Maxzor reviewed Houris by Kamel Daoud
« Je suis la véritable trace, le plus solide des indices attestant de tout ce …
A nice book
4 stars
I really enjoyed it. #bookstodon #fedilivre #VendrediLecture
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Wild Woila reviewed Account Rendered by Melita Maschmann
A cog in the Nazi machine
4 stars
Autobiography of a woman who was a committed & diligent National Socialist (#Nazi), of her experience in youth work & propaganda, and her journey coming to terms with the truth of what she participated in. Description of the clinical dispossession of the Poles is disturbing (and new to me), as is the readiness with which everyday mediocre people were led into misguided beliefs, alternative facts & constrained thinking, to do prosaic work with horrifyingly evil outcomes.
Reading time 11 days, 26 pages/day
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Wild Woila reviewed Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
So good it hurt to read
5 stars
A harrowing journey through foster care and the opiate crisis. So good it hurt to read. Raw deal after raw deal left my heart aching, but enough clear-sighted humanity to stave off despair.
Reading time 9 days, 61 pages/day
Wild Woila reviewed Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (Earthseed, #1)
In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful …
Prophetic for its time
3 stars
Adapting & building community during social collapse. Prophetic for its time, remains unsettling. God as Change could be a genuinely useful belief system. Only half a book, with ending sudden & too convenient (there is a sequel).
Reading time 5 days, 62 pages/day
Wild Woila reviewed Africa Is Not a Country by Dipo Faloyin
Lively, enlightening & optimistic
4 stars
Dismantles the many myths & prejudices outsiders hold about monolithic "Africa", along with a startling reminder of its colonial history and an overview of its many forms of dictatorship. Lively, enlightening & optimistic without being overly simplistic.
Reading time 6 days, 59 pages/day
Easy on the eyes
3 stars
A bit light on the mystery, and minimal movement in the meta-plot, but perfect relaxation escapism.
Reading time 3 days, 135 pages/day
Wild Woila reviewed Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
From the exiled Kenyan novelist, playwright, poet, and literary critic--a magisterial comic novel that is …
Amusing & insightful but long
3 stars
A satire of African dictatorships and coups. Nearly everyone is stupid, superstitious or greedy. Lightly amusing & insightful but exceeedingly long.
Reading time 24 days, 32 pages/day
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (also known as Alice Through the Looking-Glass …
Random colourful nonsense
2 stars
(2 stars = it was okay)
A sequence of random but colourful nonsense, for no discernible reason. Poor ending. Very effective at sending me off to sleep, though!
Wild Woila reviewed The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson
Return to Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with …
High-octane fantasy
3 stars
More high-octane fantasy from the Mistborn world, with some key reveals. Some very pleasing support characters.
Reading time 7 days, 71 pages/day
Wild Woila reviewed After Story by Larissa Behrendt
Healing through literary tourism?
3 stars
Indigenous mother & daughter find healing & belonging on a literary tour through England. Dwells a lot on literary history which seems incidental to main story. Not a lot of plot progression or character development.
Reading time 12 days, 25 pages/day
Wild Woila reviewed White Tears Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad
For readers of White Fragility, White Tears/Brown Scars is an explosive book of history and …
White womanhood is instrumental in upholding white supremacy
5 stars
Argues forcefully & convincingly that white womanhood has been (and still is) instrumental in upholding #WhiteSupremacy. I will never see the #intersection of #race & #gender so naively again. A must read for all - for solidarity & reflection.
Reading time 18 days, 12 pages/day
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Wild Woila reviewed Eat My Shadow by Linda Cockburn
20 years ago the world went quiet. Father is suspended between the living world and …
Climate collapse close to home
4 stars
Post-climate apocalypse in #HuonValley & #Hobart. Mostly believable (ex-PM was a caricature, and questionable lack of planning for expedition) with survivors being both humane & loving, but also merciless when called for. Unnerving to see local area in this light.
Reading time 7 days, 47 pages/day
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