カテゴリー: Fiction American

★★★★★ I knew it was super popular, and I agree, it's an absolute gem. Facts are not important here, just like over here in the society we live in. It's like I'm watching (peeking) something I shouldn't, and addictive, can't stop it. 

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Yellowface
Rebecca F Kuang, 2023
319 pages
Read 2025.06


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
I knew it was very popular but I didn’t know anything about the story, and it was not what I expected from the title (not that revealing except it’s to do with Asian) and definitely better than what I expected.
I thought it’d be more simple, more like a story from Athena’s point of view, but no, it’s June’s story, how the white average girl envied the beautiful and talented Asian girl, and went too far and caused such a mess.

It’s exciting, it’s difficult to pigeon hole, and it’s so now, so true and so entertaining.
It’s a story of a bunch of narcissists bitching about everyone else, the facts are no longer important but that’s life and life moves on.

And I know Kuang’s new book, Katabasis, is out, and I have to reduce my tsundoku (tbr) to at least 100 to get even more books… if I can resist.

🔽 Where to buy / Summary and more info 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

Yellowface: A Reese's Book Club Pick

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
Yellowface: The instant #1 Sunday Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from author R.F. Kuang (colour may vary) 

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●

Yellowface - Italiano Mondadori

★★★★★ We've all watched or heard of the movie. I watched it, but it still got me. He's cold and nervous, and on the contrary the Italian sky is so blue and open.

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The Talented Mr. Ripley 
Patricia Highsmith, 1955
252 pages
Read 2024.4


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
The famous Mr. Ripley.
As expected it's a great story, which of course I already knew, but I didn't know it was written by a woman, the same writer as Carol, and it was a series. 
It focuses a lot on what's on his mind, how he's cold and nervous, contrary to the blue sky of Italy. 
Japanese title is "Full of the sun", this alone doesn't make sense, but you get the idea behind it once you finish reading the book. 
The sun was so bright, too bright.

There is a remake on Netflix (yet again!) that I should watch too, it's a story that can be told again and again.

🔽 Where to buy 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

The Talented Mr. Ripley

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
The Talented Mr Ripley: Patricia Highsmith: 1 (A Ripley Novel) 

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●

Il talento di Mr. Ripley

★★★★☆ It's about 3 women, who want something else than what they have. Don't we all. I really should have read Mrs. Dalloway first.

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The Hours
Michael Cunningham, 1999
230 pages
Read 2024.5


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
I knew I had to read “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf first, but went ahead, which is my fault, I’m sure it’d have been much better if I knew the story first.

It’s about 3 women, who want something else than what they have.
It is normal to be not normal, to want to run away, turn away.

But as it shows in the case of Mrs Brown, it affects others, and the stories get tangled up.
Some hours are so significant in life. Small actions made in these hours will haunt you.

🔽 Where to buy 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

Hours, The (Picador Modern Classics, 1)

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
THE HOURS: Michael Cunningham

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
Le ore (Italiano)

★★★☆☆ He follows the mysterious beautiful Korean girl. The dark and raw story about youth and there's a bit of punk a bit of cult. The writing style is refreshing.

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The incendiaries
R. O. Kwon, 2018
214 pages
Read 2024.6


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
The dark and raw story about youth and there’s a bit of punk that leads to cult and terrorism, but everything seems to light and superficial, thus, contemporary.

It’s new in style, a bit like reading a poem and it’s refreshing.
But it lacked depth, you can’t go deep into the characters, neither the girl or the boy, so it doesn’t make you feel lost in the story.
But maybe that’s the point, and I didn’t get it.

🔽 Where to buy 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

The Incendiaries

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
The Incendiaries

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
Gli incendiari (Italiano)

★★★★★ A difficult read, difficult to understand what’s actually happening, but once you get a hang of it, and with a bit of research it’s gripping. Must read this again, now that I know the story.

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The Sound and the Fury
William Faulkner, 1929
464 pages
Read 2024.7


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
A difficult read. 
The first chapter is written from the perspective of a disabled man, who is the fourth child of the family and it's not chronological, things come up as they come up in his mind, jumping around the time and repeating the same things, repeating his love for his sister.
Then it goes to the first son's perspective, then the second son's, then ends with no first-person narrator and concludes how the family has collapses.

