My Goodreads reviews

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Sea of Poppies

Sea of Poppies
author: Amitav Ghosh
name: Kim
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/22
date added: 2024/10/22
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Yellowface

Yellowface
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Kim
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/10
date added: 2024/10/10
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review:
A clever story well told

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most clever, and this one works a treat. It’s mostly believable, told with much wit and insight, but stretched a bit beyond the plausible towards the end.

The Butterfly Man

The Butterfly Man
author: Heather Rose
name: Kim
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/28
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review:
Beautiful, gut wrenching, unexpected

Heather Rose is a superb writer, and this is such a well crafted book. It made me wonder, it made me laugh and it made me cry. Just read it…

Return to My Soul

Return to My Soul
author: Gabrielle Bergan
name: Kim
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
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The Sea Wolf

The Sea Wolf
author: Jack London
name: Kim
average rating: 4.67
book published: 1904
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
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World’s End (Lanny Budd #1)

World's End (Lanny Budd #1)
author: Upton Sinclair
name: Kim
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1940
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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Scandinavia: A History

Scandinavia: A History
author: Ewan Butler
name: Kim
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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Devotion

Devotion
author: Hannah Kent
name: Kim
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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Godwin

Godwin
author: Joseph O’Neill
name: Kim
average rating: 3.70
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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review:
Not sure why I persevered. Maybe because the storyline had lots of potential. After the silly ending I found myself regretting even starting. An implausible narrative told from two POV’s who were in many ways incidental to the story and neither of them particularly relatable. That the book was largely well written didn’t hide the fact of it being too smart for its own good, trying too hard to be relevant. A missed opportunity for both writer and reader.

The Extinction of Irena Rey

The Extinction of Irena Rey
author: Jennifer Croft
name: Kim
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/06/15
date added: 2024/06/15
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Time Shelter

Time Shelter
author: Georgi Gospodinov
name: Kim
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/29
date added: 2024/05/29
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review:
A very different kind of book

Written as a series of vignettes that sometimes hangs together, sometimes not. The narrative is about time and place and how we deal with both through life, but it is also about memory loss and the effects of dementia, the impact of war, the end of the Cold War and a lot more. The author tries to cover a lot of ground, sometimes whimsical, sometimes profound, rarely boring but also not sufficiently engaging for me. Kudos to the translator (from Bulgarian), this is not an easy book to get your head around.

Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921

Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921
author: Antony Beevor
name: Kim
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/04
date added: 2024/04/04
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The forgotten war that rendered the revolution a myth

Anthony Beevor at his best, the detail he gets across is astonishing, although in this book there is little to be known about the people and the soldiers who suffered through what must surely be one of the most horrible ‘civil’ wars in all of history. 12 million dead and so many more in the famine and devastation of the aftermath.

The Visitors: The remarkable debut novel from an award-winning author and playwright, for readers of Melissa Lucashenko, Shankari Chandran and Tara June Winch

The Visitors: The remarkable debut novel from an award-winning author and playwright, for readers of Melissa Lucashenko, Shankari Chandran and Tara June Winch
author: Jane Harrison
name: Kim
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/27
date added: 2024/03/27
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Beautiful, poignant, devastating

The elders of Gadigal Country meets to decided to welcome or repel the mobs arriving on eleven alien ships in1788. They debate for a day, and the rest is history. It’s a very well told tale, it feels authentic, the characters believable and the story both funny and sad. Great imagination by the author. If only…

High Heels and Low Blows

High Heels and Low Blows
author: Jill Valentine
name: Kim
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/20
date added: 2024/03/20
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A story rarely told from an insightful author

A glowing review in the Financial Review made me buy it, as there are not many books written about contemporary business life. It was a struggle at first, but I persevered because I wanted to know how the story would go. Realistically told in a style that suited the narrative, but also at times excruciatingly repetitive and boring descriptions of what the characters were wearing and where they were sitting, standing or eating. Some poor editing jarred at times, but overall an enjoyable read.

The Thinnai

The Thinnai
author: Ari Gautier
name: Kim
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/02/25
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review:
Lovely writing, confusing story

Tempted by the many glowing reviews, I set out on what was a strange reading journey. Some beautiful writing, the rendering of the neighbourhood where the story is set is delightful, the characters wonderfully strange. But the story remained an unsatisfying mystery to me…

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