Gemma
As my first book in my 2021 non-fiction reading challenge, The Impossible State felt at times like an impossible challenge. It was randomly selected for me by the tbr game I am playing each month and it has been high up on my priority list of physically owned non fiction.
In The Impossible State, seasoned international-policy expert and lauded scholar Victor Cha pulls back the curtain on provocative, isolationist North Korea, providing our best look yet at its history and the rise of the Kim family dynasty and the obsessive personality cult that empowers them. Cha illuminates the repressive regime???s complex economy and culture, its appalling record of human rights abuses, and its belligerent relationship with the United States, and analyzes the regime???s major security issues???from the seemingly endless war with its southern neighbor to its frightening nuclear ambitions???all in light of the destabilizing effects of Kim Jong-il???s death and the transition of power to his unpredictable heir.Ultimately, this engagingly written, authoritative, and highly accessible history warns of a regime that might be closer to its end than many might think???a political collapse for which America and its allies may be woefully unprepared.
The Impossible State
The first recorded trade between the two Koreas was in November 1988, in the form of a forty-kilogram (90-lb) box of clams that arrived in Pusan. The next was a shipment of 612 pieces of Korean artwork that arrived in Pusan on January 1989.
At the beginning of the book reveals were peppered in, constantly giving me answers to some of my questions while delivering more things for me to question. It think this really kept the energy high while reading and contributed to how quickly I devoured the book. Information was dropped along the way and without the necessary context I couldn???t solve the puzzle.
I particularly loved the ending. At this point a lot of the questions raised are answered and it feels like a arc of plot and characterisation has been completed. But Ifueko drops in just the hint of an opening for a sequel without needing to rely on a cliffhanger. It???s left me dying for more.
Monsters were nothing. The true terrors were people like me ??? the ones who saw suffering, who heard the screams of a hundred generations echoing for miles around them ??? and still did nothing.
Turton???s debut novel, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, was one of my top reads of the year it came out. While there was some confusion due to a large cast and interesting timeline choices the plot was so interesting that it kept me hooked the whole way through. I will be re-reading that book for years to come. Unfortunately, the second book by Turton did not work for me in the same way.
A murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.
It???s 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world???s greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Travelling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.
But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered. And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.
Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?
With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger onboard. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board.
Cleverness is a type of strength, and they won???t accept a woman who???s stronger than they are. Their pride won???t allow it, and their pride is the thing they hold dearest.
The Devil and the Dark Water
The book follows an instagram influencer who posts primarily about her family and her life as a mother, but we also get to read from two additional points of view. Her husband who seems to hate instagram but couldn???t support the family without it and a unknown third point of view who follows our main character on instagram.
I enjoyed the combination of the three points of view. I think one of the areas where the book excels is how these points of view intermingle and throw you off the scent of the plot. the writing also surprisingly managed to keep me equally engaged with both parents. They are both difficult characters to like. There were times where I sympathised with each of them and I felt like the parents were written more as real people rather than over the top villian/victim caricature.
I liked the depiction of influencers, especially when the book looked at the running of their accounts as brands. I had never really thought about the way being an influencer would affect your friendship groups, familial relationships and the way you stop enjoying events the way you would if you weren???t using it for social media.
The other points of view were enjoyable to read from. The third, unknown, point of view kept the plot propelling forward. I thought I???d figured out who the character was a few times throughout the book but when the reveal came, I was completely surprised.
I was on the edge the whole way through the book. It kept my glued to the page, updating my other half about plot progressions as I went through them and ranked highly for me in terms of enjoyment. There was a non-linear timeline, sub plots that threw me off the scent of any major twists and overall was an enjoyable experience to read.
My only disappointment was how the ending played out. Reading as an ebook meant I had no idea how many pages there were until the end so I felt like I???d reached the final plot event and was so hooked. It was so shocking and well laid through the reveals the third point of view gave us. Unfortunately instead of leaving the book on a brutal cliffhanger with an open ending, the author chose to come back and tie up loose ends. This did mean that the ending was less shocking and brutal, but I felt it ultimately ruined the effect. If the author was looking to avoid the admittedly harsh ending choices I think it would have better served the book to avoid going in that direction entirely.
I have seen a lot of hype surrounding Jane Harper???s previous books, particularly The Dry. I knew that I should check them out as I enjoy a good mystery and all the reviews I had seen where full of praise. I decided to try out the latest release on Netgalley and I am so glad I did. Spoiler alert: a lot more praise coming from me.
Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets???
Kieran Elliott???s life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home.
Kieran???s parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away???
Kieran hoped the numbness would set in soon. The ocean???s icy burn usually mellowed into something more neutral, but as the minutes ticked by he still felt cold. He Braced himself as a fresh wave broke against his skin. The water wasn???t even too bad, he told himself. Not at the tail end of the summer with the afternoon sun doing its best to take the edge off. Definitely goosebumps rather than the hypothermia. Kieran knew he had personally described water far colder than this as ???nice???. Only ever here in Tasmania, though, where sea temperatures surrounding the small island were relative.???
But no, Kieran was serious. Because all he could think of was Finn???s warning. If you???re in here at high tide, you are not coming out.
I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for sending me an arc of Call of the Bone Ships for an honest review.
