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4
Nov

#NovNov22 Classic novella The Time Machine

 

NOVEMBER

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells by H.G. Wells H.G. Wells

Quick Scan:
The Time Machine is a science fiction novella (111 pg) published in 1895 and written as a story within a story (mise-en-abyme). The time traveller whirls off to the year A.D. 802,701 only to find that the state of the human race has changed considerably.

 

Finish date:  November 2022
Genre: Classic novella (111 pg) (#NovNov22)
Rating: C-
Review: The Time Machine (ISBN: 9780141439976)

 

Bad news: I expected a vivd description to the future where the Time Traveller had landed….all I’m reading is about flowers, little underworld people, the sunset and the ‘missing’ time machine! Those people are smart cookies..they hide the machine!

 

Bad news: Strange narrative…not at ALL what I was expecting. I feel just like the ’Time Traveller” …is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society, not one of enlightenment!

 

Bad news: Question: what is the purpose of the character Weena? She is mentioned 54 x …even more than the Morlocks (49 x). Weena keeps the time traveller company and tries to keep him safe and comfortable – in her own way. This mostly involves trying to prevent him from going underground and putting flowers in his pockets. I felt this was a weak character…probably inserted just to give the story a “human connection” to an Eloi.

 

Bad news: Narrative seems to deflate in ch 11 that is filled with scientific and philosophical musings about The Palace of Green Porcelain. The sense of suspense has disappeared!

 

Good news: A+ for imagination of H G wells…see ch 14…monstrous crab-like creature!
Good news: Very good  ch 14 (time traveller visits a dying earth)…. and ch 16 After the Story.  H.G. Wells still leave us open to speculation!

 

Personal: I had quite a wild ride in The Time Machine (1895).  I liked 25 % of the book…but all in all it was a disappointment. H G Wells is considered the father of SF. Time travelling …going back in time to erase a mistake or going forward to know the future. These are themes everyone has thought about…but be careful what you wish for!  This #Classic was a quick read but to be honest…I thought The War of the Worlds (287 pg) written in 1898 was 10x better than this book.

3
Nov

#RIP George Booth (1928-2022)

Who is the cartoonist George Booth?

  1. Today  I  heard the terrible news that George Booth (1928-2022) has died.
  2. You know the moment…how it feels
  3. …an icon who has brought so much joy
  4. into your life is no more.

 

  1. I felt the same way when
  2. the actor Alan Rickman…actress Diana Rigg,
  3. writer Hilary Mantel and writer Terry Pratchett died

 

  1. Finally after all these years of laughing at Booth’s cat’s and dogs
  2. George Booth….will be missed.
  3. He was a The New Yorker  magazine cartoonist.
  4. Over time, his cartoons have become an iconic feature of the magazine.
  5. In a doodler’s style, they feature everymen beset by
  6. modern complexity, goofballs perplexing their
  7. …spouses, cats, and very often a fat dog.

 

 

  1. Here is one of my favourite cartoons  of his world…filled with
  2. crazed dogs, a profusion of cats and hen-pecking wives!

“…The pussies like surprises.”

 

 

31
Oct

#NonFicNov 2022 Week 1

 

Week 1: (Oct 31-Nov 4) – Your Year in Nonfiction: Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions – What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year? What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? (Katie @ Doing Dewey)

 

  • TOP 5  non-fiction book 
  1. How the Word Is Passed – Clint Smith (336 pg). ….excellent!! 2021  REVIEW
  2. Red Zone – P. Hartcher –  …very interesting  REVIEW
  3. The Road to Unfreedom – T. Snyder  …very interesting  – REVIEW
  4. The Little Devil in America –398 pg H. Abdurraqib ….excellent!! 2021 REVIEW
  5. Empire of Pain – P. R. Keefe….excellent!!  – REVIEW

 

