Category: Book review

Babel by R.F. Kuang

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Title: Babel
Author: R.F. Kuang
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fantasy, Historical
Rating: ★★★★★

This book feels like it was tailor-made for me: It tells the story of Robin Swift, a polyglot who is plucked from a cholera epidemic in Canton and eventually brought to the Babel Translation Institute in Oxford, to become a translator — a profession that, in this fantasy version of historical Britain, plays a critical role in facilitating the industrial revolution and colonial rule.

It’s a powerful story that explores an alternate history of the British empire as well as a young man’s coming of age. Both aspects of the story deal with the challenges of identity, privilege, and resistance movements, especially among those who walk the line between the haves and have-nots. Interwoven with the plot, we also see in-depth discussions of linguistic and translation theory — something that I would enjoy in any case, but that also comes to bear on the events of the book.

It’s hard to talk about the specifics of what moved me without giving anything away, so I’ll just note that this is probably the best book I read in 2022 and if you’re at all interested in language, colonialism, or resistance movements you should definitely give it a try.

Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli

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Title: Someday, Maybe
Author: Onyi Nwabineli
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆

This debut novel is gripping but also really heavy: It is entirely the story of a woman’s grief after her husband’s suicide, following her journey through myriad emotions and thoughts and challenges in the aftermath of his death.

Throughout the book I was immersed in Eve’s emotional state, and I empathized with all of her reactions and the stages (cycles) of grief she experienced. I adored her family and friends, was appalled by her mother-in-law, and grasped at the memories of her husband — each of them felt like real people, full of depth (as Eve observed and I truly believed, “lives are lived outside of mine and people are not mere characters in my story but are stories all their own”). I also appreciated that the focus stayed on Eve and her grief; despite her own consuming drive to understand her husband and his decision, the book never really became about him and his psychology, at least not separate from how Eve was processing it.

When I put down the book I felt like I’d travelled hand-in-hand with Eve, learning and experiencing so many things about her family, her culture, her beauty, and her strength in the face of a devastating loss.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

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Title: Nettle & Bone
Author: T. Kingfisher
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fantasy, Fairy Tales
Rating: ★★★★★

This gorgeous, haunting story has the feel of a dark fairy tale, with the princess Marra, a witch (called the dust-wife), the fairy godmother Agnes, and the former knight Fenris coming together as Marra tries to save her sister from a terrible fate.

Instead of being at court, where she struggles with politics and her family relationships, Marra lives at a convent and cultivates somewhat mundane skills like embroidery and spinning wool. But those skills turn out to benefit her as the dust-wife (in exchange for her help) sets her impossible tasks, which Marra works at with diligence — demonstrating the spirit of just putting one foot in front of the other and doing what’s right even when it’s terribly hard.

Every character seems to subvert our expectations from fairy tales, and I enjoyed seeing the different kinds of power and kindness exhibited by both the dust-wife and Agnes, as well as the quiet, gentle strength and support that Fenris provides. This is a beautifully woven story less about grand heroics and more about simply not giving up in the face of adversity.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

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Title: The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle
Author: Matt Cain
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

This is a seriously sweet, heartwarming story about Albert Entwistle, a closeted postman on the verge of retirement who is pushed into reevaluating his solitary lifestyle and searching for the young love he lost many years before.

We see flashbacks to Albert’s past, and without dwelling on the trauma we’re given a very real glimpse of the fears and challenges of young gay men growing up in small town England at the time. This is juxtaposed with present-day Albert getting to know some of his coworkers and neighbors, including a young single mother, a lonely retired woman, and a gay couple who are new to town.

I loved the portrayal of the North, including a walk through Manchester’s Gay Village, and I enjoyed seeing Albert grow as he ventured farther out of his comfort zone both physically and emotionally. The way things ended felt a bit too perfect and easy, but it fit with the spirit of the story and left me with a lingering sense of joy and hope.

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

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Title: The Bullet That Missed
Author: Richard Osman
Format: Book
Genre(s): Mystery
Rating: ★★★★★

This is the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series, and once again we join Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim as they investigate a murder: this time, a cold case involving a local reporter whose body was never found.

If you aren’t familiar with the series, you should know that the main characters are all retired, come from a variety of backgrounds, and form a group of friends so delightful and mischievous I can only hope to replicate it when I reach that stage of life. Osman does a wonderful job bringing each character to life, and he makes the most of each of their skills and personalities as they tackle this latest mystery while making new friends and meeting old ones.

I especially appreciate the moments (both funny and poignant) that bring up the importance of friendship in one’s life, and the ways that we leave an imprint on those around us. The story is clever, hilarious, and keeps the mystery going long enough to hold my attention — enjoyable even if you aren’t normally a fan of mysteries!

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

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Title: The Dictionary of Lost Words
Author: Pip Williams
Format: Audiobook
Genre(s): Historical, Literary
Rating: ★★★★★

This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story that pulls no punches, delivering the hardest news matter-of-factly and then moving on, just as life demands. It tells the story of Esme, who grew up watching her father work on the first Oxford English Dictionary, and whose life revolves around language and particularly the words used by the women around her.

