
An especially enjoyable reading month. A lot of Rachel Cusk and a stellar book of the month.
1. The Sparrow
— Mary Doria Russell
The author later described it as ‘Jesuits in Space’. Great speculative sci-fi. Sometimes a little cheesy, but otherwise a warm-hearted, intelligent, compelling page-turner with an unexpected and brutal conclusion. My book of the month. And there’s a sequel, Children of God, which I’ve just ordered.
5. Convenience Store Woman
— Sayaka Murata
Quirky and fun. Will read more by this author, beginning with Earthlings.
7. Outline
— Rachel Cusk
The first in Cusk’s Outline trilogy. Intelligent, human, thought-provoking.
‘Reading these novels, it is easy to forget that the true power lies with Cusk, who has chosen to submit her character to such a radical experiment in passivity, and to respond to the chatty, descriptive tradition of the naturalistic English novel with deliberately wrought formalism and silence.’ – The New Yorker
July 2024 reading stats
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