pickIn a dystopian setting, people are controlled by the government. Emotions are illegal, and faces are masked; it is a dehumanized society. When a young boy dares to defy the authorities, he is sent back to the distant past in an attempt to tame him. But will he come back the same?
An YA novel but important lessons for everyone in our times.
We now know the truth. Diversity results not in universal good but in evil. We know that music, art, dance, poetry—all these ancient and deviant activities—only inflame the emotions. They must be rooted out. We discovered long ago that there is but one road to Universal Good, and that road begins with Conformity. Conformity begets Harmony begets Tranquility begets Peace begets Universal Good. ⬇️
pickI picked this up based on a recommendation, and I'm so glad I gave it a chance.
This is a unique time travel story, published in the 90s, but set in a near future pandemic that feels eerily prophetic, while paralleling a story set in an outbreak of illness in the 14th century.
Part sci fi, part historical fiction, part tragedy, overall, this book examines how human circumstances change, but love, fear, hope, and mourning still remain.
pickInteresting history of the Black Plague outbreak in Europe in the mid-1300s. I liked all the quotes and stories about individuals living at the time. Kelly also devotes an appropriate amount of text to the cruel atrocities committed by Christians against Jews using wild conspiracy theories as their excuse.
so-soThe Black Death in London, by Barney Sloane (2011)
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Premise: A look at the impact of the Black Death on the city of London and environs.
Review: This book‘s greatest success is in its incredible detail. Sadly that‘s also it‘s greatest weakness. Even as someone very nerdy about history, archaeology, and public health, the level of detail here was overwhelming and felt unnecessary. ⬇️
#timespacetraveller
#charactercharm
Doomsday Book was my first Connie Willis and an all time favourite, but I can't find my copy atm. @eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
I am slow going on this challenge because I‘m also reading other books not on the list ( Bookclubs, buddy reads, sister said I had to drop everything and read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans), but I did finish the first of my #14BooksIn14Weeks
This is a lovely debut novel about a midwife & herbalist in Avignon, France during the 1300s black plague.
I‘m finding myself drawn to midwives and herbalists …
I was planning on #bailing at page 212 it‘s been a slog and I know that‘s the point and yet… I‘m not sure I can abandon the characters.
Does this happen to you? What do you do?
“The prioress remarked that it was not till christian times that simplicity became a virtue; the good characters of the Old Testament were ingenious as well as virtuous.”
Pg 115
