Saturday, June 24, 2017

THE MOUNTAIN by Paul Yoon


Simon & Schuster
Publishing Date August 15, 2017
Stories
Literary
5/5
Synopsis;
In The Mountain, Paul Yoon displays his subtle, ethereal, and strikingly observant style with six thematically linked stories, taking place across several continents and time periods and populated with characters who are connected by their traumatic pasts, newly vagrant lives, and quests for solace in their futures. Though they exist in their own distinct worlds (from a sanatorium in the Hudson Valley to an inn in the Russian far east) they are united by the struggle to reconcile their traumatic pasts in the wake of violence, big and small, spiritual and corporeal. A morphine-addicted nurse wanders through the decimated French countryside in search of purpose; a dissatisfied wife sporadically takes a train across Spain with a much younger man in the wake of a building explosion; a lost young woman emigrates from Korea to Shanghai, where she aimlessly works in a camera sweat shop, trying fruitlessly to outrun the ghosts of her past.

My view

Paul Yoon's short stories are exceptionally beautiful. His is a poetic soul at work which reflects upon each character, short story after short story.
I went out and purchased his two previous short story books, I so not wanted " THE MOUNTAIN " to end. 


Paul Moon's first novel


Paul Moon's second novel











Highly recommended
Thank you NetGalley for this exceptional ARC.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

THE END WE START FROM by Megan Hunter

















                   


 5/5

Grove Atlantic
Publishing date November 17, 2017

Synopsis:

As London is submerged below flood waters, a woman gives birth to her first child, Z. Days later, she and her baby are forced to leave their home in search of safety. They head north through a newly dangerous country seeking refuge from place to place, shelter to shelter, to a desolate island and back again. The story traces fear and wonder, as the baby’s small fists grasp at the first colors he sees, as he grows and stretches, thriving and content against all the odds.

My thoughts;

Highly praised by literary critics, a movie in the making, THE END WE START FROM by Megan Hunter a success before it's release to the public.
Some have qualified the novel as a sci-fi others a literary novel.
Nowhere did I feel I was reading a sci-fi novel. It is centered around three people, a mother, a baby, a husband in London. Yes there is a flood and all that follows a natural disaster of great proportion.
I like to mention the beautiful poetic narrative. A real pleasure to read. 

My hope is for Megan Hunter to continue writing. This is her first novel, a mere 140 pages.
I highly recommend this novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this advance copy.