The Samurai - Shusaku Endo (New Directions, 2018) (translated from the Japanese by Van C. Gessel) Like Endo's other famous book, Silence, this is a slow moving and contemplative book, dealing with Christianity in 17th century Japan. Which isn't to say it's a boring book or one without much happening; it's simply a deeply thoughtful… Continue reading Book Review: The Samurai by Shusaku Endo
The Orange Tree - Carlos Fuentes (translated from the Spanish by Alfred Mac Adam) (Harper Perennial, 1994) This book consists of five semi-linked novellas. I say semi-linked because you can certainly read them individually and the connections between each are subtle. However, when read together, they flow and they really do make the best sense… Continue reading Book Review: The Orange Tree by Carlos Fuentes
My Heart - Semezdin Mehmedinović (Catapult, 2021) I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own. This book is for sale now. My Heart is a gentle, contemplative read. It is like reading the journal of a man who knows he is living the second… Continue reading Book Review: My Heart by Semezdin Mehmedinović
Wuhan Diary - Fang Fang (HarperVia, 2020) On January 25, 2020, the city of Wuhan went into lockdown. This was the epicentre of what would become a global pandemic. While much of the world would soon follow suit, while Wuhan was at the height of its fight against coronavirus, the rest of the world was… Continue reading Book Review: Wuhan Diary by Fang Fang
The Family Clause - Jonas Hassen Khemiri (Anansi, 2020) (translated from the Swedish by Alice Menzies I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. It is now on sale. Every six months a family is reunited in Sweden. A father returns from the country where he lives to the… Continue reading Book Review: The Family Clause by Jonas Hassen Khemiri
READ: The Mercies - Kiran Milwood Hargrave (Little, Brown and Company, 2019) Lost Boy Found - Kirsten Alexander (Grand Central Publishing, 2020) The Moment of Tenderness - Madeleine L'Engle (Grand Central Publishing, 2020) Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi (Anchor Canada, 2016) Little Eyes - Samanta Schweblin (Riverhead Books, 2020) (translated by Megan McDowell) Moonfleet - J.… Continue reading What I Read – April 2020
Little Eyes - Samanta Schweblin (Riverhead Books, 2020) I received an Advance Uncorrected Proof of this book. All opinions are my own. On sale date: 5 May 2020. Little Eyes walks a disconcerting line between horror and science fiction, existing in a world almost precisely like our own. The opening chapter demonstrates immediately the kind… Continue reading Book Review: Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin
Last year I started a new tradition of looking back over my year in reading and assigning arbitrary awards. You can check out last year's opening post here. (Again, this idea is blatantly ripped-off from FictionFan who is currently presenting her 2019 awards so you should go check those out too!) The categories, the shortlists,… Continue reading The Second Annual Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk (Riverhead Books, 2019) I received an Advance Readers' Copy of this book. It is now available for sale in North America. It's hard to know how to classify a book like this. It's not a mystery though there is a mystery at the… Continue reading Book Review: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Death is Hard Work - Khaled Khalifa (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019) When Bolbol's father dies his final request is to be buried with his sister in their hometown. The town is located a couple of hours drive away from where Bolbol lives (and where his father died). No big deal, right? Except what if… Continue reading Book Review: Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa
