Apr 19
Go As A River by Shelley Read
UK Publication: April 2023
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★★★]
This ARC was provided by Random House UK (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not crying, you’re crying…
Apr 18
Well done Tracy and Rachel who both successfully predicted 4 of the 6 closely followed by the scientific system and me who both got 3.
Unfortunately I have only read 2 of these so another busy reading month for me….
What do you think of the list let us know.
The Red Bird Sings by Aoife Fitzpatrick
UK Publication: April 2023
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★★]
This ARC was provided by Little Brown Book Group UK (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
One word review – Compulsive.
Thank you to Rachel and Tracy for joining the shadow panel this would not have been possible without them.
Our highly scientific ratings system predicts that the following will make the cut:
Is Mother Dead 19
Standing Heavy 18
Pyre 17.5
Time Shelter 17.5
Still Born 17.25
Ninth Building 16
BookWorm: Here we go again:
Standing Heavy
Time Shelter
Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv
Pyre
Is Mother Dead
Boulder
Tracy: In no particular order:
Is Mother Dead
Standing Heavy
Time Shelter
While We Were Dreaming
Still Born
Whale
Rachel’s totally unscientific shortlist:
Standing Heavy
Time Shelter
Pyre
Still Born
Ninth Building
Whale
What books do you think will make the cut? Let us know.
Apr 13
Book 12– While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer Translated by Katy Derbyshire
Reviewed by BookWorm
Book 11– A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding by Amanda Svensson Translated by Nichola Smalley
Reviewed by Tracy
Book 11 – Pyre by Perumal Murugan Translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan
Reviewed by Tracy & Rachel
Book 10 – The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier Translated by Daniel Levin Becker
Reviewed by Tracy & BookWorm
Book 9 – Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov Translated by Angela Rodel
Reviewed by Tracy & Rachel
Synopsis from Booker Prize website: A ‘clinic for the past’ offers a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s sufferers: each floor reproduces a decade in minute detail, transporting patients back in time.
An unnamed narrator is tasked with collecting the flotsam and jetsam of the past, from 1960s furniture and 1940s shirt buttons to scents, and even afternoon light. But as the rooms become more convincing, an increasing number of healthy people seek out the clinic as a ‘time shelter’, hoping to escape the horrors of modern life – a development that results in an unexpected conundrum when the past begins to invade the present.
Intricately crafted, and eloquently translated by Angela Rodel, Time Shelter cements Georgi Gospodinov’s reputation as one of the indispensable writers of our times, and a major voice in international literature.
Tracy’s Thoughts: What a trip- this was Back to the Future, The Time Machine (minus the monsters) and Awakenings all in one.
I work in health care, and my mother in law had dementia, so I enjoyed this idea for Alzheimer treatment. The problem for me was that I was so focused on practical applications, realistic extrapolations, and studies that would have to be done that I think I missed a lot of the rest of the book. Oops.
That’s on me. But really, who wouldn’t like to live in the past once in a while? Reminiscing about how great our childhoods were. No cell phones, internet, conveniences. Hmm. Or not.
Anyway, this was a book full of interesting concepts and commentaries- and I very much enjoyed it.
Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 4.5/5
Character development: ¾
Plot development: 3.5/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 18/20
Rachel’s Thoughts: This was always going to be a hard sell for me. It’s a novel jammed full of ideas, and what-if’s, and big questions. I must admit, for over half of the novel I was plain exasperated by its cleverness, and by just how many themes the author was pulling in – by the end I’d reached grudging admiration.
This is less of a time-travel novel, and more of a novel about time. And history, nostalgia, memory, loneliness, nationalism, politics, performance, Europe – where we’re going, and where we’ve been. It has elements that are bitingly funny, and moments that are absolutely heartbreaking – and all of them extend beyond the page into things affecting my/your life.
So yes. I’m slightly mind-blown. Whether or not I liked it, I have a feeling that this one will stay with me. And I may even need to re-visit it at some point. It’s quite something!
Writing quality: 4/5
Originality 5/5
Character development 3/4
Plot development 4/4
Overall enjoyment 1/2
Total 17/20
Have you read this one? Let us know what you thought.
Rankings
Is Mother Dead 19
Standing Heavy 18
Time Shelter 17.5
Still Born 17.25
Ninth Building 16
Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv 16
Whale 15.5
Boulder 13.5
The Gospel According to the New World 11.5
Book 8 – The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé Translated by Richard Philcox
Reviewed by Tracy & Rachel
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