The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Tag: what-to-read
Bookerthon – 2023
The announcement of the Booker longlist in 2023 elicited a wide spectrum of reactions in the literary world. There were many unheard of titles amongst the finalists, and those expected to make the list did not. The absence of Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead was… Continue Reading “Bookerthon – 2023”
Western Lane – Chetna Maroo
READ FOR BOOKERTHON In this coming of age novel, 11-year-old Gopi takes up competitive squash as a way to cope with the grief of her mother’s death and the challenges of being an ethnic minority living in Britain. ● After some wordy novels on… Continue Reading “Western Lane – Chetna Maroo”
This Other Eden – Paul Harding
READ FOR BOOKERTHON After inhabiting Apple Island for six generations, the small, multi-racial community face the authorities who decide its time to “cleanse” them. Real events that happened to the people of Malaga Island in 1911. ● While I appreciate that Paul Harding has educated… Continue Reading “This Other Eden – Paul Harding”
Prophet Song – Paul Lynch
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Prophet Song is set in an alternative Dublin where a tyrannical government is weaving its way into people’s lives, and society is slowly collapsing. It focuses on one family who suffer in many ways and one mother, Eilish Stack, who is… Continue Reading “Prophet Song – Paul Lynch”
The Bee Sting – Paul Murray
READ FOR BOOKERTHON An Irish family saga based around Dickie Barnes, his failing auto dealership and his wife and children who are each dealing with huge issues of their own. A 600+ page drama that investigates each character’s plight indepthly. ● I didn’t connect… Continue Reading “The Bee Sting – Paul Murray”
If I Survive You – Jonathan Escoffery
READ FOR BOOKERTHON A series of linked stories about a Jamaican family in Miami, centered around younger son Trelawny and his determination to survive racism, financial woes and Hurricane Andrew. ● I am privileged in that I have generally always had a pretty strong sense… Continue Reading “If I Survive You – Jonathan Escoffery”
Study For Obedience – Sarah Bernstein
READ FOR BOOKERTHON A woman moves to the countryside to become a housekeeper for her brother, whose wife has recently left him. Soon after her arrival, several unexplainable events occur and she feels the community’s suspicion towards her growing. ● Well, regardless of whether it wins… Continue Reading “Study For Obedience – Sarah Bernstein”
Cocoon – Zhang Yueran
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jo Li Jiaqi and Cheng Gong recall their childhood friendship under Chinese communist rule, living with extended family and in wonderment about what really happened that rainy night in 1967 in the abandoned water tower where Gong’s grandfather was attacked.… Continue Reading “Cocoon – Zhang Yueran”
The Last White Man – Mohsin Hamid
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Suzy Anders, a white man living in a fictional town, wakes one morning to discover his skin has turned brown. Confused and ashamed, he experiences change in the attitudes of the people in his family and community. Yet he is… Continue Reading “The Last White Man – Mohsin Hamid”
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