Review: Amatka, by Karin Tidbeck, 2012

Amatka by Karin Tidbeck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amatka, by Karin Tidbeck, 2012 

Name it! Mark it! Do not deviate!

Originally written in Swedish and translated to English in 2017, Amatka is a "soft" sci-fi novel that is "quiet," strange and has no clear ending. The story follows Vanya, who works for her city government of Essre.  While on assignment to study hygiene products used in the city of Amatka, she falls in love with Nina and moves in with her. 

Set in a world shaped by language, we quickly learn that things are not what they seem when Vanya's luggage melts into gloop when Vanya neglects it for too long, reciting the suitcase's name and physically inscribing it with the word "suitcase" to describe what it is. It's apparent the inhabitants of this world speak the names of things around them, calling on them to remain what they are and marking them for what they are.

Tidbeck's prose is easy to ingest and engenders the slow horror of a quiet atmosphere of slow decay, not much unlike the current state of society.

I rate this novel a 4.95 out of 5 stars.

#Amatka #KarinTidbeck #QueerLiterature #LGBTLiterature #Swedish #ScienceFiction

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Review: The Peripheral (The Jackpot Trilogy #1), by William Gibson, 2014

The Peripheral by William Gibson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Peripheral (The Jackpot Trilogy #1), by William Gibson, 2014

Elaborately detailed, incredibly creative, and full of ingenious ideas. In this fast-paced hard sci-fi novel, we sort of get two stories in one, with each taking place in a separate timeline. Events and decisions from each timeline manifest as outcomes in each other's, well, sort of.

In the 22nd-century timeline the author has created, there are three pillars of society which consist of The Kleptocracy (The Klept), The Metropolitan Police, which keeps the former in check, and The Research Institute, which provides technical assistance to the general population through research and technology but compromised by The Klept.

Flynn, our heroine in the 21st-century timeline, witnesses something she shouldn't have while piloting a Peripheral in the 22nd-century timeline. Peripherals are a type of physical avatar in the 22nd century that users from either timeline can control. This sets off a chain of events in the 22nd century that reverberates to Flynn's timeline.

The Peripheral is one of those books where one must focus and pay attention and sometimes reread chapters. There are so many characters, technologies, and moving parts, all fitting with each other eventually, that taking notes might be helpful. I enjoyed this book very much, so despite the effort required to get through it, I might read the second installment.  

I want to note that Amazon Prime's adaptation of this novel to an 8-part tv series prompted me to read the book. After seeing two episodes, I was hooked and decided to race through the book. While the tv show diverges from the book, they are different enough that not only can both be enjoyed, but enhances each other.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5 stars.

#ThePeriphal #WilliamGibson #FlynnFisher #TheResearchInstitute #Kleptocracy #JackpotTrilogy #AelitaWest #Nuland #Lowbeer #Zubov

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Review: Paradise Rot: A Novel, by Jenny Hval, 2018

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Paradise Rot: A Novel, by Jenny Hval, 2018

Right off the bat, if bodily fluids, particularly urine, gross you out, this book isn't for you. The author is clearly obsessed with urine and intricately details activities involved in the act of pissing.

The story is a sexual self-discovery of a young Norwegian college girl, Jo, who is studying biology abroad in Britain. There she meets a girl, Carral, slightly older than her, who she becomes obsessed with. She shares an apartment in a converted brewery with Carral and starts a peculiar three-way affair with a studly male neighbor named Pym.

The writing is surreal and exquisitely detailed with the grotesque banalities of human existence: mold, decay, and urine. The prose evokes striking images, from rotting slimy apples to a man exposing himself on a train. 

I rate this book 4.75 out of 5 stars.

#MagicalRealism #LGBTliterature #LGBT

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Review: Yellow Jessamine, by Caitlin Starling, 2020

Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yellow Jessamine, by Caitlin Starling, 2020

Yellow Jessamine is a fantasy horror novella with sapphic undertones that started strong. The atmospheric details, creepy vibes, and strong plot teased for a fantastic ending but ended up venturing into the "left field."

I enjoyed this intense novella-- filled with fierce lesbians, poisonous herbal gardens, and a mysterious creepy sickness; it's a have-to-read book.

I rate this novella 4.25 out of 5 stars.

