 |
A month long blog event hosted by Estella's Revenge,
Girlxoxo, and Traveling with T |
The Moon Sisters by Walsh, Therese (Advance review copy)
I
had a hard time getting into this novel and I almost gave up on it. It
seemed to be jumping all over the place with no direction. As I got
further into the story I realized that the family was dealing with grief
and having a difficult time finding a sense of direction so the
structure made sense. 
Harlequin's Millions by Bohumil Hrabal; Stacey Knecht (translator)
The problem with this was the format. This 312 page book has sixteen Chapters and each chapter is one paragraph. There are no sentence breaks. I carried on with this thanks to encouragement from Tony Messenger and ended up liking it. I found the link Tony had to Teun van Wijk pictures of the book's setting very encouraging; made it seem more real.
We Were Liars; by E. Lockhart Library book. First love, family quarrels, secrets, and unbearable memories. I picked this up at the community college library while I was waiting for a meeting to start. I read a few pages and put it back on the shelf. I did this again the following week. And again. Finally, when I was a little more than half-way through the book I checked it out, took it home and finished it that afternoon. Glad I finished it in the privacy of my own home.
Traveler of the Century by Andrés Neuman, Nick Caistor (Translator), Lorenza García (Translator) Library Book.
I don't know how many times I put it aside because of the seemingly endless philosophical and political discussions that took place in the salon and elsewhere. Finally, after asking "Is he, the author, going anywhere with this?" I did something I rarely do. I skipped forward and read the end of the book. Then I went back to where I left off and read the rest of the book. I'm glad I did.
The Descartes Highlands by Eric Gamalinda
Free copy from publisher through LibraryThing.
A dark, gritty narrative is scattered over time, place, and viewpoint but at it's heart is the terrible underworld of the Philippines in the early 1970s. A "you will love it or hate it" kind of book.
It is filled with graphic descriptions of sex, torture, and an abortion. F-Bombs abound. There is also love of various kinds, a mish-mash of philosophy and religion, politics, friendship, betrayal, and strange characters. Did I mention drugs? That too.
I hesitate to say I liked it. When I finished it I shook my head and asked myself "WTF did I just read?" Whatever it is, I'm not sorry I read it, I'll re-read passages and it will stay with me.
I'm glad I managed to finish all these. What's on you list of almost didn't finish, but glad I did.?
I've heard wonders about We were Liars, but I'm not sure about it yet. I'm definitely considering it though, seems like a book I shouldn't miss.
ReplyDeleteIt stayed with me. My daughter also read it and liked it.
DeleteI felt the same way you did about The Moon Sisters, but it never turned a corner for me. I felt the entire thing was disjointed....
ReplyDeleteWe Were Liars was a "finish in one sitting" type of book for me as well!
Not the best thing I read this year but I'm glad I finished it.
ReplyDeleteWe Were Liars is on my TBR list. I keep meaning to read it! Soon!
ReplyDeleteHope you like it!
DeleteI have The Traveller of The Century, which I haven't read, but I can see where it would be daunting. I'm glad to know you're glad you finished it!
ReplyDeleteI just plodded through a 560 page arc of Sarah Waters' The Paying Guests. A much less rewarding read than Traveler.
DeleteThe Moon Sisters did take a bit to get used to for me. And I'm like the only person who hasn't read We Were Liars!
ReplyDeleteI think We Were Liars deserved the hype.
ReplyDelete