  1. A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson (travelogue) – REVIEW
  2. A Cultural History of Causality – S. Kern- REVIEW
  3. The Dawn of the Belle Epoque – M. McAuliffe – REVIEW
  4. The Crossroads of Should and Must – E. Luna – REVIEW
  5. John Adams – David McCullough  biography – REVIEW
  6. All That She Carried – T. Miles (NF) – REVIEW
  7. Unbound – Tarana Burke (memoir) – REVIEW
  8. Thomas Becket – J. Guy (NF) biography – REVIEW
  9. Theatre & Ireland – L. Pilkingkton – REVIEW
  10. Patrick Kavanagh – Antoinette Quinn biography – REVIEW
  11. The Best of Frank O’Connor – F. O’Connor (essays) – REVIEW
  12. Cézanne: Puissant et solitaire – M. Hoog – REVIEW
  13. Le maniérisme –  P.  Falguières  – REVIEW
  14. Bring the War Home – K. Belew – REVIEW
  15. Writing Deep Scenes – M. Alderson – REVIEW
  16. Caravaggio – José Frèches – REVIEW
  17. Les délassiés – T. Porcher – REVIEW
  18. Le fagot de ma mémoire – S. Diagne – REVIEW
  19. The Road to Unfreedom – T. Snyder – REVIEW
  20. The Age of the Strongman – G. Rachman – REVIEW
  21. La guerre des idées – E. Bastié – REVIEW
  22. Shadow Strike: Inside Israel’s Secret Mission – Y. Katz – REVIEW
  23. Flyboy in the Buttermilk – Greg Tate – REVIEW
  24. Stony the Road (NF) – H.L. Gates jr. – REVIEW
  25. All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep – A. Henry – REVIEW
  26. Hooked: Art and Attachment – Rita Felski – REVIEW
  27. When Harlem Was In Vogue – D. Lewis – REVIEW
  28. Until Justice Be Done – K. Masur – REVIEW
  29. Stages of Struggle: Modern Playwrights – J. DiGaetani – REVIEW
  30. Unfollow Me – J. Busby – REVIEW
  31. Why We Did It – Tim Miller – REVIEW
  32. Invisible Storm – Jason Kander – REVIEW
  33. Le Dieu de Dostoïevski – Marguerite Souchon – REVIEW
  34. Thank You For Your Servitude – M. Leibovich – REVIEW
  35. Red Zone – P. Hartcher – REVIEW
  36. Out of Africa – I. Dinesin (memoir)
  37. Tunnel 29 – H. Merman – REVIEW
  38. Freezing Order  (2022)- B. Browder (memoir) – REVIEW
  39. The Periodic Table – Primo Levi  (memoir) – REVIEW
  40. The Man Who Could Move Clouds  (memoir) – Ingrid Rojas Contreras – REVIEW
  41. Plot and Structure – J.S. Bell (240 pg )   2004 REVIEW
  42. The Figure of the Detective – C. Brownson   (216 pg) 2014  REVIEW 
  43. Bloods – Wallace Terry (320 pg) 1984 (NF)  REVIEW
  44. Pushout  – M.W. Morris ((303 pg) 2018 (NF)  REVIEW
  45. How the Word Is Passed – Clint Smith (336 pg) 2021 (NF)  REVIEW
  46. The Little Devil in America -398 pg) H. Abdurraqib (300 pg) (essays) 2021 REVIEW
  47. Empire of Pain – P. R. Keefe (NF)  ….excellent!!  – REVIEW
  48. The 1619 Project: The New American Origin Story – Nikole Hannah-Jones (590 pg) REVIEW

 

 

Divided in genres:

 

Literature:

  1. Writing Deep Scenes – M. Alderson – REVIEW
  2. Plot and Structure – J.S. Bell (240 pg )   2004 REVIEW
  3. The Figure of the Detective – C. Brownson   (216 pg) 2014  REVIEW 
  4. A Cultural History of Causality – S. Kern- REVIEW
  5. When Harlem Was In Vogue – D. Lewis – REVIEW
  6. Stages of Struggle: Modern Playwrights – J. DiGaetani – REVIEW
  7. Theatre & Ireland – L. Pilkingkton – REVIEW
  8. Hooked: Art and Attachment – Rita Felski – REVIEW
  9. The Dawn of the Belle Epoque – M. McAuliffe – REVIEW