"Evelyn Perdanu is a shipping magnate, the only living survivor of her family. She walks the city veiled and hidden away from the eyes of those around her. Her country is slowly dying, rotting away like food left out to spoil. Arriving from her last voyage, she discovers that a plague has visited her city, which is traced back to her crew. They act erratically and slip into catatonia. She begins to investigate the plague as much for the city's sake and those in it as for her own company and family name. What she finds is complicated and horrific." -- from the book jacket

#YellowJessamine #CaitlinStarling #LGBTQ

 

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Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry, 2022

Book Lovers by Emily Henry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book Lovers by Emily Henry, 2022

I trite retread of any one of Nora Ephron's rom-com novels turned movie starring Meg Ryan. Some may consider Book Lovers a fresh coat of makeup for all the tropes found here and updated for the times. It was a guilty read for me at first, but by the time I was halfway through and half invested in the characters, I was reading faster to get it over with and done.

In Book Lovers, Nora Stephens (I'm sure this is a nod to Nora Ephron) is an intelligent workaholic literary agent living in New York. Dragged into a monthlong trip to the picturesque small town in North Carolina by her younger sister (ulterior motives and all), Nora runs into her professional arch nemesis, Charlie. I don't think I have to say much else, but yes, Nora and Charlie get it on more than once, lurid details and all.

I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.

#HateRead #RomCom #EmilyHenry #NotMegRyan #NotNoraEphron

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Review: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca, 2021

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, by Eric LaRocca, 2021

Agnes and Zoe develop a relationship over the internet circa the 2000s. The story is told in a series of emails and chatroom messages. What starts as a wholesome exchange of negotiations for an antique apple peeler between two women becomes a story about obsession, loneliness, sadomasochism, control, and delicious body horror.

I was gripped from page one by this uniquely bizarre love story. Though at times I was giddy with the squeamishness I knew was coming, I still squealed with guilty pleasure as the author unfolded gory details. The level of absurdity was just right enough for me to stomach the depraved activities.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

#ThingsHaveGottenWorseSinceWeLastSpoke #EricLaRocca #BizarroFiction #LGBTQIA #Horror #HorrorLit

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Review: Self Help by Ben H. Winters My rating: 3 of 5 stars Self Help by Ben Winters, 2022

Self Help by Ben H. Winters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Self Help by Ben Winters, 2022

The story is a ridiculous crime-spree adventure with some laughs and fantastically narrated by Wil Wheaton and Ron Perlman. Jack Diller, the story's protagonist, is an actor trying to make ends meet with no luck until he stumbles upon a self-help audiobook. With the newfound guidance, Jack commits what he thinks are confidence-boosting acts but really are simply criminal.

Have you ever seen a shiny yummy donut that you know will taste good going in but will regret later? This audiobook is like that, glossy cover with recognizable actors calling out to anyone scrolling through. You justify clicking acquire to it by telling yourself the audiobook is short, almost like a small bite-size donut, and won't make much of a dent in your daily calorie limit and time. So greedily consume it only to find about 2/3rd of the way through that you are already regretting the decision. But hey, you are almost done, and nobody likes a quitter. So you finish the rest as fast as possible in one big swallow. Then as you think about what just happened, you wish you had spat out the last bite, better yet, not to have fallen for the glitzy cover with the promise of a good time. If only you didn't "Self Help" yourself......

I rate the narrators' performances 5 out of 5 stars.

I rate the story 2.5 out of 5 stars. I hate that I read/listened to this.

#SelfHelp #BenWinters #AudibleOriginal #HateRead #HateListened

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Review: Travel by Bullet (The Dispatcher #3), by John Scalzi, 2022

Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Travel by Bullet (The Dispatcher #3), by John Scalzi, 2022

Third in the Dispatcher series, Travel by Bullet is an Audible Original narrated by Zachary Quinto. The story seems to take place in our current timeline or very close to it, along with Teslas, Cryptos, and post-Covid pandemic (is that really over though???). 

Tony is our hero, a "dispatcher" in a hospital emergency room, and is unwillingly thrown into a web of shady schemes and plots involving billions of dollars, Cryptocurrencies, real estate scams, and murders-- or is it really murders?. Dispatchers have the job of essentially killing a person and sending them back in time earlier in the day. 

Short, fun, and entertaining. Mostly a detective-like mystery storyline with a touch of sci-fi for the plot device (more of a plot voucher, actually). A villain triangle (as opposed to a love triangle) was effectively used to move the story to a conclusion. A self-referencing (in a meta kind of way) MacGuffin was even thrown in for good measure. 

