Second in this exceedingly meta murder mystery series. I was unsure about the first one, in that the cleverness and self consciousness, deliberately tSecond in this exceedingly meta murder mystery series. I was unsure about the first one, in that the cleverness and self consciousness, deliberately telling you it's a puzzle playing by genre rules and so on, veered between interesting, amusing, and too clever by half.
Having read this one, I remain unsure about the above. Plus the plot hinges on a rape (that's not a giveaway, he tells you so early on) and tbh, I can enjoy a good murder without any moral qualms but I don't feel nearly as comfortable with rape as plot engine for witty meta shenanigans. I am not claiming this is logically or ethically consistent, but all the same it just didn't land for me in the end. ...more
Extremely meta murder mystery which starts with Ronald Knox's ten rules for detective novels, with the racist one redacted. Constantly written to remiExtremely meta murder mystery which starts with Ronald Knox's ten rules for detective novels, with the racist one redacted. Constantly written to remind you the teller is unreliable and the book an artefact and so on.
Well written with a good set up and clever plot. Tbh I found it a bit excessively clever (eg the narrator explicitly flags up clues but in a way that disguises other clues, consciously tells things in a misleading way etc,) and eventually it started to *feel* more like an artefact than a story. All this makes a good stab at disguising that the plot is wildly implausible and depends on the kind of gigantic coincidence that Knox forbade, which may be intentionally double meta-ness or not, I don't know. Personally I like a completely implausible golden age plot but, you know, lean in....more
Somewhere on the border between women's fiction and romance, this is the third in a series of books about Australian-Arab women. The heroine used to bSomewhere on the border between women's fiction and romance, this is the third in a series of books about Australian-Arab women. The heroine used to be a very observant Muslim, but went to Jordan to marry a man she barely knew, and it all fell apart in a messy way. Now pushing 40 and after a traumatic event and a marital breakdown, she's come back to Australia without husband or much faith left, and is trying to start again, returning to her first love: baking.
There's a sweet slow burn romance with the chocolatier (lots of chocolate work in this book) but the main focus is Sahar's personal growth as she makes herself push her boundaries and starts to understand more about herself, and her friendships, and her part in what went wrong in her life, and indeed her relationship with her culture and religion.
It's vividly written and very engaging, with realistically messed up characters and a lot of people who are flawed in various ways, but who generally mean well. I think what I liked most was the book's quiet acknowledgement that people really are not even close to right all the time, but that doesn't make them villains. We make mistakes and missteps and do ourselves no favours, and the point is to try again and fail better.
It makes for a really sympathetic story full of hurt and hope, and I was entirely engaged by Sahar's journey.
(I have to mention that I was entirely freaked out by the repeated use of the word w*g which is a horrendous racist term in the UK, but Google tells me that it doesn't work that way in Australia and is used by groups to refer to themselves. Just a heads up to Brits.)...more
Striking SF fable set in Australia. We read about the grotesque cruelties inflicted on the indigenous population by colonisers who don't even see themStriking SF fable set in Australia. We read about the grotesque cruelties inflicted on the indigenous population by colonisers who don't even see them as people, and it takes several chapters for it to emerge that (view spoiler)[ these colonisers are actual aliens, and the despised race is the whole human one.
It's a clever concept--it's quite disorienting realising that you were reading the point of view of invading aliens, rather than the English nuns and administrators who were, er, invading aliens. (hide spoiler)]Basically it's playing the whole rotten story out again on a larger scale--the genocide, the self-righteousness of the colonisers, the glimmers of realisation when a few of them start to understand what they've destroyed, the slightly creepy sincerity and wanting to belong of the the invader who switches sides. I'm not sure if I felt like that entirely worked on every level, in that (view spoiler)[the destruction of indigenous Australian culture and people becomes subsumed in the destruction of humanity in general. (hide spoiler)] But this is a book about having your world wiped out by contemptuous invaders, and maybe that should be generalised, if only so people can then re-apply that to the specific.
Vividly written and packs a powerful punch, though the dialogue is almost painfully spare....more
Follow up to Courting Samira but much less of a romance. It's several years on; Lara the wild child friend from book 1 has got married, got divorced, Follow up to Courting Samira but much less of a romance. It's several years on; Lara the wild child friend from book 1 has got married, got divorced, and is doing a series of dead-end jobs. She's drifting, but an attack from her unstable ex tips her over the edge into a not-good mental place, and most of the book is about her taking a hard look at her life and a too-hard look at herself. (She has more self loathing than seems warranted by her actions--which is of course how depression feels.)
She also has two interested men, not counting the ex. The romance element is a constant thread but not the main story, which is very much Lara's struggle to face the fact she has problems and needs to make changes. It nevertheless plays out intriguingly and resolves nicely.
Slightly odd structure--two big time jumps where we miss out on a lot of recovery time--but that's more realistic than showing someone just get better from a deep bout of self loathing over a weekend. An interesting read, heavier than the first but they make a good pair with mdern Muslim heroines. ...more
An enjoyable modern Muslim chick-lit/romance. Samira is a classic chick lit protag, with with a somewhat stalled career, string of useless men, wild fAn enjoyable modern Muslim chick-lit/romance. Samira is a classic chick lit protag, with with a somewhat stalled career, string of useless men, wild female friend, and the long time family friend / new handsome man dilemma. She's also a hijabi who holds firmly (ish) to her cultural dating rules, which definitely puts a new set of problems in the way.
It's a fun read, with lots of heart, and I was entirely behind the resolutions. Also, behind the way that Samira recognised the oppressive aspects of her background without wanting to discard the whole thing: she clearly has choices and makes them. ...more
This is absolutely brilliant. Like, the sort of brilliant that I'll be going BY THE WAY YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK to random people on the bus for monthsThis is absolutely brilliant. Like, the sort of brilliant that I'll be going BY THE WAY YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK to random people on the bus for months.
The premise is that it's a collection of biographies of Australian literary figures. We get a foreword, a number of accounts of literary lives told by a literary biographer, and an index. Keep with me here, okay?
Obviously, the whole thing is a fictional construct. The bios are often very funny and excoriating about a lot of things including the publishing industry, literary movements, authorial self-delusion, poetry magazines, men, and how absolutely bloody awful book people are. Also the deep-rooted racism and misogyny of the Australian literary scene. I imagine there's a fair few references that I didn't get because I don't know much about Aus-lit, but I didn't notice the lack--there wasn't that sense that some satire has of the author excluding any readers who aren't part of the in-group he criticises. Anyone with a working knowledge of twentieth century literature could happily follow this, I'd think.
It's more than just a satire, of course. The biographies intersect in lots of ways as the book progresses, and we come to solve all sorts of puzzles in earlier stories and understand the references. I won't spoil the way it's brought to a climax; I will say, do not read out of order, and don't skip the index.
There are some fantastic running jokes and deadpan gags, and construction so nicely done that I may actually have to read the whole thing again through just to see it click into place. Immensely satisfying....more
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