Welcome to Litsy!

At 15, Bunny is a boy crazy Foreign Service kid spending the summer in Baku; later we see her transformation from an aimless 20-something to a successful PR professional for a family-run oil company. At first it seems that's all there is to it: a girl, a life; by the final scenes, in a near future that is all too plausible, it sinks in that this is a truly devastating novel about climate change. An artfully detailed slow burn, brilliantly done.

I‘m fairly certain that I probably wouldn‘t like/respect Bunny in real life, but in this novel, I did. Following her meandering through her life and her proximity to oil yet not understanding it completely was mesmerizing. This worked for me and liked the quick pace of time.

Welcome to Day 3 of #LitsyTob24!

Our winner today is Mobility, with two thirds of the vote!

Both books had female MCs who were navigating their way through life, alongside unique storytelling about families, but each book had a distinctive style.

What did you think of the storytelling? Did you like both Belle and Bunny?

We‘re looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the books and today‘s result!

It took me a while to get into this book but I ended up liking it much more than I thought it would.

I loved the satirical moments when Bunny tries to consider climate change and other momentous issues affecting the world but then gets distracted by a colleague's designer shoes. I'd like to think that I'm not like Bunny but I realize I'm writing this on my computer in my well heated home with my car parked outside the door. 😅

I agree with all the reviews on this- those that liked and didn‘t like it. I really enjoyed it though and think this is real for a lot of us. Recycle, buy recycled goods, eat less meat/no meat. Buy nice things, go on holidays via planes. Consequences.
We know we do things that don‘t help, and times running out.
Thanks Helen 😘

#motherdaughterread 😁

#bookhaul
Via Waterstones, Amazon and the lovely @squirrelbrain for Mobility ❤️
Thank you so much Helen 😘

Similar to her debut novel, there‘s a lot of mundane description in this book that‘s either going to work for a reader or it‘s not. I liked it. There was a lot about Bunny I could identify with, both good and bad. Capitalism, corporate greed, human indifference, the corruption of the oil industry, US complicity, etc. is all reflected through the lens of one ordinary person‘s life. The book is a wake up call and warning.

#LitsyToB24

After a few Littens were ambivalent about this #litsyToB24 book, I went into it worried that I wouldn‘t like it but I really enjoyed it. It‘s billed of a coming of age story but, although the MC‘s childhood travelling around the world as an embassy brat was unusual, it felt more to me like the story of an ‘ordinary‘ woman.

I felt like I could relate to the not knowing your place in the world or at work, and never quite feeling like a grown-up!

This book is being billed as coming of age, but to me it was more of a warning about what will happen if we don‘t all make changes. That said it was probably a warning that was too drawn out and kind of up and down. The interesting setting in Azerbaijan bumped it up a bit in my opinion though. #LitsyTOB24

Well, I managed to muscle my way to 56%, but quite frankly I hated this book. I feel like the author created a rube of a character so she could lecture at her/the reader rather than tell a story. And rather than critiquing patriarchy, she seems to be reinforcing it, but making the female characters one note/dumb/incompetent. I can‘t take anymore. #LitsyTOB24

Parts of this really held my interest, other parts not so much. The last part dated 2051 was a little too close to home describing life during wildfires. 3🌟 #52Bookclub24 #lowercaselettersonspine #LitsyTOB

Readers follow Bunny from adolescence throughout adulthood and across the world in the oil business. Climate change/politics comes up often. I didn‘t enjoy this at all, and hate-listened because it‘s for #litsyToB24 otherwise it‘d have been a rare bail. I loved (and can relate to) the idea of knowing we must change society for the climate but also enjoying the benefits of modern life which is the main takeaway for me but found it lacking.

I liked this one less than everyone else seems to have. While it has a lot of important things to say they felt too buried under Bunny‘s skin care regime and thoughts about her weight. I wanted far less of the coming of age aspect and far more of the weighty topics. #litsytob24

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This one definitely grew on me. Started a sort of a coming of age story of the daughter of a diplomat in Azerbaijan, but then sneakily brought in a lot of individual and societal moral ambiguities and what trade offs we are or aren‘t willing to make for the good of society and in the face of climate change. My first for the #LitsyToB24 !

#ToB24

“Bunny believes in climate change. But she also likes to get paid”.

This is how the book starts. And there‘s so often a “but” after climate change. That‘s what makes this book an important one, its urgency is quite clear. We are Bunny, whether we are pragmatic Americans or critical Europeans (as are the characters in the book), we need to get rid of the “but”. ⬇️⬇️

#WeeklyForecast 49/23

I am almost finished with Dinner, which I had higher expectations of. I made a start with Mobility, which is very timely and feels European.
Next will be Kairos, because I meant to read more by Erpenbeck ever since Go, Went, Gone.

#tob24

I loved this book! It helps too that I grew up in the Golden Triangle area of Texas that is a huge part of this story because of the oil/gas industry there.

Kiesling tackles climate change, geopolitical issues, social injustices, and more. We see the problems of the world through Bunny's view. As she ages, we see her question her role in these problems.

This is a rich novel that will leave you contemplating it long after you finish.

This book defies categories! Lydia manages to weave politics and business into a compelling coming of age novel.

Bunny is a diplomat brat who spends a formative summer in Baku, Azerbaijan, where information about the oil industry seeps into her. Years later recovering from a breakup she takes a temp job in Houston, which leads to in a career at a mid-size oil company, where she tries to reconcile her beliefs and how they don‘t align with her job.