A really fun, easy-reading crime novel to get into holiday reading mode.
Reviews and Comments
She/her/elle
Reader, writer. Liseuse, écriveuse.
Reading a mix of French and English books, mostly fiction, some classics and poetry, Canadian contemporary, sci-fi, socialist, and more.
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roxdub finished reading Death at the Party by Amy Stuart
roxdub started reading Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo
roxdub finished reading The World We Make by N. K. Jemisin
A great sequel to The City we Became. I preferred the first book of this duology, but the author has a great rationale for why this ambitious project got cut short - COVID and real life politics changed her momentum on this story. I remain very attached to this tale, its characters who are city avatars, and cinematographic writing.
roxdub finished reading Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
roxdub finished reading Mémoires d'Hadrien by Marguerite Yourcenar
Fascinating read! A book of historical fiction that imagines the memoirs of Roman Emperor Hadrian. His travels, his relationships, his feelings of success or failure, the various stages of his life.
The author's writing notes at the end put her entire work in context. Part of her facination with Hadrian was to propose a reflection on a life of action, not only thought. I understand now why this book is one of Yourcenar's major works.
I would suggest reading up on the historical character of Hadrian to better appreciate the book.
Also translated into English.
roxdub finished reading We want everything by Nanni Balestrini
roxdub started reading Bourinot's Rules of Order by Geoffrey Stanford
roxdub reviewed The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
Wild ride
4 stars
This story will make such a great movie one day. Clearly cinematographic writing takes the reader through a fast-paced urban adventure. The main characters, city avatars, have been transformed into boroughs of New York. In other words, the City comes alive through the lives and bodies of Manny (Manhattan), Bronca (The Bronx), Brooklyn (Brooklyn), Padmini (Queens) and the primary avatar. They have to work together to defend the city against the invasion of a foreign being aiming to halt the growth and spirit of the city, and consequently cause conflict, pain and suffering. Aislyn (Staten Island), will find herself at a crossroads and have to choose which side she's on.
New York is the main character of this book, which is a complete whilrwind tour of a city under attack, but fighting back. Special appearances by avatars Sao Paulo and Hong Kong bring even more diversity to this urban mix …
This story will make such a great movie one day. Clearly cinematographic writing takes the reader through a fast-paced urban adventure. The main characters, city avatars, have been transformed into boroughs of New York. In other words, the City comes alive through the lives and bodies of Manny (Manhattan), Bronca (The Bronx), Brooklyn (Brooklyn), Padmini (Queens) and the primary avatar. They have to work together to defend the city against the invasion of a foreign being aiming to halt the growth and spirit of the city, and consequently cause conflict, pain and suffering. Aislyn (Staten Island), will find herself at a crossroads and have to choose which side she's on.
New York is the main character of this book, which is a complete whilrwind tour of a city under attack, but fighting back. Special appearances by avatars Sao Paulo and Hong Kong bring even more diversity to this urban mix of people, cultures and space. A wonderful urban fantasy to read!
roxdub reviewed Kukum by Michel Jean
Kukum's story
5 stars
I read Kukum by Michel Jean in French. This book won the French competition equivalent to Canada Reads, le Combat des livres in 2021. Michel Jean is a journalist who has been writing stories inspired by his Innu roots for many years. Finally, he’s getting some recognition in Quebec literary circles and media for his books. Kukum tells the story of his own Innu grandmother, Almanda Siméon. Beautiful and crisp like a Northern wind.
roxdub reviewed Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler
roxdub reviewed The tour of the world in eighty days by Jules Verne
Charming and accessible
5 stars
A short and happy travel book I read at a time when traveling was not in the realm of possibilities (ie pandemic). You already know the story, but have you read the book? It is the comical tale of a man who tries to win a bet by traveling around the world in eighty days, and ends up finding love along the way. Charming and accessible.
roxdub reviewed La guerre et la paix by Leo Tolstoy
An epic classic
5 stars
For many years, I have been working through a rather long list of literary classics in chronological order of publication. I have reached the late 1800s, and it just so happened that the start of 2021 coincided with La Guerre et la Paix, or War and Peace (1869) by Leo Tolstoy. Looking back, it seems like a completely unreasonable project for me to start the year with such a dense classic. This book spans more than 1600 pages and features more than 500 characters. Lockdown life demanded ambitious personal goal-setting, and so I did what I could to stay the course.
Every day, I opened my beautiful green paper edition of this novel and read a few short chapters. War and Peace is the historical and philosophical novel by excellence. It narrates the invasion of Russia by France, and alternates between scenes of military conflict and high society. The complex …
For many years, I have been working through a rather long list of literary classics in chronological order of publication. I have reached the late 1800s, and it just so happened that the start of 2021 coincided with La Guerre et la Paix, or War and Peace (1869) by Leo Tolstoy. Looking back, it seems like a completely unreasonable project for me to start the year with such a dense classic. This book spans more than 1600 pages and features more than 500 characters. Lockdown life demanded ambitious personal goal-setting, and so I did what I could to stay the course.
Every day, I opened my beautiful green paper edition of this novel and read a few short chapters. War and Peace is the historical and philosophical novel by excellence. It narrates the invasion of Russia by France, and alternates between scenes of military conflict and high society. The complex web of characters is made accessible by the serial format - very short chapters allow for a rapid pace reading of this long-winded novel.
It took me 4 months to read War and Peace - I started on January 15 and finished, with a great sigh of relief, on April 19. It was a ridiculously long and epic adventure. Of course, it was worth it! Like many Russian novels, War and Peace lends itself extraordinary well to the colder months - do read it in the winter.
roxdub reviewed Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Magnificent choir
5 stars
A magnificent novel that follows the interconnecting lives of a choir of characters in the United Kingdom. Evaristo writes in a poetic and sometimes fragmented style. I loved her voice and pen, and this book was a highlight of my reading list in 2021.
roxdub reviewed What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
Memorable and important
5 stars
A book that dives into the migrant crisis like few others do. The story begins when bodies wash up on the shores of a small island. In alternating chapters, the situation unfolds either from the perspective of young migrant Amir, or from the perspective of the girl who shelters him, speaks a different language, and zigzags around the authorities to keep him safe. A beautiful and difficult book, haunting and devastating, that navigates a political and personal storyline.