Book collage for November! It was a busy month, but I got a solid mix of books coming off my library hold list.
Down Comes the Night, by Allison Saft: Kind of a disappointment, I’m afraid, especially after Saft’s masterful handling of plot, flow, and characterization in A Far Wilder Magic. Wren Southerland is a soft-hearted healer whose country is locked in a war of mutual destruction with their neighbor Vesria. Through a series of unlikely events, she falls out of favor with the queen and finds herself in a neutral third country where, shockingly, she finds herself healing none other than her greatest enemy: Hal Cavendish, the Reaper of Vesria. In a completely foreseeable plot twist, they fall in love and must work together to bring their countries to peace, against the wishes of a powerful and frankly improbable mutual enemy. Despite Saft’s gorgeous use of language, I found this story stilted, frustratingly unbelievable, and forced. I admit skimming towards the end.
The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty: The Rabbit Hutch is a low-income housing complex in the struggling community of Vacca Vale, Indiana; it’s so named because rabbits don’t do well in close proximity, and neither do humans. Its eccentric cast of inhabitants is gradually tied together by the actions of Blandine, a dreamy, brilliant teenager too smart for her surroundings and too damaged to be anywhere else. The story unfolds over the course of a week, weaving the characters’ pasts into the present, and culminating with an act of sudden violence that feels both completely random and strangely inevitable. Gunty’s writing saves this book, carrying the reader smoothly from page to page and filling even the most mundane of interactions with extra dimension and weirdness.
Six Minutes, by Petronella McGovern: The six titular minutes are how long Lexie Parker was away from her three-year-old daughter Bella, leaving her in the care of the other mums in her Canberra playgroup. The rest of the novel unfolds tensely, with many red herrings as fingers are pointed, speculation runs wild online, and buried secrets come to light. The writing is perfectly workmanlike but nothing special; the plot felt so carefully constructed that you could almost see McGovern’s outline behind it. The portrayal of Lexie’s maternal anxiety was so well done though that I actually wanted to stop reading the book out of sympathetic parental stress. For embassy book club.
Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases, by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, ed.: In this collection of essays, each writer addresses a specific case (or group of cases) argued by the ACLU. Most are laudatory, examining the impact of the ACLU’s efforts and how history was affected; a few respectfully disagree with the ACLU’s stance. The issues are close to the writers’ hearts: racism, immigration, sexism, protection against self-incrimination, indigenous sovereignty… It’s hard to summarize a book as far-ranging and as informative as this, and the writing is almost uniformly amazing, so I’ll just pick a quote out, from the essay “One Will Be Provided for You” by Sergio De La Pava: “Like so much else from that Court around that time — hell, like everything American — it was primarily aspirational, these newly enunciated principles, a statement of who we wish we were. And as with any such statement, reality likes to fight back.” That summarizes the book: the ACLU fights for the best of what we could be, and that fight will never be done.
The Power, by Naomi Alderman: The book begins with young girls discovering they have a new power: they can emit electricity from their fingers, meaning that their mere touch can cause agony or even death. With this development, the world shifts: men slowly become subservient to women who can suddenly overpower them; women stronger in the power exert their will over those who are weaker; things, in short, do not go well. Alderman’s narrative follows four women, whose stories take turns being interesting; she intersperses their tales with news briefs that illustrate the state of the world. With the shifting power dynamic, Alderman throws a mirror up to rape culture but makes a harsh prediction: those with power, even those who should know better, are more likely than not to use it to abuse those who are weaker.
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, by Stephanie Barron: Barron imagines Jane Austen as an accidental detective, a sort of Regency-era Nancy Drew. Jane goes to a friend’s party and wakes up the next morning to find that her friend’s new husband has suffered an untimely death. Fingers are pointed, creditors appear out of nowhere, and Jane is called upon to prove her friend’s innocence. The story is told in epistolary form, in letters between Jane and her sister; the narrative makes occasional reference to historical details from Austen’s actual life. It works well enough but it made me uncomfortable; I’ve never been a fan of real person fanfiction and that’s what this felt like. I think it would have been just as good with a heroine not named Jane Austen, but maybe it wouldn’t have gotten as much attention.
Raw Dog: the Naked Truth About Hot Dogs, by Jamie Loftus: I thought this would be a book about hot dogs, the making thereof, and their significance in American history, and this book does indeed cover that in unflinching detail, down to the punishing conditions faced not only by animals but by abused slaughterhouse workers. However, what this book is mostly about is Loftus and her cross-country journey through 2021 America, consuming hot dogs while obsessing about whether or not she should be wearing a mask, and whether or not she’ll be safe in mostly-maskless hot dog production and consumption zones. It’s gonzo journalism meets 2020s tell-all blogging meets fiercely anticapitalist critique of the hot dog industry, except Loftus also really loves finding a good hot dog combined with a good hot dog stand origin story. If you want hot dog facts and history, interwoven tightly with Loftus’s relationship with her boyfriend slowly falling apart during a hot dog-focused road trip across America, this book is for you.
Bookshops and Bonedust, by Travis Baldree: If you loved the fantasy cottagecore vibe of Baldree’s first book, Legends and Lattes, then this is the book for you! This prequel focuses on Viv, a young orc reluctantly sidelined with an injury and stuck in a small town while she recovers. She wanders into the town’s ratty bookstore and is expertly reeled in by the proprietor, who gets her addicted to reading. By way of payment Viv starts taking an interest in the bookstore, first sprucing it up with a little floor repair, and then gradually helping it to become the kind of indie bookstore that readers know and love. There’s also a cute romance and just enough danger to keep reminding you that Viv is a warrior orc with fearsome enemies. Baldree has really found his niche in cozy fantasy writing, and I am here for anything else he publishes.
Starlings, by Jo Walton: A collection of short stories and poems, mostly speculative fiction. In the introduction, Walton is up front about how difficult she finds short-form writing to be; she naturally gravitates towards long narrative works, and indeed some of the short stories feel like either extended thought experiments or first chapters. It’s all enjoyable writing though, and to my surprise I particularly liked the poems. I loved “The Death of Petrarch,” where Petrarch passes away peacefully while reading and finds himself in an afterlife where books are endlessly available and he reads forever into eternity, constantly filled with delight; “Advice to Loki,” where she tells a bitter young god to just chill and take the long view, was also one of my favorites.
Illuminations, by T. Kingfisher: Kingfisher’s fantasy novels are reliably delightful. Young Rosa Mandolini belongs to a family of artists, painters of magical illuminations; however, competition is increasing and business is getting tight. Rosa’s magic has yet to develop, so she spends her time painting fiercely fanged radishes and imagining adventures. One day she finds a magical box and frees an enchanted crow; unfortunately, she also frees the Scarling, a creature of spite and an ancient enemy of the Mandolini family. As the Scarling wreaks havoc and threatens to break the magical bonds holding the city together, Rosa must find a way to save her family’s future. Super sweet and heartwarming, adventure and magic wound about with Kingfisher’s signature humor and heart. Exciting enough to entertain adults; sweet and wholesome enough to recommend to middle-grade readers. If I had room for tons of books, I’d get a physical copy for my kids.
Christmas is Murder, by Val McDermid: For embassy book club, a collection of Christmassy murder stories. Most of these don’t necessarily take place at Christmas, but winter is a constant; so is the murder (or at least a heinous crime). McDermid is a perfectly good writer and knows how to craft a story; some are better than others (I really liked the one about Bonfire Night! Short and sweet with an excellent punchline) but all are readable and flow smoothly.