Tag: world literature

Belgium, Europe

Loving Sabotage

“Loving Sabotage” by Amélie Nothomb (Belgium) Synopsis The daughter of diplomats posted to Peking in the mid-seventies, our unnamed narrator charges about her tightly enclosed world on her ‘horse’ (bicycle) with the dictatorial clarity and loneliness of a warrior-philosopher. ‘From puberty onwards’, she announces at one point, ‘life is just an epilogue’. There, on the asphalt-playground-battlefield, she discovers her first love: six-year-old Elena, her very … Continue reading Loving Sabotage

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Caribbean, Cuba

Before Night Falls

“Before Night Falls” by Reinaldo Arenas (Cuba) Review Readers had mixed feelings about this book, with some liking it while others found it hard to read. They described the writing style as being inconsistent as they found some passages well written, whereas others felt very mechanistic. Some readers also thought that there were a bit too many erotic scenes, which broke up the flow of … Continue reading Before Night Falls

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North America, United States

The Secret Life of Bees

“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd (U.S.) Review Most readers liked the book describing it as an easy read. They got a good feel to both its location and historical setting (South Carolina at the time of signing of Civil Rights Act). They found most of the characters likeable warming to one or other of them depending on their own sensibilities and … Continue reading The Secret Life of Bees

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Japan, Nigeria, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, world literature

Best Summer Read 2010 – I Do Not Come to You by Chance

The theme of our Summer Reading Group 2010 was humour in all its many forms: comedy, wit, satire, irony, farce. The interesting thing about humour is that it is very personal, and there were indeed members of the group who found some stories funny that others did not, and vice versa. “I Do Not Come to You by Chance” by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani was voted … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2010 – I Do Not Come to You by Chance

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Africa, Zimbabwe

An Elegy for Easterly

“An Elegy for Easterly” by Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe) Review Readers loved this book describing it as one of the best collections of short stories they have ever read. They found the themes contemporary and accessible, and they liked the diverse accounts of life in Zimbabwe. With each story, some only a dozen pages long, readers felt they learnt so much about the protagonists that it … Continue reading An Elegy for Easterly

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Asia, Thailand

Sightseeing

“Sightseeing” by Rattawut Lapcharoensap (Thailand) Book Club Favourite of Season 11 Review Readers really liked this collection of short stories from a very young and promising author. They found his style of writing excellent and they felt he managed to give clear and distinct voices to a wide range of characters from different strata of society while at the same time evoking well a sense … Continue reading Sightseeing

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