Throughout the book things go back and forth and there is little explanation of what's actually happening or who's speaking, as if you are reading from the character's mind so you're supposed to follow with no description of events.

Though it's difficult, and I needed a synopsis from Wikipedia, it is gripping once you get a hang of it. 
Unique, for sure, and it's a sad story of a proud but dysfunctional family.
Must read this again, now that I know the story.

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

🔽 Where to buy 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

The Sound and the Fury: The Corrected Text

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
The Sound and the Fury (Vintage classics)

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
L'urlo e il furore (Italiano)

★★★★☆ Everyone has seen the film, or at least recognise when they see a picture or scene. The free spirited Holly is fragile, she’s only 20. Everyone loves her but does anyone care about her?

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Breakfast At Tiffany's
Truman Capote, 1958
176 pages
Read in 2020.05

🔽 Book review and notes 🔽

Everyone has seen the film, or at least recognise when they see a picture or scene.

But I didn't remember it being so dark towards the end?
Probably it isn't in the film.
As many reviews say "you will fall in love with the book", and yes you do. 
The free spirited Holly is actually fragile, especially in the book, she's 20. 
She makes mistakes, yes, but she moves on, quickly. 

Everyone loves her but nobody really cares about her. 
The iconic romantic story. 

There are 3 more short stories and they kind of share the same feeling of bitter romance.
 

🔽 Where to buy / Summary and more info 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
Breakfast at Tiffany's: Truman Capote: 4 (Penguin Essentials, 4)

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
Colazione da Tiffany

★★★☆☆ American modern classic. In the wild wild west, hippies roam around to bomb bridges and dams, to save the environment. It’s comical and awkward. I knew it was not my cup of tea but marched on.

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The Monkey Wrench Gang
Edward Abbey, 1975
480 pages
Read 2024.11


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
It’s the 70s American wild wild west hippy “comic” – not my cup of tea.
I did expect it to be like this, and it did turn out to be like this.
And I knew I would march on to finish anyway.

3 men and 1 woman, strangers, meet and form a gang to go against the system, aiming to blow up bridges and dams to save the environment.
Maybe it’s a like those gen z warriors who vandalise the art in museums, but they are the weaker copycats, these teenagers don’t risk their lives, but here the Gang do have a rich man but are really sweating and risking.

Anyways this book, it’s more for those macho men, a lot of details of trucks and arms, and it’s that generation who just came back from Vietnam.
Very very far from myself.

🔽 Where to buy 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

The Monkey Wrench Gang (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
The Monkey Wrench Gang (Penguin Modern Classics)

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
The Monkey Wrench Gang Paperback – English edition

★★★☆☆ It is inspiring, it has all the tips clearly listed to fulfil your dreams, very easy to understand and after reading it anyone would be instantly inspired. It’s a self-help book, and I’m not the target.

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The monk who sold his Ferrari
Robin Sharma, 1996
Canada
198 pages
Read 2023.03


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
It is inspiring, it has all the tips clearly listed to fulfil your dreams, very easy to understand and after reading this book anyone would be instantly inspired.
It has practical advices like if you don't really get what meditation is, just focus on one point of any object in your room and look at it for a while, without seeking meanings.

But it is very casual and not great as a story, which is probably not the point anyway. 
"A fable about fulfilling your dreams and reaching your destiny " is probably a disclaimer so people won't expect it to be interesting as a story, it's a self-help book after all.

It drops terms like "ancient India" "mystical community" or "legend in Asia", which attracts the West - but it did its job.
So it IS inspiring, it does move you to change a small thing in your life straight away. 
Just wish it was more interesting but I am also very aware that I'm not the target of this book.

(First published in Canada)

🔽 Where to buy / Summary and more info 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
Il monaco che vendette la sua Ferrari (Italiano)

★★★☆☆ A bit like Haruki Murakami, of American suburbs, nothing really happens, it’s subtle and modern – and who knew, Murakami actually translated this book into Japanese. A nice little read.

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What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Raymond Carver, 1981
US
176 pages
Read in 2023.06


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
Short stories from 80s.

