sharkybookshelf's reviews
511 reviews

Nomad Century by Gaia Vince

4.0

An examination of environmental migration - a major, though little discussed, imminent consequence of climate change.

Vince argues that high levels of migration will be required in the coming decades for Earth’s population to cope with the increasingly extreme impacts of climate change, thus we must plan accordingly in terms of city design, land use, border rules, etc. I think her assessment is correct - mass migration driven by changing environmental conditions is inevitable, and stricter border controls or other preventative measures will merely push people to migrate illegally/dangerously rather stop them. But the book also felt rather utopian.

There was a level of complexity missing, which I think is where the idealistic feel comes from - the suggested future “liveable” zones are really only based on predicted climate, with no real discussion around other factors that might make somewhere liveable or not. Some factors are beyond the scope of the book, but acknowledgement that they exist would go a long way. For example, Vince suggests that it in a 4°C hotter world, NZ will be densely populated with high-rise cities, but I wonder at the feasibility of this in an earthquake zone. That future habitable zones include indigenous lands is mentioned, but the traumatic colonial history around indigenous lands is not.

It’s unclear how any of the planning and adaptations suggested in the book would realistically happen politically - unfortunately, much of it is hard to sell to voters and I’m too cynical to believe that things will happen because they should. I was left thinking “we’re fucked” rather than hopeful that there are achievable solutions on the horizon.

I’m being nitpicky with my criticism, so to be clear, this IS an interesting read - the science and impact predictions are well summarised and accessible. It’s worth reading if you’re interested in what the future might look like for humanity in the coming decades, just don’t expect too many concrete solutions - despite being a little idealistic and over-simplified at times, it’s a good starting point.

Ti Amo by Hanne Ørstavik

4.0

The narrator has moved to Milan for a relatively new relationship and married - when her husband is diagnosed with cancer, they continue their lives with as much normality as possible, until the doctor tells her, but not her husband, that he has less than a year to live…

At under 100 pages, this is a tiny gem that absolutely packs a punch. It’s a very raw story of waiting for somebody you love to die - the drawn-out anticipatory grief, helplessly witnessing their decline, the strange limbo of waiting for the inevitable whilst life continues around you. It’s no secret that I love a book on grief - this is a very different version of bereavement than my own experiences (which have been sudden and unexpected) and I found it very moving.

This is based on Ørstavik’s own experience - usually I struggle with autofiction, but not in this case, I think because Ørstavik focuses on the raw emotions of dealing with the knowledge of impending bereavement rather than the details of their lives. Details are included, of course, but they’re more in passing or to set a scene, and the introspective narration brings a resonant universality to the story.

An introspective, raw story of love, the loneliness of loss and navigating the anticipatory grief when a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

3.0

In British-colonised Malaya, frustrated Cecily meets Japanese General Fujiwara and, seduced by his vision of an “Asia for Asians,” steals secrets from the British; a decade later in 1945, Cecily’s family is crumbling under the harsh reality of life under Japanese occupation…

This was fine for what it was - essentially generic WWII fiction, but set in Malaysia. Whilst the setting was refreshing, the author tried to do too much and the result was too little of everything. Firstly, the story has both a split timeline and multiple POVs - one or the other would have sufficed. The different POVs didn’t feel very distinct, plus I wasn’t quite convinced by the child narrator, who read as too simple, too dumbed-down. Secondly, between the espionage, kidnappings, building the railway, comfort stations and various (shock value) revelations towards the end, there was a lot going on and the impact of each storyline was diluted.

Undoubtedly, these were all things that happened, but I got the distinct impression that Chan researched the Malaysian WWII experience and then tried to include everything she’d learned. Focussing on just a few aspects, rather than flitting around all of it, would have allowed for more depth and might have made for a stronger, more satisfying story.

It’s unfortunate, because WWII fiction about civilians tends to focus on women swanning around France on a bicycle, so it’s good to see a WWII story set not only elsewhere, but centring non-white characters. And it’s not a bad story, per se, it simply lacked depth and wasn’t quite for me.

Because I’m petty, I have to mention that there were two instances of characters releasing a breath they didn’t know they were holding - TWO. Surely by this point, the only acceptable use of that phrase is as a joke.