I've enjoyed very few Audible originals, and this is one of them. I'm such a fan of Scalzi, but I needed something new and different from his Interdepency space opera series, and this satiated my appetite.

I rate this audiobook 4 out of 5 stars.

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#JohnScalzi #TravelByBullet #DispatcherSeries

Review: The Rats by James Herbert, 1974

The Rats by James Herbert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

During the 1970s, London became infested with rats that began to prey on the human population while Harris, our hero, raced against time to stop the vermins.

What a great start. Within a few pages, I was hooked by people with sordid lives getting ravenously eaten or mutilated by mutant rats. Ladies of the night and their Johns, unattended babies and their canine companions, lovers and their "young" object of affection-- no one is safe. The level of gruesome and gore was pretty tough to outdo at every rat-feasting event; when the author failed to amp it up, the scene came across as comical and camp. 

This horror classic is simple, direct, and full of action-packed graphic mutilations. The Rats may have had sharp "teeth of horror" at the time of its writing, but its edges have dulled as the novel aged.

I rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

#TheRats #JamesHerbert #ClassicHorror #Horror #Fiction

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Review: Tau Zero, Poul Anderson, 1970

Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Tau Zero, Poul Anderson, 1970

Tau Zero, heralded as classic hard science fiction by multi-Hugo and Nebula-awarded author Poul Anderson was written in 1970 and shows its age with its attitudes towards women. 

The crew of a colonization space vessel Leonora Christine left Earth for a nearby star system without FTL. The Leonora Christine hits an object, damaging some of its technology and preventing it from performing the planned deceleration during the journey's second half. Without FTL, they are subject to time dilation. And as such, they make certain decisions that are both interesting and absurd.

There are two narratives here. One tells the story of the ship, which is a character itself and its journey through time and space. The text of the narrative is interspersed with scientific explanations along with the other narrative, which is the melodrama among the crew. The interpersonal drama can be cringy and probably can be attributed to the views of the time when the book was written.

I rate this book 2.5 out of 5 stars.

#PoulAnderson #TauZero #hardSciFi

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Review: Dead Astronauts, by Jeff VanderMeer, 2019

Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Dead Astronauts, by Jeff VanderMeer, 2019

Sequel to Borne and The Strange Bird, Dead Astronauts feature existing characters from the same shared universe of Borne. The three main characters, the Dead Astronauts, Grayson, Chen, and Moss, travel through timelines and multiverses to battle against and takedown "The Company."

Dead Astronauts, by Jeff VanderMeer, is one of those books where you have to pay attention and focus. Most of the novel is poetic exposition, and the plotline is obscured behind beautiful prose. VanderMeer's creative chops are showcased from line to line with his lyrical writing. And that, for me, was the problem. Without enough action and direct plotting, my attention drifted away easily. With the multiversal timeline hopping between scenes and sequences, VandenMeer really pushed my understanding of what is going on to the limits of where my interests and attention span intersect.

I'm such a VanderMeer fan, but this book may be my least favorite from all his released work to date. In fact, I gave up on it about 2/3 of the way through. Though, I may return to it someday and give it another chance.

I rate this book 1 out of 5 stars.

#JeffVanderMeer #VanderMeer #DeadAstronauts #Borne #DNF

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Review: The Trees by Percival Everett, 2021

The Trees by Percival Everett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Trees by Percival Everett, 2021

The Trees, shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, is a darkly humorous novel revisiting the 1955 murder of Emmet Till.  It's a page-turner that opens with brutal murders involving testicles ripped from the victims' bodies, satirizes racism relentlessly through the story, and closes open-ended-ly to leave readers to interpret.

It's a bold and provocative "detective" book ladened with gory revenge fantasy.  Some have described the narrative as alternating "between deadpan and slapstick modes of satire," which the author smartly uses to conflate comical with horror and effectively mine collective racial guilt.

I rate this book 3.25 out of 5 stars.

#TheTrees #PercivalEverett #2022BookerPrizeShortlist #BookerPrize

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Review: Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout, 2022

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout, 2022

The fourth in the Lucy Barton series, Lucy moves in with her ex-husband William during the pandemic lockdown of 2020.  

I wasn't sure I wanted to read another "pandemic novel," so I was happy to discover Covid-19 didn't take center stage in the story. Much of what takes place revolves around Lucy and William, her ex-husband, rekindling their relationship. It was a sweet and lovely story and often funny. However, I don't think it ever reached the same heights as its predecessor, "Oh William!"

