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The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niefenegger. I’ve been hearing about this book for years and saw the audiobook and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, this one just doesn’t work for me and I stopped pretty early on in the story. I found it didn’t make a lot of sense a lot of the time and I didn’t warm to the characters at all. There is also an incidence of cheating that comes up quite early that turned me against Henry’s character. The narrators were okay, I think. I wasn’t that keen on the female voice but I imagine I might have become accustomed to it further along.…
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Under the Whispering Door
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. Tor Books. Wallace Price is a lawyer, and like many of his kind, he’s cold, analytic, and mean. One day he wakes up at his own funeral and is soon escorted away by the newly minted reaper, Mei. At first, Wallace doesn’t quite get what’s happening and he’s pretty calm. But he soon catches on and he suddenly wants to get back home and runs away. By this time he’s arrived at Charon’s Crossing at the teahouse run by Hugo, who just happens also to be the ferryman. It’s while at this way-house that Wallace learns how to live. This was a delightful…
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Karolina and the Torn Curtain
Zofia Turbotyńska’s maid, Karolina, has gone missing, leaving the house short-staffed in the midst of Easter preparations. Zofia hears the news a body of a murdered woman has been found washed up from the Vistula River and soon discovers the victim to be the same maid who has disappeared. Zofia is shocked and horrified and immediately starts to investigate on her own and soon finds herself in the underbelly of Crakow society, quite far from her own high social standing as the wife of a university professor. This murder mystery is a bit of Agatha Christie, a bit of cozy mystery, a bit of detective story, and quite a lot…
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Normal People
Normal People was released in 2018 and has received a number of awards and much acclaim. I guess I’m a bit late to the party on this one despite seeing it appear on numerous must-read lists before now. Connell is a well-liked teenager who plays football and Marianne is mostly disliked by others and is generally unhappy with life. Connell and Marianne attend the same high school but to all appearances, they don’t know each other. In reality, Connell’s mum works for Marianne’s family as a housekeeper and the two have been acquainted for quite some time thanks to Connell regularly picking up his mum from Marianne’s house. Over time…