2021 books: 26-29

[the_siobhan]

    

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia I heard good things about this book so I decided to give it a try. I will stay that it starts a bit slow - the main character is a socialite who is sent by her father to visit her cousin's marital home to sort out the reason for a strange letter. The patriarchal concern is of course that the new husband is after the family money, although I don't know what her father thinks she's going to do about - it's made very clear that the husband has absolute legal control over his wife. Of course the husband's real plot even weirder and more horrible. "Gothic" is exactly right - the story is creepy, atmospheric and delightfully overwrought. I loved it. Horace Walpole would be proud.

    

The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages BC loaned me this book. I'd say it's aimed at pre-teens and on the surface it's the story of a couple of smart girls who start off hating each other for stupid social clique reasons and end up becoming friends for much better actually-have-shit-in-common reasons. However there is an added layer because the whole story takes place against the background of the Manhattan project where their parents work. It's very well-written and I really enjoyed it. Very recommended.

    

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang Jung Chang tells the story of her grandmother, her mother, and her own early life in China. It's a family history, but one that focuses entirely on the experiences of the women. This is a thick book - not only does she go into a ton of detail, but she fills in all the background events that were taking place in China at the time. It's fascinating stuff.

Number 29 I'm gong to include on my list even though it's not technically a full book but I have spent a fair amount of time on it. A friend is writing a book that is really, really good and I've re-read it as a work in progress about a half-dozen times to give feedback. I can't wait until this thing gets published.