November book reviews
A busy month for me which meant a little less reading than usual. Here’s the November recap:
A Psalm for the Wild Built – Becky Chambers
A thought-provoking novella that turns on the central question of what makes us human. Our purpose, our heartbeat, our gender, our ideas? Chambers proposes these answers and more in story that follows a non-binary tea-making monk and a robot in search of answers as they quest to a remote part of a world recovering from ecosystem collapse. A fun little philosophical read.
A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
The saddest, most beautiful book I’ve ever read. Follows four friends – a lawyer, an artist, an architect, and an actor – in New York City across decades, exploring their pasts which are, in turns, highly privileged and impossibly tragic. Yanagihara spools you into the solipsistic self-reflections of her protagonists; her prose is poignant, just sparse enough to leave you wanting more, even though you know the next page is going to hurt. Not for the faint of heart – topics include rape, suicide, and self-loathing. The ending is as complete as it is inevitable. This book will stick with me a long time.
A Forest of Vanishing Stars - Kristen Harmel
An elegant, heart-wrenching story inspired by the real lives of Jews who sheltered deep in the forests of Poland to escape Nazi persecution during WWII. Follows the story of Yona, a woman raised in the Naliboki forest who renders assistance throughout the 1940s to Jews who flee to her woods. Rife with loss and love, and about defining what family really means.
Finding the Mother Tree – Suzanne Simard
British Columbia-born scientist Simard walks readers through her life from growing up in the interior of BC, to trailblazing as a woman in the forestry industry, to fighting for policy change at the highest levels of government. An inspiring memoir about the connectedness of nature and the striking symbiosis of forests, from mycelium networks deep beneath the earth to the canopies of ancient oaks. A must read for fans of Braiding Sweetgrass.
Rule of Wolves – Leigh Bardugo
The seventh and final (for now) Grishaverse book and one of my favourites. Contains: complex political intrigue, cursed kings, dragon-generals, empresses and flying war machines, pining, love, and magic. I particularly enjoyed Bardugo’s accessible but detailed world building and getting to spend more time in the other nations in her fantasy setting. A satisfying conclusion to this YA series.
Iron Flame – Rebecca Yarros
Book two of the booktok’s latest darling series. Didn’t enjoy as much as Fourth Wing. But even still, Iron Flame’s uneven pacing and painful romantic drama is balanced out by so many epic battles and dragons that I enjoyed this YA fantasy romp by the end. Controversial ending, which I personally didn’t mind at all.
The Last Devil to Die – Richard Osman
Addictive as dark chocolate, wholesome, and murdery. Book four of the Thursday Murder Club series about four British pensioners meddling in police business and solving crimes. Featuring shady antiques dealers, drug runners, forgeries, reviews of the latest M&S products, and foxes. One of the most poignant depictions of Alzheimer’s and loss I’ve read in a while.
Murder at Kensington Palace – Andrea Penrose
Serial killers and secret identities abound on the gaslit streets of London in book four of Penrose’s mystery series. Inspired by Regency era pseudoscience and a Frankenstein-esque fascination with galvanism. A good historical mystery for a rainy day.