 

Memoir:

  1. Out of Africa – I. Dinesin (memoir)
  2. Tunnel 29 – H. Merman – REVIEW
  3. Freezing Order  (2022)- B. Browder (memoir) – REVIEW
  4. The Periodic Table – Primo Levi  (memoir) – REVIEW
  5. The Man Who Could Move Clouds  (memoir) – Ingrid Rojas Contreras – REVIEW
  6. Bloods – Wallace Terry (320 pg) 1984 (NF)  REVIEW
  7. Invisible Storm – Jason Kander – REVIEW
  8. The Crossroads of Should and Must – E. Luna – REVIEW
  9. Unfollow Me – J. Busby – REVIEW
  10. Unbound – Tarana Burke (memoir) – REVIEW
  11. Why We Did It – Tim Miller – REVIEW
  12. Thank You For Your Servitude – M. Leibovich – REVIEW
  13. All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep – A. Henry – REVIEW
  14. A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson  – REVIEW (travelogue)

 

Essays:

  1. Flyboy in the Buttermilk – Greg Tate – REVIEW
  2. The Best of Frank O’Connor – F. O’Connor (essays) – REVIEW
  3. The Little Devil in America -398 pg) H. Abdurraqib (300 pg) (essays) 2021 REVIEW

 

Biography:

  1. John Adams – David McCullough  biography – REVIEW
  2. Thomas Becket – J. Guy (NF) biography – REVIEW
  3. Cézanne: Puissant et solitaire – M. Hoog – REVIEW
  4. Caravaggio – José Frèches – REVIEW
  5. Patrick Kavanagh – Antoinette Quinn biography – REVIEW

 

History:

  1. The 1619 Project: The New American Origin Story – Nikole Hannah-Jones (590 pg) REVIEW
  2. Shadow Strike: Inside Israel’s Secret Mission – Y. Katz – REVIEW
  3. How the Word Is Passed – Clint Smith (336 pg) 2021 (NF)  REVIEW
  4. Empire of Pain – P. R. Keefe (NF)  ….excellent!!  – REVIEW
  5. Pushout  – M.W. Morris (303 pg) 2018 (NF)  REVIEW
  6. The Road to Unfreedom – T. Snyder – REVIEW
  7. Red Zone – P. Hartcher – REVIEW
  8. Until Justice Be Done – K. Masur – REVIEW
  9. Stony the Road (NF) – H.L. Gates jr. – REVIEW
  10. Bring the War Home – K. Belew – REVIEW
  11. All That She Carried – T. Miles (NF) – REVIEW
  12. The Age of the Strongman – G. Rachman – REVIEW

 

French:

  1. Le Dieu de Dostoïevski – Marguerite Souchon – REVIEW
  2. Le maniérisme –  P.  Falguières  – REVIEW
  3. Les délassiés – T. Porcher – REVIEW
  4. Le fagot de ma mémoire – S. Diagne – REVIEW
  5. La guerre des idées – E. Bastié – REVIEW
24
Oct

#French Claudia Hunzinger

OCTOBER

Un chien à ma table by Claudie Hunzinger by Claudie Hunzinger (no photo)

Finish date: 22 October 2022
Genre: novel (300 pg)
Rating: C-
Review: Un chien à ma table (ISBN: 9782246831631)

 

Good news: Short listed for not just one…but three prestigious French Literature prizes this year: des Prix Renaudot, Femina, et Medicis. After reading the book…I don’t think it will win, unfortunately.

