Finished “In Every Mirror She’s Black” by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom last night. Highly recommend.
I finally read Where the Crawdads Sing and really did not enjoy it. Definitely a minority opinion. Some of it was interesting, including the descriptions of the marsh and wildlife. But I couldn’t get over the idea that the family completely abandoned this child and nobody - not family or the authorities - took her in. The plot also seemed very far-fetched, especially the murder mystery and her ability to become a published author. Not sure why this one caught fire and had so many 5 star reviews.
10 Likes
Oh I hated “Where the Crawdads Sing” with a white-hot hate! Still makes me mad to think about it. I guess because it was on Reese’s list it got popular. I don’t know. It’s not a good book. It is factually all kinds of wrong about the coast of NC (I live in NC) and is more like the coast of GA (where the author grew up) and no one ever in their right mind would drive from the Outer Banks to Asheville to get auto parts!! That burned me up.
If you want to read something creepy, read up on the parallels between the author and her husband and the plotline. There is an unexplained murder in their past. Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing, and her complicated past as a conservationist in Zambia.
It’s a terrible book. She’s no Barbara Kingsolver, that’s for sure. BK gets it all correct.
11 Likes
In positive news I did just finish Diane Setterfield’s “Once Upon A River” due to recommendations earlier in this thread. I really liked it. Checked out Setterfield’s other books from our library too and have just started “The Thirteenth Tale”.
1 Like
@mom2and and @Sweetgum - I’m not the only one??? “Where the Crawdad’s Sing” was OK but implausible and IMO over rated.
9 Likes
Another thumbs down for Where the Crawdads Sing. Felt really pedestrian and formulaic.
7 Likes
I liked “Where the Crawdad’s Sing”, but I can understand why others above did not. I read it a few years ago when on vacation from a really stressful job, and it was a good beach read for me.
1 Like
I’ve pre-ordered Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway. I can’t remember the last time I was so looking forward to a new book. Oct. 5.
12 Likes
I am also looking forward to The Lincoln Highway. A few favorites I have read recently: The Rent Collector, Girl A and The Push.
4 Likes
I really liked the Rent Collector. We watched interviews with the author and saw what the area looked like.
1 Like
I read Crawdads when it first came out and figured I must have missed something, given its popularity and the length of the waitlist. Then my Book Club read it last year. Well, no one liked it very much at all.
We also read The Rent Collector a while back. Only the person who suggested had even heard of it, and I had my doubts when I read the story line, but we all really loved it.
Next week we are discussing A Bite Sized History of France. It’s about French food interwoven with the history of France. I’m not particularly interested in either topic, but it definitely qualifies as one of best in the last 6 months!
10 Likes
I ordered A Bite Sized History of France for my daughter and her husband, who are taking their Covid-delayed honeymoon to France in May 2022 (hopefully). They are foodies and dedicated amateur cooks (they grind their own flour etc.) So I thought they would enjoy this one.
3 Likes
Finished The Guncle last night. A good hearted modern day story of a childless famous gay man who finds himself in the spot of having to take his young niece and nephew for a summer. Steven Rowley is the author.
3 Likes
@Sweetgum - all those trips from the coast to Asheville INFURIATED me! (I grew up near Asheville.) The author made it sound like a jaunt when in reality it’s a 7 or 8 hour drive!
And to me, the accents sounded…off. Like sometimes people spoke in dialect and sometimes they didn’t. And often the dialect didn’t really sound like eastern NC.
Maybe these criticisms are too “inside baseball,” but they helped ruin the book for me - that, and the unbelieveable plot twists. I am definitely a Crawdad hater.
7 Likes
And to beat all, traveling from the coast to Asheville to shop at K-Mart! (or was it Sears). LOL.
3 Likes
I too have a problem with authors who make basic mistakes in geography. “The Turner House” is about a black family living in Detroit. One character is a truck driver whose regular run was Detroit to Kansas City. The author has him meet his wife on a stop on one of his runs in Nashville, TN (I think). In any event, anyone looking at a road map would know that’s not on the way from Detroit to Kansas City.
1 Like
Just finished Cloud Cuckoo Land. Totally different book from All the Light we cannot See, but the writing is just as good. Three different stories, all set in different times and places, that intersect through a 4th. I’d read reviews saying it was hard to get into, but that wasn’t my experience. Was just sorry when it ended!
Totally recommend!
6 Likes
Good to know! I’ve loved all his writing, but the reviews of this had made me think I wasn’t sure I was something I’d like. Will give it a go.
2 Likes
I also really liked cloud cuckoo land - it reminds me of cloud atlas. Disjointed stories that come together in the end.
1 Like
I just finished The Magician by Colm Toibin. It was fantastic! Fictionalized memoir of Thomas Mann. I’ve really liked all of his books. The Master (Henry James as the main character) was also super memorable.
3 Likes