Samanta's Significantly Reduced 2022 Challenge Buffet

[Samanta]

Challenge #1 - New and Old TBR

1899 and earlier/Old School
1. Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac
2. Začuđeni svatovi by Eugen Kumičić
3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

1900-1999/New School
4. Crni lav u zlatnom polju by Jan Van Dorp
5. Sayonara by James A. Michener
6. Wallis by Charles Higham

My Wild Card Six
7. Kuća od pijeska i magle by Andre Dubus III - FINISHED 21.02.2022.
8. Notni zapis ljubavi by Daphne Kalotay - FINISHED 07.03.2022.
9. Djevojka u dvorcu od pijeska by Chris Bohjalian - FINISHED 13.02.2022.
10. Jedne zimske noći by Simon Sebag Montefiore - FINISHED 28.04.2022.
11. Moja druga polovica by Affinity Konar - FINISHED 02.07.2022.
12. Gospođa Hemingway by Paula McLain

Alternates
A-1. From Johann To Tannenbaum by Ashlyn Forge
A-2. Kći mudrosti: Roman o Salomonu i Sabi by India Edghill

[Samanta]

Challenge #5 - Decade/Century Challenge

My Century Challenge

1900 - 1909 - Cvijet sa raskršća i druge pripovijetke by Antun Gustav Matoš
1910 - 1919 - The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
1920 - 1929 - Tozuki by Marija Jurić Zagorka
1930 - 1939 - Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
1940 - 1949 - Tužim by Janko Matko
1950 - 1959 - Crni lav u zlatnom polju by Jan Van Dorp
1960 - 1969 - The Lie by Alberto Moravia
1970 - 1979 - Famous American Plays of the 1940s by Henry Hewes
1980 - 1989 - Wallis by Charles Higham
1990 - 1999 - Kuća od pijeska i magle by Andre Dubus III - FINISHED 21.02.2022.

[Samanta]

Thank you, Jillian!

This is an effort to reduce the number of books I have in my home library. In the New and Old TBR challenge, all except numbers 2. and 3. have previously been put aside for that purpose but I've been having a really hard time reading these past two years since the pandemic began.

Best of wishes to you, too! :)

[Samanta]

Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge

A: Autobiografia de Los Espanoles: Asi Nos Vemos: Asi Somos? by A. Miguel - FINISHED 01.02.2022.
B:
C:
D: Djevojka u dvorcu od pijeska by Chris Bohjalian - FINISHED 13.02.2022.
E: Eve's Diary by Mark Twain - FINISHED 22.01.2022.
F:
G:
H:
I:
J: Jedne zimske noći by Simon Sebag Montefiore - FINISHED 28.04.2022.
K: Kuća od pijeska i magle by Andre Dubus III - FINISHED 21.02.2022.
L: La novia de Lázaro by Dulce María Loynaz - FINISHED 16.02.2022.
M: Moja druga polovica by Affinity Konar - FINISHED 02.07.2022.
N: Notni zapis ljubavi by Daphne Kalotay - FINISHED 07.03.2022.
O:
P:
Q:
R:
S: Saturday Afternoon by Erskine Caldwell - FINISHED 15.03.2022.
T: The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - FINISHED 22.01.2022.
U:
V:
W:
X:
W:
Z:

[Samanta]

Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge

Letter T:

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Finish Date: 22.01.2021.
Genre: Short Story
Rating: B
Review: The Yellow Wallpaper is a story of a woman suffering from postpartum depression, written in the first person POV. The protagonist is "not well" and her husband, a doctor, takes her to a country house to recuperate her spirits, because "there is nothing really wrong with her" and "she is just a silly goose" who exaggerates things and really only needs peace, quiet and sleep. Unfortunately, being closed in the house, with no company of her peers and friends and nothing to do but "sleep", her condition worsens until there is no going back.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman herself suffered from continuous nervous breakdowns bordering on melancholia (as she put it) for years, but a noted specialist told her that there was nothing really wrong with her and prescribed her to "live as domestic a life as far as possible, to have but two hours' intellectual life a day, and never to touch pen, brush, or pencil again as long as I lived". It made her condition even worse so she decided to start working again and eventually got better. She then wrote this story to show the world what it means to have mental issues.

