The Book Thread 2024

[Blip]

1. Julia by Sandra Newman
2. The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
3. Lord Jim at Home by Dinah Brooke
4. The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan
5. The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
6. The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom
7. A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin
8. Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo translated by Douglas J. Weatherford
9. Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
10. The Little Black Book of Artificial Intelligence by Kyle Taylor
11. Loot by Tania James
12. The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
13. House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
14. The Shadow Child by Rachel Hancox
15. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
16. The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past by Shaun Walker
17. Fourteen Days edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston
18. The Nix by Nathan Hill
19. One Day by David Nicholls
20. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
21. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
22. Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
23. The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
24. That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx
25. Barkskins by Annie Proulx
26. The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
27. The House at the Edge of the Woods by Rachel Hancox
28. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
29. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
30. Satantango by László Krasznahorkai translated by George Szirtes with new passages translated by Ottilie Mulzet
31. The Details by Ia Genberg translated by Kira Josefsson
32. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
33. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
34. Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
35. The Pact by Sharon Bolton
36. The Fake Wife by Sharon Bolton
37. Be Near Me by Andrew O'Hagan
38. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
39. Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck translated by Susan Bernofsky
40. Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck translated by Michael Hofmann
41. Long Island by Colm Tóibín
42. The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota
43. Ours are the Streets by Sunjeev Sahota
44. Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae
45. The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen
46. Pyre by Perumal Murugan translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan
47. The Orange Room by Rosie Price
48. Rosarita by Anita Desai (twice!)
49. The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
50. The Little Black Book of the Populist Right by Jon Bloomfield and David Edgar
51. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
52. Held by Anne Michaels
53. This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
54. Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
55. James by Percival Everett
56. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

I lost interest in this, but looking at a synopsis, I think I may have missed something in the final section, so I'll reread that before judging it.

ETA: yes, there is a significant revelation in the final section that goes some way to redeeming the work, but I really don't think the surrounding narrative supports the weight of that revelation. As always, I strive for balance, so here's The Guardian's review.

[NamelessFaceless]

1. The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things - "J.T. LeRoy"
2. The Pepsi-Cola Addict - June-Allison Gibbons
3. 1776 - David McCullough
4. Amazon Stories (1. Scheme, 2. There's a Bear in the House!, 3. Her Second Death, 4. Same Time Next Year) - Various Authors (Audiobook)
5. Amazon Stories (1. If The Fates Allow, 2. The Marriage Test, 3. Two Women Walk Into a Bar, 4. How to Accidentally Settle Down With Your Highschool Boyfriend) - Various Authors (Audiobook)
6. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
7. The Improbable Meet-Cute Collection (1. Royal Valentine; 2. With Any Luck; 3. Drop, cover, and Hold On; 4. Rosie and the Dreamboat; 5. Worst Wingman Ever; 6. The Exception to the Rule) - Various Authors (Audiobook)
8. Blaze Collection (1. Amelia's Shadow; 2. The June Paintings; 3. The Forgotten Chapter; 4. Fires to Come; 5. Tune in Tomrorow; 6. Fallen Grace; 7. Barriers to Entry) - Various Authors (Audiobook)
9. Never Tell Collection (1. Everywhere You Look; 2. The Ghost Writer; 3. The Other Side of the Road; 4. Scorpions; 5. Jackrabbit Skin; 6. The Bad Friend) - Various Authors (Audiobook)
10. House of Crows - Lisa Unger (Audiobook)
11. The Havana Run - Ace Atkins (Audiobook)
12. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson (Audiobook) (this is a re-read)
13. Cuba: An American History - Ada Ferer (Audiobook)
14. The Best American Mystery Stories of 2005 - Various Authors
15. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (I did it! I finally finished War and Peace!)
16. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket - Edgar Allan Poe
17. Blonde - Joyce Carol Oates
18. No One's Home - D.M. Pulley
19. What Maisie Knew - Henry James
20. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles
21. In Colder Blood: On the Trail of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith

[Blip]

