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#booker2019
review
CindyE09
Girl, Woman, Other | Bernardine Evaristo
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Pickpick

Finished this #booker2019 winner tonight, pictured here with the adorable bookmark my son was so proud to gift me tonight. I enjoyed the book, which was more a collection of character profiles that loosely tie together, focusing on black British women‘s stories. After a few chapters I got used to the style in which the book is written, with no punctuation or capital letters to start sentences, and ended up enjoying it.

Texreader That‘s so sweet!! 5y
94 likes2 stack adds1 comment
blurb
Lindy
Testaments | Margaret Atwood
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Congratulations Peg and Bernardine! #booker2019

review
Redwritinghood
The Testaments: A Novel | Margaret Atwood
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Pickpick

This was a great read, even though it wasn‘t quite what I expected. I had expected to find out more about what happened to Offred than was included here. The only character from the first book that appears regularly in this one is Aunt Lydia, but her chapters gave detail on how Gilead developed. The book was somewhat predictable, but Atwood‘s writing and characters were so engaging that I still read this compulsively. #booker2019 shortlist. 4⭐️

review
Redwritinghood
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Mehso-so

If you enjoy character-driven stories, then you would probably love this. I‘m not a fan of such writing, however, so this is not a pick for me. There were some potentially fascinating characters in this book, but their treatment was very uneven. The narrative was choppy as backstory on various characters was interspersed with the main story in separate chapters. This book has an interesting construction, but overall the execution was bland. 3⭐️

Redwritinghood Book 2 from #booker2019 shortlist. 5y
Ruthiella I do often like character driven books. But I also love a good plot. Writing (ie luminous prose or whatevs) is less important. How about you? 5y
Redwritinghood @Ruthiella I guess I look for the trifecta - solid plot, sympathetic characters, and good writing. 5y
See All 6 Comments
Ruthiella @Redwritinghood Kate Atkinson comes to mind for satisfyingly meeting all three pretty consistently! Just thinking 🤔. 5y
bedandabook I‘ve just finished it myself, @Redwritinghood, and whilst I did enjoy it I think I would probably agree with you. I‘d give it 4 stars (I don‘t mind character-driven books) but I too disliked the choppiness of the writing. 5y
mklong Totally agree Jerrie. She created all these great back stories for the characters and then didn‘t give them anything to do. 5y
72 likes6 comments
review
Redwritinghood
An Orchestra of Minorities | Chigozie Obioma
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Panpan

First book from #booker2019 shortlist finished! Unfortunately, I hated it. Verbose and trying way too hard to be tragic and dramatic. Also, the author often seemed more concerned with demonstrating Igbo mythology than creating sympathetic characters. Finally, any comparisons to The Odyssey are really missing the mark. There was some lovely prose in places, but it was often hard to find among the weeds. 2⭐️

DGRachel I find that I struggle with Man Booker nominees. I think I enjoyed one that I read last year and seriously hated a couple of the others. I find it useful to help select books I shouldn't waste my time on, as I know there's a good chance they won't be for me. 😉 5y
rachelm I bailed on this one as an ARC and I don‘t regret it 5y
Cinfhen I really LOVED this one!!! Especially for the myth, proverbs & folklore. I thought it was clever and engaging. 5y
See All 14 Comments
Cathythoughts I loved this one too. It was a page turner for me ... 5y
Redwritinghood @Cathythoughts @Cinfhen @rachelm @DGRachel This one seems to be a love it or hate it type of book. I just lost patience with it and would have bailed if it hadn‘t made the shortlist. 5y
BarbaraBB It doesn‘t appeal to me at all. Your review confirms my suspicion 😉 (edited) 5y
LeahBergen I second exactly what @BarbaraBB said! 5y
Tamra Oh shoot! 5y
batsy I'm with @BarbaraBB and @LeahBergen 😆 5y
readordierachel Sorry the book was disappointing. At least your nails are amazing 😉 5y
Redwritinghood @readordierachel 💅🏻💅🏻💕💕 5y
DivineDiana Too bad. 🙁 5y
Redheadrambles One down five to go ?! 5y
sudi I was actually going to buy this one, glad i read your review first 😊 5y
70 likes14 comments
blurb
thebluestocking
The Testaments: A Novel | Margaret Atwood
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The 2019 #booker shortlist was announced today. Sadly, the two I was rooting for, Lost Children Archive and Frankisstein, did not make the cut. #booker2019

Have you read any of these finalists?

