Hesper's 2016 List

[Hesper]

Will be adding to this as I read them, since I'm not yet sure what my final choices will be. These are either read or currently reading.

Argentina: Perla
France: Joan of Arc: A History
India: The Lowland
Japan: Masks
Japan: The Waiting Years
North Korea: Stars Between the Sun and Moon: One Woman's Life in North Korea and Escape to Freedom
South Korea: The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness
Nigeria: Lagoon
Russia: Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales
South Africa: Zoo City
Vietnam: The Frangipani Hotel

[Hesper]

And some tentative choices:

Bangladesh: Fireflies in the Mist
India: The Devourers
Indonesia: Beauty Is a Wound
Iran: Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran
Philippines: Alternative Alamat: Stories Inspired by Philippine Mythology
Romania: Vremea Moroiului and/or Dimineaţă pierdută
Trinidad (?): Cereus Blooms at Night
Wales: The Mabinogion

[Lilisa]

Great list Hesper - looking forward to hearing your take on them. I've read The Lowland and have Perla on my To Read list.

[Hesper]

What did you think of The Lowland? It was my first Lahiri novel, and I'm still processing it tbh.

[Lilisa]

I'm not wowed by her writing generally. My review on The Lowland https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I've read four of her books and I just checked my ratings and they've all been three stars - I'm consistent it seems. I love reading books set in India and each time I pick up her latest I hope I'll like it better than the previous one - hasn't happened yet...maybe I'll get lucky with her latest since it's not set in India!

[Yrinsyde]

Hesper wrote: "Will be adding to this as I read them, since I'm not yet sure what my final choices will be.

I'll probably be adding some of those to my TBR shelf! They look interesting - looking forward to your views. :)

[Hesper]

Hi, Yrinsyde. The ones I've read haven't really disappointed. Even Zoo City, which was unfocused.

I've noticed there's a fairly split reaction the The Lowland, Lilisa. I loved it, because I thought she captured the internal disconnect that comes with culture shock exceedingly well. I was also impressed by the deft way she handled Gauri's PTSD. Still thinking if I want to review it or not, as I feel there's a lot to unpack in those 300 odd pages.

[Lilisa]

Glad it was a great read for you, Hesper - it's always interesting to hear different perspectives.

[Suzanne]

Nice list. I just added Stars Between the Sun and Moon: One Woman's Life in North Korea and Escape to Freedom to my TBR list!

[Hesper]

It was pretty harrowing read for me, but I couldn't put it down. I imagine most memoirs of North Korea are like that.