Kendra Shannon
With Bolaño, the more works you read the more the stories connect and what you once thought was unfinished, reveals a resolution. I read this slowly to catch as many connections as I could and savour the stories.
WOW!! This is truly one of the best books I've ever read! Shout out to the translator, Natasha Wimmer...the emotions and poetry of the original language shine through brilliantly!
First, this book is aesthetically beautiful!
As someone wanting to improve their baking skills, this cookbook provides a challenge and guides the baker through many new (to me) skills.
While the recipes may seem a bit daunting at first, the instructions are clear and easy to follow (it also helps that you can watch Claire's YouTube channel Dessert Person for tutorials of many recipes!)
And most importantly, the finished results are always amazingly delicious!!
Knowing that I am a diehard Clash fan, a very generous friend gave me this book. I was over the moon. It's gorgeous.
I don't usually go for historical fiction like this one but it was pleasantly surprising. Beautifully written with plot twists and character development that kept me in it to the end.
“If you wonder why Canada is able to take more immigrants per capita than any other country and make them full citizens...with quite a bit of success, while other countries stumble over far smaller numbers, the answer is not that we are nicer, smarter...The answer lies, first, in the culture of minorities common among Aboriginals and in their idea of society as an expanding and mutating circle.”
“Each time [an Aboriginal language] disappears, the First Nation in question loses access to its culture...I lose access to part of my culture. So do you. A door closes forever on our possible understanding of this place.”
A detailed and critical look at Canadian culture, life, policy, business, and government.
This book is full of descriptions of the narrator's friends/loves/acquaintances and memories that tell of her life and the lives of others. As told by a woman floating in the sea. Absolutely fantastic!
“One cannot approximate truth, add nor take away, for there is no one on earth like the true shepherd and there is nothing in heaven like the suffering of real life.”
“Yet still I keep thinking that something wonderful is about to happen. Maybe tomorrow.”
Wow! All the stars!
“I saw an opportunity to tell a story about how people become radicalized in their uncompromising devotion to a cause, and about how individuals - and a whole society - make sense of political violence once they have passed through the crucible and finally have time to reflect.”
I'm not sure I liked this book. It took a very long time to introduce the many characters and an even longer time for me to figure out how they were all connected. There are a lot of passages that are quite graphic and difficult to get through. I also didn't find the ending brought any closure, or brought things to a conclusion in any way.
This is my favourite work of fiction. I have read it many times and every time I do, I love it more.
I had to keep reminding myself that all of this really happened and that the book is not a work of fiction. What a strong woman to go through all of this and come out the other side with a strong sense of self and having reconciled her past and her memories.
I read this book when I was young and I just loved it! I wanted to read it again before seeing the movie. I loved it again!
A short read but really interesting comments on everyday observations on the train, at the store, in the mall of the people that interact and live in the space around us.
Eduardo Halfon is one of my favourite writers and I was so excited to discover this story in the kobo store. It did not disappoint. Halfon's work is wonderful!
This book is not good. I only finished it because it was recommended and lent to me by my friend's mom and I wanted to give it back to her.
There are a lot of adjectives in this book. Sometimes to the detriment of the main point of the sentence. But I'd love to do a long distance cycle trip and found the stories about post-Soviet countries very interesting.
I love the art, it's beautifully drawn. I'm using this series to learn/practice French and I find it easy to follow and fun to read!