en-US Sun, 27 Apr 2025 08:45:09 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9358345741 Sun, 27 Apr 2025 08:45:09 -0700 /review/show/7522989226 Rachel is currently reading The Place of Shells by Mai Ishizawa
]]> Review6920948026 Sun, 27 Apr 2025 06:51:10 -0700 /review/show/6920948026 Rachel gave 5 stars to The Deserters (Paperback) by Mathias Énard
]]> Review7512147110 Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:02:32 -0700 /review/show/7512147110 Rachel gave 4 stars to Eternal Summer (Kindle Edition) by Franziska Gänsler
bookshelves: in-translation, women-in-translation
It’s very common for me to read a book that feels either too long—needing a good edit and to cut down on extraneous details—or too short—needing to expand on its ideas, flesh out its characters, etc. It’s rare I read a book that feels just right, but Eternal Summer fits the bill.

Living in a former German spa-town, Iris is now the sole owner of a hotel that’s been owned by her family for generations. It rarely sees visitors these days due to damage climate change has wrecked on the region, the summers are now ablaze with fires and winter gets shorter and shorter every year.

When a woman and her young child show up one day asking for a room, their presence is a welcome distraction from the fires, the boredom, and the loneliness of living in an increasingly deserted town. But something’s not quite right about the pair, the woman is shifty and is prone to leaving her daughter alone while she wanders off in the night. When a man calls the hotel and inquires whether Iris may have seen a woman and child in town, Iris finds herself caught in the middle of a domestic dispute and wonders who in this situation she can trust.

Gänsler is in complete control throughout this short book, making every character and situation feel real, building up the suspense with the encroaching wildfires, but never giving in to dramatics or falling victim to uneven pacing. It’s a quick read, but I was left feeling completely satisfied.

A perfect summer read, the kind of book that’s just begging to be devoured on a hot and oppressive August afternoon. ]]> ReadStatus9348630740 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 16:18:32 -0700 /review/show/7516237080 Rachel wants to read A Long Way from Douala by Max Lobe
]]> ReadStatus9347789624 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 11:58:59 -0700 /review/show/6920948026 Rachel started reading The Deserters by Mathias Énard
]]> Review7512147110 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 10:15:19 -0700 /review/show/7512147110 Rachel gave 4 stars to Eternal Summer (Kindle Edition) by Franziska Gänsler
bookshelves: in-translation, women-in-translation
It’s very common for me to read a book that feels either too long—needing a good edit and to cut down on extraneous details—or too short—needing to expand on its ideas, flesh out its characters, etc. It’s rare I read a book that feels just right, but Eternal Summer fits the bill.

Living in a former German spa-town, Iris is now the sole owner of a hotel that’s been owned by her family for generations. It rarely sees visitors these days due to damage climate change has wrecked on the region, the summers are now ablaze with fires and winter gets shorter and shorter every year.

When a woman and her young child show up one day asking for a room, their presence is a welcome distraction from the fires, the boredom, and the loneliness of living in an increasingly deserted town. But something’s not quite right about the pair, the woman is shifty and is prone to leaving her daughter alone while she wanders off in the night. When a man calls the hotel and inquires whether Iris may have seen a woman and child in town, Iris finds herself caught in the middle of a domestic dispute and wonders who in this situation she can trust.

Gänsler is in complete control throughout this short book, making every character and situation feel real, building up the suspense with the encroaching wildfires, but never giving in to dramatics or falling victim to uneven pacing. It’s a quick read, but I was left feeling completely satisfied.

A perfect summer read, the kind of book that’s just begging to be devoured on a hot and oppressive August afternoon. ]]> Review7500769378 Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:22:15 -0700 /review/show/7500769378 Rachel gave 5 stars to Rock, Paper, Grenade (Paperback) by Artem Chekh
4.5. A compelling coming of age set in post-Soviet Ukraine.

Tymofiy is a young boy when his grandma brings home a boyfriend that she’ll continue to kick out and let back in on a regular basis over the next 15 years. Felix is a veteran of the Soviet-Afghan War and suffers from severe PTSD and alcoholism as a result of his time in the service. Tymofiy and Felix’s relationship is shaky, acting as a somewhat fatherly figure (though I use this term very loosely) at times when he can find a window of sobriety, at others points he’s violent and a nuisance to everyone around him. Chekh’s portrayal of a man haunted by the things he has seen and done rang true, you could see glimmers of Felix’s humanity and know that things could have been different for him in a different place, a different time, under different circumstances.

And so Tymofiy grows up around this chaos, this poverty. “Who are you?� isn’t just a question shouted by Felix at the climax of his drunken fits, but a question that Tymofiy reckons with as he struggles to find his place in his small city. He switches schools, makes friends and loses them just as quick, wanders around his grey and industrial surroundings wanting to both leave it all behind and stick to what is known and familiar.

While I had the impression that Chekh had created a very realistic depiction of this time and place, I can’t actually speak to that so I was glad to read many reviews from Ukrainians noting the accuracy of the setting, the atmosphere, and the hopeless feeling of being a youth during this time. Chekh’s descriptions of Cherkasy and its inhabitants are detailed, it was all very easy to picture in my mind’s eye.

I really enjoyed this read and hope to see others pick it up! ]]> ReadStatus9343372610 Wed, 23 Apr 2025 09:49:04 -0700 /review/show/7512549876 Rachel wants to read Carnaval Fever by Yuliana Ortiz Ruano
]]> Review7500769378 Wed, 23 Apr 2025 09:20:04 -0700 /review/show/7500769378 Rachel gave 5 stars to Rock, Paper, Grenade (Paperback) by Artem Chekh
4.5. A compelling coming of age set in post-Soviet Ukraine.

Tymofiy is a young boy when his grandma brings home a boyfriend that she’ll continue to kick out and let back in on a regular basis over the next 15 years. Felix is a veteran of the Soviet-Afghan War and suffers from severe PTSD and alcoholism as a result of his time in the service. Tymofiy and Felix’s relationship is shaky, acting as a somewhat fatherly figure (though I use this term very loosely) at times when he can find a window of sobriety, at others points he’s violent and a nuisance to everyone around him. Chekh’s portrayal of a man haunted by the things he has seen and done rang true, you could see glimmers of Felix’s humanity and know that things could have been different for him in a different place, a different time, under different circumstances.

And so Tymofiy grows up around this chaos, this poverty. “Who are you?� isn’t just a question shouted by Felix at the climax of his drunken fits, but a question that Tymofiy reckons with as he struggles to find his place in his small city. He switches schools, makes friends and loses them just as quick, wanders around his grey and industrial surroundings wanting to both leave it all behind and stick to what is known and familiar.

While I had the impression that Chekh had created a very realistic depiction of this time and place, I can’t actually speak to that so I was glad to read many reviews from Ukrainians noting the accuracy of the setting, the atmosphere, and the hopeless feeling of being a youth during this time. Chekh’s descriptions of Cherkasy and its inhabitants are detailed, it was all very easy to picture in my mind’s eye.

I really enjoyed this read and hope to see others pick it up! ]]> ReadStatus9342828810 Wed, 23 Apr 2025 07:19:01 -0700 /review/show/7512147110 Rachel is currently reading Eternal Summer by Franziska Gänsler
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