There are a number of things that I miss about pre-covid life, not being scared everytime I go out in public, watching live music… You know, all those things. Another pre-covid activity I loved was taking a leisurely stroll to my local library, having a browse and taking home more than I can comfortably carry. Ah, those with the days.
My local library service continued its digital loans during lockdown and finally opened its doors and reintroduced reservations in August. So naturally, I had to get back on working through my ever growing tbr, so I made a bunch of reservations and here are some thoughts on a couple of those books.
Have you been back to your library since lockdown ended? Do they have all the books in cages too? Let me know. Anyway, on to the books!
The Fifth Season (Broken Earth 1) – N K Jemisin
This is the way the world ends. Again.
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
Why on earth has it taken me so long to start this series? Why did no one tell me how incredible this is? I was introduced to N K Jemisin by a couple of my favourite booktubers and my only regret is that I am so late to the party.
I loved the way the world building was part of the action rather than it all being exposition, I loved the narration, I loved the chronology, basically I loved this and I reserved book two the moment I turned the last page!
Now I need more N K Jemisin in my life, leave me your recs below!
The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don’t know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.
As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.
The Goldfinch combines vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher’s calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. It is an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.
This one has been on my radar for a really long time – pretty much since I finished A Secret History, which I still maintain is a work of art. The Goldfinch though… I’m not so sure.
It’s a very convoluted story of accidental art theft. And while I do like Donna Tartt’s writing, I have no idea why this needed to be so long. Theo was a child for about 400 of the books 600 pages and pretty much everyone was the worst. Well… Maybe except Hobie. Which is weird, because that is one of the things I loved about A Secret History, but I guess I just didn’t like the idea of hating a child even though I did.
I ended up giving this three stars mostly because I liked it but I’m not entirely sure why. Anyone else read this? Should I watch the film?
Dune – Frank Herbert
Before The Matrix, before Star Wars, before Ender’s Game and Neuromancer, there was Dune: winner of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards, and widely considered one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written.
Melange, or ‘spice’, is the most valuable – and rarest – element in the universe; a drug that does everything from increasing a person’s life-span to making intersteller travel possible. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world Arrakis.
Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.
When the Emperor transfers stewardship of Arrakis from the noble House Harkonnen to House Atreides, the Harkonnens fight back, murdering Duke Leto Atreides. Paul, his son, and Lady Jessica, his concubine, flee into the desert. On the point of death, they are rescued by a band for Fremen, the native people of Arrakis, who control Arrakis’ second great resource: the giant worms that burrow beneath the burning desert sands.
In order to avenge his father and retake Arrakis from the Harkonnens, Paul must earn the trust of the Fremen and lead a tiny army against the innumerable forces aligned against them.
And his journey will change the universe.
Not going to lie, I only picked this one up because of the upcoming film with Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya because I love them. No shame.
I’ve read/ bought many a book because of Timothee Chala-BAE. Anyway, Dune.
Basically, I appreciated this for being one of the forerunners in this genre, but I had issues. I know it was written in the sixties so it is a product of its time, I just found it a little… I don’t know, a bit too white saviour for my liking. One thing I did love though is that some of the most important characters had the most mundane name, like our main character’s name is Paul. PAUL. He is the messiah and his name is Paul. That’s the least sci-fi hero name ever!
Anyway, this had just about everything – political intrigue, futuristic machinery, giant sand worms and an interesting inter-planetary world. It also had a lot of things that I thought were borrowed from religious history like this is basically the bible with added worms. Literally from page one we’re told that Paul is super special, but to make sure we’re all aware that he is still only 15, he also takes naps when he’s overwhelmed. His mum is also super special, but not as special because only Paul can save the world. That’s right, PAUL.
Still not over the fact this his name is Paul. How can I take the messiah seriously when his name is Paul? Anyway, my other complaint is that the majority of the important stuff took place in the last quarter of the book, which kind of threw off the pacing for me. I don’t know if I’ll bother reading any more of the Dune books, but it certainly hasn’t put me off watching the film!
The Perks of Being a Bookworm 