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libbysbookshelf's Reviews (745)
THE IMPOSSIBLE FAIRYTALE by HAN YUJOO translated by JANET HONG
Korean 🇰🇷
#womenintranslation
A dark story about the effects of loneliness and abuse on children… to begin with, then it becomes a story that interrogates the responsibility that writers have.
Take a character from a book who is treated badly by the writer and then imagine that character having a conversation with the writer. What would they ask? I couldn’t help but think of Jude from A Little Life asking Hanya what the hell she was playing at?! Would she have a good enough answer?
#koreanliterature #theimpossiblefairytale #hanyujoo #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreadersofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookreviewersofinstagram
Korean 🇰🇷
#womenintranslation
A dark story about the effects of loneliness and abuse on children… to begin with, then it becomes a story that interrogates the responsibility that writers have.
Take a character from a book who is treated badly by the writer and then imagine that character having a conversation with the writer. What would they ask? I couldn’t help but think of Jude from A Little Life asking Hanya what the hell she was playing at?! Would she have a good enough answer?
#koreanliterature #theimpossiblefairytale #hanyujoo #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreadersofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookreviewersofinstagram
CHOUETTE by CLAIRE OSHETSKY
A fantasy novel about a woman who gets pregnant with and gives birth to an owl-baby, or an allegorical look at mothering a child with special needs in a world where everyone must conform? Either/or. Both. You decide.
Of course, this novel could have fallen into the trap of being too heavy handed with its messages about letting children be who they are, but don’t worry, there is plenty of grey area. And we love grey area and untrustworthy narrators (note I didn’t say ‘unreliable’).
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreaders #bookreviewersofinstagram #chouette #claireoshetsky
A fantasy novel about a woman who gets pregnant with and gives birth to an owl-baby, or an allegorical look at mothering a child with special needs in a world where everyone must conform? Either/or. Both. You decide.
Of course, this novel could have fallen into the trap of being too heavy handed with its messages about letting children be who they are, but don’t worry, there is plenty of grey area. And we love grey area and untrustworthy narrators (note I didn’t say ‘unreliable’).
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreaders #bookreviewersofinstagram #chouette #claireoshetsky
RIOT DAYS by MARIA ALYOKHINA translated by the author
Russian 🇷🇺
#womenintranslationmonth
A prison memoir written by a member of Pussy Riot, featuring hard-hitting Russian political truths and an unwavering heroine.
#pussyriot #riotdays #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreviewsofinstagram #bookreviewersofinstagram
Russian 🇷🇺
#womenintranslationmonth
A prison memoir written by a member of Pussy Riot, featuring hard-hitting Russian political truths and an unwavering heroine.
#pussyriot #riotdays #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreviewsofinstagram #bookreviewersofinstagram
HURRICANE SEASON by FERNANDA MELCHOR
Spanish 🇲🇽
#womenintranslationmonth
A torrent of breathless, syntactical genius, portraying a poor, Mexican society’s infestation of toxic machismo.
Pure excellence. Loved it.
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #hurricaneseason #fernandamelchor #fitzcarraldoeditions @fitzcarraldoeditions #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram
Spanish 🇲🇽
#womenintranslationmonth
A torrent of breathless, syntactical genius, portraying a poor, Mexican society’s infestation of toxic machismo.
Pure excellence. Loved it.
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #hurricaneseason #fernandamelchor #fitzcarraldoeditions @fitzcarraldoeditions #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram
NIGHTCRAWLING by LEILA MOTTLEY
#bookstagramreadsthebooker
17?! 17 years old when she wrote this book? That is impressive. Very, very impressive.
Longlisted for the Booker? The world famous, most prestigious literary award? No, that’s not right. Really, no.
If I had read this book separate from the Booker prize and found it in the YA section of a bookshop, I’d be incredibly impressed. This book gave me The Hate U Give vibes, in that it was about a serious issue from the point of view of a Black teenager. This book is about a sex worker who experiences police brutality. It’s based on a true story.
However, in the context of the Booker prize, this book is not astute or concise enough. I understand if the judges wanted recognise the immense achievement of a seventeen year old who has written a novel, but I’m not sure if there is anything else here.
