Litsy

pick

A very Booker Prize-ish book - it was a bit tricky. This is a series of stories spanning 1908 to 2025 covering love, both romantic and between parent and child, loss, war and science. What I struggled with was the telling, individual stories moving back and forth in time, the narrative in each story also moving around from paragraph to paragraph. Lovely in parts, but it was harder work than I‘m willing to invest.

Cathythoughts Great review! I must try it. I hear you about the ‘ hard work ‘ 😁 2d

BarbaraBB Great review. I liked it. 2d

31 likes2 comments

Skeeterisme

Jack of Spies | David Downing

pick

👍

34 likes

ChrisBohjalian

The Sandcastle Girls | Chris Bohjalian

Continuing the countdown of my books, from 1st to 25th, THE JACKAL‘S MISTRESS. Today it‘s my 15th, THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS (2012), a love story set in the midst of the Armenian Genocide. As a grandson of two survivors, this is a profoundly important book to me.

Kristin_Reads I married into an Armenian family and absolutely loved and appreciated this book! 1w

Suzze The Sandcastle Girls is my favorite of all your books,although I‘ve loved every one I‘ve read. 1w

ChrisBohjalian @Kristin_Reads Oh, thank you! Really honored. My mother was Swedish and loved being part of my father‘s extended Armenian family. 1w

ChrisBohjalian @Suzze Oh, my gosh, thank you! Thank you so much! 1w

28 likes4 comments

willaful

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club: A Novel | Helen Simonson

Immersive historical fiction set in an English tourist town just post World War I, as a competent young woman, a naturalized German citizen, and a now-disabled fighter from the upper class try to find their places in a changing world that's still chock full of classism, sexism, ableism and bigotry. Well drawn, lovable characters, lively action, and some slow-burn romance make it very much my cup of tea, but I was thrown by the ending (cont.)

willaful which felt like the author wanted to throw in some literary cred ala the Great Gatsby but somehow still pull off a quick happy ending. It left me far more disappointed than I expected from such an otherwise excellent book.

#Roll100 #FourFoursin25
@PuddleJumper @Laureldhel

(I liked Picket Cricket for this because it fits the conflict between the laborers and the upper classes.)
1w

28 likes1 comment

willaful

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club: A Novel | Helen Simonson

#WhereAreYouMonday I'm in post WWI England - twice, since I'm also reading The Secret Adversary. It's a rough time but perhaps things are looking up.

21 likes1 stack add

Donna1980

In Memoriam | Alice Winn

pick

Not sure I‘d find a book I loved more than The Great Believers this year but this may just have pipped it. If you loved Yale Tishman in The Great Believers then be prepared to adore Sidney Ellwood. This book is a love story set mainly in the trenches of WW1. The battle scenes are graphic and the author makes no apologies for bringing the brutality of trench warfare to life but the moments between are tender and full of a forbidden love. Read it!

10 likes

BookNerdMama

The Warm Hands of Ghosts: A Novel | Katherine Arden

pick

Y'all. Katherine Arden is just...magical. So...what if ghost stories and folktales associated with war were real (i.e. what if a fiddler really was on that roof?) This book, like all her books, beautifully weaves folk stories and reality, and I CANNOT get enough of her!

BookmarkTavern Sounds amazing! 2w

4 likes1 stack add1 comment