Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita, trans. Pevear and Volokhonsky. The first thing to say is how glorious the magic is. Just when you think Master has gone mad enough, Bulgakov manages to take it firing off into greater insanity. I loved the chaos and creativity than runs in and around it. As I say … Continue reading It’s Definitely More Than Soviet Satire

Edward E. Baptist, The Half has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism. For obvious reasons, racism is on everyone's mind. Like many people, I wanted to read more about black history, so I chose this to start. I wouldn't say The Half is the greatest work of history I've ever read, … Continue reading Slavery Capitalism

Hiro Arikawa, The Traveling Cat Chronicles, translated by Philip Gabriel. Traveling Cat is about a cat (naturally) whose owner is trying to find him a new home. Nana, the cat, is too clever for this, and manages to find ways to make this impossible. I won't spoil why the man wants to get rid of … Continue reading A Traveling Cat

Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus. Again I'm going to be really quick with this one, because I'm just cruising through as much contemporary magical realism as I can for the sake of my own publishing. My brother recommended Night Circus and mentioned how beautiful he thought Morgenstern's writing was. And it is--she has a knack … Continue reading The Night Circus

Yangsze Choo, The Night Tiger, Flatiron Books, 2019. Gonna be quick because I'm just now cruising through a bunch of things. Basically I liked Night Tiger. I loved the setting and the magic to it, and I loved the appeals to Malaysian folklore and how they ran through the story. There wasn't that much explicit … Continue reading The Night Tiger

Mohsin Hamid, Exit West, Hamish Hamilton, 2017. Mohsin Hamid writes absolutely beautifully. He has these long, elegant sentences that never seem to get cumbersome. I'm sure there are people who would feel differently, but I do really like that kind of writing, and Hamid uses it in such a beautiful way. On multiple occasions reading … Continue reading Exit West

George Saunders, Lincoln in the Bardo, Bloomsbury, 2017. This one will be a little short. I can't say I have that many thoughts on this. I'm reading right now as many books as I can that might resemble mine, as I try to publish. Lincoln is definitely interesting as a concept. "Bardo" is evidently a … Continue reading Lincoln in the Bardo

Toni Morrison, Beloved, Knopf, 1987. My blog doesn't have many readers. That's fine—I don't advertise it. But for this post one of those readers is going to be my best friend. That's awkward, because I didn't really like her favorite book. Sorry, dearo. It's not to say I thought it was objectively bad. There is … Continue reading Beloved

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Penguin Classics, 2000 I read the novel version. I heard from a friend who studies Wilde that there were two versions, one printed in a magazine and then the longer novel version expanded and revised, especially with much of the more homoerotic sections taken out. I have to … Continue reading The Picture of Dorian Gray

Aino Pervik, Kunksmoor ja Kapten Trumm, 1975. Rääkida õigesti eesti kirjandusest ikka ei oska, kuna väga palju lugenud ei ole. Samas väga kerge on olnud, armuda Aino Pervikusse ära. Esimene raamat, mida lugesin ma eesti keeles oli Paula Viiakse Haiglasse, millest ei saa rääkida liiga palju head. Pervik alati otsib seda, kuidas mahtuda miskit peenust … Continue reading Kunksmoor ja Kapten Trumm