Reviews and Comments

This was incredibly good. I was totally transported into a time and place that I know very little about, and feel changed by the experience, which is pretty much the crux of why I like reading.

Learning more about the author, his perspective on writing the book and how it intervenes in contemporary Brazilian politics has also been cool (one of many interesting interviews/articles: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2023-09/reading-to-coexist-a-conversation-with-itamar-vieira-junior-ana-laura-malmaceda/)

This book is so much harder than the other ones. And soo much longer. Also the first half is translated by a different person? I am struggling a bit.

Last time I read this was at least 15 years ago, its weirder and even more fun than I remembered.

LFG

That's right, finished the book at the gig

Didn't love this but at least it was short. Beautifully written but probably more interesting for someone who isn't totally obsessed with space/the ISS. Kind of expected more, I picked it cause it was shortlisted for Booker. That said it was a pretty relaxing read as someone who like, rewatches Cosmos to stave off panic attacks.

WENDY IS PERFECT

Didn't quite fill the Kristin Lavrandsdattir-sized hole in my heart but i binged this audiobook in a day while repainting my room and it was a certain type of fun

This book fucks

It was good! There was a plot point early on that kind of fucked with my suspension of disbelief and bugged me like a splinter the whole rest of the read, and some neatness in the plot that I wasn't totally buying/in the mood for. But I'm a sucker for expert prose, subtly handled subject matter, and readability so it won me over.

Read this because I wanted to recommend it to a few people (based on some interviews I heard while she was doing press for the book). A surprisingly enjoyable read, even if I don't align with her politically in a lot of ways and find her a bit insufferable, I do think she lays out a lot of stuff about what's weird about the present moment quite well. Would give to my mom

Death. Dogs. Dogs and humans. Writing. Writers love to write about writing.

First book I've finished in French (I picked the shortest one possible, its like barely a novella lol).