Review: Thunderstruck & Other Stories

Thunderstruck & Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A collection of short stories will always contain some that are better than others, but the test is how many of the stories stick with you. It's already clear that almost all these stories, or at least snippets of them, will stick with me.

My favorites were Juliet and Property. The Lost & Found Department of Greater Boston and Some Terpsichore were also excellent. I found Thunderstruck a tad too downbeat (as a story, not the tone).


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Review: Bluebeard's First Wife

Bluebeard's First Wife by Ha Seong-nan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A refreshing collection of short stories:


1. The Star Shaped Stain - This was depressing, based off a real story of a summer camp that burned down with children in it.
2. Bluebeard’s First Wife - Interesting story. A woman marries a man and moves with him to New Zealand.
3. Flies - A man joins a police station in a remote town. He is an outsider and things happen (no spoilers!)
4. Night Poaching - The same feel as "Flies". In fact, I initially thought it might be a second part to that story. I enjoyed this a bit more though. A detective goes to a remote town to solve a murder.
5. O Father - A father seems to have a double life only his daughter is privy to.
6. Joy To The World - A woman is about to get married to a man. One drunken night she hangs out with him and his friends and finds out they harbor a secret.
7. The Dress Shirt - Another depressing one, surrounding a student suicide by jumping off an apartment building.
8. On The Green, Green, Grass - A couple has a disabled son, and a dog they love, which runs away, so they search for it.
9. A Quiet Night - An almost funny story. Although for much of it it seems like it could be tragic. About noisy upstairs bratty kids.
10. Pinky Finger - May favorite story. A woman gets into a cab alone. Things go wrong but not in a way you'd expect.
11. Daisy Fleabane - A girl gets hooked by a fishing line.


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Review: The Split: Finding the Opportunities in China's Economy in the New World Order

The Split: Finding the Opportunities in China's Economy in the New World Order by Shaun Rein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As soon as one moves to China it's clear that most of the information about China available internationally is laughably wrong. Even from just across the straight in Taiwan I was amazed at how different things were on the mainland when I moved there in 2016. And since I left, this is the first book I’ve seen that gave what felt like a real update on the country.


All of this is to say this is a much needed book. You’d be hard-pressed to find a book in English (or any language) discussing China from the inside with such knowledge, as well as candor.

To be sure, there is much I disagree with in the book. I believe he gives Xi a pass for many things, first and foremost as regards Taiwan (Xi forever refuses to even listen to the idea of independence, which isn’t touched upon, as well as the trade bans and constant political/social/military pressure on Taiwan), the trade bans/sanctions with East Asia, and economic coercion in general.

The target is people in the business community, but it might be good for some people in the state department to read this as well. Some great insight.


4.5 stars



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Review: The English Understand Wool

The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As with any Helen DeWitt novel, this was genius, comedic and entirely unique.


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Review: The Miracles of the Namiya General Store

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reminiscent of books like The Museum of Ordinary People, The Reading List, possibly the Dallergut Department store, and probably some others I’m missing. Is this a genre?

Regardless, it worked. While being convoluted, jumping back and forth between various different time frames, and having a host of characters, it wasn’t an issue to follow and there were plenty of nice surprises throughout the story.

Edit: I just realized this is the same author as the Detective Kaga series. Wow! I would never have guessed it. This is a completely different genre and style. 


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Review: The Gospels: A New Translation

The Gospels: A New Translation by Sarah Ruden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The translator in me loved the amount of detail Ruden goes into, not only with her translation, but with her first explanatory chapter and all of the footnotes. However, much of the discussion of the times and the place in history was too detailed for me. Plus, I felt she was threading the needle for some of these points (e.g. Pontius Pilate was Roman, and the Romans had no history/custom of washing their hands to rid themselves of blame. But it seems natural that, as governor of a Jewish area, he'd be familiar with local customs).

Still, a very meticulous work and interesting read.


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Review: The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding

The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding by Robert Hughes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this very prematurely, never even having set foot in Australia and knowing next to nothing about its history. Still, despite the overflow of people and place names, this was extremely eye opening. The treatment of the prisoners, in particular, is probably some of the most sadist material I have ever read. It is absolutely crazy that people in charge could do such things and still consider themselves civilized.

And many of the characters were unforgettable, especially Alexander Maconochie and his Merit point system. I wonder if any other place has ever tried a similar system, since it seemed to produce some excellent results.


And I expected to read more about The Kelly gang, but they were mentioned only in passing, so I can only imagine the target market was people who are much more familiar with Australian history than I am. 



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Review: Il canto dei Bischeri: Il nuovo e completo Struscio Fiorentino tra curiosità, leggende, aneddoti e credenze popolari della Firenze medievale e rinascimentale - Con appunti per uno Struscio Toscano

Il canto dei Bischeri: Il nuovo e completo Struscio Fiorentino tra curiosità, leggende, aneddoti e credenze popolari della Firenze medievale e rinascimentale - Con appunti per uno Struscio Toscano by Franco Ciarleglio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Much like Bricchiche Fiorentine, this has some great stories and anecdotes about different places in Florence. I really appreciated the map showing where each of the things mentioned is located, so I was able to easily add the more interesting ones to my Google maps. I'll be sure to check them out next time I'm in the city!


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Review: An Enemy of the People

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In addition to the whistleblowing aspect and the issue of monetary interest vs. the public good, emphasizing how corporate laissez-faire isn't necessarily good when government officials are in cahoots, this play also touches on the weaknesses, if you will, of democracy. Common people seem to be easily bought off and/or manipulated, despite being literally poisoned by their water supply. The doctor mentions how smart people (i.e. scientists and the like) should be the ones making decisions rather than the common people. Very few of the analyses seem to touch on this, but it's an interesting viewpoint. It reminds us how, to paraphrase Churchill, democracy can be a lousy system, despite being better than everything else out there.

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