bailedSad to say I‘m bailing on this one, at least for the time being. A glitchy ebook and a past-it‘s-sell-by-date e-reader, combined with quite a slow-moving plot and (surprise!) a few too many stolen bicycles meant I never really sunk into this one. However, the opening scene was haunting- I want to know what was going on- so I may come back to it if/when I track down a ‘clean‘ copy.
#readaroundtheworld #taiwan
Starting The Stolen Bicycle for #readaroundtheworld #Taiwan .
One chapter in and I‘m loving it - beautifully descriptive with a menacing turn already. And scarecrows.
But it has a shockingly low Litsy rating, and few actual reviews, so we‘ll see... My only gripe right now is that my ebook has technical and formatting issues!
(She is working at a butterfly collage factory in Taiwan. I haven‘t been able to figure out the timeframe yet for this new narrative in the novel, but it may well be during the Japanese occupation. The collages are made by dismembering the poor butterflies and using parts of their wings to make the art. Google tells me that this was also done in Europe centuries ago. It would totally be frowned on in the modern era, hey?)
#QuoteOfTheDay
pickOften odd, sometimes a little heavy going (I can only take so many bicycle facts, and skipped over some animal cruelty) but the writing was so unfailingly beautiful, so well observed, I had to make this a pick. I was noting down so many beautiful lines from it. I really felt like it helped me understand something about Taiwan and I‘m grateful for books that help me do that. #litworldgb2018 #manbookerinternational2018
#25infive update one day in! 6/25 hours yesterday.
Yesterday I listened to my audiobook for 4 hours at work and then read my kindle for around two hours in the evening (maybe a bit more than 2 hours but I‘m trying to be strict with myself). I was hoping to plough on and finish The Stolen Bicycle but my long distance bf was suddenly able to call and I wasn‘t gonna pass that up!
so-soYes, the story is about a stolen bicycle. This is the main thread of the narrative, and author create around this personal family history and the history of Taiwan. I like the idea, but unfortunately, not the execution. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is the first year in eons that I haven‘t even heard of one of the Man Booker Long List books! Where did these novels come from?? What about you all? Did you know about or read any of these last year?
The Stolen Bicycle | 
