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Gabriel is a 16 year old American living in Chile. He has his two best friends, a new girlfriend, and no desire to ever leave Chile and return to the US. Then there is a coup… Told from three different perspectives (although I found each of them less compelling than the first) this was a really great read that managed to combine coming of age with political turmoil an engaging and moving way. Why was this not on the TOB shortlist?

Yes this is an excellent book. 16 years old Gabriel grows up in Chile with his American parents. He is ashamed of his capitalist parents and his imperialist motherland, infiltrating the world with propaganda. He is a Chilean communist and a supporter of Allende‘s socialist politics. He falls in love in the days leading up to the coup against Allende in 1973.
In 3 parts we read about this period in time and its aftermath. And about Gabriel‘s life.

A novella about a woman who goes along with her partner‘s desire to have a child even though she doesn‘t want to be a mother. Her intentions are good but of course everything changes in their lives. Powerful emotions run throughout these pages, from isolation to desire and back again. An undeniably strong story that I liked but didn‘t quite love.

5+⭐️ I always worry about overselling a book here, but this #toblonglist choice is one of the best books I‘ve ever read. Ten years of PhD research about Allende‘s and Pinochet‘s regimes in Chile culminated in a novel that perfectly captures the fates of an American boy and his Chilean girlfriend when the coup happens. The story is told in sections with three MCs that each illuminate different faces of survivors and their families. Just read it!

Good month for #bookspin. I‘ve got a #toblonglist book and my choice from #botm. If my box were here now I‘ve grab the new Lisa Genova, but it‘s still in Illinois! 👎🏻

#christmascheer #secret @Eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#wintergames2024 #xmaschacha @StayCurious

Today's 📬 delivery was a hefty bunch with so many little surprises! Thank you all! 💌😍
#holidaycardswap #Naturalitsywintercardswap

Jodorowski's fanciful retelling of his family's history mixes the lofty with the loam. Beautiful stories about lion tamers learning to read by ordering letters around like beasts sit next to blasé recountings of sexual abuse, incest, assault, and mass killings. There's value in stories about tarot cards that preach worker solidarity, provided you can tolerate Jodorowsky's instinct to build a nest feathered with mysticism, pubic hair, and trauma.

Me: "I should finish some of my long currently reading list before 2025, so I can start the new year with a clean slate."

Also me, in the airport having visited the Strand Bookstore in NYC: "Time to dive into the 900 page masterpiece we just bought! ?"

#BookHaul