Josie Reads

historical fiction

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

unlikelymagic September 8, 2017

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

3/5 Stars

Henry Montague was born to be a gentleman….but he would rather just have a really good time.

This story was just a wonderful romp of fun. It was so entertaining and was so compulsively readable. It follows our main character Monty the son of an Earl, his sister, and his best friend Percy as they head out on their tour of Europe. This tour is meant to be Monty’s last chance to prove himself to be a gentleman worthy of inheriting his fathers title and to rid himself of his thoroughly earned roguish reputation.

I was so impressed by how much character development actually happened and the important topics that were discussed and actually handled very well. The romance is written so well and not overplayed which I really appreciated. She made you work hard for that kiss that had you melting in your boots… and no insta-love…can I get a hallelujah, standing ovation, I tip my hat to you madam!

Their swashbuckling adventures were over the top and ridiculous in the most fantastic way and I was entertained the whole time. I loved all our characters and enjoyed how realistic they were written. They all developed as the story progressed and learned about themselves and each other. The only thing I think I would have changed was the one part of the conflict with supernatural like elements, it felt a little out of place and I don’t think the story needed it, we had plenty of conflict without it, I would have preferred it to be proved to be a myth.

Overall this was so entertaining and funny and I would definitely recommend it for an entertaining romantic romp of a read. Looking forward to more by this author.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

unlikelymagic September 6, 2017

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

2.5/5 Stars

This is a sprawling story following two separate storylines one of a young hijra girl growing up and finding her place, and the other of an activist woman and the men who fall in love with her.
The synopsis on the front flap of this book is very vague, and I think thats because this story is so meandering. We start off following Anjum a transgender woman and get to experience her life..but just very on the surface. Through her whole storyline I felt like we didn’t actually ever fully dive into the life of a hijra, I didn’t every feel like we were there with her. It just seemed like a list of anecdotal stories about general hijra life, none of it seemed very personal or meaty. Which is a shame because the brief glimpses we did get were fascinating. Our second storyline which just begins abruptly and was very jarring is about a young activist woman and the men who fall in love with her. Again I felt that we just skipped over the top of her story and didn’t really get to know her or the fight she was in. These two storylines felt very separate and the device used for our characters to cross paths felt so contrived as an attempt to mesh these two stories together. I think we would have been better served to have these stories explored on their own in separate books instead of a scramble to try to join them together.

Another issue I had with this book was the random tangents the author continually went on about other marginalized groups or political facts. The way it was done seemed very messy and disjointed and often left me quite confused. This book just ended up being frustrating to me because many of the topics and people in this book were fascinating and I wanted to know more about them, but the way they were presented left me wanting more and as though they were not given enough voice or attention.

So, Manbooker thoughts, this one doesn’t make the shortlist for me, but I am happy that I read this as it introduced me to hijra culture in India which I had no idea about previously and found fascinating. Books like this are why this project is fun (in very small doses) as it forces me to pick up books I might normally pass by. Would I recommend this one? I don’t think so, unless you have an extreme interest in Indian politics. I feel like there are other books out there that tackles these topics better.

Manbooker 2017 8/13

Monthly Wrap Up

August 2017 Wrap Up

unlikelymagic September 5, 2017

Here we are at the end of summer! Hope you had a good one! So thoughts on my reading month. I read 5/13 of the manbooker 2017 longlist nominated books and boy am I ready for this project to be over! I have enjoyed my time reading them and have found a couple gems that I wouldn’t have otherwise picked up. Overall I am getting a little tired of reading the same type of book though, and not having as much freedom to read where my mood takes me. Im trying not to let this effect my enjoyment and reviews of the book…but how can it not? I currently have three of the four I have left to read from the library and nine days left before the shortlist is announced….wish me luck!

Top 3 Picks of the Month

History of Wolves (link to review)

This is one of the manbooker nominees that I would not have normally picked up but found surprisingly enjoyable. It was very atmospheric and really pulled me into the story. The subject matter also had me really thinking long after I was done.

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (link to review)

This is the third book in a series about a band of thieves and follows their adventures and mishaps. Though it is my least favourite of the books currently out it was still an enjoyable ride. This series doesn’t hide from the gritty reality of a life of crime and the characters are so enjoyable to follow. Would very much recommend this series! (Warning to all those out there who get mad when I don’t tell them…this series isn’t complete yet)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127455.The_Lies_of_Locke_Lamora?from_search=true

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (link to review)

Another manbooker nominee that surprised me. This read certainly isn’t for everyone and was very experimental in its execution, but it really worked for me. I listened to the audiobook edition of this and would highly recommend it, the ensemble cast really added to the story. If you enjoy the ghosts of Neil Gaiman you might want to give this one a try!

Im looking forward to finishing up my manbooker 2017 project this month and diving into some autumnal and perhaps spooky reads. What have you been reading this month? Let me know if you have any fall favourites to recommend!