The story is, as Perkins Gilman herself said, embellished to carry out the idea, but it served its purpose and changed views on depression and mental illness in general.

I believe it does well to read stories like these, however hard it may be, because, even though we are in the 21st century and the world has progressed significantly since Perkins Gilman's times, we are still struggling with changing the view of mental issues as insignificant.

[Samanta]

Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge

Letter E:

by Mark Twain
Finish Date: 22.01.2021.
Genre: Short Story
Rating: A
Review: A funny, and at the same time melancholic account of Eve's life from her creation until her death, some forty years after the Fall, written in first person POV. Eve is young, thirsty for knowledge who has a penchant for adventure, exploring and naming everything she sees in her surroundings. Adam doesn't share her enthusiasm and all her effort is met with disdain and silence.

The story started well, but as it progressed, Eve became more and more melancholy because she couldn't understand Adam's behaviour and did everything she could to get his attention. I would agree that Twain is right in describing us as melancholy when it comes to love and that we generally don't need a reason to love someone (at least it's like that with me). What I didn't particularly like is that eventually (at least in this story) all her thoughts revolved around him. She lost her sense of wonder and became focused on him. Are were truly like that? And is it really healthy?

[Samanta]

Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge - Letter A:

by A. Miguel
Finish Date: 01.02.2021.
Genre: Autobiography
Rating: C
Review: The Autobiography of the Spanish was written by the famous 20th century Spanish sociologist Amando de Miguel. It gives us an overview of all the characteristics of the Spanish as a nation. The book is divided into chapters that bear the name of a certain characteristic with ample examples from auto(biographies) and memoirs written by famous Spaniards of the 19th and the 20th centuries. The idea is pretty good, but the execution is a bit lacking as the book is, at times, quite tedious and methinks that the author likes to express his (sarcastic) opinions rather freely.

[Samanta]

Challenge #1 - New and Old TBR - My Wild Card Six &
Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge - Letter D


by Chris Bohjalian
Finish Date: 13.02.2021.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Armenian Genocide
Rating: A
Review: The Sandcastle Girls is a poignant story about the Armenian Genocide of which "no one knew happened" that alternates between the WWI in Alep and USA in the late 20th century.
In 1915, young Elizabeth Endicott travels with her father, a wealthy Bostonian banker, as representatives of the "Friends of Armenia" from USA, in order to provide help to Armenians currently being decimated by the Turks in the dying Ottoman Empire. There, Elizabeth will see first-hand the horrors the Turks are trying to hide, that is the planned extermination of Armenians covered up as transfer to survivor's camps, but will also meet wonderful people of both nations and find love with the young Armenian widow, Armen. In the present day, Elizabeth's and Armen's granddaughter Laura, tries to uncover the secrets her grandparents kept about their experience in Alep and, in doing so, discover more about herself and her origin.

This is a beautifully written story about various different people of completely different backgrounds, who found themselves in the midst of a war and whose life experiences shaped not only them, but also the generations that came after them.

[Samanta]

Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge - Letter L

by Dulce María Loynaz
Finish Date: 16.02.2021.
Genre: Prose Poetry, Biblical
Rating: A
Review: Lazarus' Fiancée is a beautiful poem in prose written by the Cuban poetess Dulce Maria Loynaz. It tells the story of Lazarus' fiancée and her feelings upon his coming back from the dead. The poem is written in first person point of view and is full of very intense emotion expressed with beautiful and sometimes very difficult to understand words. But even if you do not understand a particular word, you can feel the emotion behind it.

Goodreads says this is my third time reading this story, but I know it won't be my last.