And I really wanted to like this. I spent £25 on a hand numbered limited edition Goldsboro version. Trust me, I wanted to love this. Alas, it was not the one. Ultimately, it was boring. I am sorry.
#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram
#bookstagramreadsthebooker
17?! 17 years old when she wrote this book? That is impressive. Very, very impressive.
Longlisted for the Booker? The world famous, most prestigious literary award? No, that’s not right. Really, no.
If I had read this book separate from the Booker prize and found it in the YA section of a bookshop, I’d be incredibly impressed. This book gave me The Hate U Give vibes, in that it was about a serious issue from the point of view of a Black teenager. This book is about a sex worker who experiences police brutality. It’s based on a true story.
However, in the context of the Booker prize, this book is not astute or concise enough. I understand if the judges wanted recognise the immense achievement of a seventeen year old who has written a novel, but I’m not sure if there is anything else here.
And I really wanted to like this. I spent £25 on a hand numbered limited edition Goldsboro version. Trust me, I wanted to love this. Alas, it was not the one. Ultimately, it was boring. I am sorry.
#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram
OH WILLIAM! by ELIZABETH STROUT
#bookstagramreadsthebooker
Not my usual thing. And I probably won’t read anything else by this writer. It was clearly well-written — an absolute master class in characterisation and voice, but it’s not for me.
Forgive me if I don’t say anything else about it, but I’d like to save my energy for more exciting books.
Can you tell I’m going through a period of change with my reading habits at the moment?
#book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer
#bookstagramreadsthebooker
Not my usual thing. And I probably won’t read anything else by this writer. It was clearly well-written — an absolute master class in characterisation and voice, but it’s not for me.
Forgive me if I don’t say anything else about it, but I’d like to save my energy for more exciting books.
Can you tell I’m going through a period of change with my reading habits at the moment?
#book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer
THE EMPLOYEES by OLGA RAVN translated by MARTIN AITKEN
Danish 🇩🇰
This was longlisted for the International Booker last year and I took a long time to get to it. Silly me!
I picked this up to read at 9 p.m. the other night, and I didn’t sleep until I’d read it all (11 p.m. — it’s a very short book).
The novel is made up of a series of statements from employees on board a spaceship. It is unclear why they’re on the ship and it’s unclear what has happened to Earth, but it doesn’t look good.
The employees are made up of humans and humanoids, or AIs, very intelligent AIs. That’s it really, but of course it’s so much more than that.
It’s actually quite brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed this little slice of literary sci-fi.
More Danish books for me, please. Luckily I went mad in the @lollieditions sale, so I have a lot to choose from!
#womenintranslationmonth #danishliterature #bookstagramreadsthebooker #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookrec
Danish 🇩🇰
This was longlisted for the International Booker last year and I took a long time to get to it. Silly me!
I picked this up to read at 9 p.m. the other night, and I didn’t sleep until I’d read it all (11 p.m. — it’s a very short book).
The novel is made up of a series of statements from employees on board a spaceship. It is unclear why they’re on the ship and it’s unclear what has happened to Earth, but it doesn’t look good.
The employees are made up of humans and humanoids, or AIs, very intelligent AIs. That’s it really, but of course it’s so much more than that.
It’s actually quite brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed this little slice of literary sci-fi.
More Danish books for me, please. Luckily I went mad in the @lollieditions sale, so I have a lot to choose from!
#womenintranslationmonth #danishliterature #bookstagramreadsthebooker #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookrec
THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA by SHEHAN KARUNATILAKA
The Booker made me do it.
And…
I ain’t mad about it.
This Sri Lankan novel has been longlisted for @thebookerprizes 2022, and it is not something I would have read in a million years if it hadn’t been. And this is why I love reading prize longlists because I would have been missing out so much had I not read about Maali Almeida, self-professed photographer, gambler and slut, making his way through the afterlife, figuring out how he died and who dunnit, and making sure his politically charged photos find their way into the right hands.
This book is mainly set in the afterlife, as I mentioned, with Helpers ready to guide Maali through his seven moons before the next step, which could be reincarnation, among other options. There are also monsters lurking in the afterlife who want Maali, so that they can get their revenge on the living. The year is 1990 and Sri Lanka is in the midst of civil war, meaning there is a lot of brutality and a lot of unnecessary death.
