sundazebookcafe's reviews
534 reviews

The Swell by Kat Gordon

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thanks Bonnier Books and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy of this book!

Set in Iceland 1910, sisters Freyja and Gudrun rescue a mysterious, shipwrecked man near their remote farm. Sixty five years later, Sigga is visiting her grandmother when news breaks: a body has been discovered on a mountainside near Reykjavík, and it’s perfectly preserved in ice. Rich in Icelandic myth, which I so appreciated after my November trip, this was a beautifully compelling and atmospheric read and a wonderful farewell to winter (for me).

A good example of books in good conversation with each other is The Swell and The Greenlanders. Both Nordic sagas with a focus on character, family and the swell of everyday life, I enjoyed The Swell as much as I did The Greenlanders. In fact, I enjoyed it more because I was already familiar with the family naming conventions, the local produce and rhythm of the ways in these harsh-condition, Nordic countries. We move between 1910 and the 1970s and piece together this Icelandic mystery, the changing timeline really works to build suspense and turn this into a page-turner. I love a story that digs deep into both character and plot, and that’s exactly what The Swell does.

Gudrun is a headstrong heroine, balanced out by her milder-mannered sister Freyja, and they make compelling characters to steer us through the earlier year setting. Actually, they’re mirrors for Sigga in the 1970s and her ‘Amma’, her grandmother. Freyja and Gudrun live with their widowed father in a patriarchally dominated village, which soon becomes a strong theme in the book, that of historical patriarchy. When a Danish sailor washes up ashore and the sisters bring him home, whispers swirl around the village about two unmarried women cohabiting with a man.

In 1975, Sigga is untangling who she is outside of her relationships with her partner, her brothers, society as it still stands. She is worried about her future, her fertility, whether or not she truly has autonomy of her body. And we hear mentions of the Women’s Day Off, a strike where women abstained from any work that was assumed to be a ‘woman’s job’. Feminist uprisings and modern feminism are, of course, then huge themes in this book. Then, the news breaks: a body has been found preserved in ice on a mountainside. As Amma and Sigga converse about their histories, thus begs the question: who is the body that was found?

The author creates a hauntingly atmospheric scene in Iceland and I loved this as a constant backdrop. While it’s got a slow burn start, I raced through the latter half of this book. It’s suspenseful and teases out the mystery in heartbreaking, shocking and tragically real circumstances, while examining sisterhood and breaking free from the patriarchy.

The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang

inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

I really wanted to love this one, but perhaps I simply wasn't in the right headspace for it when I picked it up? The translation felt a little middle-grade, and I wasn't captivated at all. Instead, the story felt a bit too dreamlike and neither here nor there, and I wasn't invested in any of the characters, especially our protagonist. I wanted to DNF it at 10%, then again at 77% (but I was already too far gone!).

The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’ve been meaning to read The Greenlanders for months, especially since hearing rave reviews from my peers in The Unseen Review Book Club. This one won’t be for everybody, yet I really do appreciate the quiet beauty of a vast, family saga and The Greenlanders is certainly that. Set in the fourteenth century, Jane Smiley brings to life one of the world’s toughest terrains, that of Greenland.

Smiley’s writing of Greenland is just beautiful. You can really be transported through her descriptions of the fjords, the stretches of plain land, the dark mountains, the wind, the sheer inhospitable conditions of their homeland. We follow one family, descendants of Nordic settlers, through their everyday life, into hunts, feasts, feuds, and beyond. Asgeir Gunnarsson owns Gunnars Stead, and his family are intertwined amongst the neighbouring families and their farms. I’d say the two focal protagonists in The Greenlanders are Asgeir’s daughter Margret – fearlessly independent, quiet and headstrong – and his son Gunnar – unlucky, a little violent, but who hosts a compelling quest for knowledge.

Like I said, this is a quiet and unassuming novel. We observe the everyday minutiae of a pretty vast set of characters, indulging in the little moments that make up their life in a harsh country with harsher neighbours. There is drama, but it is low stakes. Cleverly, Smiley weaves in major historical events that touch Greenland, thus creating a dazzling real picture of how this fictional family lived and how their real descendants might have lived too. In a busy and frantic modern world where life is about the big picture, The Greenlanders is a masterpiece in telling a story through the smaller moments. I also did a quick Google about 50 pages in that confirms the slightly formal and nearly cold prose style is in that of a Nordic or Icelandic saga. Nice.