Told in her very "Strout" style of writing, which is very character-driven, mostly melancholy, and with almost no plot in sight, the novel is endearing and engaging. Reading its predecessor, "Oh William!" is probably best before starting this, and it's perhaps best to read back-to-back.

I rate this novel 3.75 out of 5 stars.

#ElizabethStrout #LucyByTheSea #Amgash 

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Review: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, by Harlan Ellison, 1967

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, by Harlan Ellison, 1967

First published in 1967 and won a Hugo Award in 1968,  "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a post-apocalyptic science fiction horror story. A mad maniacal supercomputer AI has a hand in being a cruel, relentless, misanthropic god. 

The story follows a group of five people, the last survivors of an apocalypse brought on by a sadistic and god-like AI. The survivors are tortured repeatedly in ever-increasing cruel ways over the years while they struggle and look for ways to escape.

Short, diabolically creative, and hopelessly horrific, I rate this story 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The following is a link if you would like to read this short story:

https://wjccschools.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/01/I-Have-No-Mouth-But-I-Must-Scream-by-Harlan-Ellison.pdf

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Review: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, 2015

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, 2015

The Barret family from Massachusetts comes under financial and emotional strain when their fourteen-year-old daughter, Marjorie, exhibits signs of severe mental illness or demonic possession. They decide to allow a production company to film and air the events in their household as a reality tv show.

Roshomon in full effect! Without a doubt, the author intended for us never to know the truth of what happened the night of the central premise the novel is written around. We get three perspectives from the same narrator, all unreliable; when she was eight (8) years old, then as an adult after the trauma had been processed, and from her alter-ego blogger persona. I feel that the blogger persona "breaking the fourth wall" can be distracting, but in this case, it was not only necessary to achieve the Roshomon effect but was done pretty well. It was "Meta" just enough.

It took me a couple of false starts to get going with the book, but once I got about a quarter of the way in, I could not stop. I looked up, and several hours had passed, and it was past midnight when I reached the story's climax. While the book isn't much of a horror, I got goosebumps and frights at the climax and the final twist at the end. 

Typically not the type of book I would read, but I was glued and enjoyed it very much. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

#AHeadFullOfGhosts #PaulTremblay #RoshomonEffect #FourthWall

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Review: The Strange Bird, by Jeff VanderMeer, 2017

The Strange Bird: A Borne Story by Jeff VanderMeer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Strange Bird, by Jeff VanderMeer, 2017

Jeff VanderMeer's new novella, The Strange Bird, is beautiful, captivating, and profoundly moving. The story told through the Strange Bird's increasingly desperate perspective, at parts, was almost too painful to bear reading but too beautiful to abandon.

Set in the same wasteland as Jeff VanderMeer's Borne, The Strange Bird enriches the universe of Borne. The story is short enough to be considered a supplemental story, one which weaves through and about its predecessor's ragbag plot. 

Readers will likely find this fascinating as a side story to Borne and not necessarily a mandatory narrative. The Strange Bird is as hauntingly tragic as is as remarkable as its unforgettable predecessor.

I rate this novella a 5 out of 5 stars.

#TheStrangeBird #VanderMeer #JeffVanderMeer #Borne #DeadAstronauts

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Review: Blindsight (Firefall #1), by Peter Watts, 2006

Blindsight by Peter Watts
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Blindsight (Firefall #1), by Peter Watts, 2006

Talky like Asimov, hints of Heinlein's style, and world-building with the likes of Stephenson-- all of which are my least favorite aspects of those authors I respect. The story is about a crew of transhuman astronauts, and a vampire sent to investigate a possible "first-contact" alien in the Kuiper belt.

While there were some interesting characters, not enough time was spent on them. I suppose it can be viewed that there were too many characters-- not a lot of whom had a profoundly compelling story arc. A missed opportunity, indeed. 

The novel also suffers from too many ideas which did not have a direct and significant contribution to moving the plot along. Please don't misunderstand me, some concepts were brilliant, odd, and depressing, but it was too much world-building for a thin plot for my liking.

I think it's best to start this book with a glossary of characters and commit them to memory before venturing on to read.

I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.