Lost in September

unlikelymagic September 4, 2017

Lost in September by Kathleen Winter

2/5 stars

This tells the tale of an ex-soldier on the streets of Montreal suffering from PTSD and incorporates a historical figure from Canadian history.

This book really didn’t do it for me. It seemed like it was trying really hard to be poetic and different, but it really fell flat. I was extremely bored the whole time and felt no connection to any of the characters. The historical portions felt like I was reading a particularly bad textbook in school. I did not buy into the authors attempt at trying to make you believe/doubt that Jimmy and James were the same person. It didn’t make any sense, I was completely unable to suspend belief and immerse myself in the reality of the plot device. At no time did I believe that James could be existing in modern times, he said and did things that were completely off character. If we are meant to believe that we are following a character from 1759 he shouldn’t just be casually taking public transport to run errands. This book is meant to tackle the effects of PTSD in armed forces which is a very important subject so I am quite disappointed that this failed to deliver and sort of compelling storyline. This was a real struggle for me to finish and sadly I don’t think I would recommend it.

An ebook copy of this book was provided to me via netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Core of The Sun

unlikelymagic August 30, 2017

The Core of The Sun by Johanna Sinisalo

3/5 stars

This is a story of Eugenics and social engineering, of a society where women have been made into dolls to please men and produce children. There is also this weird thing where chili peppers are an illegal and addicting substance.

This book really slaps you in the face with its feminist themes and is very angry and aggressive about common beauty standards for women, we are very clear on where the author stands with body hair, makeup, and clothes. It actually feels very antagonistic towards women who choose to wear makeup or enjoy typical “girly” things. It felt like a platform for the author to very obviously press her ideas about this subjects on people and that women who choose to remove their body hair or enjoy wearing makeup are anti-feminist and just bowing to the demands of the male ideal of beauty. Give it a rest, I’m so tired of this narrative, lets stop being so judgemental about the choices of other women.

The chili pepper thing was just strange to me and I didn’t enjoy that whole storyline, I think the story could have been improved without it. Sure we could dig into the meaning of it, that the government is so controlling that it can make something as silly as the consumption of peppers illegal. I just thought it detracted from the more interesting elements of the story and made it less accessible to a wider audience because of how ridicuous it is.

I found the social engineering and eugenics portions fascinating. I wish we could have spend more time exploring different aspects of that society instead of dwelling on our protagonists addiction to peppers. How the society was built and the implications of current trends of government was chilling. On explaining how their society ended up the way it is “They didn’t need the support of the majority. Sometimes all that’s needed is a group of people loud enough and influential enough to change the world and make it the way they want it to be. It doesn’t even have to be a huge group, as long as some of them establish their own personal preferences as the only real truth, and make enough noise to give the impression that the forgotten neglected masses are behind them. Even for a person who’s satisfied with things the way they are, it’s easy to give support to an idea if it’s going to personally benefit you.” Sound familiar?

History of Wolves

unlikelymagic August 28, 2017

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

4/5 stars

This tells the story of Linda who grows up in the remains of an abandoned commune with her parents in Northern Minnesota. I think this book is best consumed when you go into this story blind and appreciate the story as it unfolds. I will try to avoid spoilers in the review, but if you have not yet read this book and wish to, I might skip this until you have read it!

This whole story from the very beginning has a very unsettling tension that is sustained through the whole story. There is just a whiff of unease that you keep glimpsing out of the corner of your eye. It certainly kept me guessing about what exactly was off, she kept leading you up these false trails with confidence thinking ha! I’ve solved it! Only to realize you were wrong again. I thought this was especially clever, as our main protagonist has experienced a very unusual childhood and does not react to social cues in a conventional way. This writing style sort of carried you into our protagonists head and had us experience her world view. Linda feels safer in the woods near her home where she has grown up. The descriptions of nature were beautiful and evoked feelings of peace and comfort. The beauty and cyclical nature if the woods and its wildlife made it knowable and it’s dangers predictable. In contrast, human rules are always changing and people often react and behave in unpredictable ways.

The two parallell story lines were very interesting to contrast together, and to see the different outcomes of these two childhoods. This story discusses how our beliefs can colour our choices and the lifelong consequences of those choices.

This story is an excellent example of a meandering storyline done well. Each piece felt like it needed to be there and added to the story, even if it wasn’t directly, it added to the tone or development of character. I highly enjoyed this and eagerly look forward to more by this author!

Manbooker thoughts, I would be happy to see this on the shortlist! I thought the writing was beautiful and the story had some very thought provoking moments and themes. This is the debut work for this author and I think that it deserves the recognition. I would happily recommend this to people who enjoyed Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller or The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

Manbooker 2017 7/13

Autumn

unlikelymagic August 25, 2017

Autumn by Ali Smith

2/5 Stars

This tells the story of a friendship and explores art and politics.