 

Good news: Chapters describing SIMPLE daily actions of elderly people …with such care to movements and gestures: shrugs, nods, sagging shoulders, husband and wife walk together…like 2 monks in 1 pair of sandals.
…getting out of bed…legs danging about the floor
…wearing “mes grolles magiques” (magic “sturdy” shoes with rubber sole)
…putting on some make-up, it is all just a fantasy
…going up the stairs without missing one
…going down the elevators without losing balance
…crossing the street quickly to catch the green light

 

Bad news: The book is too long. 300 pages about connecting with nature, walking the dog, hugging her donkey, watching the larvae of certain beetles as they tunnel and feed under the bark in living wood. All this and don’t forget…she coats it with an “académique, et philosophique” sauce.
#Overwhelmed

 

Personal: Best part of the book came early! Chapter 7 almost moved me to tears……just 23 sentences but they sum up what many elderly people feel looking back on their lives. The book starts with a very good ‘hook’: a writer in her 80s observing the effects of ageing rather than regretting getting old. She emrbraces it! The dog is a touching element…but after 200 pages I was drifting off the narrative. Ms Hunziger is a woman of nature, poetry and interested in the changes in society. The scope of the book was beyond what I could manage in French. I was just settling in about her loving marriage with her husband…then we were discussing he favourite Alpine walking boots…her “grolles”. Nice for those who like this type of musings just not captivating enough for me and a 300 page book.

21
Oct

#Play Lynn Nottage

OCTOBER

Ruined (Tcg Edition) by Lynn Nottage by Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage

Finished: 18.10.2022
Genre: play
Rating: C-
Title: Ruined (9781559366298)

Bad news: 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama…unfortunately I found this just an average play.
It did not feel like a prize winner!

Personal: Lynn Nottage remains a formidable playwright but she really disappointed met with Ruined.  I KNOW she can do better so

…I recommend reading her play  SWEAT a much better play!

Sweat by Lynn Nottage by Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage

Finish date: 21 February 2022
Genre: Play
Rating: A++++++++

Good news: Structure: Now this was a real puzzle! Act 1 and Act 2 start the first scene in 2008…then the rest of the act is a flashback to 2000. Act 2 does end with 2 scenes in 2008 to give the play a feeling of closure, bookends the last scenes with the same characters that started the play: Chris, Jason and their parole officer, Evan. You get the feeling that these 2 young men are just out of prison for ….what? Read the play! Every time I read a play I learn more information that helps me read novels. Study one genre….and learn more about another!

Good news: Dialogue: We get a realist picture of life in a factory town…this is a “slice of life” play. The location reminded me of the Pennsylvania town depicted in the movie Deer Hunter . I always like to put faces on names….and in the play Sweat I could use some of the characters from that movie to breath life into the characters! Oh, I must watch that movie again!

Good news Location: Ms Nottage selected one of the poorest towns in USA in 2017 as the backdrop of the play: Reading, Pennsylvania. We walk into a blue-collar industrial town bar…a place where the factory workers would congregate.

Good News: Writing style: Ingenious how Ms Nottage creates two worlds: inside the bar, the lives of the characters and outside the bar by introducing the “radio news” before each scene. You can just picture barflies hanging over their beer listening to things that are beyond their home grown troubles (Wall Street Bailout, Bush administration, Obama-McCain debate).

Good news: Social commentary:  this play had everything that would push the buttons of working class folks: black promoted to management, factory moves jobs to Mexico, union puts a headlock on the workers and wages are going to be slashed.

Good news: Characters: are from ethnic backgrounds including 6 men and 3 women. There is a deep feeling of racially-related disagreements that destroy friendships and turn into violent conflicts.

Personal After reading this play I was so impressed by Ms Nottage. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice in 2009 for Ruined and in 2017 for Sweat and she thoroughly deserved these accolades! While reading Sweat I had to remember a poem by Y. Komunyakaa Fog Galleon The poet describes the return to a industrial hometown USA. in just a few words he summed up what I felt after reading this play:
The whole town smells like the world’s oldest anger…..that turns workers into pulp.

