Welcome to Litsy!

This reads more as two separate novellas where the characters have asymmetrical relationships. The first is an older famous author who meets a much younger woman. Their relationship slides from romantic to caretaker as the story moves along. The other novella explores an Iraqi-American traveler stopped at Heathrow and detained. There is no link between the two. However, if you like short fiction and reflective stories, I highly recommend this!

This must have been quite a performance! 😳

This line made me sad. I‘m still trying to decide if I like this story or not.

I‘m going in blind on this book so I‘m not sure what to expect. I hope it‘s good.

#alphastack

I‘ve been following the above tag on Instagram for a while, so I thought it‘d give it a go and post it here on Litsy too....

Here‘s my ‘A‘ stack..... books beginning with ‘A‘ I loved, and also 1 from my TBR (the tagged book) that seems to be a Marmite kind of book.... Love it hate it, there‘s no in between! 🤷‍♀️
📚📚📚📚📚📚

#ISpy @BarbaraTheBibliophage gave me teal.

The picture doesn't look teal. Do you want to play for pink? @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Mtroiano

Structured as two novellas and a short story, I‘m not entirely certain I “got” this novel. To me, it was an exploration of inequality with privilege and frivolity contrasted against hardship and danger. Regardless, I loved it. I think it‘s beautifully written and enjoyed the reading experience immensely.

#dogsofLitsy #Bindi

We seek order in life's pandemonium. Governments make laws, partners declare love, and artists write stories, imposing form on life‘s most amorphous parts. Asymmetry‘s chapters are, well, asymmetric, as if from separate novels. And that‘s the point: Characters coexist, but who says their paths must cross? Life, after all, cannot be neatly taken down on a page. But life, truly portrayed, also has a formlessness that‘s not the most exciting read.

Juxtaposed stories of a younger woman‘s relationship with an older writer (loosely based on the author‘s relationship with Philip Roth) and a young man detained at the airport in London and his life in the US and Iraq. Insightful and subtly moving, the juxtaposition eventually provocative.

It was ok. I didn't quite catch the interaction between the first two stories because I was pretty bored and could barely pay attention by the end when we "discovered" what was going on. #pass

Couldn't finish it.
Cold, and maybe too clever for its own good.

Last week was about making do.
Wasabi had a frightening cartwheel down the stairs, but was ok except for 2 stitches in the front leg. Hiking was out. As soon as she seemed back to her chaotics, we did some long walks.
I'll call it 2/3 hour long hikes.
Yoga... Back to being disciplined this week. 4/6 yoga's.
Finished 2 books... met my bfc goal.

And from photo above, clearly, "ironing sheets" isn't a goal....

#bookdragons @Hestapleton

This is a book that, immediately upon finishing it, made me want to start it again. It's more on the literary side with its stream of conscious prose and subject matter but the characters are so vivid and lovely.

Help me decide what to read next! Your votes will determine in what order I read these six books, which have been on Mount TBR for too long! 😆 Thank you!!
#makemereadit

I didn‘t get the link between the two stories... and it ended up hanging... what is the end of the story?

Guys.. I was so all in on this book in the first section... then the second section I was getting a little confused with the timelines, but it was still holding my interest.. and then I got to the third section and omg.. it was all going to get tied together and make sense.... but then.. it DIDN‘T. I have no idea what the point of this book was and I am so mad about it!

Interesting characters and engaging passages. But this is another one of those books like The Mars Room foisted on the reading public by breathless critics. I don‘t know about anyone else, but story always matters more than pretty or clever words. This added up to a whole lot of nothing. Pass.

I don‘t get it 🤷‍♀️

Lovely prose. Some well crafted, poignant passages. But overall, the structure made little sense to me.

I‘m left feeling like there‘s something significant that I am entirely missing. And perhaps it‘s just pride, but I don‘t like that feeling.

Thus, it‘s just a so-so for me.

🤔 Things that make you go hmmmm...

“...but there‘s no getting around the fact that she‘s always the one holding the mirror.”

Perspective, no? Makes me think of the adage: “History is written by the winners.”

Extraordinary read. I can‘t believe this is her first novel. It‘s so good, so well written, and so damn smart. I‘m in awe (and a bit jealous.)

At the suggestion of Jennifer Haigh, I just started this. And, well, wow. I live it already. So good!

I don‘t normally pan books because I understand that a lot of blood, sweat, and tears goes into them. However, statements like “arresting questions about the very nature of fiction itself” are essentially Do Not Read signs that should be heeded. The characters, plot, and structure were all poor. Not confusing, but poorly executed. This was a waste of my time, money, and mental energy that could have been better spent elsewhere.

@Litsi

Here is the text of the miraculous joint trip on the next page.

