Last month’s choice from my monthly dip into the TBR Book Jar proved fortuitous. I hadn’t planned on taking part in Women in Translation month but then my book jar lucky dip gave me Antonio by the Brazilian author Beatriz Bacher. The stars were clearly in alignment.
What will this month bring me?
As always I’ve used a random number generator to pick three titles from my TBR spreadsheet. From those listed below I’ll pick one to read in the next two months.
The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee
At the age of seventeen Hyeonseo Lee defected from North Korea to China. Although protected from the worst cruelties of the regime because of her privileged family background, she came to question much of what she was told by the country’s leaders. Witnessing the effects of famine in 1990s and increasing repression of her fellow citizens, she decided she had to leave. The Girl with Seven Names is her account of building a new life in China and subsequently South Korea and her attempts to rescue her family.
I’m thinking no.
I’ve read two other memoirs of people defecting from North Korea. Both gave fascinating insights into the brutal dictatorship that rules the country and the challenges facing defectors. I don’t want to diminish Hyeonseo Lee’s experience but I’m not sure that this memoir will offer anything significantly new.
Snow Country by Sebastian Faulks
This is a historical novel spanning the years from 1903 to 1933, encompassing political turbulence, a world war and the subsequent rise of the right wing in Austria.
I’m unsure about this one. I was a fan of Sebastian Faulks in his early days as an author but the enthusiasm hasn’t continued through to his more recent work . I’m drawn to the historical context of this novel but there seems to be a strong romance element which doesn’t appeal.
The Little Hotel by Christina Stead
I would never have heard of Christina Stead but for the bloggers from Australia I follow such as Lisa of ANZlitlovers and Kim at Reading Matters.
The Little Hotel, published in 1976 is one of her later books, Although born in Australia she spent most of her writing life in Europe and the United States. In the case of this novel, she chose a setting in Switzerland with a tale based on the day to day events of a small hotel as seen through the eyes of its young proprietress.
I’m thinking…. definitely want to read this. I wonder how it will stack up to that other Swiss hotel novel, Anita Brookner’s Hotel du Lac.
Decision Time
For once the decision on which book to read first is an easy one. I’m voting for The Little Hotel. Have also decided that I won’t keep The Girl with Seven Names . I’ve had it on the shelves for five years and haven’t once been drawn to read it. Tomorrow I shall take it to my local National Trust property for their secondhand bookshop.
Let me know if you agree/disagree with my choice. If you’ve read any of these books do let me know what you thought.
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