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Author: Josie

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

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Yellowface is quite the divergence from R. F. Kuang’s last novel, Babel. It is a contemporary satire of the publishing industry, which I am surprised even got published. It does not hold back in its criticism of the racism that permeates the industry. Like Birnam Wood, I cannot say that I liked reading Yellowface. The novel’s “protagonist” is just so awful, I was angry the entire time I read it. However, it is a very interesting behind the scenes look at the publishing industry and how successful writers are made.

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Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

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I have read Eleanor Catton’s two other novels, The Rehearsal, which I did not like, and The Luminaries, which I found interesting enough to keep in case I want to read it again. Birnam Wood, published ten years after The Luminaries, is already being named one of the best releases of this year. This was enough to pique my interest, but the plot, a psychological eco-thriller set in New Zealand involving a gardening collective and a billionaire, was what compelled me to read it in the end. I cannot say that I liked reading Birnam Wood (named after the Birnam Wood referenced in Shakespeare’s MacBeth, which I will not even try to parse because I do not enjoy reading Shakespeare), but I do find it to be a fascinating novel. When I finished reading the novel’s shocking ending, my first reaction was WTF and then my second reaction was I wish I had someone to discuss this novel with.

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How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

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How High We Go in the Dark is a novel that reads as a collection of short stories. I am not the biggest fan of the short story genre, but I loved this collection of stories. Each story is a continuation of the overarching theme of the devastating impact of climate change on humanity, and certain characters recur throughout the stories as well as easter eggs from preceding stories. I found this novel to be sad, but now that I have read it, I find myself feeling hopeful that human connections will ultimately prevail and save us.

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The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

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A few books ago I reviewed Bookworm by Robin Yeatman, a novel about a woman fantasizing about and then actively trying to kill her husband, and I did not think the novel worked because the protagonist was neither sympathetic nor entertaining. Parini Shroff’s The Bandit Queens is about more than one woman trying to kill her husband, but unlike Bookworm, it works on multiple levels. The women are sympathetic characters. The husbands they want to kill are truly despicable. The novel, if not quite laugh-out-loud funny, is humorous. But most importantly, The Bandit Queens critically examines gender roles in India and the challenges women face to subvert them.

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Greenwood by Michael Christie

Greenwood by Michael Christie

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Michael Christie’s Greenwood made CBC’s Canada Reads 2023 shortlist, which I thought was interesting as it was published in 2019. It is exciting when a great book comes unexpectedly out of nowhere. I don’t think I would have ever come across this novel if it had not made this year’s Canada Reads, and I am so glad it did, even though it did not win the top prize. Greenwood is a compelling story about humankind’s relationships with other humans, and humankind’s relationships with trees. It is a novel about the terrifying future of climate change, but it is also a novel about hope and faith in human resilience.

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Homecoming by Kate Morton

Homecoming by Kate Morton

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The first Kate Morton novel I ever read was The Forgotten Garden, about fifteen years ago now, and I absolutely loved it, which is why I have read every Kate Morton novel since. All of Kate Morton’s novels feature a central mystery told through a dual timeline where a protagonist from the present works to unravel the secrets of the past. The kind of novels that are like catnip to me. My love for Kate Morton’s novels has waned over the years, though, because I find them too predictable and the coincidences a little too neat. But it has taken me reading Homecoming to realize that I cannot blame Kate Morton for me becoming too clever for my own good. For the casual reader, Homecoming holds plenty of surprises. And even if it is on the predictable side, Homecoming spins a good yarn.

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Bookworm by Robin Yeatman

Bookworm by Robin Yeatman

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I regret spending my money on this book. I thought, I hoped, I would find Bookworm to be funny as this book is described as “comic noir”. But there is nothing comic about this book, and the bookworm protagonist is insufferable. As a bookworm, I find this book to be insulting. I finished this book because I do not like to leave a book unfinished, but I feel sorry for the trees that died to make the paper this book was printed on.

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Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

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Jeannette Walls wrote one of my favourite memoirs, The Glass Castle. If you have not read, I suggest you remedy that situation. It is a fascinating story about how she grew up poor with highly dysfunctional parents, and how she and her siblings took care of each other and helped each other to become successful adults. Since The Glass Castle, Walls has turned to writing fiction. Hang the Moon is her latest novel, set in Prohibition era Virginia and featuring a resilient protagonist that reminds me of Walls herself. I enjoyed reading this novel and I recommend it to fans of historical fiction.

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The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

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You may have noticed that I have read quite a few books based on Greek and Roman mythology. The Witch’s Heart is based on a mythology that I am not as familiar with: Norse mythology ie. Odin, Thor, and Loki. But this is not a Disney/Marvel watering down of Norse mythology where the gods are more likeable and played to comic effect. Like the Greek and Roman gods, the Norse gods were actually dicks. The Witch’s Heart is about a woman who has been relegated to a footnote in Norse mythology (as women typically are), a witch called Angrboda who was also a wife of Loki. Gornichec gives Angrboda her own story, and it is a good, interesting story, but I am not blown away by it as other readers seem to be.

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