booktrovert – Page 14 – Cannonball Read 17

Two beautiful stories about family

Schmuel's Bridge by Jason Sommer

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

November 12, 2022 by booktrovert Leave a Comment

It is quite an undertaking to excavate our parents sorrow. To do so with a parent who has been through one of the worst tragedies in history, is something enormous. This was a fascinating experience for me to read about a man who I know only as a father to share what it is like for him, only as a son. The author’s son is a student at my school, and I have had the pleasure of having meetings with Jason and his wife (I […]

A quiet, surprisingly intense emotional reading experience

The Colony by Audrey Magee

November 6, 2022 by booktrovert Leave a Comment

Lloyd, an English artist, takes a boat (not the kind with a motor – a currach, which I had to look up because I was unfamiliar with traditional Irish boats) to a remote Irish island at the edge of Europe in 1979. The artist intends to paint a masterpiece there – all while being a huge pain in the ass to the island inhabitants, which are few in number but mighty in personality. There’s four generations of a family living on the island, but mostly […]

More horror in real life

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

October 30, 2022 by booktrovert 2 Comments

All month I have searched for a “perfect” horror novel, something to match the energy of “spooky season”. I read several thrillers, but nothing that really fit the bill. And then, on Monday, real life horror intervened and now I need to put the horror novel aside – I’m hoping to find some books that are more comforting, scares are the last thing I want. I’m a teacher in St. Louis, and not two miles from my house something horrific happened and I am still […]

Not-so-thrilling Thriller

Sundial by Catriona Ward

October 24, 2022 by booktrovert Leave a Comment

I had initially been very excited to read this book – but after finishing The Last House on Needless Street I was wary of looking forward to this reading experience. I still held out some hope that this would be different, but despite being two really different books the experience was pretty similar. Ward writes about abuse – not as a voyeur, there’s not very much of the actual abuse itself in the novel, but the impact of abuse in the longer term. How do people who […]

Is that ALL there is?

The All Of It by Jeanette Haien

October 22, 2022 by booktrovert 1 Comment

I believe I picked this up because Modern Mrs. Darcy recommended it in a list of books that could be read in an afternoon. It is, indeed, a very short novel, so on that score it was worth that particular recommendation. However, it was not my cup of tea. I’m honestly a bit baffled as to why so many people love this book so much? I cannot understand how so many people find this to be charming. A bumbling and horny old priest visits with […]

Good Book / Poor Reading Experience Frustration

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

October 22, 2022 by booktrovert Leave a Comment

This is one of those novels in which two things are true, for me: I recognize how great the writing is, and the elegance of the story – it’s objectively a really great book. And, also, for me, this was not really a story that I felt interested in consistently. I think that it was the war stories that made me less interested in this story overall – I’m not really interested in reading about men’s experiences in a war, even when written by someone […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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