Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, 198pp
This was a collection of short stories about Indians (mostly from Calcutta) and Indian-Americans that won a Pulitzer Prize many years ago. It was the book club selection for Asian-American month at my work. I didn't realize that I was familiar with the author until I looked her up and realized that I watched a movie based on her novel "The Namesake".
There were nine short stories. They were all very different. Some set in the US and some set in India. Some deal with marriages falling apart; others of people learning about each other in a marriage. Many stories involve a perspective of an outsider. Some deal with very unfortunate poor people. Some deal with culture shock and trying to adopt to a different country. There are a lot of themes and points really but overall it was a good read. Interesting and different. I'm not usually a fan of short stories but it really does work here as a collection. So far the work book club has been picking really interesting stuff.
Зулейха открывает глаза [Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes] by Guzel Yakhina [in Russian], 611pp
This book was recently published in Russian but is already translated into many languages and it feels like a book written much earlier. It feels like a classic already. It is a historical novel set from 1930 to 1945, and focused on the Tatar woman Zuleikha who gets sent to Siberia during Stalinist regime since she and her husband were wealthy peasants (kulaki). When the novel starts, she is married to a tough man and lives with her terrible mother-in-law, but she considers herself lucky in many ways although her life is incredibly hard and I really felt for her. Going to Siberia actually brings some agency to her life but her life is still very very difficult. The book is very detailed on the hardships of the journey and on what it meant to live and work in Siberia. The book focuses on other characters as well - we get other perspectives, and some interesting characters. And we even get a love story but it kind of felt secondary. I feel that I learned a lot about that time period. The author based a lot of the novel on the stories that her grandmother told her - her grandmother was sent to Siberia at one point. It was a long book but worth it. And I'm happy I'm reading more in Russian this year.
Time Machine by H.G. Wells, 99pp
I read it because it was a classic but I did have to slug through it a little. It is good to have a deeper understanding of the references people and authors make in homage to this book though.
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, 340pp
This was a fun read. I liked this book more than the Simon book. I liked Leah's voice and the story as well. Leah wasn't perfect and it was well expressed. She came off very three dimensional. In the Simon book I really didn't have a sense of Abby and it was nice to see a more in-depth view of her.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal, 421pp
I started with high expectations because so many people I know read it and loved it. Maybe it worked against me. I liked the book - it was well done and I'm definitely will read the next book. I just didn't love it and was nitpicking it more than usual. I think part of it is that this book is competing with "Spinning Silver" for the Hugo and I loved that book so much. I still think "Spinning Silver" is stronger; but I do understand why people love this book.
( some spoilers )
Too Much is Not Enough: a memoir of fumbling toward adulthood by Andrew Rannells, 246pp
I saw Andrew Rannells in his run in "Book of Mormon" and I really liked him on "New Normal" so I figured I would read his autobiography. He is mainly writing about his life from ages 19 to 26, of the time when he was a struggling actor in New York and all that entailed. He did mention some things from his childhood in a big family in Omaha, Nebraska, especially his relationship with his grandmother, his parents, his siblings and poor choices of an unadvised relationship with a 40 year old man when he was 16. But mostly the book was focused on those years as a struggling actor before he actually got his first role on Broadway in a chorus.
I thought it was an interesting approach to his story. His writing style is pretty ordinary but, as the book progressed, the narrative and the stories themselves were compelling and interesting. His writing felt honest and he reexamined his emotions and motivations. He wrote about his father's death with great emotional honesty. The end of the book I was really enjoying spending time with this person, which is a mark of a good autobiography for me.
This was a collection of short stories about Indians (mostly from Calcutta) and Indian-Americans that won a Pulitzer Prize many years ago. It was the book club selection for Asian-American month at my work. I didn't realize that I was familiar with the author until I looked her up and realized that I watched a movie based on her novel "The Namesake".
There were nine short stories. They were all very different. Some set in the US and some set in India. Some deal with marriages falling apart; others of people learning about each other in a marriage. Many stories involve a perspective of an outsider. Some deal with very unfortunate poor people. Some deal with culture shock and trying to adopt to a different country. There are a lot of themes and points really but overall it was a good read. Interesting and different. I'm not usually a fan of short stories but it really does work here as a collection. So far the work book club has been picking really interesting stuff.
Зулейха открывает глаза [Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes] by Guzel Yakhina [in Russian], 611pp
This book was recently published in Russian but is already translated into many languages and it feels like a book written much earlier. It feels like a classic already. It is a historical novel set from 1930 to 1945, and focused on the Tatar woman Zuleikha who gets sent to Siberia during Stalinist regime since she and her husband were wealthy peasants (kulaki). When the novel starts, she is married to a tough man and lives with her terrible mother-in-law, but she considers herself lucky in many ways although her life is incredibly hard and I really felt for her. Going to Siberia actually brings some agency to her life but her life is still very very difficult. The book is very detailed on the hardships of the journey and on what it meant to live and work in Siberia. The book focuses on other characters as well - we get other perspectives, and some interesting characters. And we even get a love story but it kind of felt secondary. I feel that I learned a lot about that time period. The author based a lot of the novel on the stories that her grandmother told her - her grandmother was sent to Siberia at one point. It was a long book but worth it. And I'm happy I'm reading more in Russian this year.
Time Machine by H.G. Wells, 99pp
I read it because it was a classic but I did have to slug through it a little. It is good to have a deeper understanding of the references people and authors make in homage to this book though.
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, 340pp
This was a fun read. I liked this book more than the Simon book. I liked Leah's voice and the story as well. Leah wasn't perfect and it was well expressed. She came off very three dimensional. In the Simon book I really didn't have a sense of Abby and it was nice to see a more in-depth view of her.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal, 421pp
I started with high expectations because so many people I know read it and loved it. Maybe it worked against me. I liked the book - it was well done and I'm definitely will read the next book. I just didn't love it and was nitpicking it more than usual. I think part of it is that this book is competing with "Spinning Silver" for the Hugo and I loved that book so much. I still think "Spinning Silver" is stronger; but I do understand why people love this book.
Too Much is Not Enough: a memoir of fumbling toward adulthood by Andrew Rannells, 246pp
I saw Andrew Rannells in his run in "Book of Mormon" and I really liked him on "New Normal" so I figured I would read his autobiography. He is mainly writing about his life from ages 19 to 26, of the time when he was a struggling actor in New York and all that entailed. He did mention some things from his childhood in a big family in Omaha, Nebraska, especially his relationship with his grandmother, his parents, his siblings and poor choices of an unadvised relationship with a 40 year old man when he was 16. But mostly the book was focused on those years as a struggling actor before he actually got his first role on Broadway in a chorus.
I thought it was an interesting approach to his story. His writing style is pretty ordinary but, as the book progressed, the narrative and the stories themselves were compelling and interesting. His writing felt honest and he reexamined his emotions and motivations. He wrote about his father's death with great emotional honesty. The end of the book I was really enjoying spending time with this person, which is a mark of a good autobiography for me.