Tuesday, September 30, 2014

September 2014 Reads

Almost everything I read this month was in the four or five star ratings.  I'll get the bummer out of the way first: 

The Bone Clock by
 Library book. This was a huge disappointment. It just didn't work. The old "willing suspension of disbelief" never kicked in. I liked Cloud Atlas and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet so much but this one was a real let-down. I gave it two stars on Goodreads which is harsh but...

From the worst so the best. Five stars to three superior reads:  

The Polish Boxer by Eduardo Halfon, Thomas Bunstead (Translator), Lisa Dillman (Translator), Daniel Hahn (Translator), Anne McLean (Translator)
 Finished free copy from the publisher as an extra with LibraryThing givaway win of Monastery by the same author. Review posted on Goodreads and LibraryThing. 

Traveler of the Century by Andrés Neuman, Nick Caistor (Translator), Lorenza García (Translator)
 Library Book. See my post Reading Backwards, Sort Of 

Land of Love and Drowning; Yanique, Tiphanie
 Library book. Set in US Virgin Islands. Family saga from about 1916 through approximately the 1970s. I was totally charmed by this.

And four stars to five very good reads: 

F: A Novel by Daniel Kehlmann, Carol Janeway (Translator)
 Library book. Three brothers--Martin, a priest who is a non-believer; Ivan, a painter who can't paint; Eric, a businessman who is over-extended--and their emotionally distant father. Most of the action takes place on 8/8/2008. 

The Hidden Child (Fjällbacka #5); Läckberg, Camilla; Marlaine Delargy (Translator)
 Library book.  This is the first book I've read by this author. I liked it, but not sure I want to read more in the series. Still, it's a good mystery. 

Evergreen; Rasmussen, Rebecca
 Library book. Set in Minnesota wilderness. Story of half siblings separated when one is left on orphanage steps. Told in four sections: 1938, 1952, 1961, 1972. 

Hart's Grove; McFadden, Dennis
 Finished copy from author from Goodreads First Reads program. Excellent interlinked short stories set in a small Pennsylvania town. Covers several decades beginning in 1950s. Review posted on Goodreads and LibraryThing.

Battle Royale; by Koushun Takami, Yuji Oniki (Translator)
 Library book. What can I say?  A survival game involving 42 fifteen-year olds. Not my usual taste but it drew me in and I liked it. First published back in 1999.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, no! I'm gutted to hear that you were disappointed by The Bone Clocks. I haven't bought it yet, but I loved Cloud Atlas and Thousand Autumns, so I was hoping for another winner...

    Have you seen the film version of Battle Royale? If not, it's worth a look.

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  2. I read Battle Royale by accident. My daughter had it out of the library and suggested I give it a try since it was Japanese Lit Month. I'll have to ask her about the film.

    As for the Clocks, maybe I would have liked it more if I hadn't read the other Mitchell books. My expectations wouldn't have been so high.


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