[Samanta]

Challenge #1 - New and Old TBR - My Wild Card Six;
Challenge #5 - Decade/Century Challenge: My Century Challenge - 1900 - 1999
Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge - Letter K

by Andre Dubus III
Finish Date: 21.02.2021.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: C
Review: I am not sure what to think of House of Sand and Fog. It was supposed to be a huge hit and one of the most sold book that even Oprah chose for her book club. But I just trudged trough it. I couldn't connect to any of the characters, at least not on a level to look forward to reading their story. I though Colonel Bahrani a self-righteous and greedy man who couldn't cope with his fall from grace and used providing for his family as an excuse to feel important again. His wife, although a good woman, was constantly whining and lamenting marrying him, but enjoyed all the luxuries a marriage to a Colonel gave her while she was still in her native county. On the other hand, Kathy, the self- destructive woman, who acts like a girl although she is 36 and expects other people to fight her battles, the ones she doesn't want to fight. I feel anxious after reading this book, because my faith in people diminishes with every story like this that I read (with ample example in my real-life circle) and it's the only thing I refuse to lose, despite life giving its best to "teach me a lesson".

I hate that I still have trouble DNF-ing a book.

[Samanta]

Challenge #1 - New and Old TBR - My Wild Card Six;
Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge - Letter N

by Daphne Kalotay
Finish Date: 07.03.2021.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: B
Review: Sight Reading is a lovely story of the imperfect human nature that many times prevents us from really seeing and appreciating the people around us who love us with all of their hearts. It is also a story of love and how it can't really be denied and controlled. Yes, you can decide to not enter into a relationship with someone for many reasons. Living in this world, people start to believe or grow up to believe that everything is more important than love, so they often choose to stay with someone who seems to be "the best fit" for different, more worldly reasons. But, in the end you cannot choose who you are going to love, you can just choose to stay...or not.

[Samanta]

Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge - Letter S

by Erskine Caldwell
Finish Date: 15.03.2021.
Genre: Classic Short Story
Rating: B
Review: Tom Denny is a butcher in a small town in the South of USA. He is enjoying the lazy Saturday when all of a sudden his colleague from the shop enters and urges him to take up his weapon to go in search of Will Maxie, a Negro who dared to say "something to Fred Jackson's oldest gal down the road yonder about an hour ago", and so they have to "git him good and proper".

This is a story of racism and discrimination African-Americans faced in the South and even though it's pretty simple, it is disturbing in it's simplicity. To think how a person could go and kill another person for nothing, display his/her body for everyone to see and just go about their day as if nothing untoward had happened. It is a world that sickens me and I cannot imagine living in it.

[Samanta]

Challenge #1 - New and Old TBR - My Wild Card Six;
Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge - Letter J

by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Finish Date: 28.04.2022.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Soviet Russia
Rating: B
Review: One Night in Winter is a story set in Soviet Russia just after Germany capitulated the war. It is loosely based on real events that were gathered together and adapted to the storyline.

It's the summer of 1945 and Russia is celebrating Germany's capitulation and "the end of the war". During the celebration in the centre of Moscow, two young adults, children of the elite Russian families who are part of the very top of the Soviet government, are killed. The story takes us back in time to discover the motive of the murder and we are taken to the School 801 where all the elite children, including Stalin's own receive their education. The children are trying to make their lives more interesting by forming secret clubs, but they will soon find out that secret clubs are a big "NO NO" in the System and that their government is capable and willing to read into even the most innocent things as dangerous and life-threatening and also to turn anything into a conspiracy theory that ends lives. They will also find out that in the System you cannot trust anyone. At the same time, their parents feel the heavy load of living in the Soviet Union and the shaky position they are all in, despite being Stalin's "closest and most trusted" and they are doing their best to protect their children from the Party's bloodthirstiness.

[Samanta]

Challenge #1 - New and Old TBR - My Wild Card Six;
Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge - Letter M

by Affinity Konar
Finish Date: 02.07.2022.
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Rating: B
Review: Mischling is a story of Jewish twin sisters, Stasha and Pearl (Perla and Staša in Slavic languages) Zagorski, who end up in Auschwitz as one of many of Mangele's experiments in what was known as Mengele's Zoo. The story changes POWs between Staša and Perla, giving us both versions of their relationship prior and after being, well, prodded and experimented on and how each of them changed as a person after going through the ordeal.

Staša and Perla are based on real-life Auschwitz survivors, sisters Eva Mozes Ker and Miriam Mozes Zeiger, but the author says that the experiences of the supporting characters are also based on real-life stories from the camps. At the end of the book, the authors lists the literature that helped her write the book and I find it quite interesting.