Here are the reviews for the books I read in the last two months - I'm in a fiction phase and it doesn't seem like it's going away anytime soon!
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. Don’t not pick this book up because of its length - this one is immensely readable despite being a thick book. It left such a warm fuzzy feeling when I finished it! The story's got elements of sci-fi, historical events, philosophy, heroism, and best of all, environmental fiction. We’re transported back in time, decades earlier, where two characters are on opposite sides of the 1453 Fall of Constantinople. Turn the next page and you are decades into the future where humans are suffering the fate of a dead planet (think Wall-E). And then back to the journey of two characters in present day Idaho. The book is so engrossing. I just wanted to keep reading. The story of these five characters is interweaved around a famous Greek tale of Aethon - a foolish shepherd who goes on a wild adventure in search of a paradisiacal place - the 'land above the clouds'. The way the pieces fit together, it is so satisfying and nothing short of a work of art. Highly highly recommend.
Matrix by Lauren Groff. This one was a very different read. It’s a story of a seventeen year old girl, Marie, set in historical times. Thrown out from the royal court, she’s sent to become the prioress of an abbey. Her first few weeks in and she’s already thinking this is how her life ends. But slowly, she finds her purpose. She builds relationships with her sisters and grows as their leader and protector, bringing never-seen-before riches and prosperity to the abbey. Overall, I love the idea of the book and there’s pieces of humour, drama, wit. But I got disinterested at times as it felt like the pages lacked a certain flow and connectivity. This one was slightly difficult to finish.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This is the story of a woman in her mid-thirties who is losing her desire to live. Nothing in Nora's life seems to be going right. She’s consumed by her regrets so much so that she finally decides to end her pain and suffering. Between life and death, she finds herself in the Midnight Library - a place filled with shelves after shelves containing books of her lives from all the parallel universes. There exist lives where Nora is anyone she can possibly imagine - Olympic swimmer, scientist, author, rockstar - you name it. She jumps from one life story to another - checking off her regrets and tasting what her life can be. Despite having the option to stay in any life she chooses, she has a realization and decides to come back to her original messy one. She embraces just being alive. The last few pages of the book are truly transformative and powerful. It’s a book of hope, gratitude and changing perspectives. Definitely recommend.
What am I reading next? How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue