Yes, “The Sky Fisherman” by Craig Lesley. Craig Lesley rocks! My favorite one of his novels is “Winterkill.”
Just read “Little Bee” by Cliff Cleave. One of the best I’ve read this year…
Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
By Barbara Demick
Followed the lives of ordinary North Koreans over a 15 year period. Fascinating look at the totalitarian regime and the impact on the people there. It is Orwell come to life. “Nothing to Envy” is a phrase in propoganda posters indicating that the North Korean people have nothing to envy in the world, because North Korea is the best country in the world.
Thanks for the list on page 65!
I’d like to add another vote for, “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” Beautifully written as a series of letters, the book tells the story of endurance through WWII with some horribly sad parts, yet they are told by quirky and lovable characters thru their own eyes and with their own shadings. I read it through once and loved it, feeling it was a fairly light-hearted book due to the writing style. There were times I laughed out loud. Then re-read it and realized how terribly sad parts of it were. I loved the characters and was so hoping for a sequel… then I read that the author had died shortly after the manuscript was purchased, and her niece finished the re-writes for her.
What a wonderful book, I’m so glad it was recommended to me.
“The Lotus Eaters” by Tatjana Soli…amazing! So sad to be done…need a new fix!
On the topic of North Korea, I recently read The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag by Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot. It is the true story of a man who grew up in a North Korean prison camp before escaping to China and then South Korea. The writing style isn’t the greatest (I believe it is a double translation–from Korean to French to English), but the story is fascinating. Not for those with weak stomachs. (It will change your definition of “food”. . .) I’ve read many WWII prison camp memoirs (don’t know why this topic interests me)–but it makes me sick that this is still going on today. A real eye-opener.
I just finished “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro (he wrote The Remains of the Day). It was a very interesting book about clones that are bred for donations purposes. It really kept my interest. The movie, based on this novel is coming out pretty soon (since I have already seen a brief trailer somewhere).
Yes, atomom, the definition of “food” in the Nothing to Envy book is also eye opening. Many North Koreans starved to death during the period the book covers. The gulags are mentioend, but none of the people profiled ended up in them. It is astonishing what human beings can stay alive on when they have to…
I just finished Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. About a girl adopted from India and the life she left behind- I really enjoyed it.
Room by Emma Donoghue a book written from the perspective of a 5 year old. He and his mom are held captive. really good book hard to put down.
sorry just saw the Room comments on the previous page
seiclan – I enjoyed reading Never Let Me Go while I was reading it, but once I turned the final page I realized that it left me cold.
Finished a wonderful book, Richard Harvelle’s The Bells. It is about a boy with a deaf mother who rings the bells in a tiny Swiss village. Instead of losing his own hearing, he develops perfect pitch. After being rescued by a pair of itinerant monks, he starts to sing in an abbey choir and is unwillingly made a eunuch to preserve his voice. Magical historical novel.
Just read The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud. I didn’t see the movie, and from what I read of reviews online, it’s just as well. I though the book was a pretty entertaining story.
I’ve gotten great suggestions from here- thanks!
Loved -The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
Liked more then I thought I would- the Other side of the bridge
I was shocked when this was the suggestion in my very serious book club - until I read (and loved) it…
The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman-The blurb on the back cover compares Goodman to Jane Austen, but this novel is more expansive in the manner of the Victorians like George Eliot and Anthony Trollope. The “historical” period is from the height of the dot.com bubble to just after 9/11 and the characters include entrepreneurs, academics, environmental activists, and Orthodox Jews.
This is a thread I could spend my life in!
The best book I have read in the last 6 months is The Terror, by Dan Simmons.
Not as scary as it sounds and SO good!!
Also the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is hilariously good.
Just finished The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver- would recommend for anyone who is familiar with Frida Kahlo. Learned so much about Trotsky, The Bonus Marchers War, America during WW2…
“This is a thread I could spend my life in!” I hear ya RiceOwl
I’m just finishing WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel and have really enjoyed it. Not an easy read, but a very interesting piece of historical fiction. I am a bit of an Anglophile and particularly like reading about Tudor/Victorian era.
Has anyone read We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver? It’s a fictional account of what it’s like to be the parent of a student who brutally murders several classmates and a teacher at his school. It is beautifully written but unremittingly disturbing. This excerpt from a review I read is a good description.