TWO INTERTWINED STORIES, one a spookily poetic tale of sisters haunted by the past and one a Chicago police procedural, converge in startling ways. Lovely, rich with a great city’s history, beauty, and tragedy. B PLUS
A VIRTUOSO RIFF ON AN AMERICAN classic: the inimitable Percival Everett retells the story of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective, transforming it from a familiar picaresque to a more complex adventure and a meditation on code-switching. A MINUS
A FORMER CHILD INFLUENCER comes to terms with how the exploitation of her image changed her life. More than just a “problem novel,” this thoughtful book deftly takes on issues of family trauma, love, friendship, racial and national identity. A MINUS
Just finished an oldie, but very goldie: Vonda N. McIntyre: Superluminal (1984). (Goldie not only because she based part of the action in her home town of Seattle 😉 )
Vonda gives us new ideas galore.
A new view on how FTL spaceflight can be made up (seven dimensions, anybody?), using human pilots having undergone procedures.
Humans becoming a new species: Divers, living in the ocean - and crewing spacecraft.
Lots of diverging interests, politics, struggles, ...
STUMBLING TOWARD ENLIGHTENMENT in Seoul: university friends now in their thirties find heartbreak and lesser forms of anomie in this eloquent, multivocal experimental novel rich with details of life in today’s South Korea. B PLUS
THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO Jasper Fforde’s enigmatic 2011 novel Shades of Grey is a fascinating, mysterious science fiction picaresque where decoding the secrets behind the worldbuilding is part of the fun. B PLUS
A TALE OF LOVE AND MONSTERS is a heart-stopping, action-packed fantasy adventure, a unique romance, and a deep, wise parable about self-sacrifice and family stories. Beautifully crafted kaleidoscope of distinctively new and classic legends. A MINUS
Liz just wants a happy birthday.
Is that too much to ask?
A beautiful antique bed: her birthday present to herself. The nice delivery men set it up in her bedroom, and then all Hell breaks loose. Literally.
When it turns out the bed's former owner isn't basking in the glow of a happy afterlife, Liz must face some nasty adversaries to help him. Why on earth would she risk her life and her sanity to help a ghost? Certainly not because she’s in love with him.
'10 Things I Hate About You' is one of my favourite novels. It is more than just a movie; it's a timeless tale of love, friendship, and teenage angst. Set in a high school backdrop, this modern adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew". The movie depicts how love can be complicated sometimes.