I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last Sample Sunday post. I could have sworn it was just a month ago but when I checked, it was actually in August. How on earth did that happen???
At least I can be sure that I’ll reach the end of the alphabet before this year is out since I have just three letters remaining. This week I dug into my list of unread books (physical and electronic) all beginning with the letter Y.
Out of these three, which should I keep and which should I let go unread.
is when I dig into my virtual and physical TBR, trying to decide which books to keep and which to let go. The idea is to help make sure I am giving shelf space to books I’m genuinely interested in reading. I’m now onto books whose titles begin withe letter W. i know we still have a few days of summer remaining but the shelves tell me it’s winter…..
Frog by Mo Yan
i think I bought this when I embarked on my quest to read books from 50 different countries. The background to the novel is the “one child policy” implemented in China from the late 1970s as a way of reducing population increases. Yan tells this story through a village midwife whose loyalty to the Communist Party comes under scrutiny when her lover defects. To prove her allegiance, she decides to strictly enforce the one-child policy, keeping tabs on the number of children in the village, and performing abortions on women as many as eight months pregnant.
The Verdict: There isn’t going to be much joy in this novel that’s for sure but I think the topic is important enough to make me want to keep it.
Moving Parts by Prabda Yoon
This is a collection of short stories from a Thai author that apparently “illuminate the strangeness of modern cultural life in Bangkok. Disarming the reader with surprising charm, intensity and delicious horror, he explores what it means to have a body, and to interact with those of others.”
The Verdict: I’m not a lover of short stories and this description isn’t exciting me so I’ll release this one to a charity shop.
Chatterton Square by E H Young
Ali of the HeavenAli book blog is far more familiar with Virago authors than I am so when she says of Chatterton Square that it’s almost certainly E H Young’s best novel,” I sit up and pay attention! Ali describes it as a “complex, multi-layered and fantastically readable novel” about fastidious Mr. Blackett who rules his home, wife and three daughters with a gloomy and niggardly spirit. A new neighbour moves into the house next door, her unconventional behaviour and lifestyle repelling yet also fascinating Mr Blackett. Changes in the months leading up to the Second World War, are intensified by the certainty that nothing can be taken for granted.
The Verdict: Keep! I don’t have to ponder too long over this — it sounds wonderful. Maybe the ideal book to have on hand for the slump after Christmas Day lunch?
What do you think of the decisions I’ve reached? I could do with some insight from people who have read any of these books. So please help me out by leaving a comment