
This was quite an enjoyable read and a pretty read for a book around 400 pages. The story of five people making their way (or trying to) in Shanghai aThis was quite an enjoyable read and a pretty read for a book around 400 pages. The story of five people making their way (or trying to) in Shanghai and each being connected either directly or tangentially was engaging.
Phoebe was most interesting to me as she was an illegal-immigrant working and seeking a better life than the one she left behind in Malaysia. I often didn't like the way she went about attaining her goals but I also had enough empathy for her that her life beforehand had not afforded her better tools to work with. She didn't seem to have much of a moral center but there's never enough of her past given to let the reader understand her better. Still, she was most interesting to follow. I rooted for her to do well and cringed when things would go wrong for her. I also hoped for good things for her roommate, Yanyan. She was quite a sympathetic character in that while we don't witness it, it seems Shanghai life has beaten the ambition out of her and given her a case of depression and agoraphobia.
Yinghui was also an engaging character. Her present as a successful business woman who has moments of worry that she's lost her chance for love was captivating and well balanced with the recounting of her past as a modern girl of privilege and daughter of seemingly a corrupt civil servant. Her life is split in two at a particular point and is one of the best threads of the book. She, is arguably one of two central characters here. She and the Five Star Billionaire are more than any others central to this story and connected in simple and then surprise ways. I loved that even when it hurt to read those reveals.
I was drawn more to the female characters than the male though there was nothing lacking in the male points of view here. Gary, the fallen from grace, pop star was endearing and made me hope for him to have a big win and be less lonely at the close of the story. While I found Justin sympathetic and was glad that he seemed to have found some sort of peace after his breakdown, I felt disconnected from everything that had to do with his feelings for Yinghui. It was so one sided and abstract that I just couldn't get it. I wanted him to find happiness with Yanyan. And finally, there's Walter. He was interesting but I still don't know entirely what made him tick. His backstory and present are well laid out but he still felt remote and perhaps that is the point of the character as his elusive nature keeps him isolated from others which seems to attract others even though it presents a certain danger. He didn't surprise me but I had hoped I was wrong or something deeper would be revealed by book's end.
Finally, here's to Shanghai! I loved how immersed I was in this book and reading about life in a big, cut-throat city that makes New York look like a school yard. I loved that to these characters making it big had nothing to do with going to the West. I loved that stars loomed large and not a one were from the West. The descriptions of the taste of the city and all the sounds and smells were so vivid. I also love that this reminded me that I've two books by Kevin Kwan on my TBR list and really want to get to those. Now that I've read about the hard scrabble life in Shanghai I want to look in on the other half. Definitely recommended....more
I quite enjoyed this look at three expatriate American women in Hong Kong. Margaret, a trailing wife (so called because she's trailed behind Clarke, hI quite enjoyed this look at three expatriate American women in Hong Kong. Margaret, a trailing wife (so called because she's trailed behind Clarke, her husband who is working there) with their three children. Hilary, an independently wealthy trailing wife of David, a corporate attorney. Mercy is the third woman, a single twenty-something Columbia grad who has been aimless and continues to be hapless on the periphery of this group. Their lives were intertwined well and while I often was frustrated with them, I still found them all interesting to read about. I won't give spoilers here because they're worth reading but I do have to say that one character's lack of an actual name did niggle at me and threw me out of the story each time I came across it. There was never any explanation given for this circumstance so I didn't know if the character really had that as a name as no one else did or if the author had done it for a specific reason or if there was some sort of cultural hint I was missing that the reference was done as a nod too.
It was a lot more sad than I'd expected and I have to say that I wholly disagree with a blurb I'd read that mentioned it was funny. The epilogue was totally saccharine but but I really didn't need that for a satisfying end, in fact, it diminished the story a bit for me. Sometimes you need just to skip epilogues. I definitely recommend reading this one....more
I didn't enjoy this as much nor blaze through this one like I did Crazy Rich Asians. There wasn't a lot of momentum or plot but there were a ton more I didn't enjoy this as much nor blaze through this one like I did Crazy Rich Asians. There wasn't a lot of momentum or plot but there were a ton more characters and name brands to add to the fizz. The Kitty thread was just okay but probably because I didn't think she was that important or compelling in the first book. Climbers gonna climb. *shrug* I think this had the all too common "middle book syndrome". All I really cared about were Astrid, Rachel & Nicholas and whether or not his grandmother had decided not to disinherit him for marrying low afterall. Perhaps that'll be covered in the next book because of course I plan on reading it. It's still frothy but I didn't think this one was as much fun as the first. Neutral on recommend unless you're a die-hard fan of the series but I quite feel I could have skipped this one, read the last & been perfectly satisfied. ...more
I don't know how I feel after having read this book. It was interesting but I found it overwhelmingly sad. From the detailed foot binding to the low wI don't know how I feel after having read this book. It was interesting but I found it overwhelmingly sad. From the detailed foot binding to the low worth expressed for girls & women, to Beautiful Moon's death & the estrangement of Lily & Snow Flower, I was constantly hoping for more light at the end of the tunnel. It ends on what I can most optimistically call a bittersweet note but by then I was basically just glad that it wasn't a longer book & that it was over. Lily had run her course. I was glad she shared and more than happy that we wouldn't need to visit again.
I tried not to let my modern sensibilities intrude on my enjoyment of the story but I must admit that I kept hoping that Lily & Snow Flower would break from the constraints of their lives with more than the nu shu. Perhaps that's limited of me but there always seemed to be glimpses that Lily & Snow Flower were not satisfied with the treatment they received but in the end, they fulfilled their dictated roles. I do think that it was realistic and certainly not a typical way to close the character arcs & that did keep me reading & interested....more
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