Finished Strangers today. I gotta find someone who I can talk to about it! Odd story, but I was pretty captivated.
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I’ve had this recommended by several people so I need to add it to my list.
@abasket , I have been recommending Strangers to friends, always starting by saying “I can’t say why this captivated me the way it did, and although it’s the story of a divorce and the marriage before that, it also just says a lot about how women interact with and are perceived in the world. And yeah, that sounds kinda meh, but somehow, it sucked me right in!”
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I think knowing it’s a true story - at least from her point of view. I won’t spoil anything but will say that a version was first published in the NYT’s Modern Love column if you typically enjoy that - lots of people do! I’m going to look up some reviews and interviews now that I’ve read the book.
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Like @gardenstategal I found Strangers almost inexplicably absorbing even though I knew the story.
There has been a backlash since its publication in part due to Burden’s privileged background and the divulgence of the divorce settlement (IIRC).
I found these two pieces worth reading:
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I disliked Strangers and did not finish. I really didn’t get the hype.
I was lazy and read on kindle. This was a bookclub idea, and I just had a few days to read it. Quick read.
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Just finished “Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts” by Ben Reeves. I really appreciated this book because it was narrated by Death.
That’s what I liked about “The Book Thief”. (I’ve read others commenting that they didn’t like the approach, but to me it was an interesting approach.)
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A bit later than some, I finally got around to reading Isola by Allegra Goodman. It was a very easy, what happens next?, just one more chapter before bed kind of read. At its heart is a true bit of history – Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval was indeed left on an island for 2 years with her lover by her guardian on his way to New France in 1542. The author filled in the details – indeed most of the story, based on other tidbits she found in various accounts and pure conjecture. But it’s quite the story and artfully told. The author apparently did a lot of homework on the era, and it helped create the book’s world.
Highly recommend for anyone looking for a book to get lost in for a while.
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I just started this book today. So far, it is interesting!
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Well, oh my. I just finished “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” and …wow. Isn’t that a sophisticated review? First of all, Zevin is a phenomenal writer. The writing is perfect. I loved it.
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Power outage here, so read “100 Secret Senses” by Amy Tan. I bought it on a whim at Friends of Library book sale. It’s quite interesting.
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Is that the novel about a trip to Burma/Myanmar? If so, I found a copy on the subway and loved it; passed it along to my dad.
No, it’s about a young American woman and her step sister who was born in China.
I’m considering reading The Calamity Club as an audiobook. It’s SUCH a long book and I honestly find 600 pages or whatever daunting as a sit-on-my-behind-and-read activity. As an audiobook while long (28 hours I think?), I can do it over time while walking, gardening, etc.
Those who have read it is there any reason you would not recommend digesting it through audio???
I am currently reading it as an ebook. I need to read it for a book group and the holds list at my library was very long. Hoopla had it with no wait, so I am doing that.
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The friend who recommended the book to me consumed it via audiobook and mentioned liking the various voices. I don’t do audiobooks, so I read via e-book. If I were walking or driving a distance, I do think audiobook would be a good option.
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I have 45 minutes left and I can’t wait for it to be over. Don’t like the voices at all. It’s taken me weeks to get through it, in the meantime I’ve read about 4 books. The story is just ok to me. I thought the same about the length which is why I did audio.
I read Calamity Club on Kindle, starting when I was on vacation, then on the plane and then when back home. I enjoyed it, actually found myself sharing some of the plotline details with my husband. But Yes it is Lonnng (656 pages).
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