 

19
Oct

#French Literary Prizes Nominated Books 2022

 

Grand prix du roman de l’Académie française: (27 October) 2e sélection 

  • Le Mage du Kremlin, de Giuliano Da Empoli (Gallimard) – READ – WINNER
  • Ceux qui restent, de Jean Michelin (Héloïse d’Ormesson)
  • La Petite Menteuse, de Pascale Robert-Diard (L’Iconoclaste)

 

Prix de Flore: (10 November)

  • L’Inconduite de Emma Becker (Albin Michel)
  • Chienne et louve de Joffrine Donnadieu (Gallimard)
  • Les poupées de Clovis Goux (Stock)
  • Les enfants endormis d’Anthony Passeron (Globe)
  • Le doute de Basile Panurgias (Robert Laffont)

 

Prix des 5 continents de la Francophonie: (?? January 2023)

  • Noces de coton d’Edem AWUMEY (Togo-Canada-Québec), Ed. du Boréal (Canada-Québec)
  • Le Silence des dieux de Yahia BELASKRI (Algérie-France), Ed. Zulma (France)
  • L’agneau des neiges de Dimitri BORTNIKOV (France-Russie), Ed. Rivages (France)
  • La voleuse de Daria COLONNA (Canada-Québec), Ed. Poètes de brousse (Canada-Québec)
  • Les ombres filantes de Christian GUAY-POLIQUIN (Canada-Québec), Ed. La peuplade (Canada-Québec)
  • Moïse de Casa de Driss JAYDANE (Maroc), Ed. Les Avrils (France)
  • Gens du nord de Perrine LEBLANC (Canada-Québec), Ed. Gallimard (France)
  • Les Aquatiques d’Osvalde LEWAT (France-Cameroun), Ed. Les Escales (France),
  • Saharienne Indigo de Tierno MONENEMBO (Guinée Conakry), Ed. du Seuil (France)
  • Enlève la nuit de Monique PROULX (Canada-Québec), Ed. du Boréal (Canada-Québec)

 

Prix Décembre: (26 October) 2e selection

  • Brigitte Giraud Vivre vite (Flammarion)
  • Catherine Millet Commencements (Flammarion)
  • Lola Lafon Quand tu écouteras cette chanson (Stock) – WINNER
  • Emma Becker l’Inconduite (Albin Michel)
  • Corentin Durand l’Inclinaison (Gallimard)

Prix Femina: (07 November)

  • Vivre vite de Brigitte Giraud (Flammarion)
  • Le cœur ne cède pas de Grégoire Bouillier (Flammarion)
  • Tenir sa langue de Polina Panassenko (L’Olivier)
  • Taormine de Yves Ravey (Editions de Minuit)
  • GPS de Lucie Rico (P.O.L)
  • Le dernier des siens de Sibylle Grimbert (Anne Carrière)
  • Un chien à ma table de Claudie Hunzinger (Grasset) –  READ
  • L’inventeur de Miguel Bonnefoy (Rivages)
  • Quand l’arbre tombe  de Oriane Jeancourt-Galignani(Grasset)
  • Petite sœur de Marie Nimier (Gallimard)

 

Prix Femina 2022 du roman étranger : (07 November)

  • Mes fantômes et moi de Gabriel Byrne, traduit par Diane Meur (Sabine Wespieser)
  • La dépendance de Rachel Cusk, traduit par Blandine Longre(Gallimard)
  • La douceur de l’eau de Nathan Harris, traduit par Isabelle Chapman (Philippe Rey)
  • Les abeilles grises d’Andreï Kourkov traduit par Paul Lequesne (Liana Levi)
  • Stern 111 de Lutz Seiler traduit par Philippe Giraudon (Verdier)
  • Nous, les Allemands d’Alexander Starritt, traduit par Diane Meur (Belfond)
  • En mémoire de la mémoire de Maria Stepanova traduit par Anne Coldefy-Faucard (Stock)
  • Real life de Brandon Taylor, traduit par Héloïse Esquié (La Croisée)
  • Le magicien de Colm Toibin, traduit par Anna Gibson(Grasset)
  • Vers le paradis d’Hanya Yanagihara traduit par Marc Amfreville (Grasset)

 

Prix Femina de l’essai: (07 November)

