Thanks, @Mary13 , I am psyched to read a book I never heard of till now!
As for Creatures, I just finished it last night, then breezed over here to see how the discussion went. I’m relieved to know I wasn’t the only one less than completely charmed. I had been reluctant to read this book because of its sweetness … little did I realize how much the sweetness would be punctuated with nastiness (Siegfried’s outbursts) and drunkenness! The casual/habitual drunken driving especially appalled me. I’m a social drinker, but if I ever go stone cold sober, I’ll credit this book.
And I did get tired of the pattern of “All seems well; we’ve got it under control. Oh, no, all hell breaks loose, can’t believe it! … Okay, we can fix it after all. Let’s have a friendly round!”
All that said, I did appreciate some parts. The Miss Stubbs section seemed true to the heart, not formulaic. I was eager to see how the relationship with Helen would unfold (though it was clear from the beginning that it would unfold satisfactorily). The honeymoon doing TB tests, Helen’s purple pants, their camaraderie, her willingness to be part of that life … that was great.
My biggest surprise, reading your comments and then following some of your links, was that Herriot’s books were as much fiction as gauzy memoir. I hadn’t even realized that James Herriot was a pen name.
I don’t regret reading it! I’m sorry to have missed the thick of the discussion.
I have The Anomaly on hold; 20 out of 65 ebook so I’m sure it will come through in time. It sounds intriguing from the description but the first thing that popped into my head was Lost. That show started out so promising but in the end (for me) was confusing and disappointing. Hopefully this book will be a very different journey (pun intended).
From the little I’ve learned (trying very hard not to know too much before reading the book), the story does move in an unconventional direction, but I’m just going to go with the flow and hope that 1.1 million French people know something I don’t (yet):
Published in the late summer of 2020, the novel has sold 1.1 million copies [in France], more than any book since Marguerite Duras’s “The Lover,” which came out in 1984. In an anomalous time, when a deserted Paris was in lockdown for months, and much of life moved online, the novel struck a powerful chord by suggesting the flimsiness of all we take for granted, what T.S. Eliot called “the old dispensation.”
A year ago, the novel won the 2020 Goncourt, which always boosts sales, but then something unusual happened: It kept selling.
Those quotes are from this article, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/books/anomaly-herve-le-tellier.html, but again, don’t read it if you want to jump into the book without knowing anything. Reviewers don’t know when to stop talking. But I do! Not another word from me until June 1st.
So, in a change of subject, what are you reading in the interim:
Nine Lives: A Novel - Peter Swanson. Think Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Not on an island, hmm, and I have no idea yet if it has Christie’s twist. So far I’ve met the characters - one briefly, if you know what I mean. So eight left. One of characters is an FBI agent. Gonna be a quick read.
Five Wounds - Kirstin Valdez Quade. A book club book that I need to finish by May 2. I haven’t started it yet.
The Bone Orchard - Sara A. Mueller. Fantasy. Yes, I judged the book by its cover.
I also have French Braid - Anne Tyler - working its way to the closest library. It will be a need-to-start-and-finish-in-two-weeks book, as the wait list is lengthy.
Re The Anomaly - we haven’t read a translated book in a while now, so a step in a different direction this time.
Happy reading one and all. Be sure and list the books you’re reading. I need to add more to my ever-growing list (not).
Mary - as usual, you’re the best. I’m glad you made an executive decision this time. (And I totally agree that the other books should be strong summer contenders.)
And totally off topic: How did I miss “face in the clouds” emoji when we were reading Cloud Cuckoo Land?
AS always, thanks to @Mary13 for handling the decision process with tact and grace! I’m in for The Anomaly. (I’d never heard of it, either.)
Upcoming reading for various Book Clubs: China Room Once There Were Wolves Klara and The Sun Lady Clementine + The Personal Librarian The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane The All Of It + The Cellist of Sarajevo
Good thing my online genealogy course is ending soon!
I might do what I did when we read The Stranger and try reading the new selection in French, but I’ve got it on hold in English in any event.
What am I reading?
Just finished The Shipping News. I liked it a lot, but I occasionally got irritated by its stylistic quirks and quirky characters. I actually somehow lost sight of who exactly the guy that there is a wake for near the end of the book was. He was a reasonably important guy, but I wasn’t invested in him.
I’m almost done with Leviathan Wakes. (The first book of the series The Expanse is based on.) It’s very good. No difficulty remembering any of these characters. I love the patois he’s made up for the Belters.
I just started West with the Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. I have to decide whether to finish it quickly or return it. It’s overdue and other people are waiting for it. So I’ll probably return it, it seems decent so far.
I also have Octavia Butler’s Lilith’s Brood out of the library a classic sci-fi collection of three novels.
I may just read the next Expanse book instead.
Or I might read the collection of Liaden (Steve Miller and Sharon Lee) also sci fi/fantasy) short stories I got recently. I’ve read most of them other places though.
I just finished All the Light We Cannot See (I was late to the game), An Irish Country Doctor (which I liked a lot more than All Creatures), the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and I’m currently reading The Rest of Her Life.
I’m reading (again) And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer. I first read it 40 or so years ago and it’s time to do so again. I’m through 900 of its 1200 pages, so no – I’m not reading anything else right now.
I recently reread The Light of Other Suns for a family book group; still admirable!
And I finished The Echo Maker by Richard Powers, which I abandoned a couple of years ago when the library loan ended. I had to reread more than I’d hoped. For all its fine intellectual qualities – I had to agree with one reviewer who said “I’ve now read five of his novels, and I can’t recall a single easy laugh in any of them.”
Now for some lighter fare:
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto was a fast read. There are strong/funny/exasperating Asian aunties, a dutiful daughter/niece, a hot romance, a glitzy wedding, and a dead body. What’s not to like?
I jumped into Anne Tyler’s French Braid last night after finishing the Herriot. A few chapters in, I’m going to say it reads like her more recent works. The characters are pretty generic; she doesn’t delve into details like she used to do. But it’s early days and I have hopes.
Crying in H Mart just came to me from the library.
Also I need to finish These Precious Days.
I’m reading excerpts of the travel writer Jan Morris’s memoir, Conundrum. Not light fare at all, but fascinating, and she is such a wordsmith.
Another book group is going to read Toni Morrison’s only short story, Recitatif, recently published in book form. It’s about 100 pages and looks thought provoking.
@VeryHappy I did enjoy that ages ago and still have the fat paperback on my shelf. Interested to know how it holds up for you on a reread. My mom recommended it to me way back when, so it brings a fond memory.
I’m reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, because it was highly recommended by a friend. I’m more than halfway through, but so far, I’d say it’s only okay. I feel like the same ground is being covered over and over and there’s not much development in either the story or the characters. I heard that Circe is better, but I doubt I’ll go there. Feeling pretty done with mythology right now.
@Mary13 I enjoyed both of those as audiobooks in my pre-pandemic commuting days. I liked the narrator of Achilles. I wouldn’t say Circe was a better read; maybe a tad less engaging, though woman power is always a plus.
Thanks @mary13! I’m off to reserve “The Anomaly,” which I’ve never heard of. Appreciate your decisiveness and am hoping I can borrow it from our library. This group gets me to read lots of things I have not heard of before.
Yay, I’m #3 on waitlist, so should be able to get hands on this book pretty soon.
We tried The Expanse when it was new and couldn’t get into it and my husband is very squeamish. There’s a character who dies early on in a particularly horrific way. (Straight from the book!) Our younger son has talked for years about how great the show is (possibly best sci-fi show of all time) so we tried it again and now we are totally hooked. Interestingly most of what I’m having trouble following in the TV show is stuff that is in one of the later books.