#Blindsight #Firefall #PeterWatts #SpaceVampire #Transhuman

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Review: Borne, by Jeff VanderMeer, 2017

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Borne, by Jeff VanderMeer, 2017

Wikipedia describes, "The novel takes place in the future, in the ruins of a nameless city dominated by a giant grizzly bear called 'Mord.' The perspective character, Rachel, is a scavenger in the city; she collects various genetically-engineered organisms and experiments that were created by 'the Company,' a biotech firm. One day, while searching in Mord's fur, Rachel discovers a sea anemone-like creature that she names 'Borne.'"

From start to finish of VanderMeer's novel, we are treated to a bizarre and often unsettling atmosphere. The characters are well-constructed and always make decisions aligned with their personalities and prior experiences. The storytelling highlights central themes of identity, nature vs. nurture, and the concepts of being human. With the mysteries weaved into dense post-apocalyptic surroundings, we are left with more questions to ponder on our own after the last page has been turned. 

Immediately after completing the novel, the experience left me with some sadness for Borne, displeasure with Rachel, and annoyance with Wick. Throughout the book, the author kept me unbalanced with constant reminders of Borne's profoundly ambiguous nature. However, letting the story sit and digested wholly, I recognize some parts of the story you have to figure out on your own, while other parts start making sense only when you get further in and ponder it for some time, and a few of them never get any definite answers. Demanding and sometimes difficult to get through with the emotions the author draws out of the reader, VanderMeer's Borne is unquestionably worth the effort.

I rate this book 4.75 out of 5 stars.

#Borne #VanderMeer #JeffVanderMeer

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Review: "Just by Looking at Him" by Ryan O'Connell, 2022

Just by Looking at Him by Ryan O'Connell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Just by Looking at Him" by Ryan O'Connell, 2022

The book is darkly comic and an unflinching story following a gay TV writer with cerebral palsy. He fights addiction, searches for acceptance,  and navigates through love in an overwhelmingly ableist world.

The book oozes wit and dark humor perfectly balanced with a commentary on gay life- specifically gay life in Los Angeles and in the entertainment industry (television show writing). Several times, I had to stop, laugh out loud, and think to myself, "yep, I know what he means about that place and in that situation."    I don't know how much truth from experience the author put into the novel, but almost everything mentioned felt authentic based on my own experiences.

For a book I randomly picked up at Powell's in Portland and an author I've never heard of, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the maybe fictional accounts of "gay living" in my hometown of Los Angeles. So much so I got the audiobook and listened to the author himself narrated. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 chuckles.

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Review: The Hole: A Novel, by Pyun Hye-young, 2017 (translated by Sora Kim-Russel)

The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Hole: A Novel, by Pyun Hye-young, 2017 (translated by Sora Kim-Russel)

A bestseller in Korea, The Hole tells the tale of the horrors of isolation and neglect. Some comparisons are made to this novel with Stephen King's novel Misery.

The Hole is a character-driven novel but has the suspense of a thriller. Oghi becomes paralyzed after a car accident that killed his wife. Without any of his own family to care for him, his mother-in-law becomes his caregiver. With Oghi as the driver of the car crash, he questions his mother-in-law's motives and does not trust her.

With only the ability to blink as his form of communication, Oghi struggles and panics through everyday banalities. With the only view out of his window being his mother-in-law digging a huge hole, Oghi searches for a way to escape.

I rate this book 3.75 stars our of 5.

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Review: "My Name Is Lucy Barton" by Elizabeth Strout, 2016

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"My Name Is Lucy Barton" by Elizabeth Strout, 2016

"My Name Is Lucy Barton" was published in 2016 and quickly landed at the top of the Times best-seller list and adapted into a one-woman play starring Laura Linney. A compact novel meditating on family bonds over the years and the tacitly tragic ways they stretch and break.

The novel's narrator, Lucy, is implied to be a person searching in the dark of her childhood poverty and neglect for the sources of her adult resilience and vulnerabilities. The pellucid voice of the narrator did not have every detail sharply drawn, but a canvas with enough lines and intelligence that readers can inhabit the character.

It might be worth noting that I read "Oh William!" right before reading this novel. "Oh William!" is a sequel, and so I think my experience with this book might be slightly different from someone who has read the books in the correct order.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

#ElizabethStrout #MyNameIsLucyBarton #AmgashSeries

From Wikipedia:

Growing up in a dysfunctional household, Lucy Barton had a difficult childhood. Her father was abusive and while her mother loved Lucy, she was unable to protect her or her siblings from their father's mercurial mood swings and violent nature. As a result Lucy would frequently take solace in reading, which led her to realize that she wanted to become a writer. When she came of age, Lucy quickly fled the family home. Years later Lucy is hospitalized after she develops an infection following an operation. During her stay, her mother comes to visit and the two reconnect after years of not speaking to one another.

