flyingfox02's reviews
260 reviews

Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher

2.5

One thing about this book is it will not hold your hand. My knowledge of political theory is immensely lacking and this book makes that obvious. There's a lot of terms and ideas that were new to me and unfortunately isn't elaborated further. I don't think it should've been the first book I picked up of this type of literature. I do want to come back to it in the future though because it's important and there's many interesting points being discussed.

Also the pop culture references I didn't get because I'm just not that guy 😔 The few I recognised are Kafka and Le Guin, both of whom I've yet to read which in the year 2025 is absolutely mental. I will rectify that!

Mr. President by Miguel Ángel Asturias

dark

3.5

Señor Asturias I’m so sorry for doubting you without knowing you, I couldn’t help it after seeing the comparisons to Gabriel García Márquez. (My biggest fans know how much One Hundred Years of Solitude wrung me out and left me to dry, as the saying goes or whatever.) But this book wasn’t like that at all. 

 

Mr. President is a brutal and heavy tale of dictatorship in an unnamed country, satirising Manuel Estrada Cabrera’s regime in Guatemala. “The President” himself doesn’t feature much in the story, only appearing in a few chapters and merely mentioned by others in the rest. Instead the novel focuses on the citizens’ lives, which reveal how the depravity of the man in power has seeped through all corners of society, from top government officials to the working class. 

 

This is a dark and depressing novel, filled with violence and tragedy. I did not enjoy reading it whatsoever. The scene with the mother and baby in prison was particularly harrowing that I physically winced. It was also difficult to empathise with any character because they’re just not good people… 

 

That being said, the writing is absolutely exquisite. David Unger deserves so much praise for his brilliant translation. The bleakness of the story is compounded by the imageries of despair sprinkled throughout. (I’ll share some highlights below.) Apparently it’s also full of Guatemalan patois and allusions to Mayan mythology but these went over my head as my e-copy of the book doesn’t include referential notes. 

The sprawling city, made larger by his own exhaustion, shrank in the face of his despair.

In this dismal place, the ills of life seemed incurable.

A strange wind blew across his plateau of silence.

The song rubbed little glass splinters into her flesh.

Two tears, hot as nails difficult to pull out, twisted their way down his rough, masculine cheeks, so unused to crying.

He was barely half a tangerine and she was larger than a grapefruit. (This is pretty funny.)

Alligator-shaped clouds with sparks of light on their backs sailed over emerald fields, the dense mountain forest that birds had transformed into music boxes. (I'm gobsmacked.)

 

Though not pleasurable or even entertaining, this is a very impressive book. I’m intrigued by Asturias’ other acclaimed work, Men of Maize, but Wikipedia says it’s his “least understood novel” and I am not ready for that. 

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

2.0

I'm extremely apathetic and incredibly dispassionate about this book.

Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde

adventurous mysterious

4.5

Nooo!! This is why I hate reading unfinished series 😭😭 This is an amazing sequel that's left me begging on my hands AND knees for more. 

Initially I was quite underwhelmed by the quality of writing, as it felt rigid and the dialogue unorganic. It felt as though the narrator (Eddie) and other characters were 'aware' that somebody (the reader) was watching, so they'd talk about the world and events from previous book as if we didn't understand. I reckon Fforde was trying to compensate for the fact that this came out 15 years after Shades of Grey, and therefore wanted to remind his readers before continuing with the plot. He probably should've skipped that and trusted us to work it out.

I digress. Weak beginnings aside, I was quickly hooked back into the Chromatacia world. Eddie and Jane are 'woke' now, they know for sure there's something insidious going on, and are ramping up their efforts to learn more. The last 100 pages were so intense. Where Book 1 had a lot more whimsy, this book had me on the edge of my seat. 

Character development was absolutely top notch chef's kiss. Not just Ed and Jane, the first book did such a good job introducing side characters, who we see again here and whose arcs compelled me to love them too.

Final thing. In my review of Book 1 I wrote how I was in awe of Fforde's wit to include a 'coming soon' page at the end of the book that I could only understand upon completion. It happened again ladies and gents!

And it wasn't just a single isolated page, this time it was sprinkled throughout the book.

It didn't register until I was writing this review, and it was even a source of gripe for me until the light bulb turned on. Oh Jasper Fforde how massive your brain is.

I'm torn between a 4 or 4.5 star rating. The ending did feel a little rushed, but overall it was such a riveting read. I cannot wait for Book 3 and I hope I won't have to wait 15 years for it.

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

4.0

Picture this scene: a grown adult fumbling with the keys to their home, carrying bags of groceries, as tears are running down their face.

Yeah that was me while listening to this book (ch. 60).

The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer

3.0

Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone to Brighton! Because that's where a majority of the book is set and I listened to the audio, which includes the aforementioned pair as narrators. I don't have a lot of thoughts about this one. It was enjoyable, though not as charming as the first book. I kind of don't agree that this is a mystery novel, because a lot of it is pretty mundane slice-of-life stuff. 😂 Gary eating battenberg, Gary sorting out the pantry, Gary watching Border Patrol. Though the charm is how this book doesn't take itself seriously at all.

The mystery is also not very mysterious, basically just a consequence of what happens in the first novel. Gary got into a bit of a predicament - granted it is blackmail and threat of murder - but there's no sense of trying to catch the bad guys or what have you. We do get more insight into other characters, like Grace and Emily, who each had their own pov. Plus an unnamed character, which I have a sneaking suspicion Bob added in for an excuse to be narrated by his mate Paul.

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

3.5

I picked this book up to entertain myself as I sharpened my knives, certainly didn't think I'd finish it less than 12 hours later. Fiona Shaw is a fantastic narrator, and I only realised halfway that she was Aunt Petunia! Anyway, the book was great. The gang is still alive and kicking and causing havoc in criminals' lives. I like how Elizabeth and Steven's story develops, Bogdan and Donna's too. The ending feels somewhat unresolved, that's why I can't rate it higher. Also I don't think we've seen the last of Connie Johnson? She'll probably feature again in the next book.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

3.5

I didn't realise this book was comprehensively about the Sackler family, not just the opioid epidemic in America. It's very detailed and well researched, but unfortunately I wasn't all that interested in the whole family history. Not the book's fault. Also I nodded off a couple times while listening to the audiobook (not for long I promise, like an hour max) but that's simply because I am God's sleepiest soldier.

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

4.0

What vastly different worlds Ann Patchett and I live in. She is constantly surrounded by people who own and can fly planes! I'm not jealous at all.

Because of this memoir I now want to read Kate DiCamillo. I also now know the painting of Maeve from The Dutch House that I had pictured is miles from what it's supposed to be.

It was nice just listening to her talk about her life. The Worthless Servant and the two essays about her father(s) were very touching. The way she speaks about and to the people she loves is heartwarming, so open and unabashed. What's stopping me from loving like that?

Inshallah United: A story of faith and football by Nooruddean Choudry

emotional funny reflective

4.0

I'm not a Manc nor a second-generation immigrant but I am a fellow football fanatic and also religious, so I could relate to a lot of things in this memoir. It's funny and searingly honest. I never thought listening to someone talk about playing the balalaika as a kid could be so captivating. Some people's lives could be so uniquely memorable. It does mostly focus on Noz's childhood (pre-A levels) and I'm just curious how he's changed in adulthood (as someone in their early 20s, insight into other people's experience at that age can be valuable), but I guess that's why this is a memoir not autobiography.

Glad they had a Northerner voice the audiobook, even though his Arabic pronunciation sounded a bit awkward (to me).