The Other Valley, by Scott Alexander Howard: Very lovely time-travel narrative that didn’t feel as if it relied too heavily on the conceit, even though the plot wouldn’t have existed without it. I’ve heard comparisons to The Giver and don’t disagree, though I don’t think it reads like YA. The setting felt very specific and complete even though we don’t know what continent we’re on (I kept feeling like we were in France or some kind of French outpost, given… Read more »
Posts By: Claire
Books of 2024, part 11
What Happened to Nina, by Dervla McTiernan: This was extremely hard to put down at night – very propulsive. I thought the style – from the multiple perspectives to the short chapters to the spare prose – served the story well, although I was frustrated by the ending. Some People Need Killing, by Patricia Evangelista: A must read – I didn’t know enough about Duterte or his regime in the Philipines, and Evangelista both crafts a strong work of journalism… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 10
From October and part of November. The Sleepwalkers, by Scarlett Thomas: I was aghast – generally in a positive way, for the book and writing if not the characters – by the events in this novel. Thomas does an impeccable job demonstrating how trapped the narrator feels and how easy it can be to question your own perceptions. North Woods, by Daniel Mason: I started this, got bored, wasn’t ready to call it more than a conceit/excuse to write in… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 9
I am VERY behind on these – this set is from the end of August through early October. Whalefall, by Daniel Kraus: So much of this was ridiculous, and the prose veered very purple, but damn I have to hand it to the author for coming up with this conceit – a modern-day Jonah, basically – and sticking with it in the most comparatively realistic way possible. The Garden, by Clare Beams: I loved The Illness Lesson and read this… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 8
What Lies in the Woods, by Kate Alice Marshall: When I picked this up, I didn’t realize the author had written a YA book (How to Disappear Completely) that was not for me at all, and fortunately, this was much stronger. Slightly predictable, but solid enough, though some slightly off-putting depictions of mental illness. The Devil and Mrs. Davenport, by Paulette Kennedy: In one sense, this felt a bit stock and melodramatic, but those qualities also felt deliberate. I will… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 7
Babel, by R.F. Kuang: I’m a massive linguistics lover and was thoroughly delighted by the wordplay here. Was it didactic at times? Yes, but how could it not be? I didn’t feel it detracted from the story; I don’t think the story was possible without it. I thought the book might fizzle out toward the end, but was pleased that it did not. Dolls of Our Lives, by Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney: Very gimmicky – structured based on the… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 6
Darkness Visible, by William Styron: I think it’s probably unfair to judge a book about depression written in 1990 by the standards of today (but I have The Noonday Demon on hold, so let’s see how it measures up) – but everything Styron mentioned felt very obvious, and the whole thing felt meandering and stream-of-consciousness. The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson: A lovely, very young-feeling collection of vignettes about a grandmother and granddaughter living on an island off the coast… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 5
The Stranger in the Woods, by Michael Finkel: I know this was an expansion of a long-form article, and in some ways it felt like it should have either remained an article or gone deeper into the historical perception of hermits and of other “famous” hermits – it did so in a cursory way. Interesting nonetheless. The Lola Quartet, by Emily St. John Mandel: So atmospheric. The members of a high school jazz quartet remain interconnected (but mostly unbeknownst to… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 4
The Last Language, by Jennifer duBois: WOW. A whole gamut of emotions and responses while reading this, from intrigue to delight (at all of the linguistic tidbits) to shock to horror. I didn’t recognize the author’s name when I borrowed this; after looking her up I realized I read one of her other books, Cartwheel, and though I remember enjoying it, the experience didn’t compare to this one. Mesmerizing. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, by Tahir Hamut Izgil: The… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 3
Fear is Just a Word, by Azam Ahmed: I’m glad I read this for its comprehensive background on the Zeta drug cartel and the terror the residents of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, have faced. The primary story – of a woman who becomes an activist after her daughter is kidnapped and murdered by the Zetas, one of many such kidnappings – was compelling, but could have made a much more compelling long-form article. Unfortunately, in book-length, the writing felt repetitive,… Read more »
