I’m still playing catch-up, and a quarter of September will have already passed by the time you’re reading this. Not to worry; so far this month I’ve still been reading one of my August picks, Julia by Sandra Newman.
All the Dystopias!
Julia offers Julia Worthing’s perspective on the events of 1984. I’m about 5/6 through the book and it’s harrowing. More so than last month’s Prophet Song. I want to reread 1984 this month and compare it to Julia, to see how the two intersect from Winston Smith’s point of view. Another slim dystopia I have slipped into the pile is Appliance by J. O. Morgan, a book I bought last year. It was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize and, according to the blurb, will look at the role of technology in our lives. I’ll be looking to report back on the similarities and differences between Julia and 1984, as well as how Appliance and Prophet Song intersect with them along the dystopian axis.
There’s more dystopian action in Chain Gang All-Stars, though this appears to be more Stephen King’s Running Man than something George Orwell might have written. Set in the near future, America’s private prison system has given rise to CAPE (Criminal Action Penal Entertainment). Huge amounts of money are made as desperate inmates fight in gladiatorial arenas for their freedom. This looks to be a hi-octane nightmare of the future, but one that is just as devastating as the books described above.
I am hoping that the Dallergut Dream Department Store will be considerably less dystopian in nature. It was August’s pick for the Waterstones Science Fiction book of the month. It focuses on a department store that sells dreams. From its colorful cover and categorization as “cozy fantasy,” one would assume that things are going to work out OK in the book, although a shop that sells dreams could potentially take a sinister turn. It’s the first book in a series and a huge hit in Korea, where it was first published.
The Emerald Gem
Completely different from all of the above is the third book in Shauna Lawless’ Gael Song series, The Land of the Living and the Dead. Book 2 of this series blew me away, so I am very much looking forward to finding out what will happen next. The series is set in Ireland around the year 1000 and is steeped in both history and legend. A potent mix! The Land of the Living and the Dead is out September 12th, so I’d better get cracking if I want to write a timely review.
The Book Group Pick
Due to busy schedules, my book group isn’t meeting until the last day of September. I’ve had The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen on my list for quite some time after it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016. The arrival of a drama series in 2024 put it back in my mind, and after a couple of book group picks that were more contemporary (including the achingly modern Yellowface) I thought I’d suggest something with more historical weight.
The Sympathizer tells the story of a North Vietnamese mole in the South Vietnamese army who is later relocated to the USA. According to Wikipedia, “The novel incorporates elements from a number of different novel genres: mystery, political, metafiction, dark comedic, historical, spy, and war.” There’s clearly a lot going on in the book, so let’s hope it lives up to my expectations!
The Children’s Books
This month I have a couple of children’s books that I have been sent to read. There’s the third book in the Mysteries at Sea series, The Hollywood Kidnap Case. I enjoyed the first two books in the series, so I’m looking forward to this one. A completely new author to me is Martin Howard. His Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull looks like a great spooky read to take us into the Halloween season.
Once again, I’ve almost certainly bitten off more than I can chew, especially as September is a week down already. Hopefully, I’ll be back at the beginning of October to tell you how I got on.