It is a powerful story of women’s rights — explicitly portraying parts of the women’s suffrage movement but also the daily lives of many different women and the challenges they face. It’s also a story about the power of words and the people who shape them, and if you’re at all a language or word lover you’ll enjoy watching how the dictionary is created over the years and Esme’s part in it. I love the smooth writing style (and audiobook narration) that drew me in to this one woman’s life, and how deeply it has touched me and made me think.

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

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Title: The Violin Conspiracy
Author: Brendan Slocumb
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Literary fiction, Crime, Mystery
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Slocumb begins this novel with the theft of Ray McMillian’s $10 million Stradivarius violin, but we are quickly taken back to his past: we see how he comes into his own as a Black violinist in the highly competitive (and racist) world of classical music, and the people who help and hinder him — including as he tries to recover his violin in time for a prestigious competition.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: This is not a great mystery (I correctly identified who stole the violin when they first appeared in the narrative), and I wouldn’t recommend reading it if the primary draw for you is the whodunnit. That said, I was very drawn to Ray’s origin story and the challenges he faced. Although many of the characters seemed like sketches or foils for Ray’s personal journey, it was still meaningful to see him grapple with things like imposter syndrome, family conflict, relationships, and of course racism.

It was even more powerful to learn, in the author’s note, that many of Ray’s experiences come from Slocumb’s own life; despite the weaknesses of the mystery plot, this book offers a moving fictional account of the very real struggles one can face both as a Black classical musician and as a Black man in America and abroad.

The Violin Conspiracy is part of the Tournament of Books, a sort of March Madness for 16 books from the previous year. If this sounds like an interesting event to you, I’d recommend checking out the list and trying at least one or two books that catch your eye!

One Moment by Becky Hunter

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Title: One Moment
Author: Becky Hunter
Format: ebook (ARC)
Genre(s): Fiction, Magical realism, Romance
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

This debut novel is a bittersweet story about the value of friendship and the power of individual moments to change our lives, with a key feature: it begins after Scarlett’s death and is told from the perspective of her best friend and roommate Evie — but also by Scarlett herself, narrating as she watches over the aftermath and remembers her past.

The premise of this story is compelling, but I found myself frustrated as (especially during Scarlett’s narration) the message was spelled out repeatedly for me rather than trusting me to figure it out for myself. The dual perspective, although valuable for showing the backstory and full picture, also gave away so much that I never really got to feel surprised; the events played out just as I expected they would.

I wish Hunter had held back a bit more, but I do tend to prefer stories that leave more open to interpretation (and, in that vein, would have loved a more open-ended conclusion). This is a sweet story exploring how sadness and happiness can be intertwined, and if you’re looking for a straightforward celebration of friendship and love, this might be the right book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Corvus (Altantic Books) for providing an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. One Moment comes out on March 2, 2023.

Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet

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Title: Dinosaurs
Author: Lydia Millet
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Literary fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆

Millet writes a deceptively simple novel about a man named Gil who, in the wake of a failed relationship, walks from New York City to Phoenix; we follow his story as he settles in his new home, discovers the desert landscape and wildlife, and builds new connections, starting with the family next door.

We only really see glimpses of the other people in Gil’s life, the bits and pieces of them that Gil encounters — and yet they show up as whole people, with their own messiness and complex motivations. In the process, we also experience the tension between the individual and the community, between one’s desires and one’s obligations, and the way that our lives play out in a web of relationships. And there all along, sometimes coming to the fore, are the ways that nature shapes our experiences (and how we shape it back, climate change and reckless hunting and all).

While the novel touches on difficult and dark subjects, they mostly stay on the fringes as Gil meanders through, making this a well-crafted, smooth read that never makes you directly confront the challenges it raises.

Dinosaurs is part of the Tournament of Books, a sort of March Madness for 16 books from the previous year. If this sounds like an interesting event to you, I’d recommend checking out the list and trying at least one or two books that catch your eye!

The Locked-Away Life by Drew Davies

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Title: The Locked-Away Life
Author: Drew Davies
Format: Audiobook
Genre(s): Fiction
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Over the past few weeks I have been listening to the story of Esther, an older woman living alone and away from society in her large house, and Bruno, a young man she hires to teach her how to use the internet.

It’s a story that manages to be heartwarming without getting saccharine: Esther is lively and sharp-witted while Bruno is caring but guarded, and the two build a friendship as they spend time together during their lessons. Both characters have a bit of mystery and hurt that they need to work through, and my main critique is that I don’t feel either of their stories is paced or played out in an entirely satisfying way. For Esther’s part, we repeatedly hear snippets of her past that we can piece together, but it all happens so piecemeal that as a result her growth and resolution also feels a bit uneven and incomplete; Bruno, on the other hand, has a gutting experience that plays out strikingly on the page, but the aftermath feels a bit rushed — summarized more than experienced — and wraps up faster than I’d like.

All in all, this is an enjoyable book (and wonderfully narrated as an audiobook!) that’s recommended if you’re looking for a story of human connection, love, and support from seemingly unlikely friends.