My June reading was mostly fiction and included hits and misses. Alas we started with the latter.
34. I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney which was recommended as being “sidesplittingly funny”. This only goes to show that we don’t all share the same sense of humor as I found this book mostly just sad. The title is promising, and the first scene, the blind date, is incredibly clever and funny, although even then we see a hint of the self-sabotaging (I do not see it as self-deprecating) humor wielded by man who is depressed and insecure. From there the book went downhill. Where my friends saw wit, I saw sad deflection. New York shone, but otherwise the characters were stock stereotypes geared to take us on some magical path of redemption. If the book had not been a book club selection, I would not have finished.
35. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. This is a currently trending novel which uses the Trad Wife / Instagram influencer idea as a foundation for exploring patriarchy and misogyny in America along with the ways these ideas shape the manosphere, conservative politics , and evangelical christianity. (small c intentional). It is a far angrier novel than I anticipated and deeper as well, although I do not think it quite succeeded as satire (at least in accordance with my definition of satire). I felt the ending was a let-down, although logical in modern parlance and the novel took a turn that blunted the satirical and social impact. This is an example of the ways fantasy and magical realism can add a cutting level of depth, which cannot be achieved with more straightforward narratives. I still think this is a novel that should be read, unspoiled, for which reason I shall say no more. If you want to talk about it sometime, I am willing.
36. Fluke by Brian Klass. My one non-fiction book. Fascinating book exploring the role of chance in the world. Basically Klass is saying that we “control nothing but influence everything” with lots of interesting observations and data. Thought-provoking.
37. The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer. Historical Fiction. I loved this book, even as I can see how some readers on both Goodreads and Library Thing have found it problematic. It seems the author even finds the story problematic, in ways that I really don’t see. But I often find myself at odds. A lot of research went into this book, and a lot of effort to see the story from different sides. Some points of view are told more effectively than others, but still it is a compelling, and thought-provoking novel, if you are willing to be provoked.
Four books. I actually read five, but the last novel I read in June, and the first novel I read in July have both been put back on the stack as requiring a re-read. Since it is already the end of July, I doubt they will make the July list either. Annoying, but so it is.
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