My experience with this book was like nothing else. To begin with, I felt bogged down in the politics and I couldn’t understand a lot of the references, but my desire to learn, and Maali’s strong voice kept me reading. There were still times when I felt lost, but ultimately I thought this book was bloody brilliant, and a real achievement. It deserves to be shortlisted, and while it’s not my favourite, I would not be sorry if it won the prize.
I will say that this book asks a lot of its reader. You can’t simply relax while reading this book. It is challenging in every sense, but what a pay off! I now know more about Sri Lankan history, and I’ve met the unapologetically gay slut that is Maali Almeida!
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramreadsthebooker #bookerprize #bookerprize2022 #bookreview #thesevenmoonsofmaalialmeida #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookrec #bookreviewsofinstagram
The Booker made me do it.
And…
I ain’t mad about it.
This Sri Lankan novel has been longlisted for @thebookerprizes 2022, and it is not something I would have read in a million years if it hadn’t been. And this is why I love reading prize longlists because I would have been missing out so much had I not read about Maali Almeida, self-professed photographer, gambler and slut, making his way through the afterlife, figuring out how he died and who dunnit, and making sure his politically charged photos find their way into the right hands.
This book is mainly set in the afterlife, as I mentioned, with Helpers ready to guide Maali through his seven moons before the next step, which could be reincarnation, among other options. There are also monsters lurking in the afterlife who want Maali, so that they can get their revenge on the living. The year is 1990 and Sri Lanka is in the midst of civil war, meaning there is a lot of brutality and a lot of unnecessary death.
My experience with this book was like nothing else. To begin with, I felt bogged down in the politics and I couldn’t understand a lot of the references, but my desire to learn, and Maali’s strong voice kept me reading. There were still times when I felt lost, but ultimately I thought this book was bloody brilliant, and a real achievement. It deserves to be shortlisted, and while it’s not my favourite, I would not be sorry if it won the prize.
I will say that this book asks a lot of its reader. You can’t simply relax while reading this book. It is challenging in every sense, but what a pay off! I now know more about Sri Lankan history, and I’ve met the unapologetically gay slut that is Maali Almeida!
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramreadsthebooker #bookerprize #bookerprize2022 #bookreview #thesevenmoonsofmaalialmeida #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookrec #bookreviewsofinstagram
WOMEN DREAMING by SALMA translated by MEEN KANDASAMY
Women in Translation Month
India 🇮🇳
A novel set in a small Muslim village in India, following a family that is abused by a patriarch who uses Islam as an excuse for his vile behaviour.
I was so frustrated for a big proportion of this book because the bully was causing so much hurt and pain to his sister and mother and wife and daughter and mother-in-law and his second wife. Basically every woman in his life was under his cruel control. There was some small light when the women were able to find ways to find joy, but for the most part this book was horribly depressing.
In terms of style, the writer uses a lot of repetition, and I wonder if we needed to be told the same things quite so many times — it certainly helped to add to the oppressive feeling throughout the novel.
I did love how simplistic the writing was and I found the message of the book to be very important.
#book #bookstagram #tiltedaxispress #bookreview #bookstagrammer #womenintranslation #womenintranslationmonth #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreading #bookreaders #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
Women in Translation Month
India 🇮🇳
A novel set in a small Muslim village in India, following a family that is abused by a patriarch who uses Islam as an excuse for his vile behaviour.
I was so frustrated for a big proportion of this book because the bully was causing so much hurt and pain to his sister and mother and wife and daughter and mother-in-law and his second wife. Basically every woman in his life was under his cruel control. There was some small light when the women were able to find ways to find joy, but for the most part this book was horribly depressing.
In terms of style, the writer uses a lot of repetition, and I wonder if we needed to be told the same things quite so many times — it certainly helped to add to the oppressive feeling throughout the novel.
I did love how simplistic the writing was and I found the message of the book to be very important.
#book #bookstagram #tiltedaxispress #bookreview #bookstagrammer #womenintranslation #womenintranslationmonth #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreading #bookreaders #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
