Book Post: Bujold, Ishiguro, Shalev, Sapkowki, Fry and Rovelli
1.Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold [Vorkosigan Saga], 71pp
This was an adorable little novella. Told from the perspective of a Vorkosigan Armsman Roic and it is the story of Miles and Ekaterin's wedding, which does not come without deathly threats and some intrigue. It is also a story of Sergeant Taura who comes for the wedding and makes a connection with Roic. It was really fun to see all the guests - some blasts from the past. The main plot twist was a bit predictable but it was good to see how Ekaterin handled it. Plus I loved seeing things from Armsman perspective, so behind the scenes stuff. This was a very fluffy and enjoyable novella.
2.The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, 213pp
A story of a elderly butler going on a driving holiday to visit a housekeeper that used to work at the big house over 20 years ago. As he travels he recalls various memories of her and of his old lord, who was a Nazi sympathizer in the 1930s, trying to reconcile that to what he knew of the man. The language itself is worth it. I knew the plot since I saw the movie long ago and that movie stuck with me. I found the movie much sadder than the book actually - I think the book had slightly more hope at the end. But it was language of the book that just made it worthwhile. Just the way Ishiguro structures this book with subtle on subtle. So much subtext. Our narrator can't admit many things to himself - he is not exactly a reliable narrator to his own feelings - but we can see it and understand it just from little things like dialogue of others. I can see why this book is so highly regarded and it was certainly my favorite January book.
3.My Russian Grandmother and her American Vacuum Cleaner: a family memoir by Meir Shalev [translated from Hebrew], 212pp
A very enjoyable memoir of Shalev's family and his grandmother who loved to keep things clean. It is also a story of family history and family stories, many version of the stories. His grandmother is Russian and passed on a lot of Russian saying. This book was translated from Hebrew to English but a lot of parts felt Russian in structure. An interesting book at Israel of the 40s and 50s and 60s.
4.Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski [translated from Polish, in Russian], [Witcher Book 1] 459pp
The first of the five Witcher novels. A lot of setup. All the chapters feel slightly separated from each other but there is a coherent whole. But clearly a setup. It was nice to meet Ciri properly (we met her as a kid in some short stories) and to get a little more background to the main story. If I didn't like the short story collections or the first TV season, I don't know if I would have stuck with it though. But because I did love the show and I want to know what will happen next, I will continue with the books. I am curious at least.
5. Mythos by Stephen Fry, 383pp
Retelling of the Greek myths written with Stephen Fry's humor. A lot of dialogue is very colloquial. It was a fun book. I read a lot of Greek myths as a kid but some of the stories here were new to me, either just forgotten or never learned. I didn't know that Athena had a mother - I thought she just came out of Zeus' head - but she has a mother. It was fun to reread the myths I remembered well too, they are very well today and flow easily. And of course pretty funny.
6.The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli [translated from Italian], 213pp
The book about the physics of time was written for the popular audience so I could follow it pretty well. It was interesting to learn that only one single equation in fundamental physics contains the variable of time and that is for heat. It is all about us and our perceptions really and how our brain processes memories. I do like books that challenge my brain and that was good to read.
This was an adorable little novella. Told from the perspective of a Vorkosigan Armsman Roic and it is the story of Miles and Ekaterin's wedding, which does not come without deathly threats and some intrigue. It is also a story of Sergeant Taura who comes for the wedding and makes a connection with Roic. It was really fun to see all the guests - some blasts from the past. The main plot twist was a bit predictable but it was good to see how Ekaterin handled it. Plus I loved seeing things from Armsman perspective, so behind the scenes stuff. This was a very fluffy and enjoyable novella.
2.The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, 213pp
A story of a elderly butler going on a driving holiday to visit a housekeeper that used to work at the big house over 20 years ago. As he travels he recalls various memories of her and of his old lord, who was a Nazi sympathizer in the 1930s, trying to reconcile that to what he knew of the man. The language itself is worth it. I knew the plot since I saw the movie long ago and that movie stuck with me. I found the movie much sadder than the book actually - I think the book had slightly more hope at the end. But it was language of the book that just made it worthwhile. Just the way Ishiguro structures this book with subtle on subtle. So much subtext. Our narrator can't admit many things to himself - he is not exactly a reliable narrator to his own feelings - but we can see it and understand it just from little things like dialogue of others. I can see why this book is so highly regarded and it was certainly my favorite January book.
3.My Russian Grandmother and her American Vacuum Cleaner: a family memoir by Meir Shalev [translated from Hebrew], 212pp
A very enjoyable memoir of Shalev's family and his grandmother who loved to keep things clean. It is also a story of family history and family stories, many version of the stories. His grandmother is Russian and passed on a lot of Russian saying. This book was translated from Hebrew to English but a lot of parts felt Russian in structure. An interesting book at Israel of the 40s and 50s and 60s.
4.Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski [translated from Polish, in Russian], [Witcher Book 1] 459pp
The first of the five Witcher novels. A lot of setup. All the chapters feel slightly separated from each other but there is a coherent whole. But clearly a setup. It was nice to meet Ciri properly (we met her as a kid in some short stories) and to get a little more background to the main story. If I didn't like the short story collections or the first TV season, I don't know if I would have stuck with it though. But because I did love the show and I want to know what will happen next, I will continue with the books. I am curious at least.
5. Mythos by Stephen Fry, 383pp
Retelling of the Greek myths written with Stephen Fry's humor. A lot of dialogue is very colloquial. It was a fun book. I read a lot of Greek myths as a kid but some of the stories here were new to me, either just forgotten or never learned. I didn't know that Athena had a mother - I thought she just came out of Zeus' head - but she has a mother. It was fun to reread the myths I remembered well too, they are very well today and flow easily. And of course pretty funny.
6.The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli [translated from Italian], 213pp
The book about the physics of time was written for the popular audience so I could follow it pretty well. It was interesting to learn that only one single equation in fundamental physics contains the variable of time and that is for heat. It is all about us and our perceptions really and how our brain processes memories. I do like books that challenge my brain and that was good to read.