A bit like Haruki Murakami, of American suburbs, nothing really happens, it's subtle and modern - and who knew! Murakami actually translated this book into Japanese.
So you might enjoy twice if you are a Japanese Murakami fan.

I didn't know what to expect I just picked it up randomly from a book shop, though not my type, it was a nice little read.

🔽 Where to buy / Summary and more info 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: Stories

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: Raymond Carver

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
Di cosa parliamo quando parliamo d'amore (Italiano)

★★★☆☆ It’s Margaret Atwood so the writing is intriguing, imaginative and gripping. But, but but, story-wise I just couldn’t get myself to be gripped.

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Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood, 2003
389 pages
Read in 2026.01

🔽 Book review and notes 🔽

It's a difficult one to judge.
First of all It's a Science Fiction, and I'm no expert nor fan of SF so I can't be fair.

It's about a world after some kind of catastrophe where there are no other human than the protagonist and the science has screwed up with species, and so it's a perfect dystopia. 
It's Margaret Atwood so the writing is intriguing, imaginative and gripping.

But, but but, story-wise I just couldn't get myself to be gripped.
The fact that you can't know what's going on for nearly 2/3 of the book is a problem for me (most probably not for SF fans!)
Another thing is that you can't be attached to any characters because the author is not building up characters, she's just building up the background and the scenes (for a long time)

Maybe it was supposed to be read when it came out over 20 years ago.
Today, with the technology in the post covid society, we feel like we know it's not a mere SF.
 

🔽 Related pages 🔽

🔽 Where to buy / Summary and more info 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

Oryx and Crake (The MaddAddam Trilogy) 

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
Oryx And Crake: Margaret Atwood (The Maddaddam Trilogy)

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
Oryx e Crake (italiano)

★★★★☆Travel journal of a 30 year old writer, while living in Berlin constantly whining he decides to go on pilgrimages. It’s a fun read about pilgrimages, he has no sense of spirituality. It’s also about him trying to connect with his father, a rabbi who now lives with his boyfriend.

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A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, 2012
352 pages
Read in 2025.11


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽

When you start reading this book, it's about this guy, 30 year old writer, whining while living in a liberal cheap and bare concrete yet artistic Berlin and decides to go on pilgrimages, to Christian Camino de Santiago in Spain, Buddhist Shikoku 88 temples in Japan and Jewish holiday in Uman in Ukraine.
But as you read through you realise it's a book about a guy who is trying to connect with, or forgive, his father that he loves.

So yes in a way it's typical, you travel around the world to find out that what you need was always at home, but we also know that it was necessary to do all the painful journeys, hardship and solitude. 
If forgiving is somehow obnoxious, then not holding grudges, to find peace.

Apart from that, it's a good read about pilgrimages, he has no sense of spirituality let alone  religion, but that's what most of us are today, and yet there's still a meaning to go on pilgrimages. 
He did Camino with a friend and manages to stay friends, and Shikoku alone, and Ukraine with his brother and father.

His Jewish humour shines whenever he whines, about whatever.
Reading his description of destroyed feet and cold rainy miserable nights might not encourage us but it's a fun read.

🔽 Where to buy / Summary and more info 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful [Lingua Inglese] 

★★★★☆ Women and their inner angers, and how the social class divides women. Their little angers start everywhere.

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Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng, 2017
400 pages
Read in 2020.03

🔽 Book review and notes 🔽

Borrowed from a colleague as I was working on this project.
It starts slowly and as the title suggest little fires start in everyone. 2 families, opposite ideals, and different mothers different daughters with different fates.

The story goes around women and their inner angers, and how the social class divides women. 
Like when you talk about feminism you must also remember the class and the race, it's more complicated than we'd hope.

It might be a bit too obviously girlie buddie book, but maybe I'm too harsh.
Mia is great, she's the cool one, everything is all nicely done, but in this kind of books I always want characters to break down and go insane to be happy.

🔽 Related pages 🔽
tag

🔽 Where to buy / Summary and more info 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

Little Fires Everywhere: A Novel

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
Little Fires Everywhere: 'Outstanding' Matt Haig

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
Tanti piccoli fuochi (italiano)