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Review: "Oh William!" by Elizabeth Strout, 2021

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Oh William!" by Elizabeth Strout, 2021

The compact novel packs mesmerizing prose and a richly layered narrative of marriage and divorce, grief and sadness, and strength and fragility borne of the human condition. Strout's constant weaving of new threads alongside the story's main fabric was so elegant and natural that it was easy to follow. 

"Oh William!" is a quiet, character-driven novel. Ultimately the story is a reflection on the very nature of our existence and the subtle forces that hold us together.

Initially thinking I might find the story unrelatable, I was surprised to learn there are some parallels. I'm happy I gave this book a chance, and I look forward to reading other works by Pulitzer Prize winner Strout.

I rate this book 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Plot (Non-Spoilery)

In Oh William! Lucy, now 64, is mourning the death of her beloved second husband, a cellist named David Abramson. She finds some welcome distraction in revisiting her relationship with her first husband, William Gerhardt, the philandering father of her two grown daughters.

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Review: Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki, 2021

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki, 2021

This novel ticks a lot of boxes for me; diverse LGBTQIA+ characters, science-fiction, a Faustian deal with the devil, Asian culture and characters, a touch of fantasy, Star Trek and Stargate references, purple aliens, chosen family, immigrant culture, violins, and multiple cities in Los Angeles' San Gabriel Valley (referencing Monterey Park, Temple City, El Sereno, etc.). 

The story centers around Katrina, a runaway transgender youth who ends up in the care of Shizuka in the San Gabrel Valley area of Los Angeles. Shizuka mentors Katrina's prodigal talents with the violin while helping her navigate growing up transgender. Then there's a starship masquerading as a donut shop captained by Lan Tran and her crew, which includes a hologram who eventually gets a "mobile emitter"  (Star Trek reference).

At first, I wasn't sure how a Faustian deal with a demon on Earth would work in a science-fiction setting with aliens embroiled in some galactic battle. Still, the author made all these seemingly disparate components work together and flow into a beautifully knitted fabric.

The book is just lovely and terrific all around, and I rate it 4.93 stars out of 5.00 stars.

From Wikipedia:

Shizuka Satomi is the world's best violin teacher, known for coaching virtuosos who meet tragic ends. Years ago, she struck a deal with a demon that she would deliver seven souls to hell. To do this, she coaches ambitious violin students, then offers them fame and renown in exchange for their souls. Satomi has delivered six souls already, and with a year left on her contract, she needs one more student. She finds that student in Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender prodigy with little formal training.

As Satomi teaches Nguyen, she also meets Lan Tran, a starship captain and refugee disguised as a doughnut shop owner, who has brought her family to Earth to escape war and a deadly plague. The two strike up a tenuous flirtation, but their budding romance is imperiled by Satomi's deal with the demon and Tran's tumultuous galactic past.

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Review: The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century by Olga Ravn, 2020

The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century by Olga Ravn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The Employees" by Olga Ravn, 2020

Shortlisted for the International Booker prize, "The Employee" is a Danish science-fiction satire. The book, written as a series of statements in place of chapters, is made by the crew of a starship-- some of which are human, some artificial, and some somewhere in-between. As the starship heads to investigate the effects of some strange objects on some planet, the crew starts to manifest certain behaviors that question what is to be human.

Equally strange as it is fascinating, this novel is undoubtedly brilliant and unusual. Getting through the material was relatively quick, and though the gaps between the "statements" were not too far that a reader cannot bridge events, in its entirety, the story leaves more questions than answers.

I think if you enjoyed the 2022 AppleTV+ series "Severance," this book might be for you.

I rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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Review: The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, by Janelle Monáe, 2022

The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, by Janelle Monáe, 2022

I'm such a Janelle Monáe fan that I really wanted to love this book and would have even settled for liking it if it was just meh. Unfortunately, I couldn't persevere anymore after getting to the eighty-two (82) percent mark and had to put the book down and put it in my "did-not-finish" #DNF pile.  

Sixty-two books so far this year (Sept 2022), and this is the first #DNF. Bummer.