  • Troublante identité, Paul Audi (Stock)
  • La religion woke, Jean-François Braunstein (Grasset)
  • Homo numerus : la civilisation qui vient, Daniel Cohen(Albin Michel)
  • Déjeunons sur l’herbe, Guillaume Durand (Bouquins)
  • Z comme zombie, Iegor Gran (POL)
  • Le procès de la chair, David Haziza (Grasset)
  • Le Train de Proust, Bertrand Leclair (Pauvert)
  • Le fétiche et la plume : la littérature, nouveau produit du capitalisme,  Hélène Ling et Inès Sol Salas (Rivages)
  • Traduire Hitler, Olivier Mannoni (Héloïse d’Ormesson)
  • Juliette Drouet : compagne du siècle, Florence Naugrette (Flammarion)
  • Le musée, une histoire mondiale, Krzysztof Pomian(Gallimard)
  • Tombeaux : autobiographie de ma famille, Annette Wieviorka (Seuil)

Prix Goncourt : (03 November)

  • Grégoire BOUILLIER, Le cœur ne cède pas (Flammarion)
  • Nathan DEVERS, Les liens artificiels (Albin Michel)
  • Giuliano da EMPOLI, Le Mage du Kremlin (Gallimard) – READ

 

Brigitte GIRAUD, Vivre vite (Flammarion) – WINNER

  1. The novelist returns to the death of her companion.
  2. A magnificent story about the meaning of destiny.
  3. Signing of the bill of sale. Accident. Moving. Funeral.
  4. In four words, Brigitte Giraud presents the sequence of a life destroyed
  5. …by the brutal death of Claude, her companion, on a motorcycle.
  6. Before death, there was happiness.
  7. Brigitte and Claude have a child, they have just passed to the notary
  8. …to acquire the house of their dreams, in Lyon.
  9. But Claude will never live there.
  10. And to think they both joked about
  11. …mortgage life insurance is essentially a life insurance cover that
  12. helps to pay off your mortgage if you die before fully paying off your property.

 

La romancière revient sur la mort de son compagnon. Un récit magnifique sur le sens du destin.Signature de l’acte de vente. Accident. Déménagement. Obsèques. En quatre mots, Brigitte Giraud dresse l’enchaînement d’une vie saccagée par la mort brutale de Claude, son compagnon, survenue au guidon d’une moto. Avant la mort, il y avait le bonheur. Brigitte et Claude ont un enfant, ils viennent de passer chez le notaire pour acquérir la maison de leur rêve, à Lyon. Mais Claude n’y vivra jamais. Et dire qu’ils avaient tous deux plaisanté sur l’assurance décès liée à l’emprunt.

 

 

 

  • Cloé KORMAN, Les Presque Sœurs (Seuil)
  • Makenzy ORCEL, Une somme humaine (Rivages)
  • Pascale ROBERT-DIARD, La petite menteuse (L’Iconoclaste)
  • Monica SABOLO, La vie clandestine (Gallimard)

 

Prix Interallié:  (09 November)

  • Emma BECKER – L’Inconduite (Albin Michel)
  • Nathan DEVERS – Les Liens artificiels (Albin Michel)
  • Giuliano da EMPOLI, Le Mage du Kremlin (Gallimard) – READ
  • Fabrice GAIGNAULT – La vie plus douce (Grasset)
  • Judith HOUSEZ – Chateaubriand à Saint-Tropez (Équateurs)
  • Philibert HUMM – Roman fleuve (Équateurs)
  • Tristan JORDIS – Le pays des ombres (Stock)
  • Émilienne MALFATTO – Le colonel ne dort pas (Sous-sol)
  • Pascale ROBERT-DIARD – La Petite menteuse (L’Iconoclaste)
  • Pierre ADRIAN – Que reviennent ceux qui sont loin (Gallimard)

 


Prix Jean Giono: (08 November) 2e selection

–  Une heure de ferveur Muriel Barbery (Actes Sud)
–  Attaquer la terre et le soleil Mathieu Belezi (Le Tripode)
–  On était des loups Sandrine Collette (J-C Lattés )
–  Un homme sans titre Xavier Le Clerc (Gallimard )
– L’heure des oiseaux Maud Simonnot (l’Observatoire )

