Awesome October

Four books in a month! [applause]

If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is. 

I exaggerate, of course. It's just that I haven't read as voraciously in a looong time and being able to read 4 books in a span of a month has become a monumental feat. I think it helped that I picked really good titles this month, the kind you'd want to finish asap because you want to know how it ends. Um, yeah, even the one that I didn't like as much. 

PIRANESI by Susanna Clarke - 5/5 

• I love this book. I love, love, love this book! I was totally, completely, absolutely blown away by it.
• Tackling the concept of a labyrinth -- a physical one and one inside our heads -- is at the center of this book.  
• The 16-year gap between the publication of this book and "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" was very well worth it. JSMN (which I remember distinctly despite having read it 7 years ago) is in a league of its own, but "Piranesi" is just as marvelous and (to borrow David Mitchell's word) exquisite. If Susanna Clarke's next book will take another decade, I won't mind waiting if it's as beautiful as "Piranesi." 
• This won the Women's Prize (formerly Orange Prize) for 2021, an award well-deserved. 

WHEREABOUTS by Jhumpa Lahiri - 4/5

• This is Lahiri's latest project, a "novel" of sorts. I use the word inside quotation marks because it is not your usual format for a novel -- its brevity actually makes it more of a novella, written like diary entries or short notes to oneself. 
• Jhumpa Lahiri is the kind of writer I want to become: she writes in short sentences, simple words, but effusive with meaning and depth, elegant every step of the way. 

HOME by Marilynne Robinson - 4/5

• Eight years after reading Pulitzer winner "Gilead" and I finally pick up this sequel of sorts. I'd forgotten how lilting and emotional Robinson writes, and it's a punch to the gut. And we're not even talking about the contents, the theme of the book. 
• No, this isn't about Rev. John Ames, Lila, or their boy. This is about Jack, the "prodigal son" of Reverend Boughton, the closest friend of Ames. It's probably a "sequel" because it transpires in Gilead, as well. 
• How I wish I had the opportunity that was given to Jack, to spend time with his father during the twilight of his years. 
• Too close to Home. Painfully close.  

MY SISTER'S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult - 3/5

• Given my... complaints/rants about this book, I may have been too generous rating it a 3. LOL. 
• Readable, sure. Very straightforward. My principal issue with this novel is the attitude of the parents, especially the mother, Sara. I mean, seriously? 
• Also, I didn't see the movie just yet. Is it worth watching? 

On to the new month, friends!