Welcome to Litsy!

I read this a bit ago and just realized I forgot to review it. Another for #tob25 and I feel meh. A community of Ethiopian immigrants in the US, focused on a young journalist who relocated to Paris and started a family. He returns home and learns about Samuel, his father (maybe??) who made a living by driving. I regret not reviewing this sooner because I‘m struggling to remember much about it, apart from the sense of seeking/loneliness.

This was a bit hard to follow on audio. It is a bit hard to distinguish what is actually happening from the MC‘s imagination. That said, I‘m still thinking about it, which surprises me and took it from a so-so to low pick.

An Ethiopian immigrant returns to the US from Paris where he has a family. A death causes him to reflect on his childhood, relationships, and his family‘s immigration story. #tob25

This dreamlike book explores an Ethiopian-American man‘s relationship to his family through his life, plus the things kept from him and why. It explores family, identity, race, and hints at mental health. It didn‘t knock my socks off, but it feels like something that might stick for a while. #ToB25

Beautiful writing in this book from the #TobLonglist but a very confusing timeline. It was very difficult to work out if you were in the past, present or future, and who was alive and who wasn‘t.

I guess that‘s the whole point and I gave up trying to figure it out and just went with it, but it still made for a rather confusing read. (As did the MC‘s wife being called Helen in the blurb, but Hannah throughout the book 🤔)

A light pick.

I felt like I kept searching for meaning while reading this book - where was the narrator and what time was it? Once I gave into the fact that the uncertainty was a deliberate part of the experience, I absolutely loved it.

Found this book in a free library in Mtl a day before embarkingon a roadtrip. Started it in the Alberta portion of our drive to Whitehorse, Yukon-bound. Right as we enter BC, after several impressive views at the summits of sweet hikes through the Rockies, the book ends with references to Alberta's Mountains. A book full of depth. So glad to have found it before leaving. Curious to read reviews, particularly from Ethiopian writers.

Marion is born a conjoined twin in Addis Ababa. Family life gets off to a very rough start and from there we follow his life, to adulthood and onwards to New York. The joy of this book is the family love and complexities, against the background of troubled Ethiopia, its own complexities, and its medical world. In summary, I loved this when I first read it 10 years ago, and I then loved it again. Be warned, it will break your heart.

#ItTakesAllKinds

This book is #WithEyes in title & the cover photo. I read it a couple of years ago for #FoodandLit #Ethiopia & still think about it.

#WithPhysician
#ItTakesAllKinds

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks