Tamara’s Comments (group member since Mar 26, 2019)

Tamara’s comments from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.

Thanks, Esther and Fadi.
I'm having a wonderful time doing what I love to do best--reading and writing.

42/70. Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, translated from the French by Tina Kover. It won a lot of writing awards in France. It captures the immigrant experience of an upper class Iranian family forced to flee to France. I thought it was fantastic. I especially enjoyed the narrator's voice. I highly recommend it.

My 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks, Blagica!

41/70. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. A magical fantasy set in 14thC Russia with elements of folk and fairy tales.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

40/70. The Unpassing by Chia-Chia Lin--a compelling narrative exploring the challenges facing an immigrant Taiwanese family in Alaska.

My 4-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

39/70. The Familiars by Stacey Halls set in 17thC England. I'd read some positive reviews about the book, so I was expecting it to be good. I was disappointed. Perhaps it just wasn't for me.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

38/70. Weep Not, Child by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. Published in 1964, it is considered a classic. Told through the eyes of a child, it has as its backdrop the escalating tensions in Kenya during British colonialism.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

37/70. Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths by Helen Morales. She deconstructs some classical myths by interpreting them with a feminist lens and demonstrating their relevance to today. Some of the connections she makes are fascinating.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

36/70. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. A beautiful story, beautifully told about South Africa during Apartheid. Although it's been years since I last read it, I think this is the third time around for me. It is as powerful and as beautiful now as ever.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

35/70. Gilgamesh: The Life of a Poem by Michael Schmidt. It's an exploration of the various aspects of the ancient Mesopotamian poem, including its translations and interpretations. It's not for everyone, but if you're like me and love the poem, you'll enjoy this.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

34/70. The Red Sofa by Michel Lesbre, translated from the French by Nicole Ball and David Ball. It's a quiet, unassuming novel about a woman's internal meanderings while on the Trans-Siberian Railway and the lasting impact of her friendship with her elderly neighbor.
I thought it was very good.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

33/70. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. I've read a few of her other books but never this one. It was absolutely amazing. I can't get over the fact that she was only 23 years old when she wrote it.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

32/70. The Law of Inheritance by Yasser Abdellatif, translated from the Arabic by Robin Moger. It's a series of vignettes that flash back and forth in time, capturing the zeitgeist of Cairo in the 1990s. I thought it was quite good.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

31/70. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. I've read this classic umpteen times, but it never gets old. I start laughing as soon as I pull it off my bookshelf. I recommend it for anyone who wants a good laugh.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

30/70. Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck--a delightful novel loosely based on King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

29/70. Blue Jewellery by Katharina Winkler, translated from the German by Laura Wagner. It's a quick and important read, but it's not for everyone because of the frequent and graphic description of domestic violence inflicted on a young Turkish girl.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks, Rebecca!
A 900-page book? I'm not sure I can handle that. I think the most I can commit to reading is a 500-600-page book. I admire you for tackling it.
Ultimately, it is not about how many books you read. It's about how much you enjoy the books you read.
Good luck with your reading goal.
Stay safe and all best.

28/70. Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov about a Russian landowner and one of the most endearing couch potatoes in all of literature. This is a re-read for me, and I loved it as much now as I did when I first read it eons ago.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

27/70. The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch, a compelling chunkster (500 pages) about a first-person narrator's obsession with resurrecting a lost love. It won the 1978 Booker Prize. Interesting characters and wonderful writing.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

26/70. A Tiger for Malgudi by R.K. Narayan. A delightful story told from the first-person point of view of the tiger.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...