I had been wanting to read this for a long time, ever since I finished Roberto Bolano's Savage Detectives. My immediate motivation to wade into this remarkable, very long book (893 pages) came from Patti Smith's Year of the Monkey (which I also recommend). This book is divided into five parts, and after I finished each part, I read another novel before starting the next part. I did this because I needed a break from the intensity of this book. It takes place in various cities in Europe, but mostly focuses on Mexico. On April 14, 2024, in an interview, Doris Kearns Goodwin was asked, "what is the most terrifying book you've ever read?" She replied, "2666 by Roberto Bolano." So, in addition to Patti Smith and Doris Kearns Goodwin, I'll add my recommendation of the most profoundly moving (and terrifying) book I've read in ages.
Santa Teresa, on the Mexico US border, is an urban sprawl that draws in lost souls. Among them are three academics on the trail of a reclusive German author; a New York reporter on his first Mexican assignment; a widowed philosopher; and a police detective in love with an elusive older woman. But there is darker side still to the town. It is an emblem of corruption, violence and decadence, and one from which, over the course of a decade, hundreds of women have mysteriously, often brutally, disappeared. Told in five parts, 2666 is the epic novel that defines one…
This book is called "a memoir in sonata form." It's written by a woman who fell in love with the flute as a child and became a highly esteemed flute professor in a prestigious music conservatory before she had to stop playing her beloved instrument due to the development of a neurological disorder. The book is about so many things: a difficult relationship with her father and men in orchestras who tried to control her; a horrifying rape; a suicide attempt; an abortion; but also the deep and passionate love of classical music. Anyone who has played in an orchestra or band and experienced power dynamics between instrumentalists and conductors or "first chair" people will appreciate this memoir. It goes into the "me, too" category for classical music.
Offering a uniquely musical perspective on the #MeToo experience, this is the story of a talented and fiercely determined musician—a young woman with everything to gain and, ultimately, nothing left to lose—who finds a way through despite multiple betrayals by the men in her life.
Jealous of her brilliant older sister, Ernestine longs for her father’s approval as a little girl but is never good enough. When she discovers a talent for the flute, she meets a charismatic teacher who gives her the encouragement she craves and becomes her surrogate father. After winning several competitions, she dreams of being a…
This book was published in 2006 and I must have read a review of it around then. However, it got hidden on a bookshelf until this year. I'm so glad I waited to read it because in 2024, the references to Ukrainian history, cities, and towns has much more meaning for me than it would have when I bought the book. It's a funny, poignant portrayal of interesting and odd family dynamics sprinkled with much love for Ukraine and Ukrainians.
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainianis bestselling author Marina Lewycka's hilarious and award winning debut novel.
'Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a glamorous blonde Ukrainian divorcee. He was eighty-four and she was thirty-six. She exploded into our lives like a fluffy pink grenade, churning up the murky water, bringing to the surface a sludge of sloughed-off memories, giving the family ghosts a kick up the backside.'
Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must aside a lifetime of feuding to save their emigre engineer father from voluptuous gold-digger Valentina. With her proclivity for green satin…
With increasing numbers of people showing various signs of some type of dementia, and no cures in sight, along with post-pandemic studies of the health risks of social isolation, what some have called a "disease of exclusion" must be addressed on a community-wide level. This book offers concrete ideas about how that can happen and contribute to the well-being of persons living with dementia and those who love them.