To start with I have very little knowledge of pop art or British politics, so that may have coloured my enjoyment of this book. I really didn’t find much that I enjoyed from this story and it’s only saving grace was that it was very short so I was able to finish it anyway. This really wasn’t my thing. It’s incomplete and scrambled fragments of life and culture often left me very confused and frustrated. The whole things was generally plotless and just seemed like a collection of ideas and feelings. Not sure if it is because it is the start of a quartet of books, but this story felt really incomplete to me and just sort of ends, I was left wondering is that it? What was the whole point of that? It may be that I’m just not smart enough, or that I prefer books with more plot and not just a vague cloud of ideas. I don’t have many thoughts to share or expound on with this one. There were a few portions of the writing that I enjoyed, but overall it was a miss for me. If this is a typical sampling of Ali Smith’s writing I don’t think that we are going to get along very well….

So Manbooker thoughts, I don’t really have any. I didn’t like this. Maybe if I had more involvement with British politics and culture, or and interest in pop art this would have made more of an impact for me, but as it stands I feel like this was just another nod to a well known author. Pass from me.

Manbooker 2017 6/13

The Agony of Bun O’Keefe

unlikelymagic August 23, 2017

The Agony of Bun O’Keefe by Heather Smith

3/5 Stars

This is the story of a fourteen year old girl who runs away from her hoarder mother and is taken in by a group of misfit young adults. It follows her journey as she attempts to adjust to life outside of the small word she has always known.

We follow our young protagonist Bun who has lived her whole life isolated with her abusive mother in a house full of junk. Her only experiences with life outside those walls comes from reading books and video tapes her mother brings home. She eventually runs away from home after an altercation with her mother and one of the first people she meets is a young busker playing the guitar, he takes her home and introduces her to his roommates, a very eclectic group of young people. We then learn their back stories and what led them to come together. Their stories and adventures almost seemed episodic and I think this led to the story seeming scattered and like it didn’t mesh together very well. I did enjoy the characters, but I think the lack of cohesion kept bumping me out of the story a bit. I also feel like there was just too much going on and that the author tried to tackle way too many heavy subjects to do any of them justice. There was abuse (verbal, sexual, physical), neglect, suicide, prostitution, metal illness, gender identity, racism, self harm, AIDS/HIV, homophobia, there was so much happening that everything was just left unresolved and felt incomplete.

I did enjoy the elements of found family, and that we can find the people we need in our life that will love and support us. There was also some beautiful descriptions and passages of writing. Watching Bun experience life and new experiences was often very sweet and endearing.

Ultimately this was a sweet little book, but I don’t think the author left enough space to fully tackle all the heavy topics that she brought up and would have been better served to select only a few to give them due justice.

A copy of this book was provided to me by Netgally in exchange for an honest review.

Hollow Pike

unlikelymagic August 21, 2017

Hollow Pike by James/Juno Dawson

4/5 Stars

This is a young adult thriller/horror story that follows Lis London who has recently moved to a small town to escape from bullying in her old school. On arrival in the new town she meets new friends and rivals and begins having this strange dream foretelling her death.

This book surprised me by how good it was. I’m not a big fan of the YA genre in general and picked this up on a recommendation and I am glad that I did! It was so fast paced and addicting to read…and quite scary at some parts. Granted I’m quite a chicken when it comes to scary things, but I found this far more frightening in parts then many adult thrillers/horror that I’ve read that were trying really hard to scare me. I found the whole book to be very atmospheric and I felt transported to the crisp spooky woods that made me feel nostalgic for childhood Halloween shows. This book not only gives you goosebumps, it also tackles some really important topics. Bullying was a huge theme in this book and outlines how people cope with it differently, and discusses the very real effects that bullying has on peoples lives. Of course there was a bit of a cringe worthy instant teenage love connection, but it was not as bad as some and I ended up not minding so much.

I would very much recommend this book if you are looking for a fast paced roller coaster mystery that keeps you guessing about who did it…with the perfect dash of YA cheese thrown it.

Magical Realism

Bone Gap

unlikelymagic August 18, 2017

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

3/5 Stars

Well this was a very strange little book. I’m not really sure how to characterize it..or even describe it for that matter. It read much like a fairy tale or myth and lent itself very well to listening to it on audio book. It takes place in the small town of Bone Gap where a woman has gone missing or just ran away. The only witness to the crime can only describe how the kidnapper moved, not his face, so no one quite believes him.

We follow this story through different points of view, of the missing woman, and those she left behind. The way the story is told there are very strange events that occur, and it is hard to tell whether these events are actually happening as described, or if it is almost being made into a mythical telling by the participants to try to make sense of the situations (…read very heavy on the magical realism). It reminded me a bit of the movie Big Fish, where the stories could be true and magical, or mundane and often cruel. It explores how our characters find the strength to be themselves and find where they fit into the world they have created.

This book is unique and is most certainly not for everyone. If you don’t enjoy magical realism then I might give this one a pass. It was an enjoyable read but I don’t think it will leave much of a lasting impression on me.