Reading Challenge - 25 to 29

The books on this list will be mostly fast reads and short stories. Books I could drop when I got the one I was reading (The mark of the Horse Lord) back, because I left it with a friend and it took me a long time to have it back.


25 - Contos Apátridas 
(I don't think this book is available in English, but you can read it if you know Spanish, Portuguese or Italian)
This is a collection of short stories by Ibero-American authors.

Um tradutor em Paris by Bernardo Atxaga [A translator in Paris] is a very existentialist story. A man retraces the steps in taken 20 years before in Paris, in order to accept his disability. Strange, feels unfinished and definitely not my cup of tea.
Nunca lá estive by José Manuel Fajardo [I was never there] is about nostalgia and remembering a day in the past. It is beautifully done, like most of Fajardo's writing. My favourite story in the book.
Tragédia do homem que amava nos aeroportos by Santiago Gamboa [Tragedy of the man who loved in airports] is amusing. It's about a man that finds himself being the boy toy of flight attendants.
Antiga Morada by Antonio Sarabia [Old address] is another strange story, about a brother and sister living alone in a old mansion. There is incest, ghosts and attempted murder. I liked the writing style, but the story was a bit disturbing.
O anjo vingador by Luis Sepúlveda [The vengeful angel] is a Monty Python-ish CSI kind of story. And that's why it's amazing. I really couldn't care less about the crime, but I loved the surreality of it.

Final opinion: a enjoyable book where the good stories outweigh the bad.

(4/5)



26 - M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
M is for Magic is a collection of short stories, some of which I already knew from Fragile Things (others are in Smoke and Mirrors which is in my To Read list). It is intended to young readers, but most of the stories are of the Horror kind.

The ones I already knew, I skimmed through them. October in the Chair starts with the months of the year telling each other stories, and finishes with October story. I loved the beginning, but October's Story is far too sad and tragic for me to re-read. How to talk with Girls at Parties is a very nice story about teenagers and love, and otherworld things. Sunbird is a great story, but it does nauseate me a bit (it deals with food, and people who like to eat, well, anything as long as it's tasty). The Witch's Headstone is part of The Graveyard book, and truly a children's story. A lovely one at that. And finally Instructions, which I love.

The new stories: The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a strange film noir kind of story dealing with Humpty Dumpty's nursery rhyme. It felt a bit rushed, with potential for more if expanded. Troll Bridge and Don't ask Jack are also very strange, and maybe not exactly for kids. Don't ask Jack could be an adult horror story (and really scary as well) if it was longer. How to Sell the Ponti Bridge was a sweet story about con men, and selling a landmark. It had a nice twist, but not to the level of American Gods. Chivalry was one of my favourites, so sweet and surreal and lovely. And so British. The Price was another favourite, that actually brought tears to my eyes. It's sort of biographical (I think, although I rather not delve too deeply into that), about one of the cats of the author and what happened in the night.

All in all, this book felt a bit like a disappointment. Some stories were good, but most left me with an eerie and empty feeling. Had it not been for Chivalry and The Price, this book would be just average.

(3,5/5)


27 - One bloody thing after another by Joey Comeau
One Bloody Thing After Another is an apt title to this book.
I enjoyed it, even if it's not my favourite genre. It is a fast read, but delivers what it promises.

Full review

(3,5/5)





28 - The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff
This is another book that the basic premise was brilliant, but its execution was not so. The story it's still good, but I did not enjoy the writing.

It's not a happy-ever-after story, but I found the end fitting, albeit sad. I liked the main character Phaedrus a lot (how couldn't I, a huge red head gladiator?), but I felt more drawn to a secondary character, Conory. I wish there was more about him in it.

My biggest complaint about this book is that there seems to be almost no female characters at all. There are two that are named, one is the evil usurper of the throne, the other her daughter whom the main character has to marry. And that is almost all there is to them.

It was nice, but I had hoped it would be better.

(4/5)


29 - Misfortune by Wesley Stace
I am not sure how I came about this book. It might have been a recommendation for another book, or simply finding the cover somewhere and being drawn to it (how could I not, there is a woman with a moustache!). In any case, it was an absolute find!

(4,5/5)

Full Review

Misfortune by Wesley Stace

Misfortune

I am not sure how I came about this book. It might have been a recommendation for another book, or simply finding the cover somewhere and being drawn to it (how could I not, there is a woman with a moustache!). In any case, it was an absolute find!

Set in the 19th century it tells the story of Rose Old Loveall, from birth to death, in a memoir style, and with very quirky language. What makes this book different? Well, Rose is found by the Young Lord Loveall after being left for dead in a rubbish heap, barely a day old, and rescued to be brought up as his child, and heir to his fortune. Only Rose is a boy, even if he is brought up as a girl.

This alone made the book amazing. And no, I'm not a particular fan of gender bending or cross-dressing, but the idea of a boy raised as a girl only because her/his father refused to accept that (s)he wasn't the sex he though/wished the baby was, seemed hilarious to me.

I loved the writing style, quirky and funny, but never demeaning the story. There were parts that it was truly Dickensian. On page 15 I was already certain I would love it, by page 31 I knew it was going to be epic. Even if I never had so much trouble with pronouns since The Left Hand of Darkness. But the author was never intimidated by Rose's gender duality. When Rose thought of herself as a girl (because she believed to she was one for a long time), she was referred as such. When he finds out that, after all, he is a boy, Rose becomes a "he". No confusion whatsoever.

There is also some play on words that is simply marvellous. Some of it comes directly from the character of Geoffroy Loveall, that names Rose Old as such, to be an anagram of his beloved sister's name Dolores, and renames Rose in one of her plays, as Lord Ose, another anagram. There is also the play with the family name, Loveall, that love all, live in Love Hall, and have the motto of Amor Vincit Omnia (Love conquers All).

But even if this is quirky and funny, there are deep themes being explored, gender identity and the definition of self being some of them. Finding out that one has been lied to all their life, by their parents on top of all, can have devastating consequences, and give a sense of loss like no other. Rose goes through all of this, and there are parts of her life that remain unknown to the reader, although they are hinted at, for she is ashamed of what she has done in her despair. To add to this, there is also the loss of her right to inherit the Loveall name and Love Hall, because she was adopted. It is amazing to read of Rose's misfortunes and problems, angsty in parts, but no overly so, and how she overcomes them.

Despite this, there is a happy ending waiting for Rose, and throughout the book there are hints that it will be so. And yes, the nice plot twist in the end is expected, some would say not entirely believable, but I liked it. It fitted Rose, especially because she was referred to as Miss Fortune (another play on words), because despite all that happened she was indeed very fortunate.

Absolutely lovely.

(4.5/5)