A broad but surface-level story of the horrors of war, family and a woman caught up in the brutal consequences of her previous choices.

The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting

4.0

Edvard is brought up by his grandparents on a remote farm in Norway - when his grandfather dies, Edvard unexpectedly finds himself on a quest to find out about his parents who mysteriously died when he was three and his great-uncle…

I love Mytting’s writing - he has a remarkable ability to create an atmospheric setting (especially, though not only, the harsh, desolate, windswept variety) through which to weave a gripping story. I didn’t even mind that some of it was a little far-fetched, I was absolutely invested and wanted to know what Edvard would find out next.

Ultimately, this is a story of the toll of family secrets and how the past (whether secret or not) can eat away at people, such as Sverre’s choice to serve in the German army - a choice that followed him his whole life even in the smallest of ways, regardless of whether he regretted it. As for the family secrets, this isn’t just one secret but layer after layer of intertwined secrets. But it’s not all tragedy - the book is also a joyous ode to working with wood and the skill of cabinetmaking. My grandfather was a carpenter, so I deeply appreciated this aspect of the novel.

An atmospheric, slightly mysterious story of family secrets, being haunted by the past and the beauty of skilled woodworking.

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid

4.0

Tenth-century Scotland, Gruoch is on the run with her three companions, pursued by men who would kill her for her status as widow of Macbeth and Scotland’s first queen…

This is the latest instalment in the Darkland Tales series, and once again, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Whether or not you’ve ever actually read Shakespeare’s Macbeth, you probably know the general gist - power-hungry Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to do Terrible Things (murder) to become king, he then embarks on a paranoid reign of terror and she spends the rest of the play washing her hands (please do not base any exam answers on this summary). Well, McDermid delivers a big old Fuck You to Shakespeare’s (dubious) version of events (remember he was writing when Scotland was England’s enemy, so…).

There’s not much source material (though enough to know the Macbeths were not as portrayed in “the Scottish play”), so this is a fictional imagining of events, but it feels deeply considered. First of all, our leading lady has a name, not just a title: Gruoch. And she’s a fleshed-out character with emotions and desires, who cares for her companions and values their friendship. She’s canny and understands the brutal politics of power, the shifting landscape of loyalties and the price she will pay if caught because of what she represents, none of which makes her conniving or power-hungry, simply a smart woman.

The story is well-written - though it takes place over a matter of weeks, Gruoch’s life story unfolds through flashbacks, building a rich portrait of both the character and life during this first iteration of a unified Scotland. Honestly, I would have happily read this story expanded into a book twice or thrice the length. I also loved the smattering of (non-italicised!) Scots throughout - don’t let this put you off, there’s a glossary at the back.

An enjoyable reimagining of the much-maligned Lady Macbeth, a story of love, power and female friendship.

Phenotypes by Paulo Scott

2.0

Federico and Lourenço are brothers, but one is light-skinned and the other dark - despite their shared upbringing in Porto Alegre, their lives have followed quite different trajectories…

In theory, this was an interesting depiction of racism, colourism and the balance of power in southern Brazil, specifically Porto Alegre, and the way it manifests both societally and institutionally within universities. Through the storyline that deals with the governmental committee looking into affirmative action in university applications, we also get a glimpse of the politics surrounding Brazil’s wider racial conversation.

Unfortunately, I really struggled with the incredibly dense writing style - it was such hard work that it got in the way of the story and I never managed to get into the flow of it. It also took a while for the story’s direction to become clear - I spent the first third wondering where the story was going, then after 85ish pages, Scott meandered away from the sub-committee storyline and I found myself invested in what was going to happen.

And then Scott leaves us in the lurch at the end - I read this back in May and am still fuming over how utterly unsatisfactory the ending is. There’s leaving things open-ended and then there’s…abandoning the reader in what feels like the middle of the story. I was left with so many questions - it feels like there should be a sequel (though if there is, I likely won’t be reading it).

I greatly appreciated the Translator’s Note - Hahn discusses some of the choices he made and has some interesting points around having to consider the differing connotations of words across languages and even geographically within the same language and how that plays into translation.

