Moon of the Crusted Snow

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A humdinger! Both my partner & I each read it in two sittings. Interesting to learn about the culture and to read a snowy tale on a hot summer eve. Made us plan canning ventures for the apocalypse!

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Stubborn Archivist

Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel took me to a Brazil I’ve never visited: from cold London winter to the yellow house on the Brazilian beach with family hugs & kisses, musical language, sandy bikinis, tropical food and icy beers. Appealing characters though the narrator’s voice, the stubborn archivist, might confuse as she shifts between you, she and the baby. Boldly for a debut author, she combines the confusion of being of dual heritage (“But where are you really from?”) with stories of coming of age as a woman. Some of the writing is poetry, fragmentary and artful in use of blank space and two languages.
Child of a Brazilian mother and British father, this suggests auto fiction and the author knows what it is to straddle two cultures. The section on Mr. Darcy at the end is hilarious. Highly recommended.

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August Blue

August Blue by Deborah Levy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a lilting pace to Levy's books that is familiar and appealing. Favorite tropes surface: green gemstones, wooden horses, shoes, flowers, insects, weather, birds, cocktails and unique characters like her friends Marie and Rajesh. As always, she writes of swimming, often in exotic locales. And as always, she has me wrapped around her elegant finger, happy to explore the mystery of doppelgangers and her origins.

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