1. Julia by Sandra Newman
2. The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
3. Lord Jim at Home by Dinah Brooke
4. The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan
5. The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
6. The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom
7. A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin
8. Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo translated by Douglas J. Weatherford
9. Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
10. The Little Black Book of Artificial Intelligence by Kyle Taylor
11. Loot by Tania James
12. The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
13. House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
14. The Shadow Child by Rachel Hancox
15. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
16. The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past by Shaun Walker
17. Fourteen Days edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston
18. The Nix by Nathan Hill
19. One Day by David Nicholls
20. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
21. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
22. Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
23. The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
24. That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx
25. Barkskins by Annie Proulx
26. The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
27. The House at the Edge of the Woods by Rachel Hancox
28. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
29. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
30. Satantango by László Krasznahorkai translated by George Szirtes with new passages translated by Ottilie Mulzet
31. The Details by Ia Genberg translated by Kira Josefsson
32. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
33. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
34. Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
35. The Pact by Sharon Bolton
36. The Fake Wife by Sharon Bolton
37. Be Near Me by Andrew O'Hagan
38. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
39. Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck translated by Susan Bernofsky
40. Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck translated by Michael Hofmann
41. Long Island by Colm Tóibín
42. The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota
43. Ours are the Streets by Sunjeev Sahota
44. Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae
45. The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen
46. Pyre by Perumal Murugan translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan
47. The Orange Room by Rosie Price
48. Rosarita by Anita Desai (twice!)
49. The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
50. The Little Black Book of the Populist Right by Jon Bloomfield and David Edgar
51. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
52. Held by Anne Michaels
53. This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
54. Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
55. James by Percival Everett
56. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
57. Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

A private undercover agent, the narrator, infiltrates a left-wing eco-commune to stir up trouble. She has adopted a false identity; we learn little about her apart from her previous employment in a similar capacity for a US government agency and her alcohol addiction. She voices some bizarre opinions, as do several other characters, one of whom speculates with unwarranted confidence about Neanderthals. I reckon this is about the masks we wear and the precariousness of our information about others: as such, it's interesting, although I found it overlong.

[Blip]

1. Julia by Sandra Newman
2. The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
3. Lord Jim at Home by Dinah Brooke
4. The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan
5. The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
6. The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom
7. A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin
8. Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo translated by Douglas J. Weatherford
9. Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
10. The Little Black Book of Artificial Intelligence by Kyle Taylor
11. Loot by Tania James
12. The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
13. House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
14. The Shadow Child by Rachel Hancox
15. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
16. The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past by Shaun Walker
17. Fourteen Days edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston
18. The Nix by Nathan Hill
19. One Day by David Nicholls
20. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
21. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
22. Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
23. The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
24. That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx
25. Barkskins by Annie Proulx
26. The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
27. The House at the Edge of the Woods by Rachel Hancox
28. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
29. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
30. Satantango by László Krasznahorkai translated by George Szirtes with new passages translated by Ottilie Mulzet
31. The Details by Ia Genberg translated by Kira Josefsson
32. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
33. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
34. Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
35. The Pact by Sharon Bolton
36. The Fake Wife by Sharon Bolton
37. Be Near Me by Andrew O'Hagan
38. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
39. Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck translated by Susan Bernofsky
40. Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck translated by Michael Hofmann
41. Long Island by Colm Tóibín
42. The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota
43. Ours are the Streets by Sunjeev Sahota
44. Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae
45. The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen
46. Pyre by Perumal Murugan translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan
47. The Orange Room by Rosie Price
48. Rosarita by Anita Desai (twice!)
49. The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
50. The Little Black Book of the Populist Right by Jon Bloomfield and David Edgar
51. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
52. Held by Anne Michaels
53. This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
54. Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
55. James by Percival Everett
56. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
57. Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
58. My Friends by Hisham Matar

This is wonderful. The clue, as they say, is in the name: the author suggests that friendship, like literature, helps us mediate our lives. The structure of the novel is so skilful and I loved the writing. As so often, a good review here. Highly recommended and I expect to see it on the short list.