The Book Report
By A. Bae Hel
I have a few recommendations for you this time. Reading one of life’s simple pleasures to escape the zeitgeist and horror scrolling.
Take some time to scream into the forest, touch the trees and read or listen to a tale
Titanium Noir
By Nick Harkaway
Audiobook
Noir says Merriam Webster, “a genre of crime film or fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity”. Much of it is American in tone with big guns and tough guys who beat up each other and call women “Dames”. Titanium Noir is all that, except the “Dames” part, plus a bit more. Throw in medically modified humans, with long lives and titanic proportions, way too much money and god delusions and you have a whole different Sam Spade.
Well written and witty, this is an easy read, with no graphic sex, but plenty of descriptions of physical violence and some interesting mysteries to be solved. And as Tolstoy told us, dysfunctional families are each unhappy in their own twisted way.
I recommend this quick, entertaining read and give it 4 stars. It’s not deep, it wont keep you up at night, but it will entertain you for a few days.
Regrettably, I am about to Cause Trouble
By Amie McNee
A surprise find on Spotify audiobooks. Tutor England. The power of women under patriarchy. Betrayal. what’s not to like?
Maude has been brought up to be a pawn in her family’s quest for a step up the societal ladder, yet her body hides a shameful secret that must remain under wraps. Obviously wedding night is going to be tricky. And of course it all goes wrong, so now Maude is about to find out how women live outside of privilege.
Young women of privilege take note the novel seems to say, a cautionary tale that your privilege is illusionary under the rule of men, and while you may clean up to acceptable arm candy, you are one step from the fall from grace into the world of witches, fairies and precarious firings. Maralago face can’t save you when the king decides you are beyond your best by date.
I gave this 4 stars. It didn’t require a lot of brain power or cause me to wake up in the middle of the night wondering, which most days is fulfilled by the news performances. Simply an entertaining read, quick and easy.
The Singer’s Gun
By Emily St. John Mandel
Library borrow
I love when I find another book by this author when I thought I had read all her previous books. A clumsy sentence, but you get my meaning.
How I missed this one previously I don’t know, but it was an unexpected gift. I accept she can’t write as fast as I can read them, so this gift while waiting was appreciated.
Our favoured daughter of the island has a gift for quirky characters- or maybe we are all quirky and it takes someone who can see that to bring it forth for the reader to discover. What kind of oddity dreams of an office job? The ones who will step beyond their inner guardrails to obtain a normal life I think.
Written well before today’s immigration hostility, when undocumented persons were simply people trying for a better life, desperately seeking safety. The story of the desperation of both the immigrants and those that make money providing them with access to all the wonders of America. The story of the aimless desperate for a dream existence but unable to form the necessary actions. The story of small steps to disaster.
Like all of ESJM’s work I am left in awe at how she crafts her tales and creates such avenues in my mind for the characters to remain. Definitely a 5 star nebula.
