ElCicco – Page 46 – Cannonball Read 17

“Sometimes, there’s a story we tell ourselves. And sometimes a story is told about us.”

Cyclopedia Exotica by Aminder Dhaliwal

May 30, 2021 by ElCicco 2 Comments

I first read about artist/writer Aminder Dhaliwal in this NYT piece, then started following her Instagram account. The premise behind Cyclopedia Exotica and Dhaliwal’s art led me to purchase the book, whose message is pertinent in the current xenophobic climate in the US. Through characters who are Cyclopes in a world of the two-eyed, Dhaliwal examines the daily micro aggressions and prejudices that minorities encounter, as well as the Cyclopes’ responses to them. Anyone who does not fit the WASP-y cis/het norm will probably be […]

Disarming and Charming

Fence: Disarmed by Sarah Rees Brennan

May 29, 2021 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

An original novel based on C.S.Pacat’s Fence comic series, illustrated by Johanna The Mad I read volume one of this series, Fence: Striking Distance, about a month ago and loved it. The love affair continues and I am very much hoping that another volume is in the works. In Fence: Disarmed, we return to the exclusive boys boarding school known as Kings Row and its fencing team. When last we left them, relationships among the members of the fencing team were fraught. Would they come […]

“…believing in ghosts — that’s believing that love never dies.”

The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

May 19, 2021 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

Amy Tan’s The Hundred Secret Senses is a ghost story, a history, and a testament to the power of hope and love. This is only my second Amy Tan novel, but I must say, I am riveted by her storytelling. In this novel, as with The Kitchen God’s Wife, Tan manages to tell stories of the past that have a direct relationship to the present. This time, Tan reaches 100+ years into the past, to 1865, as she tells the story of Nunumu, the peasant […]

“Writing is the most important thing.”

The Notebook by Agota Kristof

The Proof by Agota Kristof

The Third Lie by Agota Kristof

April 28, 2021 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

This trilogy by Hungarian writer Agota Kristof is simply amazing. I read through the three novels quickly, and I’m still reeling from the story she tells about twin brothers who endured violence and privation in WWII, separation during the Cold War, and a troubling reunion afterward. Certainly, these novels can be read as the story of a divided and reunified Europe. They were written in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Soviet Union was in dissolution and the wall came down in Berlin. How […]

This was a fun surprise!

Fence: Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan

April 22, 2021 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

This is an original novel based on C.S.Pacat’s Fence comic series, illustrated by Johanna The Mad. This YA novel came to me courtesy of fellow Cannonballer CoffeeShop Reader, who sent it as part of the 2020 Holiday Book Exchange. I know she has reviewed the original series of graphic novels upon which it is based, and I just want to say again THANK YOU FOR THIS! I had never heard of the series or this author before, but I am definitely in for the follow […]

“Silence warps everything.”

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

April 13, 2021 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a PhD in history, specializing in the USSR, and back in the day, I taught courses like Western Civ and the 20th Century. I thought I knew my European history pretty well, but a YA novel just showed me a glaring gap in my knowledge. The Fountains of Silence is set in Spain, 1957, and it revealed to me how unaware I was of the oppressive fascist regime that existed in Spain until the death of […]

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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