Books I Read December 6th, 2020

One chugs along, despite the packed hospitals and the threat of Christmas wildfires. I have to get this done quick because I'm remote baking biscotti with my mother. It's been a weird year, maybe you've noticed. This week I read the following books.

Lake Like a Mirror by Ho Sok Fong – A collection of short stories set in modern day Malaysia. Always interesting to read fiction from a part of the world with which you're unfamiliar but this didn't do a ton for me personally.

Lexicon by Max Barry – A secret international cabal of mind-controlling magicians trouble the wrong borderline street girl in this enormously engaging sci-fi thriller. A marriage of excellent if undemonstrative writing with a propulsive pace. Tons of fun.

The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini – The history of a family of Jewish immigrants/the rise of modern capitalism rendered as an epic poem by an Italian. Brilliant. The writing absolutely sings, with hidden complexities and clever contrivances that don't interrupt the rhythm of the blank prose. The characterization is deft and depiction of some two hundred years of American history surprisingly nuanced. For for a goy (I assume) he understands the tribe. Strong recommendation, one of my favorite things I read this year. (Update: Wait, they made a play out of this? What? I'm confused.)

White Tribe Dreaming: Apartheid's Bitter Roots as Witnessed 8 Generations Afrikaner Family by Marq de Villiers – The history of the Afrikaner people as told through the writer's ancestors. Fascinating and peculiar stuff, effective both as a general overview of the subject and as a meditative and thoughtful contemplation as to the complexities of ethnic identity. Check it out if you have any interest in the subject.

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez – The hard-bitten captain of a space ship cares for a child with strange powers, though this thumbnail sketch fails to do justice to the richness and complexity of the plot. The world building is evocative without being tedious, and Jimenez demonstrates skill in a number of narrative styles. This is one of those enormously rare work of genre fiction which is fundamentally human, that is to say reflective of one's own experiences and concerns. Really, really good. Strong recommendation.