Oh, I'm really looking forward to reading The Wedding People after reading your review. I hadn't heard about 8 Lives before, but now I definitely want to read it - I love how you described the tone as energetic. So different from what I expect a book about the war to be.
Just read “The Wedding People “ ( light, what I needed) and 8 “ Lives of a Century Old Trickster “( heavy subject material ) in 2 days - just like you , I read a lot coz I don’t do much of anything else lol .
My to-read list grows longer and longer! My favorite reads so far this summer have been Cantores by Carolina De Robertis (about a group of queer woman in Uruguay during the military dictatorship in the 70s) and Short War by Lily Meyer (a three part story starting with a relationship between an American teenager and Chilean girl during the coup [also] in the 70s). I've been reading so much translated/international fiction recently, in great part due to a new newsletter I've subscribed to called Martha's Monthly (https://marthasmonthly.substack.com/) full of translated lit recs - horizons have been greatly expanded!
I’m looking forward to reading both of these. Just waiting for my library holds. Or a nice indie bookshop - we are off to Whitley Bay this weekend so the shopping options were great.
I have had a Pereine Press subscription but wasn’t reading them! I was just putting them prettily on a shelf but now I’m doing a summer clear out and am working my way through them. I love a short little amuse bouche book that I can finish in an afternoon. Un Amor by Sara Mesa was good, About Uncle deeply weird. I also read Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, but did so in an airport hotel, while being aggressively cuddled by my sleeping child, so it felt a bit of a surreal read.
Enjoyed this issue a lot and screenshotted so much (I need visual notes) for an upcoming holiday. „The wedding people“ sounds really good!
My last read was „When I sing, mountains dance“ by Irene Sola and it is by far an unusual and beautiful book. It‘s about a handful of characters living in a mountain region in the Pyrenees through different times. It‘s wild, mystical, poetical, funny and weird in a very good way.
I was just mulling over The Trio by Johanna Hedman and thinking about reading more books with prominent Swedish characters and bam! I came across your post! Pre-ordered The Group. Thank you for sharing ◡̈
I always so look forward to your recs - thank you! I have recently emigrated to New Zealand and have been relistening to the High Low so that I’m surrounded by familiar voices and I have love loved getting all of those recs all over again. I totally agree on the joy of “old” books as I have also been deep in the second hand book buying - which your High Low recs are helping with! Thank you again x
On the topic of reading older books vs new releases, I recently read ‘America is not the heart’ by Elaine Castillo (written in 2018 so not super old but still, not new!) and I can’t stop thinking about it. I rarely cry when reading but this touching story about a Filipino community in the Bay Area, US, made me feel so many emotions! I learnt loads about that community too. Give it a read when you have the time, it’s wonderful.
I LOVE that book. I *think* I might have written about it in my very first newsletter last January - in my fave books I read in 2022! I totally agree about learning loads. I remember I kept googling puddings and phrases because (and I am in total support of this) she wouldn’t translate foodstuffs and phrases for an anglophone audience
Hi Pandora - inspired by your blue doors, if you want something lovely to do for an hour on a grey day, the Accidentally Wes Anderson photographic exhibition is a delight. It is basically a bunch of photos taken from around the world that look like they belong in a Wes Anderson movie. It is beautifully curated and my teenage girls also loved it too 😍
I love that - thank you for the h/t. Isn’t it amazing how entrenched his aesthetic imprint is? I’m not even overly familiar with his work - I could name maybe two of his films without Googling - and yet I know exactly what you’re talking about when it comes to his photography!
Yes same! My eldest daughter is a big fan but I was a bit clueless after Grand Hotel Budapest and the Fantastic Mr Fox 😁 Sorry forgot to say it's at South Ken x
Wow! I thought I had had enough Ballerina Farm content but this profile is WILD. Thank you for sharing! The face of natural birth online admitting to getting and loving an epidural the one time she gave birth without her husband watching is... really something!
I thought she came across pretty gracefully. Him, not so much. As someone who has both been interviewed (hated) and does the interviewing (love), I am aware of how much the lense of the interviewer can shape the tone. For eg - did she aside it quietly, or did the journo just *infer* she said it discreetly? Etc etc
Completely agree! My comment might not have made it clear that I think his presence is the eerie/distressing part of the piece. I didn't mean to come across as upset about "hypocrisy" or anything. Her admission re: epidural made me think her Instagram may be projecting a take on pain management that is not fully aligned with her own desires. Overall the piece was fascinating and added some complexity to their family story that I hadn't read before. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, I'm really looking forward to reading The Wedding People after reading your review. I hadn't heard about 8 Lives before, but now I definitely want to read it - I love how you described the tone as energetic. So different from what I expect a book about the war to be.
Perfect murder is great, see also The Affair with Richard gere and Diane lane.
Agreed, The Affair is so good!!
