January 2023 books

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was just ok. I enjoyed the friendships in this book, even if the central romantic relationship didn't really grab me. The idea of sharing an apartment in the way this plot contrivance describes almost gave me hives. I mean she TAKES over his CLOSET and just PUTS her TCHOTCHKES all OVER on TOP of his STUFF...instant deal-breaker. So that might have affected my ability to get into the story/romance angle. Basically I wanted her to run off with the Norwegian hermit author guy from that one chapter but I guess that's a whole other book (that doesn't exist).

(Oh, and I've just now realized that when I picked up The American Roommate Experiment, I thought it was THIS book and a few things make more sense now, like why the plot didn't match at all!)

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My daughter and I agree: was this book good...or did we just read it really fast? It's an extremely engrossing read, for sure, with some interesting things to say (and some not-so-interesting, *ahem reporter framing device*). But I can't help feeling that there's not enough "there" there. It was fun to follow an imagined rags-to-riches Hollywood career, though!

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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm sure I'm paraphrasing every other review out there when I say that this was not as good as The Martian but still a ton of fun!

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The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna by C.W. Gortner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A solid, very enjoyable entry in the category of books I like to call Dramatized Wikipedia Entry. And even with everything that IS included in this book, I still found myself going on Wikipedia deep dives to find out more about everything that ISN'T included. There is just so much! It is bonkers how all these European families were related (often in multiple ways) and how many dang kids these people were having and marrying off to each other! I liked the author's choice of Maria Feodorovna as the main character of this book - I think it's a slightly unusual choice but it gives us a better (bird's-eye, almost) perspective on the events of that era.

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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Second reading January 2023. I first read this book 3.5 years ago and thought I might pick it up again after recently re-watching Derry Girls for the fourth time. "Pick it up again" turned into "binge-read it cover to cover in just two days," which is pretty remarkable for a non-fiction book I've already read! So yeah, still holds up. This is an absolutely brilliant book.

First reading June 2019. WHAT a book. This is ostensibly a book about the disappearance of a woman during The Troubles but there is so much more here than meets the eye. There are three main threads running through the story: an oral history archive at Boston College, a widowed mother of ten, and a pair of revolutionary sisters. The book circles back on each thread three times: first, the bare facts of what happened, then how these facts evolved as time passed and more information was revealed in fits and starts, and finally one last turn in which all is made clear. It is a story of a disappearance but it is recursive, thoughtful, and highly contextualized.

I was touched and, I'll admit, surprised at the level of care and detail given to all the characters' experiences but especially the sisters' struggles with a hunger strike in prison. I think many books would have looked away after the strike was over, but this one lingers and gives room for the ensuing disordered eating and anorexia that plagued the sisters for the rest of their lives. It was very female gaze-y (the author is a man) and I loved the warmth and regard for humanity it brought to the story - even regarding members of humanity who have done horrible things.

This is one of those gasp-out-loud books, a book where you clap your hand over your mouth in awe/sadness/shock/empathy throughout. Truly excellent.

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