I sadly rate this book 1 out 5 stars.  <-- sorry Ms. Monáe

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Review: Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh, 2022

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lapvona, by Ottessa Moshfegh, 2022

Lapvona is a dystopic dramedy (can I call it that?) novel set in the Middle Ages--sprinkled with a bit of magic and a lot of gross absurdities. Lapvona is a minor fiefdom somewhere in medieval Europe ruled by a spoiled and petulant schemer Lord Villiam. Marek is a boy "disfigured by birth" and adopted by Lord Villiam to replace his recently murdered son Jacob (murdered by Marek). Ina is an ancient and somewhat magical blind woman who, for many years, acted as the town's supernatural nanny, suckling generations of Lapvonians. 

What a delightfully dark novel, full of a devilish cast of characters and depraved predicaments. Once you've made peace with the absurdity, you will find the events and actions of the characters to be humorous. There are no redeemable or likable characters in this book, but they are all entertaining.

The author's voice/style has been described as laconic and flip, with an edge of cruelty, yet, it is entertaining. Lapvona may be grotesque and full of all kinds of human degradation, but it's amusing because it's played for laughs.

If you watch "The Great" on Hulu and enjoy it very much, then Lapvona is should fit right in your eyeholes.  Huzzah! You will love it.

I rate this book 5 Huzzahs out 5 Huzzahs!

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Review: The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, 2021

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, by Matt Cain 2021

The book is an endearing novel about an elderly postman's "coming out story" at such a late age in life set in today's times. Albert is about to retire from the postal service and realizes he hasn't lived much of a life at all. He decides to come out and search for an old flame from nearly 50 years ago to rekindle the fire.

There are plenty of books covering "coming out stories." What sets this one apart is the age of the main character. Albert is in his mid-sixties, never had a boyfriend, and spent almost all his life toiling at work-- his life was his work. When he receives news of his upcoming retirement, he realizes he hasn't done much outside of work and goes through a life crisis. So he embarks on a journey to find his long lost "almost-boyfriend" from almost half a century ago to rekindle the flame- to have a chance to have a life with love.

Though some parts and characters are a bit unrealistic, the story is endearing, told from an interesting point of view, and generally uplifting. My only complaint is that some parts were unnecessarily too long, and with some edits targeting for concision, the book could be a third shorter than its current length and may flow better.

I rate this book 3.85 out of 5 stars.

#LGBTQIA #MattCain #AlbertEntwhistle #ComingOut #Pride

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Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune, 2020

Delightful, timely, and relevant. Though considered fantasy, it's very light on the supernatural aspect and doesn't get bogged down with the mechanics of magic. Some also might consider this work YA, but I preferred to think of it as simply breezy reading. Don't get me wrong,  allusions to the struggles of LGBTQIA+  folks are there, just not shoved in your face. What is heavy-handed, however, is the mushy and hallmark channel romance-- which I am not complaining about.

The cast of characters is diverse, even by current standards. Themes of "chosen family" and love are elegantly handled. The protagonist Linus Baker, and the entire cast of main characters, for that matter, are lovable. All in all, an uplifting fantasy with a positive message for adults and the young.

I rate this book 4.75 out of 5 stars.

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Review: The Candy House

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Candy House, Jennifer Egan, 2022

The novel is a sequel of sorts to the 2011 Pulitzer prize-winning "A Visit from the Goon Squad." While it's not necessary to have read the former to understand the latter, there may be some benefit in doing so if you want a fuller set of details for some of the characters appearing later in the book.

It's hard to describe this book as a whole other than a collection of loosely connected short stories centering around a Black-Mirror-ish world where human memories are recorded and, at times, reviewed. "Own Your Consciousness" is a technology that allows people to upload a life's worth of memories — even long-forgotten ones — share them in a collective archive and access others'.-- kind of like all the social media apps integrated into one and pumped up on super steroids.

There are so many characters that it may have made sense to take notes to make it easier to see the connections to the other stories in the book. Some characters were exciting and memorable, while others were forgettable. The same applies to the set of stories-- in fact, it may be better to describe them as vignettes were it not for the fact there were time jumps, location jumps, and sometimes both.

I dare hazard that I understand what the author is trying to do as a whole with the book, but the moirée of stories was just too jarring going from one to the next. Don't get me wrong, the book was written well and a pleasure to read, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if the stories weren't so seemingly disconnected by the order in which they were placed.

Lulu, the spy, was my favorite story, followed by the story of the heroin-addicted woman.

I rate the book 3.25 out of 5 stars.

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