Book report

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

 

My rating system:

10 – life-changing, an all-time favorite

5 - average for what I read

1 – terrible; why did I finish it?

 

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra – This is an epic novel taking place in modern, war-torn Chechnya. The plot revolves around a young girl whose father has been taken away, her adult neighbor who wants to protect her, and a doctor who is mourning her disappeared sister. There are several other important characters, and each one is fully realized and developed as we get glimpses into their lives and motivations over a period of several years. It’s hard for me to rate this book though! I can stand back and acknowledge that it’s beautifully written, it’s ambitious, - you know, like I said, it’s epic. But I read the whole thing with a sense of distance, and reading it often felt like a chore. I guess I can acknowledge that most critics found the book great but for whatever reason it didn’t strongly connect with me? Grade: 5

 

 

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari – I hesitated to pick up this audio book given the sexual misconduct allegations leveled at the author. But I decided to give the book a chance because I really like his show (“Master of None”) and the fact that it gave such a major spotlight to a Black, butch lesbian. His show also has focused on sexism at times. So I put the allegations out of my head and listened to the audio book, though I realize that many would not agree with my choice. Okay, onto the book – I love the topic. I’m always fascinated to hear how couples meet, what dating and – well – modern romance is like today (even though I do think it’s kind of a mess). Ansari has done his research and his humor is on point as it always is. Plenty of the ‘insights’ of the book are really duh territory though (Decades ago, women had fewer choices when it came to selecting a mate. In agrarian societies, marriage is more of an economic arrangement than a love match. People are overwhelmed by apps and choices nowadays. Yeah, we know). I truly was never bored listening to this book and the tidbits of info and research it provides though. Ansari also provides some interesting conclusions and advice. Grade: 8

 

The Fourth Queen by Debbie Taylor – This is not the first work of historical fiction that I’ve read that I would call a “harem novel”. (I think I’m the only person who uses this term). Apparently based on a true story, the plot centers around a young, impoverished Scottish woman in the 18^th century who sets sail for America, but her ship gets attacked by pirates, and she is sold and eventually ends up in the harem of the sultan of Morocco. One of the eunuchs there (though – spoiler alert – we later learn he’s not actually a eunuch) is a Scottish dwarf who becomes her friend (and who secretly falls in love with her). Yeah, so the book won’t win the literary awards that the above novel has won, but not gonna lie, it was mostly a fun read. The ending kind of fizzled out though. Grade: 4

 

Nomadland by Jessica Bruder – I was glued to this book’s pages. It is about the lives of older Americans who don’t have enough saved for retirement and who are trying to make ends meet by living out of RVs and vans, and taking jobs such as working in Amazon warehouses. The people who live this way have become something of a sub-culture and often help each other out. You could read this book as a story of resilience and community-building, or you could read it and be terrified at what awaits the formerly “Middle Class”, as it continues to shrink. I read it with both lenses on. I will say that when I wasn’t terrified or depressed, I was intrigued at how people made a life out of this. Grade: 9

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian - One reviewer said that this author writes the kind of books that people stay up all night to finish. I've read several of his and usually enjoy them. This novel takes place in modern times. A married man named Richard decides to host a bachelor party for his brother, things get out of hand, and the strippers might actually be sex slaves.  The story is told alternating between Richard's perspective and that of one of the captives. It wasn't sublime literature but definitely engaging. Grade: 6

Comments

[nytshd3]

I've definitely read books before that I felt were well-written novels with a lot of good stuff in it, but that I found an absolute snoozefest. I guess it's just one of those things.

I had read Modern Romance a while ago (maybe 2 years ago?) and I went in not realizing that it was a research book. I felt the same way, even when treading over well-understood territory, I thought he did a good job keeping things interesting. I do remember docking the book a point because I listened to it on audio and he kept yelling at us for being too lazy to read a book. Bitch, I'm listening to you on my commute, so stfu and keep reading!

Nomadland is on a to-read list for me. I actually have an online friend whose mom lives in a double wide trailer, but the roof was recently partially ripped off in a storm and she was looking into moving into an RV full time (now considering having the old trailer removed and replacing it with a single wide, but not sure if she can afford to do it). Meanwhile she's still living in her trailer even though she can see daylight in every room and there's water everywhere. Sometimes I think 'what if the stock market completely shuts down and everyones' retirement funds are just *gone*?' But then I remember what I told my mom when she was spending too much time reading garbage websites online and was freaking out because this website was screaming that the government was keeping it from us that the dollar was going to be worth nothing on September 30th because it was going to be replaced with "world money" and if you would just send him $30 he'll explain how you can get through the impending financial collapse. I said 'mom, if that was true, no matter what "currency" you had, it wouldn't matter because it would be utter chaos everywhere.'

I think The Guest Room is also on my to-read list. My first Bohjalian book was The Night Strangers and it was so unbearably awful it took me a long time to even consider reading another of his books. :)

Thanks for sharing as always!

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

Hilarious on Ansari! I get that he was trying to be funny, but yeah I mean he should be grateful that we listened to his book!

I hope you enjoy Nomadland too. I wish we could predict the future. I guess it'll either be really terrible or much like today. I just don't know.

I remember your report on The Night Strangers. That was a pretty bad aberration for Chris I think. :) I first read his novel Midwives in the 90's and it was so fresh and captivating back then. So since then I've been sure to occasionally pick up one of his books.