The book immediately jumps straight into action as the crew of the Tide Child step in to rescue a ship stuck in shallow water. It is quickly discovered that even a simple rescue is not as straightforward as it looks. Following the events of the first book, Meas has been kept at arms length from Bernshulme by her mother and her spymaster. That doesn't stop her from getting involved as she uncovers secrets others would rather stay unnoticed.
I praised the world building in my review of book one and I can happily say that the depth of field we got in this sequel measured up to my high expectations. I would even say that my immersion and enjoyment of the world building increased this time around as I had a much stronger footing in the world. I also found that this book built on the fundamentals established in the first book without adding too many unfamiliar words.
The sea about them was grey and eternal, a continuous shifting of waves that gently jostled the little boat as it coasted across the sea, wings full of the storm's gift and the sky above as blue as promises.
The Bone Ships
“That is indeed right and proper what we were ordered,” said Mevans, for as said, he had particular and certain beliefs. “But he did not say to us that we should do it with all speed.
The Call of the Bone Ships
This book sat on my shelf for far too long waiting for me to appreciate it, so I need to write this review to let you readers know to pick it up immediately.
This is a close up study of the lineage of a family split down the bloodlines of two sisters. So in every second chapter we are going to the next generation and we read a chapter from a member of that generation from each of the sisters bloodlines. This choice made what could have been a very slow book feel lightning fast and gripping.
Gyasi is writing an intimate character study, but not of one person. In Homecoming, the family is the character. I adored this book so much for the characters. They were so real and the emotions in this book (especially towards the end) were really effective because of how closely you are tied to the characters. The story arc is for the family, and when we hit that final chapter and got some emotional resolution I was welling up. It has been a while since a book made me slow down, deliberately savour the story being told and experience every emotion with our characters.
I highly recommend this book. I am so incredibly excited for the new release coming from Gyasi. If you're like me and have had Homegoing sitting unread on your shelf for a few years, prioritise it. It's going to be worth it.
Technically DNF @ 75%
I get that its probably considered sacrilege to actively dislike a Brando Sando book, but I can't lie about this one. Elantris is failed by such a strong reliance on the “I'm not like other girls” brand of feminism and unrealistic main characters.
We have two main characters: Sarene, the Princess of a neighbouring country who is betrothed to the Raoden, the Prince of Kae. Sarene travels from her home to marry the Prince who sadly is struck by the Shaod and must be sent into the city of Elantris where all the others cursed by Shaod magic have to live. Raoden immediately upon learning the new rules of life in Elantris decides to pick the city up by its bootstraps and turn this curse into a positive. He is relentlessly positive after being told he's essentially a zombie with no hope for a future. Also, every person he recruits to his cause to make Elantris great again seems to magically have the skills he needs. The one of those scenes goes:
Raoden: Hey, wanna join us?
Recruits: Yes, sounds good. What can we do for you?
Raoden: Well if only I had someone skilled enough to build a roof.......
I wasn't immediately gripped by this one as I have been by all the other books in the series. You immediately find that there has been a time jump between the last book and this one and I thought it would change too much of my beloved characters. I was wrong.
The greater story at this point, the part of the plot with universe shifting elements, was the most intense and surprising aspect. I really really loved the ending of the book and the direction we are left facing. But I felt like I was missing character work. I adore the interactions between the Roci's crew and I didn't get as much time as I'd like watching the new interactions.
I found this book much harder to follow than the first one. It could be because I half watched the movie before I read the first book. In this one, we get a character study of Control as he starts his job as Acting-Director of Southern Reach. The writing style is full of unintelligible half questions, and dramatic poetic short paragraphs. When I managed to follow along it was an enjoyable concise storytelling method but most of the time I would drift in and out of the narrative.
I really enjoyed my experience with this book. One of my goals for 2020 was to read more non-fiction, particularly history, and this was one of my top contenders for the year.
Firstly, I have studied very little history and while I learnt about WWI in school we did not cover WWII. So it was really interesting and enlightening to read about the transition period. The accounts go chronologically and come from a variety of walks of life. As another reviewer said, the fresh feeling of the letters and diary entries kept me very engaged and focused.
I would say that as someone who knows absolutely nothing about the time period, I could have done with reading a few other texts to get a better grasp of the major players of the time. A lot of information is packed into this book, and I am looking forward to re-reading it when I have a better base knowledge.
I think I've figured out a plot twist that comes later in the series. That is quite disappointing, so I hope it twists again.
The story felt very bare and minimalist. I am baring in mind this is a debut so the next books will only get better. I don't feel any attachment to Jorg but in all fairness the audio for this book really emphasised how young and angst he sounds to that may be part of the problem.
I know the other books in the trilogy get longer, so I hope that they are packed with more world building and character work so I can enjoy the series more.
I really enjoyed my experience with this book. One of my goals for 2020 was to read more non-fiction, particularly history, and this was one of my top contenders for the year.
Firstly, I have studied very little history and while I learnt about WWI in school we did not cover WWII. So it was really interesting and enlightening to read about the transition period. The accounts go chronologically and come from a variety of walks of life. As another reviewer said, the fresh feeling of the letters and diary entries kept me very engaged and focused.
I would say that as someone who knows absolutely nothing about the time period, I could have done with reading a few other texts to get a better grasp of the major players of the time. A lot of information is packed into this book, and I am looking forward to re-reading it when I have a better base knowledge.