Ok. So he has left her to go to an island. Then he calls her to let her hear the sounds. But in the next para she is with him and the text says they brought a camera with them. BUT THEY DIDN‘T GO TOGETHER AND I DIDN‘T EVEN SEE HER TRAVEL AND EVENNIF THAT IS STATES HOW AM I TO KNOW WHEN THIS JOINT TRIP IS HAPPENING? WHAT AM I MISSING? WHY WAS THIS PUBLISHED?

If anyone can make sense of the next 2 pages I post I will keep reading this book. I want to like it but cannot understand even the basics of how the characters are moving from scene to scene. Thanks.

This just wasn‘t for me. “Folly” just made me angry the whole time and I liked “Madness” at first but then it got pretentious and I found myself skipping through it just to get it done. And the end with Ezra is just insufferable. The only connection I see is through the war and the mentioning of the desert discs show. I gave it 2 stars because it did pick up a bit in “Madness,” but I just really didn‘t like this.

I‘m only 10 pages in to this one and I‘m already having a really hard time with it. I‘m only reading it because it‘s this months book club pick, which will also be the only reason I finish it, but I can already tell this won‘t be getting a high rating.

⭐️⭐️ • Eeeeek I didn‘t get this book. Maybe it‘s too smart for me? Anyway, not really my cup of tea.

I mean I enjoyed but didn't come away with the feeling that I loved it! Has anyone else read it? Feelings? #books

First signs of spring spotted on my walk today! My mind kept wandering while listening to the tagged book, thank goodness I‘m almost done. #litsywalkers #fourmiles #currentlyreading #audiobook #springhassprung

My bookstore‘s March read for our fiction book club. I wasn‘t crazy about the beginning but now I‘m at the can‘t put it down stage. I‘ve had this downloaded since it made the TOB longlist for the current tournament. Looking forward to tonight‘s discussion. #morningreading #bookandcoffee

Five weeks into my #homereno and reading has been harder than I was expecting and book shopping has been a lot easier. 😬

I‘m also wondering if Asymmetry is a good choice considering my scattered mind right now. Thoughts?

#renovation #construction #slump #retailtherapy #upnext #progessupdate #bookstack #stack

Started listening to this one on the way home from work. I have no idea what it‘s about; just saw it on a bunch of “best of 2018” lists. That‘s good enough for me to give it a go.

Another walk on the treadmill today 😢 this pic is what I pictured inside my head instead of the ice and snow outside. #litsywalkers #audiobook #currentlyreading

This one is a pick mainly for the way it tickles the intellect. In three parts, the book starts with a story of an older author and his young lover, then moves to the story of an American of Iraqi descent stuck at a London airport. The third part is the older author again, relating his experiences with music in his life. While seemingly disparate, the parts included many overlapping themes and motifs that made them not so asymmetrical at all. 4⭐️

Not sure I understood what the author was trying to do with this novel- seems more like 3 separate sections/ novellas than interconnected stories. The writing as a whole was great....but maybe that‘s the point- the asymmetry of it all.

Our latest episode of Books On The Go is up! Amanda & I discuss Asymmetry. More than worth the hype - we loved this one! Subscribe at all good podcast places & let us know what you thought if you‘ve read it. 🎧✨

Superficially 2 unrelated novellas, one concerning the affair between a young woman and an eminent ageing novelist, the other an American-Iraqi detained at Heathrow, with an odd coda at the end. Closer examination reveals the connections between the sections and the grappling with themes such as authenticity and imagination. Beautifully written and quite unlike anything I've ever read.

Lol

A beautiful novel in 3 parts, connected by themes & motifs - like different movements of the same piece of music. I love the fresh writing - it‘s skilful & considered but not overdone. Mary Alice asks whether a novel should tackle big questions like war or more domestic, intimate stories: Halliday offers both & lets us decide, w hints of music & religion as shared by all. Told w affection & a sure, light touch - thought-provoking & a joy to read.

Use code NYNY19 to get 30%off and free shipping until January 9 on simonandschuster.com

Happy book shopping!

My current read - I‘m enjoying this so far! 📖🤓

I think I‘m missing deeper aspects of this book, but I loved it- especially the second of the three parts. There were so many gems of observations nestled in between the ongoing plot that made me wish I could annotate this one. The relationship in the first and third portions was both tragic and engaging. It‘s definitely one of my favorites of the 2018 class. Brilliantly written.

Halliday perfectly captures the obtuse arrogance of an older male lover/mentor, the shifting vulnerability and young talented woman coming into her own. Loved all three interconnected stories.

📖

Two seemingly unrelated novellas turn out to be just that, with a short chapter at the end revealing nothing. I've read all the hype and reviews and conclude I'm not smart enough to 'get' this book. Either that or it's an emperor's new clothes situation.
Having said all that, it's brilliantly written and interesting to the last word. I loved it.

Lovely so far.....