Welcome to Litsy!

Noir at heart, with the archetypal cynical protagonist and undertones of existential philosophy, The Heart in Exile plays a seminal role in later works, such as Alan Hollinghurst's; The Swimming Pool Library, which similarly explores the underground of British gay life. (1/?)

Definitely J Robert Lennon. Really liked Broken River.
#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

A beautifully written book about a house where two people were murdered and the new family who moves in. The parents and their daughter each narrate the story along with one of the murderers and some kind of observing ghost. Terrific character development and plot lines, well worth reading.

#GloryinTitle #Springskies
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Still on my TBR, but one day.

a story about a kid who goes away to a juvenile detention center for a crime he didn‘t do. On top of that he is released at a time that coronavirus is spreading throughout the world. This book touched my soul in such a way that is so hard to describe. I could feel the pain and the suffering of the characters as I still remember when the virus was spreading and we didn‘t understand what was going on.

Page turning literary thriller. I enjoyed it @Cathythoughts!

I‘m not sure what to make of “the observer” though. 🤔 Interesting it turns out the women are the “better” characters.

This is the story of a house in the woods where a murder happens. The house remains empty for many years, until a new family move in hoping to repair their relationships and their lives.
At times I wanted to bail because it was really very scary, and because of my intense dislike for a certain character. But I was too caught up in the story, so well written and unputdownable. The house is a character too and also the snow.

#trim #poetrymatters @TheSpineView

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A horrifying telling of the how gay men and others with HIV/Aids were treated throughout the 80s and 90s. There is controversy around the exageration of how many men Coker supported and buried but even if she reached half the men she says she did, that is a feat that not many people can say they did. In her writing, I was fanscinated by the theme of power and contacts and how often these cropped up when trying to support dying people.

Inspector Arkady is asked to look for a man‘s missing adult daughter; she‘s been involved in an anti-government protest group in Moscow. It‘s 2021 and there‘s an expectation in the air of an invasion of Ukraine. This is very topical and becomes quite the page turner at one point, but ends really abruptly. An interesting addition to the #tob24 list, but I don‘t think it belongs there.