A meandering story of racism and power in southern Brazil, deeply dissatisfying due to the absurdly dense writing and completely inconclusive ending.

Murder Is Easy by Agatha Christie

3.0

Miss Pinkerton believes there is a murderer at work in her quiet village and predicts that the local doctor will be next - Luke Fitzwilliam is inclined to dismiss her as an over-imaginative spinster, until she is killed in a hit-and-run and he learns that her prediction was correct…

This one had a pretty clever solution, though I did pick up on a major clue very early on and figured it out towards the end. I don’t think this reflects any particular detective skills on my part, but since I’ve read quite a few Christies by this point, I think I’m perhaps a little more attuned to some of the ways Christie makes clever use of language to hide clues in plain sight than I would have been before (though let’s be honest, I still rarely solve her mysteries!).

I found our young amateur detectives a little annoying (and frankly idiotic once or twice), so I wasn’t really blown away by how the story unfolded. I also didn’t really need the romance sub-plot - it added nothing to the central murder mystery, and certainly as a modern reader it felt rather random and progressed absurdly quickly.

A solid sleepy-village multiple murder mystery with amateur detectives and a pretty clever solution.

Long Live the Post Horn! by Vigdis Hjorth

3.0

When her colleague vanishes overnight, Ellinor, a media consultant in the grips of depression, finds herself with an unexpected new client: the Norwegian Postal Workers Union…

Ultimately this is a story of loneliness and connection, both on a personal level through Ellinor and her relationships with those around her, and on a community level through the postal workers. It’s an ode to the important role the postal service plays in small, scattered communities and the people that keep it running. The story itself took a little too long to get off the ground though, and turned into a bit of a political drama.

This is my third Hjorth novel, and as with the other two, the stream-of-consciousness narration is pretty immersive. But with a narrator who is disillusioned with every aspect of her life and clearly in the throes of depression, it’s also slightly overwhelming. That said, this turned out rather more heart-warming than anticipated - I think I prefer the dark, raw Hjorth of Will and Testament and Is Mother Dead.

An overwhelmingly immersive yet touching story exploring the black cloud of loneliness and the importance of human connection on a personal and community level.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

4.0

In his university library, Zachary Rawlins stumbles across an unusual book full of captivating stories and, impossibly, a tale from his own childhood - determined to make sense of this, Zachary finds himself on a dangerous quest involving a secret club, magical doorways and a mysterious underground library…

This is a tricky one to summarise and to review without spoilers, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s convoluted and complex - you do have to keep track of what’s happening in the various plot threads whilst also just surrendering to the flow of how the story is told and not quite knowing exactly what’s going on - but it does eventually come together well, much to my delight. As with any self-respecting fantasy quest, there are unexpected friendships, shadowy forces of evil and plenty of mysterious goings-on. But this is also an ode to storytelling and the power of stories.

Millennial readers who loved fantasy as kids are clearly the target audience (hello, it’s me) and references to the fantasy books of our childhood abound, which was lovely, except on the Harry Potter front, which was slightly overdone. Since it wasn’t actually necessary to the story, it felt like Morgenstern was trying a little too hard to tap into that particular nostalgia, and for me, it’s become a reference that’s…tainted and just felt a little awkward to read (granted, this was published five years ago, but I think JKR was already spouting vitriol).

A complex, satisfyingly convoluted fantasy adventure that explores storytelling, friendship and finding oneself - ideal for anybody who read fantasy as a kid.

Normal Rules Don't Apply by Kate Atkinson

3.0

A collection of eleven interlinked short stories, all veering towards the slightly uncanny where normal rules don’t quite apply…

Each of these stories went in a slightly left-field direction, a few in a way that I enjoyed, but others less so. As with any short story collection, I liked some stories more than others, but overall most of them proved a little too…peculiar for my taste. There’s no question that Atkinson is a skilled writer, but ultimately I prefer her stories and writing developed to novel length.

I did enjoy that the stories within the collection were interlinked, with characters popping up across different stories. It’s always fun to spot clever crossovers and the links became more apparent as the collection progressed. Consequently, I found the collection more satisfying as I made my way through it, though it never quite blew me away.