My reading last month took me behind the Iron Curtain and into outer space with side excursions to a sinister factory and a pestilence-ridden religious community, I even managed to get a head start on Novellas in November. So a good month all round.
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Favourite Book of the Month
Orbital by Samantha Harvey is the shortest book on the Booker Prize shortlist for 2024 but it’s so full of ideas and reflections that it took me quite a while to finish. Harvey hones in on six astronauts aboard an international space station as it orbits the Earth, sixteen complete turns in a single day. There isn’t a plot as such — no emergencies or conflicts between the crew for example — we just follow them as they undertake various daily tasks and experiments and gain an insight into their thoughts about planet Earth, mankind’s position within the universe and the future of space travel. It’s a beautiful, hypnotic piece of writing.
This has been chosen as a buddy read by the hosts of Novellas in November — to join this, check out the details at 746books.com
The strangest book of the month is another novella — The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada. It’s a surreal narrative about three young people who get jobs at the biggest employer in town. A place so vast it resembles a city with its own bus service, restaurants and houses for workers. A place where people are tasked with mundane jobs that seem to have no purpose and strange black birds breed along the river.
The Ones That Got Away
There was only one DNF this month — things are looking up! The Librarianist by Patrick de Witt was the book club choice for October. In my September 2024 post I said ” I hope it’s not going to be twee.” Well it was. Part 1 is about a former librarian who finds a new purpose in life when he becomes a volunteer at an old people’s home. Everyone he encounters is “a character” and they blossom through contact with Bob Comet (what a dreadful name). After that the book goes back in time to show how Bob’s marriage came to an end with his wife ran off with his best mate. But by then I’d had more than enough.
The Newcomers
No purchases at all this month but I still welcomed some newcomers to the bookshelves.
One of the members of our walking group gave me a copy of The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. I love how this group has evolved into an informal book group with many of us swapping books each week. In Quinn’s novel. three friends reunite to solve a mystery connected with the time when they worked on the code-breaking operations at Bletchley Park during World War 2.
From the library I picked up The Safe Keep by Yael Van Der Wouden, a contender for this year’s Booker Prize. so I’m hoping to get to this one before the judges announce their decision. it’s set in a rural Dutch Province 15 years after the end of World War 2 where a woman’s quiet life is disturbed when her brother’s new girlfriend turns up as a guest. The Booker judging panel described the book as “An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and homes – and the legacy of one of the 20th century’s greatest tragedies” though I’ve seen commentary that there’s a mystery element which doesn’t quite work.
The other library issue is one I’m really looking forward to reading. And So I Roar by Abi Daré is a follow up to The Girl With The Louding Voice which was one of the most outstanding books I read in 2021. The new one picks up on the story of Adunni after her escape from the home of Big Madam who treated her as a skivvy. Adunni is now living in Lagos and about to begin school so she can pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. Those plans are thwarted when she is dragged back to her home village.
That’s all for this month. I’ve been very slow with reviews lately but am hoping to catch up soonish…..
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