 

Prix Medicis 2022 des romans français (07 November) 2e selection

  • Emmanuelle Bayamack-Tam, La Treizième Heure (POL)
  • Diaty Diallo, Deux secondes d’air qui brûle (Seuil)
  • Virginie Despentes, Cher connard (Grasset)
  • Claudie Hunzinger, Un chien à ma table de (Grasset) – READ
  • Victor Jestin, L’Homme qui danse (Flammarion)
  • Olivia Rosenthal, Un singe à ma fenêtre (Verticales)
  • Monica Sabolo, La Vie clandestine (Gallimard)
  • Anne Serre, Notre si chère vieille dame (Mercure de France)

 

Prix Medicis 2022 des romans étrangers (07 November) 2e sélection

  • Maria Sonia Cristoff, Mal d’époque, traduit de l’espagnol (Argentine) par Anne Plantagenet (Le Sous-Sol)
  • Gyrdir Eliasson, Requiem, traduit de l’islandais par Catherine Eyjolfsson (La Peuplade)
  • Andreï Kourkov, Les abeilles grises, traduit du russe (Ukraine) par Paul Lequesne (Liana Levi)
  • Nicola Lagioia, La Ville des vivants, traduit de l’italien par Laura Brignon (Flammarion)
  • Leila Mottley, Arpenter la nuit, traduit de l’américain par Pauline Loquin (Albin Michel)
  • Maria Stepanova, En mémoire de la mémoire, traduit du russe par Anne Coldefy-Faucard (Stock)
  • Colm Toibin, Le Magicien, traduit de l’anglais (Irlande) par Anna Gibson (Grasset)
  • Allen S.Weiss, L’Autobiographie de Teddy, traduit de l’américain par Jean-François Allain (Gallimard)

 

Prix Medicis 2022 des essais (07 November)

  • Carole Allamand, Tout garder (Anne Carrière)
  • Philippe Bordas, Le célibataire absolu (Gallimard)
  • Clémence  Boulouque, Nos apocalypses (Stock)
  • Iegor Gran, Z comme zombie (POL)
  • Nastassjia Martin, A l’est des rêves, (La Découverte)
  • Anthony Passeron, Les enfants endormis (Globe)
  • Krzysztof Pomian, Le musée, une histoire mondiale, tome III (Gallimard)
  • Anne Savelli , Musée Marilyn (Inculte)
  • Georges Didi-Uberman, Le Témoin jusqu’au bout. (Minuit)
  • Annette Wieviorka,  Tombeaux (Seuil)

 

Prix Renaudot: (3 November)

  • Partie italienne de Antoine CHOPLIN – Buchet-Chastel
  • On était des loups de Sandrine COLLETTE – J.-C. Lattès (finalist)
  • Les Liens artificiels de Nathan DEVERS – Albin Michel (finalist)
  • Le dernier des siens de Sybille GRIMBERT – Anne Carrière (finalist)
  • Un chien à ma table de Claudie HUNZINGER – Grasset – READ (finalist)
  • Performance de Simon LIBERATI – Grasset (finalist)  – WINNER
  • Trouver refuge de Christophe ONO DIT BIOT – Gallimard (finalist)
  • La Vie clandestine de Monica SABOLO – Gallimard (finalist)

 

Prix Renaudot essai: (3 November)

  • Le Sexe des femmes d’Anne AKRICH – Gallimard  (finalist)
  • Déjeunons sur l’herbe de Guillaume DURAND – Bouquins (finalist) –  – WINNER
  • Quand tu écouteras cette chanson de Lola LAFON – Stock
  • Oublier la nuit de Jean-Paul MARI – Buchet-Chastel (finalist)
  • Le Photographe de Notre-Dame de Jean-Claude PERRIER – du Cerf
  • Géographie des peuples fabuleux de Olivier PHILIPPONNAT – Buchet-Chastel (finalist)
  • Anne-Laure Lacou

 

17
Oct

#Poetry Michael Farrell

OCTOBER

I Love Poetry by Michael Farrell by Michael Farrell Michael Farrell

 

Finished:  17.10.2022
Genre: poetry (42 free verse poems)
Rating: F –
Title: I Love Poetry (9781925336559)

 

Good news: All poems in this collection are short.