Just read “The Wedding People “ ( light, what I needed) and 8 “ Lives of a Century Old Trickster “( heavy subject material ) in 2 days - just like you , I read a lot coz I don’t do much of anything else lol .
Love both , thank you
The BBC adaptation of Hotel du Lac was recently on BB4 - it might still be on iplayer. It's a delicious adaptation with Anna Massey perfect as Edith.
My to-read list grows longer and longer! My favorite reads so far this summer have been Cantores by Carolina De Robertis (about a group of queer woman in Uruguay during the military dictatorship in the 70s) and Short War by Lily Meyer (a three part story starting with a relationship between an American teenager and Chilean girl during the coup [also] in the 70s). I've been reading so much translated/international fiction recently, in great part due to a new newsletter I've subscribed to called Martha's Monthly (https://marthasmonthly.substack.com/) full of translated lit recs - horizons have been greatly expanded!
Oh wow thank you so much for bringing Martha's Monthly to my attn!
I’m looking forward to reading both of these. Just waiting for my library holds. Or a nice indie bookshop - we are off to Whitley Bay this weekend so the shopping options were great.
The Wedding People sounds so good. I much prefer the U.S cover tho! (which seems always the case with me!)
I often prefer US, too. I’m very fussy about covers, hate the whole neon thing for starters (Fitzcarraldo covers make me happy)
I have had a Pereine Press subscription but wasn’t reading them! I was just putting them prettily on a shelf but now I’m doing a summer clear out and am working my way through them. I love a short little amuse bouche book that I can finish in an afternoon. Un Amor by Sara Mesa was good, About Uncle deeply weird. I also read Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, but did so in an airport hotel, while being aggressively cuddled by my sleeping child, so it felt a bit of a surreal read.
You always give great recs Coree - haven’t heard of any of these - thank you!
Enjoyed this issue a lot and screenshotted so much (I need visual notes) for an upcoming holiday. „The wedding people“ sounds really good!
My last read was „When I sing, mountains dance“ by Irene Sola and it is by far an unusual and beautiful book. It‘s about a handful of characters living in a mountain region in the Pyrenees through different times. It‘s wild, mystical, poetical, funny and weird in a very good way.
I was just mulling over The Trio by Johanna Hedman and thinking about reading more books with prominent Swedish characters and bam! I came across your post! Pre-ordered The Group. Thank you for sharing ◡̈
Oh I loved the Trio!
I always so look forward to your recs - thank you! I have recently emigrated to New Zealand and have been relistening to the High Low so that I’m surrounded by familiar voices and I have love loved getting all of those recs all over again. I totally agree on the joy of “old” books as I have also been deep in the second hand book buying - which your High Low recs are helping with! Thank you again x
On the topic of reading older books vs new releases, I recently read ‘America is not the heart’ by Elaine Castillo (written in 2018 so not super old but still, not new!) and I can’t stop thinking about it. I rarely cry when reading but this touching story about a Filipino community in the Bay Area, US, made me feel so many emotions! I learnt loads about that community too. Give it a read when you have the time, it’s wonderful.
I LOVE that book. I *think* I might have written about it in my very first newsletter last January - in my fave books I read in 2022! I totally agree about learning loads. I remember I kept googling puddings and phrases because (and I am in total support of this) she wouldn’t translate foodstuffs and phrases for an anglophone audience
Maybe I got the rec from you!
It’s amazing, so glad you liked it too.
Hi Pandora - inspired by your blue doors, if you want something lovely to do for an hour on a grey day, the Accidentally Wes Anderson photographic exhibition is a delight. It is basically a bunch of photos taken from around the world that look like they belong in a Wes Anderson movie. It is beautifully curated and my teenage girls also loved it too 😍
I love that - thank you for the h/t. Isn’t it amazing how entrenched his aesthetic imprint is? I’m not even overly familiar with his work - I could name maybe two of his films without Googling - and yet I know exactly what you’re talking about when it comes to his photography!
Yes same! My eldest daughter is a big fan but I was a bit clueless after Grand Hotel Budapest and the Fantastic Mr Fox 😁 Sorry forgot to say it's at South Ken x
Wow! I thought I had had enough Ballerina Farm content but this profile is WILD. Thank you for sharing! The face of natural birth online admitting to getting and loving an epidural the one time she gave birth without her husband watching is... really something!
I thought she came across pretty gracefully. Him, not so much. As someone who has both been interviewed (hated) and does the interviewing (love), I am aware of how much the lense of the interviewer can shape the tone. For eg - did she aside it quietly, or did the journo just *infer* she said it discreetly? Etc etc
Completely agree! My comment might not have made it clear that I think his presence is the eerie/distressing part of the piece. I didn't mean to come across as upset about "hypocrisy" or anything. Her admission re: epidural made me think her Instagram may be projecting a take on pain management that is not fully aligned with her own desires. Overall the piece was fascinating and added some complexity to their family story that I hadn't read before. Thanks for sharing!