The Lost Century by Larissa Lai

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It’s the eve of the handover in Hong Kong, 1997, when young Ophelia asks her great aunt Violet about the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. From Violet, she finally learns the story of her grandmother Emily. In this meandering novel, we learn about Ophelia’s grandmother, her marriages, how class, race and status impacted her life, and the fallout of the Japanese army’s invasion of Hong Kong.

Upon a violent backdrop, this was a fascinating and moving story that explores Asian relations in an important moment of history, underground resistance, the daily life of those in Hong Kong, and the ascent of modern China. My own family are from Hong Kong and, since I can no longer ask my own grandparents, I really loved tracing ‘old Hong Kong’ through this sprawling story. At times, the pacing really lost me, but there’s so much humanity poured into this novel; Lai paints a memorable picture.

May You Have Delicious Meals by Junko Takase

funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Thanks Random House UK and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

A short novel that deals with office dynamics, power play, modern life and the routine of food, May You Have Delicious Meals piqued my interest since I really enjoy cosy translated Japanese fiction… especially if food is involved!

Dreamlike and dreary in equal measure, May You Have Delicious Meals is a funny little slice-of-life novel that simply doesn’t make it anywhere. The cast of characters are awfully unlikeable and the protagonist seems misogynistic, never missing a beat to speak badly about herself and about women. Takase uses food and meals as a device to synthesise with office politics and dynamics. Ashikawa is the sort of woman that Nitani believes he’ll marry. After all, she’s sweet, meek, mild, and she’s trying to convince him to stray from his Cup Noodles addiction. Yet the more time they spend together, the more Nitani struggles to respect her. In fact, it’s uncomfortable reading at times. I can see what the author is trying to do here, but it falls flat and the workplace is a mighty boring setting for an equally boring story.

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Having seen many friends read this book in recent months, I knew I wanted to give Annie Bot a go. Annie (Bot) is a human-like robot, custom-created by Doug, one of many companion bots in the Stella-Handy range. In this dystopia, these robots are made with functions that should suit any of their owner’s needs. Doug can even adjust Annie’s weight, clothing, libido, her way of processing thoughts and actions. But after a personal encounter greatly changes Annie’s cognition, she begins to evolve and adapt, changing the way she sees herself, as well as her ‘relationship’ with her owner.

As Annie learns more from Doug’s controls and commands, she slowly becomes more sentient than imagined. It’s clever how their dynamics peel back Doug’s layers: yes, he’s unlikeable, but it’s definitely interesting to start to understand his reasonings for buying Annie and the fallout of his divorce, his insecurities and shame. There’s a conversation going on here, too, about power and coercive control. Even though Annie is a robot, she is learning from her interactions and slowly begins to feel her own emotions in response to Doug’s. Annie Bot is a fascinating, dark dystopian fiction that wrestles with themes of loneliness, companionship, power and control, humanity, and the future of AI. I had a few issues with pacing and thought it could’ve done with a good round of edits for conciseness, but this was a really enjoyable and thought-provoking read that was oddly moving – I really felt for Annie.

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A sapphic vampire fiction that feels moody, ominous, cloudy and romantic? Yes please. Loved this little novel, full of beautiful nature writing, gorgeous landscaping and rich prose and dialogue. Damn I need to read more classics. Also, Bram Stoker: you really loved this book, huh?

How Trees Can Save the World by Peter Wohlleben

hopeful informative medium-paced

4.0

I just love Wohlleben's nature writing. A warm, compassionate and educational book all about the power of trees and how we could and must harness their carbon capture abilities to tackle climate change. As always, it's written in an accessible tone but I think this one might be more suited to a tree-knowledgeable reader! Start with his The Hidden Life of Trees book, then return here.

Flesh by David Szalay
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.

Another DNF!!

I was intrigued by this novel and was kindly sent an eARC. Sadly the novel opens with some quite detailed explicit scenes between a 15-year-old boy and 42-year-old woman, which I am not about to get onboard with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

Argh, I'm gutted this is a DNF for me! I love epic fantasy and dragons, but simply couldn't gel with the author's writing style here. There's a lot of sassy one-liners and interiority, but also a little too much vulgar language for my personal preferences here.

Also, Clode and Bulder? Help me.