My TBR Book Jar became one of the victims of my decision back in September to put all my reading projects and plans on hold. Using this method of choosing what book from my TBR to read next, worked really well initially but by the middle of last year I started to let it all slide. So I never got around to reading any of the choices between July and November and never even dipped into the jar in December.
That was then. Now we’re in a new year and I’m ready to give the TBR Book Jar another go.
So here are the three titles I’ve picked at random from the jar this month. As a reminder, the idea is to select one of these books and read it within the next two months.
Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Richard Flanagan
This is one of several novels by Flanagan that have lingered on my shelves for several years. I was lucky enough to win them in a giveaway hosted by Kim of Reading Matters who is an expert on Flanagan’s work. I don’t know why I haven’t been reading them because I’ve loved everything I’ve read by him so far.The synopsis of Living Sea of Waking Dreams reminds me of the deeply unsettling novella, The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, where objects and even body parts begin to disappear.
Flanagan’s novel is set “In a world of perennial fire and growing extinctions, Anna’s aged mother is dying—if her three children would just allow it. Condemned by their pity to living she increasingly escapes through her hospital window into visions of horror and delight.When Anna’s finger vanishes and a few months later her knee disappears, Anna too feels the pull of the window. She begins to see that all around her others are similarly vanishing, but no one else notices.“
Secret Lives by E F Benson
Wikipedia describes this as a comedy novel by a British writer best known as the author of the Mapp and Lucia series. Apparently the structure is broadly similar to that series, “featuring two strong-willed women battling for social supremacy in the fictitious Durham Square in Edwardian London.” I have no idea why I bought this since I’ve never read any of the Mapp and Lucia titles and switched off the TV adaptation after 30 minutes.
Girl with Seven Names by Hyonseo Lee
A 2016 memoir of girl who escaped from North Korea to China when she was seventeen years old. It took twelve years before she was able to be re-united with her family.
And the vote goes to …….
The memoir is my least favourite of this trio. I don’t want to diminish her story but I’ve already read two similar accounts so I’m not convinced this is going to add very much more to be appreciation of the sheer brutality of the North Korean regime nor the courage it takes to escape. The Benson could be amusing but could also be very silly. So picking a book isn’t a difficult decision this time — it has to be Richard Flanagan.
Let me know if you agree/disagree with my choice. If you’ve read the Benson tell me whether you think it’s silly or cleverly humorous.
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