 

Bad news: I hated each and every poem! Really, is this what you consider poetry, Michael ?

 

Personal: I read every single poem…hoping, searching for one bright poetic moment. The best part of the book is the cover. Sorry, Michael Farrell…I really tried but could not make sense of your thought process. It’s not you…it must be me.

15
Oct

#Novel Akwaer Emezi

OCTOBER
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi by Akwaeke Emezi Akwaeke Emezi

Finished: 11.10.2022
Genre: novel
Rating: D-
Title: The Death of Vivek Oji (9780571351015)

 

Bad news: Stunning, heart wrenching …electrifying novel? Sorry, I just don’t see it.
Overhyped..I believed the reviews. Wasted precious reading time…it’s my own fault.

 

Good news: Now I have just one less book in my Kindle TBR.

 

Personal: Prime example of throwing some ideas towards a word processor…mix in some incest, shocked parents, friends who want to protect, predicable plot and some flat characters floundering around in their own distress…shake lightly… and then serve.
Why in heaven’s name did I buy this book?

13
Oct

#Novel Dymphna Cusack

The Blue Mountains, Australia

OCTOBER

Say No To Death by Dymphna Cusack by Dymphna Cusack Dymphna Cusack

Finish date: 13 October 2022
Genre: novel (258 pg)
Rating: B
Review: Say No to Death (ISBN: 9781743315378)

 

Good news: This is NOT a book that I would select but it has been on my Kindle for three years!
I keep avoiding it because I know it will be…very sad, a tragic romance, a terminal illness…in short a tear-jerker. But compliments to Ms Cusack who keep the narrative readable without sinking into melodrama.

 

Good news: Dymphma Cusack has managed to create the right tone so I could at least finish the book. The author kept the book observational, removed, and calm. It was NOT emotionally exhausting but rather touching, heart wrenching.

 

Good news: Sad as the book was…it did show the reader what a person with tuberculosis goes through. …how quickly this disease can spread and what the treatment was like in 1950s Australia.

 

Personal: Glad I finished the book and kept my emotions intact. Would I read another Ms Cusack book? Probably yes…her descriptions of the Australian landscape, the Blue Mountains and Forty Baskets Beach near Sydney were beautiful.

 

Feedback: comment by Brona @bronasbooks:

Brona, I’m not drawn to romance in fiction very often….but Dymphna’s writing style was addictive. She kept the chapters short…let the main characters (Jan and Bart) evolve from starstruck lovers to people who have learned that very best thing in the world is loving someone so much that you would give your life for them. Someone whose happiness means more to you than your own happiness. Someone who depends on you… someone on whom you can depend. News flash…I like this book better than several Thea Astley’s book!!

10
Oct

#October Reading List 2022

October:

  1. Ruined – Lynn Nottage  – 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama   – REVIEW:
  2. The Death of Vivek Oji (248 pg) – Akwaeke Emezi 2020 (novel) – REVIEW
  3. Friends and Rivals – Brenda Niall (pg 239) (NF) Australia  – REVIEW
  4. Say No To Death (259 pg) – Dymphna Cusak (Australia) – READ…review soon
  5. The End of the World is a Cul de Sac  – short stories -(289 pg) -L. Kennedy (Ireland) – READING
  6. Magical Negro – Morgan Parker (poems)
  7. Binti – N. Okorafor (SF)
  8. Un chien à ma table – Claudie Hunzinger
  9. Cathy Park Hong  – Minor Feelings (essays)
  10. A Fool’s Errand (256 pg) – Lonnie G. Bunch III (memoir)
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