A WILD SHEEP CHASE by Haruki Murakama
A lonely man and his girlfriend travel the mountains of Japan to find some white sheep that have a white star marking and are noted to be magical. They are guided and controlled by a man called The Rate or The Boss. The Boss becomes a kind of spirit or a ghost. The sheep become a spiritual entity for the man.
This book completed (10/11) the book challenge for reading a book that was translated from another language (Japanese)
THE ILLUSION OF SEPARATENESS by Simon Van Booy
A short read that spans from World War II to present. The book has stories of strangers who have a connection by a single act of mercy. The book explores forgiveness, isolation and human kindness.
OUR MISSING HEARTS by Celeste Ng
A dystopian fiction that describes the reaction to the fears and racism following the COVID pandemic.
A poet who wrote a collection of poems titled “Our Missing Hearts” is targeted under the suspicion of a new law enforcement PACT— preserving American Culture and Tradition. The law has strict control over information about education and the separation of children from their families. The theme is how corruption of censorship, racism, and scapegoating will affect our society.
PETS AND THE CITY: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian by Amy Attas
A MUST READ for dog and cat lovers.
A wonderful entertaining read about the experiences of a NYC vet who does house calls for the furry pets o Manhattan. Her clients range from celebrities, billionaires on the upper east side and hoarders who live in tiny apartments. She even describes a visit she had with the presidentʼs late wife Ivanka Trump. Her stories are fully entertaining, emotional and educational in the way she describes the kindness and quirks of pet owners who live in the Big Apple.
Wonderful review and recommendation. Thanks so much @Connie_K. I’ve not read Whalefall but I kind of want to go back to it. If I’m remembering correctly g correctly the audio has the same narrator as Angel Down who I loved.
I remember being so awed by how accurate Black Wolf was despite her having researched and written it before much of the real life stuff had started happening. I’m looking forward to Miss Wolcott’s Ghost.
@Anne_Glasgow, yes, you’re remembering correctly. Both books have the same narrator, Kirby Heyborne. I’ve read Whalefall and thought that one was stellar, too. One of the things I find amazing about Kraus’s books is that they’re all so different. He’s got a pure sci-fi one that came out this summer called The Sixth Nik that’s high on my TBR. Did you know he wrote The Shape of Water with Guillermo del Toro?
Thanks a ton for the movie review, @Connie_K! My husband wants to see that one a lot; I wasn’t sure I was going to go with him, but hearing there’s an emphasis on his relationship with his father helps push me in that direction.
After having read “Reset” and “San Quentin Exodus,” I was ready for something light and funny. I came across “Rachel to the Rescue” by Elinor Lipman. It is a book featuring a twenty something heroine, Rachel and a list of other very endearing characters and the intrigue that surrounds them involving an accident that Rachel suffers at the start of her story. FYI: Rachel works at the White House in Records Management, taping together the pieces of official documents that #45 tears up daily. She sends a tweet voicing her frustrations and is immediately escorted out of the building, fired. As she exits the building she is hit by a speeding car, driven by a close personal friend of the President. And the adventure begins. . . an alternate, very funny history of 2019-2020 personal life of DT. A quick, fast and funny read, especially if you are not particularly fond of #45.
Now it back to basics, need to finish the last few chapters of “The Finest Hotel in Kabul” and then on to my book club’s selection for this month, “A Pair of Aces.” Having read the BB online discussion on “Aces” I feel I’m for an enjoyable read.
Have you read .In Night Came with Many Stars? It’s advertised as Van Booy finds the weakness, grace and beauty of common lives fully lived. I bought it right after reading “Slipsworth” and never read it.
I am finally reading Satantango by Laszlo KrasznahorKai, a book that has sat in my TBR pile for many months. So glad I finally cracked it, a totally engaing story of so many characters in a remote community, their personalities and their interactions with each other.
Thanks for the update on this one, @John_B1. I’ve owned a copy since it won awards last year but I’ve yet to read it. Need to move that one up on the stack!
The absence of paragraph breaks make It a somewhat challenging read at first and I strugged a little through the first chapter but then I fell into the flow and it has become an enjoyable read. Some have critisized the Hungarian context, but to my mind it could be set in one of a multitude of real or ficticious locations and still carry the same weight. I can understand how it in the Nobel in 2025. An excellent read.
I just started Luna, Phoenix, Queen by Julie Orringer (so far, I’m loving it!). Last week was all about Partita by Barbara Kingsolver - a 4.5 stars from me.
Just a note to thank you and @Carol_N for recommending SLIPSWORTH by Simon Van Booy. I just finished the book. It was a delightful sweet read I read in one day.