This excellent first novel is an exciting adventure story. Set in 1925, action takes place in Shanghai, Saigon, and various locations in Cambodia. A disparate group led by a woman, Irene Blum, search for a lost Khmer temple. This is Indiana Jones-style archeology, meaning the objective is temple looting. What elevates this adventure story are discussions about the moral issues of looting and removal of treasures from their home location, and the lingering effects of French colonialism in SE Asia. Descriptions of jungle travel (heat, insects, snakes …) are vivid. Thanks Joyce, for this recommendation.
They Called Us Enemy – George Takei, with Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker
A graphic memoir of the Takei’s family incarceration into internment camps with other Japanese Americans from 1942-45. The stark black and white illustrations are particularly effective in showing the injustice of racism applied to innocent families. Indeed, the political rationale for these incarcerations is appalling. This racial injustice also happened in Canada, an important reminder of how mass hysteria can lead to overt racism. Thanks Rhoddy, for this gift.
Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel
Another brilliant book by Ms. Mandel, a sweeping epic that spans from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a moon colony in 2401. Intriguingly, there are links to Mandel’s previous novel, The Glass Hotel, and to post-pandemic literature in general. And there is an author on a book tour and a time traveller. Absorbing and immersive, this is a fantastic futuristic novel that eerily captures our current reality. Highly recommended.
The Paradox Hotel – Rob Hart
A fascinating speculative-fiction story: the time is 2072 and the place: The Einstein Intercontinental Time-Port and associated Paradox Hotel. Yes, there is time travel for tourists, to visit, for example, Ancient Egypt or the Triassic Period. January Cole works for the Time Enforcement Agency providing hotel security and she has an extraordinary caustic and acerbic personality. The story is really about the nature of time, but also grief and memory. And there are murders, dinosaurs and maybe ghosts: a thrilling read.
The Dictionary of Lost Words – Pip Williams
Full Disclosure: this fabulous book is about two of my favourite things; words and Oxford. The story covers the more than 40-year feat to assemble the Oxford English Dictionary (1886-1928). Words selected for dictionary entry are given context, mainly by white Victorian men. Esme is first brought to the Scriptorium as a young child by her widowed father, a lexicographer. She begins to collect “women’s words”, first those discarded by the male lexicographers and later from conversations with women. And this awareness of the importance of the context for words is influenced by the suffragette movement. A great story – highly recommended but be prepared for some very sad moments.
Still Life – Sarah Winman
Ms. Winman writes inspired novels (When God Was a Rabbit, A Year of Marvellous Ways, Tin Man). Her new book is a love letter to Florence and to Italian life in general. There is love of art, great food and wine, and love between humans with all its complications. The lives of diverse English people are detailed beautifully over 35 years, from 1944-2009. There are some remarkably eccentric characters that constitute an extended family. This is a “must read” book.
Amy adds: one of my favourites of the year so far – she’s a favourite author.
The Madness of Crowds – Louise Penny
The setting of the 16th Inspector Gamache book returns to Three Pines. Post-pandemic issues dominate, in particular a repulsive social agenda that promotes mandatory state-sanctioned euthanasia for vulnerable groups. What follows is a debate over free speech and academic freedom, that of course escalates into a cracking good murder mystery: a very enjoyable read.
All Adults Here – Emma Straub
This charming book is about complex family relationships – the good, bad and ugly. Astrid has three children and three grandchildren, and lives in the Hudson Valley in New York state. Astrid is somewhat closed and flinty: “She believed pets were useful only in teaching young children about death. She knew this was an unpopular opinion”. This multi-generational story is about delayed adolescence with some persistent poor decision making, but also about love and resilience. Finally, there are some inspired comic situations – highly recommended.
April in Spain – John Banville
Banville is a superb writer, a Booker Prize winner. This book is a mystery, so the key elements are time (early 1950s) and place (Dublin and Northern Spain). Banville writes beautifully descriptive phrases; a character is described by “petulance was a pastime”. With such good writing, the plot exposition becomes subtle and effortless – very enjoyable.
What David Read 