I’m loathe to do another bunch of short reviews, particularly as I have lots to say about some of these books (and a squillion quotes highlighted) but I also know that I’m unlikely to find the time required, so…

Bittersweet by Susan Cain

The subtitle of Cain’s book is ‘How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole’, and Cain uses a number of themes – from art and spirituality to psychology and popular culture – to explore this idea. She begins by trying to pin down what constitutes ‘bittersweet’ and gets caught in describing the companions of ‘bittersweet’ – longing, poignancy, compassion, hurt and sorrow. There were some excellent chapters in this book – I loved the one on music, and the exploration of sadness and compassion from a physiological angle:

…our impulse to respond to other beings’ sadness sits in the same location as our need to breathe, digest food, reproduce, and protect our babies; in the same place as our desire to be rewarded and to enjoy life’s pleasures…. caring is right at the heart of human existence. Sadness is about caring. And the mother of sadness is compassion…

Overall, I think Cain cast the net too widely but that said, I’ll be keeping this one on the shelf for future reference (and have bookmarked this video about empathy).

3/5

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

I had had this book in my reading stack for years and the release of the movie prompted me to read it (because the rule is book before movie, right?). In terms of true-crime, it’s an astounding story, and one that exposes the devastating and long-term impact of systemic racism (the focus is on the Osage Nation in Oklahoma during the 1920s). The first third of the book took a little navigating – a lot of names are introduced and I had a bit of trouble keeping track of who was who. Perhaps that was Grann’s goal – you simply did not know who to trust. But I zipped through the last half of the book and will most certainly see the film.

3/5

Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo

A collection of short stories focused on mostly middle-aged women. The title story is excellent and is precisely what I expect from Taddeo – decisive writing, an incredibly compelling, strong main character, and a brilliant twist. But the remaining eight stories didn’t match the pace set by Ghost Lover, and a couple were noticeably weak. There’s little redemption or hope in any of these stories – that’s not a requirement for me but a whole book of women making poor choices left me flat.

2.5/5

I received my copy of Ghost Lover from the publisher, Avid Reader Press, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Conversion by Amanda Lohrey

I first read Lohrey a few years ago, and was keen to see if The Conversion matched my initial experience. It did. Lohrey writes about places and spaces with extraordinary skill – a totally immersive reading experience. This book has interesting layers (Lisa explores them in her thorough review) – at the face it’s about the conversion of a church into a home but that undersells the guts of this novel – it’s about who we are in a relationship (and who we think we are); it’s about the changes that life-stages force upon us; and it’s about grief and anger. I hope this book gets made into a film – it will be visually spectacular.

4/5

I received my copy of The Conversion from the publisher, Text Publishing, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The In-Between by Christos Tsiolkas

Many readers find Tsiolkas too much. Too much sex, too much language, too many repeated themes. I’m not one of those readers. I think his stories are authentic and any discomfort in the reading is of the thought-provoking variety. The In-Between covers Tsiolkas’s favoured themes – class, the immigrant experience, and gay relationships but this story has a tenderness that some of his previous novels have lacked. His dialogue is always good but the dinner party scene midway through the book is one of the best scenes I read last year.

4/5

Love in Five Acts by Daniela Krien

I read this novel as part of German Literature Month (initially seduced by the gorgeous cover). It tells the inter-linked stories of five women. The challenge with this structure is that invariably you get the sense that the author has invested in some characters more than others. In this case, the opening story about a woman whose child dies is where Krien delivers – it’s a brutal, heart-breaking piece of writing, and ultimately it was hard to sustain the intensity for the remainder of the book. That said, I very much enjoyed the way Krien linked the characters.

3/5

I received my copy of Love in Five Acts from the publisher, Quercus Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Red Love by Maxim Leo

Also read as part of German Literature Month, Leo’s memoir explores the political beliefs of three generations of an East German family, and more importantly, the experiences that informed those beliefs. I am particularly interested in recent German history (meaning pre-and-post Berlin Wall), so found the latter part of the book, when Leo describes the Wall coming down, engrossing. The earlier sections that dealt with his grandparents’ experiences during WWII got a little bogged down in detail but provided the necessary context for his parents’ stories. The inconsistencies and lack of certainty in East Germany and the power of the Stasi, as described by Leo, make this book a top pick for history enthusiasts.

3.5/5

A Therapeutic Atlas by The School of Life

The subtitle is ‘destinations to inspire and enchant’, and the book is divided into various themes including ‘Places of the Mind’ (imaginary lands); ‘Traveling’ (the role of airports and hotels); ‘Ruins’; ‘Cities’; ‘Agriculture’; and ‘The Sublime’ (awe-inspiring landscapes such as the Sierra Nevada and meteor craters). Much of the text is thought-provoking, if occasionally a little heavy-handed. But did it inspire? I’m not sure. Although I liked the concept of this book, the takeaway message was not particularly ground-breaking – that is, slow down, look around, and appreciate what’s in front of you. Incidentally, two Australian ‘destinations’ are included – the Gap Cliff in Sydney (…the Gap isn’t a place for suicide, it’s a place to work out a better way to live…) and Coburg – yes, the suburb in Melbourne (…how free we would be if only we could liberate ourselves from the belief that there is a centre, that life is elsewhere…).

2.5/5