I read a lot more than I thought I did, given my mood for most of this rainless month. Most of these books irritated me. Or, was I already irritated because of the incessant heat wave and drought, and most of these books just failed to pick me up? Who knows. Meanwhile, I use the power Libby to manage my TBR list.
Beautiful Ugly, by Alice Feeney
This book makes no sense. The title makes no sense. The characters make no sense. The story makes no sense. The premise sounds good on the surface. A man’s wife goes missing and he falls into a year-long writing slump, until his editor orders him off to a remote island in Scotland where weird shit starts happening. Shit that makes no sense. The final “shocking” (and stupid) twist made even less sense.
Here’s a random pet peeve. This book contains a map. I love books with maps! But the map doesn’t match the scale of the island, and some key story elements are missing. Irritating. And then, there is a map in the story. It’s a map of the town that becomes important to the writer. But the map described in the story doesn’t match the map provided in the book. WTF??? Why? WHY???? It’s too late for me, but maybe it’s not too late to save yourself and cancel your Libby hold.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is a ridiculously versatile writer. Dystopian near-future misogynistic horror? Done! Feminist critique? Done! Children’s book? Poetry? Canadian identity? Done, done and done! This isn’t to say I always like her. I loved Robber Bride, and hated Cat’s Eye, for example. I would classify Oryx and Crake as science fiction, taking place in a post-apocalyptic future where climate change and rampant genetic engineering rule the day. Jimmy aka “Snowman” is the creepy and unlikeable protagonist but he is saintly next to the picture Atwood paints of the average person sitting around creating bizarre genetic hybrids of animals just for shits and giggles while watching child porn in their spare time. If this is her alternative to a Handmaid’s Tale future, things are not looking bright. I did end up liking this very weird and disturbing book enough that I put a Libby hold on book 2 in the series, The Year of the Flood.
The Bookshop on the Corner, by Jenny Colgan
If your wheel-house includes cozy romance novels starring nerdy librarians who move to Scotland to open bookstores out of the back of a van, then you’ll want to reserve this one in Libby. Might I suggest doing this while you are cancelling your hold on Beautiful Ugly. Apart from the ill-conceived title (the bookstore is not “on the corner”, but I guess “the bookstore in the van” is a less-than-appealing title), and some questionable usage of freight trains, this is a satisfying read.
Flying Solo, by Linda Holmes
Romance again?? Have I added a new genre to my wheel-house? In this case, the romantic story is satisfyingly augmented with tales of antiques, grifters, and heists (oh my!). It’s a solid 3-3.5 out of 5, a cute but imperfect story that would probably make a better movie. To Linda Holmes’ credit, there were some nice call-backs to her first book, Evvie Drake Starts Over, as both stories take place in the fictional town of Calcasset, Maine.
The Poppy War, by R. F. Kuang
The “hero” of this book is Rin, an orphan who manages to genius her way into a prestigious military training school only to face prejudice because of her skin colour, gender, ethnicity, and unusual shamanistic power. But don’t be fooled, she is far from being a sympathetic character. Instead, she is frustratingly annoying. She lacks in delicacy, blurting out whatever is on her mind whenever she feels like it. She flip-flops seemingly instantly in her opinions without giving any thought to the potential consequences of her choices (she sides with Altan, the more powerful shaman … she opposes Altan … she sides with Altan … she opposes Altan …) She makes unfortunate sacrifices in her quest for power, not to help win a terrible war, but just to be powerful. Ugh. There are two more books in this series and I’m on a several week long hold for the e-books in Libby, even though the physical books are available from the local library right now. I think I just need the break from Rin, her insane quest for power, and the horrific, genocidal war that is unfolding.
Ducks, by Kate Beaton
Far and away the best of the bunch from June’s reading list, Ducks is a graphic novel produced entirely by Kate Beaton, a Canadian comics artist from Cape Breton. This lengthy novel is a poignant memoir of the two years she spent in her early 20s working in the Alberta Oil Sands to make enough money to pay off her otherwise unaffordable student loans. Much of what happens during her two years is familiar to anyone who has lived and worked in male-dominated environments and let’s be honest, it’s not pretty. It’s actually pretty shocking what we tolerate as women in order to fit in and not be labelled a troublemaker. Anyhoo, around that are stories of basic corporate nonsense that any office worker would recognize – maintaining a zero lost time metric at any cost, equipment that is malfunctioning but can’t be replaced due to budgets even though the corporation is raking in money, a shortage of proper safety equipment, endless team meetings. This book is available now in a beautifully constructed paperback, and I encourage you to give Kate your money and buy a copy!