Sept & Oct 2020 Books Round Up

Like much of USA, I have been glued to the television and phone over the last few days. Afraid that this might become an unhealthy habit, I determined that a good distraction was in order. So here I am attempting to do a round-up of all the books I read in the last two months, with the hope I might pick another shortly.

Kiddo started school and work picked up pace, so reading was SLOW.  Writing even more so, hence this really delayed post.

Through September & October I finished four books worth talking about covering a wider variety of genres–detective novel, fantasy, political/historic novel, and a non-fiction book on female friendships. Almost all were underwhelming except one, the South Korean novel ‘The Old Garden’ which I highly recommend.

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz  (3/5)

The first book in the series introduces us to the character of the secretive, exasperating, and disturbingly homophobic Detective Hawthorne. Horowitz is a fan of literary detectives, and where Magpie Murders was all about paying homage to Agatha Christie, here we find ourselves in an updated version of Sherlock & Watson. With Horowitz playing the starring role of Watson, an unwitting and unwilling transcriber to the adventures of Hawthorne. The gimmick unfortunately does not make up for the tepid mystery, which is nothing like the intricate, engaging plot of Magpie Murders. Overall, the whole meta-format of Horowitz is distracting and doesn’t really add to the storyline.

 Big Friendship by Aminatou Sou & Ann Friedman (3/5)

The writers have been friends for over a decade, and it’s their personal experience that drives a lot of their discourse on the meaning of adult friendships. The most resonant message in the book is that we should treat friendships at par with other familial relationships. They provide the same support and require the same kind of work – and when that effort doesn’t happen, friendships fall apart. Both the writers are not sociologists, so while there are references to studies and experts, there is no other data except purely anecdotal, which means this book lacks depth. A long essay on the subject would have conveyed the same message versus a full-length book.

Thinblade by David Wells (2/5)

So I have been going through a fantasy phase, which thankfully this book might have helped kill. I am not being snarky, and it’s not that bad a book 😊. It’s first of a seven-book epic fantasy series set in a fictional land, where a prince discovers that he is the chosen to fight an evil that has risen after two thousand years. Thus begins his quest to arm himself with knowledge and weapons to defeat this new evil.  The plot is decent, the pacing uneven, but it’s the characters that really let everyone down. From the hero to the villain, everyone is predictable and bland. While the story kept me flipping through the page, at the end I didn’t really care for anyone or what happens next.

The Old Garden by Hwang Sok-Yong (4/5)

By far the best thing I read in the last two months. This South Korean novel is set up in the time frame of the infamous Gwangju Uprising of 1980. The story centers on the life of a fugitive activist, the love of his life and the democratic revolution throbbing through the university and factory networks of the country. Eye-opening, romantic, political, and beautifully written, Hwang’s novel gives us the glimpse into the meaning of being a revolutionary. A really great pick for my Around The World series.

So what did you read in the last few months? Any recommendations?

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