recently_read no reason julian barnes' "the sense of an ending." i liked it, and it was relatively unpredictable, but in my opinion kind of overhyped. 130826 ... gja Try his first novel - Metroland. 130826 ... epitome of incomprehensibility Thank you! Seriously, thank you! I was trying to figure out what to do when reading_now wouldn't apply, and my slow little brain hadn't yet stumbled upon the possibility of creating a new page. The latest book I read - The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine, by Alina Bronsky (translated from German to English by Tim Mohr) - I quite admired. It was both complex and a fast read, that is, I felt like I wanted to keep reading. Great narration, great translation. The book takes place from around the 1970s to the present. It starts in Soviet Russia, where the narrator discovers her teenage daughter is pregnant, and it ends in Germany, when the narrator's granddaughter is an adult and various upheavals have occurred. The best thing about it is the narrator, Rosalinda. She's tough and determined, and this attitude propels the book. The thing is, she's sure she knows what's best for other people too. Sometimes her manipulation can be downright manipulative, but sometimes it can be lifesaving. She hardly ever realizes her own faults, which is both frightening and very, very funny. Or at least it appeals to my sense of humour. And I like it when families are written about without excessive bitterness or mushiness. There are some gruesome bits near the beginning, but they don't really reflect the tone of the rest of the book. 130828 ... e_o_i word check "Sometimes her manipulation can be downright manipulative" indeed. I meant to write "downright abusive." But I guess manipulation is manipulative too. And redundancy is redundant. 130828 ... no reason the goldfinch by donna tartt. to say donna tartt is good at descriptions (of characters, places, thoughts, mundane objects) is the biggest understatement ever. and her writing style is rich and layered and easy to sink into. only, the book had too much of the same description, and parts seemed extraneous. the same happened with tartt's previous book, 'the little friend,' to an extreme degree (i couldn't get through it, which was surprising and disappointing, since 'the secret history' is one of my favourite books). i think she needs a better editor. it's definitely worth reading, though. some people think it's a masterpiece. i think parts of it are. 140106 ... raze a few things that didn't make it onto the what_are_you_reading blathe while they were being read, because sometimes i get lazy: silk (alessandro baricco) a tale of unrequited love with a twist. i thought this little period piece was pretty slight, if artfully written, until the end. the big reveal feels less like trickery and more like the truth of being human and failing to see what's right in front of you. the archive is all in present tense (elizabeth hoover) a beautifully immersive and form-warping book of poetry that's alive with ideas and invention and so much heart. there's a strong sense of place — a feeling of being physically present in the archive and moving through it as its vastness is revealed. fifteen poems (bobbie_louise_hawkins) i prefer bobbie's prose, but she was an incredible poet too. this is worth it just for "the thought that was called helen", which digs into the treatment of women in greek mythology. one of the most powerful poems i've ever read, i think. xylotheque (yelizaveta p. renfro) a series of linked essays that explore the connection between the natural world and lived experience. gorgeous and moving and brave. this bit got me good: "there is much more to know about people than what shows on the surface. they grow a thick membrane, enclosing each sorrow, containing it, cutting it off from the living parts; after enough sorrows if you were to slice the person open, you might see rings like in a tree, but with both a person and a tree you must destroy the thing to see its core." the whole stupid way we are (n. griffin) i tore through this faster than i thought i was capable of reading anything at this point in my life. finished it last night. it eviscerated me. i'll be thinking about skint and dinah for a long time. 240814 what's it to you? who go blather from