Reviews and Comments

Very well-written, entertaining and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed the focus on Tom, a scholar about 100 years in the dystopian future, who is researching a lost poem and also trying to teach uninterested students about our world. His appreciation of the past (our present) is fun to experience, and it provides a great perspective. For example: "I prefer teaching the post-2015 period, when social media were beginning to be drawn into the currency of private lives, when waves of fantastical or malevolent or silly rumours began to shape the nature not only of politics but of human understanding. Fascinating!"

And I loved a lot of the writing. There's a description of Tom trying to access a container and get it open, using not quite the right tools, and it reminded me of so many home projects I've done over the years. The effort, anticipation and frustration are captured perfectly.

The first part was funnier and more thrilling than the second part, but still it was great overall. And as for the title, what we can know is ... hard to say. Even things that people write in their journals may be false or misleading. And when the record isn't clear, Tom struggles with how to proceed: "Surely it was permissible to make educated guesses about the subjective states and lines of thought of people who had died a hundred years ago. Perhaps it was not."

A complete joy to read, and surprisingly fast too. Smith's exhilarating writing, with lots of wordplay, artistic observations, and literary references, keeps my brain on its toes. The Brexit pall hanging over the story hits hard right now, with the anti-immigrant crackdown happening in the U.S. I'm very much looking forward to continuing with the rest of the quartet. Great audiobook narration by Melody Grove.

Very good historical fiction. Interesting to have it revolve around a real event - the 1984 bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the Tory conference - but then have it focus less on the event itself and more on the pre-event thoughts and activities of three characters: Dan (a member of the IRA), Moose (disappointed but hopeful deputy general manager at the hotel), and Freya (Moose's teenage daughter). Well-written, insightful, and often funny.

A little uneven (it could have used more editing, especially toward the end), but overall I thought it was very good. The writing sparkled throughout most of the book. There was a chapter about 1/3 of the way through that switched to the father's perspective - his thoughts about being a parent, his job working with other immigrants at a chicken facility in Indiana, etc. - and it was quite moving. The book was also surprisingly funny, despite addressing some rather serious topics, like addiction/recovery and how to have a meaningful life (and death).

I enjoyed this a lot. For one thing, it's the first time that I've read a novel set in Ukraine. The metafictional aspect of the book was mentioned in several reviews/descriptions that I read; so I was aware of that and thought it might be distracting, but I actually found it to be powerful and charming - it dovetailed so well with the story (I mostly listened to the audiobook, so I got to hear the author read those brief sections). About halfway into it, I started to worry that it might veer too much into absurdity (mostly with some of the bachelor shenanigans), but then it didn't really do that. I also appreciated the humor. A number of the scenes with Pasha had me laughing out loud. And the palpable sense of wonder that it conveyed about the snails was great.

A solid thriller -- not action-packed, but pretty gripping. With its dystopian uncanniness, it reminded me of Hum, by Helen Phillips (the mood, not the plot), although this is a bit more sinister, and set in California as opposed to New York. It's all too easy to imagine these things actually happening, which is a frightening warning. The book addresses some timely and important issues, like the power and camaraderie of collective action, the dangers of government/corporate surveillance, and whether it's really better to keep your head down and comply, as various people repeatedly advise Sara to do. The email back-and-forth between Sara and PostPal customer service made my head want to explode; it so perfectly captured the feel of those frustrating interactions. I also liked the ending.

A very well-written and perceptive dissection of relationships and families, exploring how difficult it can be for some people to grapple with something painful in their past. It's powerful when Peter realizes that others (for example, his clients) have been trying to move on and live their lives. It captures interactions so well, like showing Ann's careful mental navigation of every conversation. The immigration law aspect of the book is timely and fascinating. There isn't much humor, and I thought some of the dialogue among the teenagers (i.e., in the flashbacks to Peter's youth) was a bit stilted, but overall I enjoyed it a lot. I know I'll be thinking about it. P.S. There was a revealing Biblioracle interview with the author; the most interesting thing to me was the discussion about the point of view: first person for Peter and close third person for Ann.

This was just as good as everyone said (see Bookmarks). It is long, but to me it never felt like a slog. It also has a fair amount of violence, but apparently I have a much higher tolerance for sword and sorcery-type violence than for gun violence. It's exciting, funny and very well written. The magical battle between Nimue and Merlin had me on the edge of my seat, and that chapter also provided one of my favorite quotes: It was his soul that had been lost, and like so many who'd lost their souls, he had to insist the bargain was worth it and show contempt for those who still had theirs. I really enjoyed getting the backstory for Nimue and each of the knights. Although it's fantasy, it touches on serious/current issues (e.g., diversity, mental health and immigration), and I appreciated that. Excellent storytelling, and I thought the audiobook narration by Nicholas Guy Smith was great as well.