I read several books in July and August that I don’t feel like I have enough to say to warrant full book reviews. At the same time, and in an effort to bring my 10 Books of Summer Challenge to a close, I do want to share a few thoughts.
The Rise and Fall of Great Powers – Tom Rachman
I don’t like books set in bookstores so it was fortunate that the main character owning a bookstore wasn’t really a major part of this novel. Unfortunately, she was so naive and so blind to what was really happening around her that I spent a lot of the book feeling frustrated.
The Golem & the Jinni – Helene Wecker
I liked this historical, fantastical story that brings together mythology from multiple traditions. What if a golem came to life and moved to New York City at the end of the 19th century? What if a jinni, trapped in human form, also ended up in the same city and the two met? Helene Wecker creates a story that is about magic but also about 2 different cultures crossing paths in a city that is exploding in growth and immigration. There are follow-up novels to this one that move forward in history and even though I enjoyed The Golem & the Jinni, I haven’t felt any urge to continue with the series.
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
I gave in to the hype and got a copy of this from the library. I haven’t yet seen the movie so can’t speak to how similar or different they are. I actually think this is a story that could work even better as a movie because there is a lot here that would be much simpler to show visually rather than having to explain it. For me, the most interesting part of reading Project Hail Mary was actually my own reactions to it. I felt like Weir went way too hard on explaining the scientific reasoning behind everything and I just didn’t care. I’m not a big sci-fi reader and all I really require is for there to be a consistent explanation and for the author to convince me that the characters know and understand what is going on. I found myself bored through a lot of the first part of the book and wasn’t really into it until Ryland Grace began interacting with another character. That relational aspect was fascinating to me and I realize that says maybe more about me than about the book!
Prophet Song – Paul Lynch
The two books are not really similar but this one reminded me quite a bit of Omar el Akkad’s What Strange Paradise. A book that brings the reality of life under an unstable government and dictatorship to light and makes the reader feel like these issues are not actually so far away. Prophet Song is like watching a frog slowly boil to death – things get steadily worse and worse and it takes the characters too long to realize how bad it is. But you can’t blame them either because Lynch draws it out so painfully and realistically that, of course, any one of us would cling to normality, to home, to the fact that surely this couldn’t happen where I live. I didn’t love the book but it is one that has stuck with me.
Kingfisher – Rozie Kelly
This came highly recommended and I went into it fully expecting to fall in love. So I was disappointed because even for a short novel, I found it a slog. I didn’t like any of the characters, I didn’t understand their motivations, and I felt like the concept of the novel that was revealed at the end cheapened what came before.
I love these many reviews! I was curious, did you mean to say that you do or do not like books set in bookstores? Your comment about being frustrated by these people who are like a frog slowly boiling to death reminds me of America. At first I think I’m boiling to death, and then I talk myself out of it because for all the horrible things happening, I think that I’ll be okay. It’s that kind of thinking that gets you to a place where there’s no one left but you, and then you are the frog. I’m going to vote with all my might in November
I generally don’t like stories set in bookstores. I find that authors often create these mythical bookstores that are soft, quiet places where everything is peaceful and happy and as someone who has spent a good chunk of my adult life working in bookstores, that just doesn’t feel realistic. The closest to accuracy I’ve read is Louise Erdrich’s novel, The Sentence.
I feel like that sometimes with climate change. Like there’s too much to do anything about so I’ll just enjoy the sunshine but then I know that’s a selfish way of looking at something just because it doesn’t affect me that much yet. I’m glad your country has people like you voting in it!
I still have The Sentence on my tbr.
It’s VERY 2020 but not in a bad way. Just that a lot of it is Covid and George Floyd etc.