📷: CNN.com

Ruthiella I‘m using people I follow on goodreads be my guide as to what I should ultimately try first. I am interested in reading the Shafik however . I‘ve never read anything from her but have been curious for a while. 5y
BarbaraBB I have read none of these and I am so disappointed that Lost Children Archive didn‘t make the shortlist. 5y
Redwritinghood I‘ve read 7 of the 13 on the longlist. These are the 6 I didn‘t get to yet. I‘m also sad about LCA not making the shortlist. 5y
See All 17 Comments
mklong I've read the Shafak and Evaristo, and am currently reading both Ellman and Rushdie. I have liked all of them, Shafak probably being the weakest of the bunch for me, but was really disappointed that Lost Children Archive and Lanny both missed out! I'm excited to read The Testaments next week though. 5y
Severnmeadows Loved Girl, Woman, Other! 5y
thebluestocking @Ruthiella That‘s my approach too. I may not read any of the shortlist for a while. 💙 5y
thebluestocking @BarbaraBB I‘m right in the middle of LCA right now and am really loving it. Adoring it really. We‘ll see tomorrow whether it wins #camptob. 5y
thebluestocking @Redwritinghood Oh man! That‘s rotten luck. What is your favorite from the ones you‘ve read? 5y
thebluestocking @mklong Wow! That‘s amazing progress. I‘ve heard really good things about Lanny too. 5y
thebluestocking @Severnmeadows Good to know! I haven‘t heard a lot about that one. 5y
Redwritinghood @thebluestocking Probably Night Boat. I also thought Lost Children and the Levy book were excellent. 5y
thebluestocking @Redwritinghood Thank you! I‘ll keep an eye out for those. 💙 5y
BarbaraBB I so hope it will! 5y
andrew61 I've only read girl woman other and liked it a lot. I've reserved Orchestra of minorities but now sure how many others ill read. 5y
thebluestocking @andrew61 Yes! Another pro-vote for GWO. 💙 5y
thebluestocking @BarbaraBB It did!! 💙💙 5y
charl08 I'm another fan of 5y
70 likes17 comments
review
Redwritinghood
Frankissstein: A Love Story | Jeanette Winterson
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Pickpick

This was a very clever book. The often comedic tone belies a more serious look at the question of whether consciousness, or the person, can ever be separated from the physical body. This question is explored in both modern terms (AI, sexbots, transgender, evangelical religion), and less modern times (the life of Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, feminism). Winterson also takes time to get in a few jabs at US, British, and Brazilian leaders, and Brexit.

charl08 Still reading this: really enjoying it, but so different from the other nominees I've read so far. 5y
Redwritinghood @charl08 This is #6 of the 13 for me. I‘m struggling with Orchestra. 5y
Redheadrambles @redwritinghood so pleased you enjoyed this one, as you know it‘s my favourite:) Ah Orchestra- is he in Cyprus yet ? 5y
Redwritinghood @Redheadrambles No, still tending chickens. 🙄 5y
67 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
Redheadrambles
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am probably about to damn this one with faint praise. It was a perfectly fine read. I enjoyed it. It just didn‘t really nourish me much. A short, sharp, punchy novel about sisters, one of whom is a serial killer. An excellent and solid debut however I remain perplexed ( as I nearly always am ) about why it is on literary prize lists....Braithwaite is good but I think and hope more accomplished novels are in her future.

Cathythoughts Good review 👍🏻. I agree , not nourishing- well put 5y
mklong Great review! Couldn‘t agree more. 5y
Redwritinghood Agree. It was fun, but nothing special. 5y
35 likes5 comments
review
Redheadrambles
The Wall | John Lanchester
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

This ended up being ok despite all indicators to the contrary. It might not be a literary prize-winning effort and as a dystopia it takes a fairly minimalist approach to world-building. Take one big wall, add water, baby politicians and some "Others" and that is your backstory. However, I approached this as a type of team-bonding novel; a low-key version of Platoon, set in England with tea and biscuits and as such I enjoyed it

Redheadrambles #booker2019( No. 5 / 13 ) (edited) 5y
27 likes1 comment
review
DreesReads
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Pickpick

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2019.

This novel has an original structure, as we meet Tequila Leila, Istanbul prostitute, after her death. Her brain continues to function for 10 min 38 sec, and we learn her history from birth to death, how she came to be an Istanbul prostitute, how she met her husband and her 5 best friends. The story then turns into a madcap caper morning of them giving her the sendoff she wanted. #bookerlonglist #booker2019