Books I Read November 28th, 2023

Last week I ate far too much and read these books.

The Enchanted Wanderer by Nikolai Leskov – Satirical myths celebrating/condemning Russian society. I found it interesting and entertaining in bits but basically couldn't say that it spoke to me in any particularly way as a modern reader, though of course it's an enormously rare book that can claim to do this in another language centuries after it was written.

How a Gunmen Says Goodbye by Malcom Mackay – An aging hitman's error results in all sorts of trouble for his successor and the criminal organization for which he works in this fast-paced, brick-blunt Scottish crime novel. Engaging and effective.

Versailles by Kathryn Davis – The life of Mary Antoinette/a meditation on the miserable certainty of time's inevitable passing as told through Davis's distinct style. It's weird but not as weird as her weird stuff which I liked better.

The Vagabond by Colette – A divorced vaudevillian finds/abandons love. Incandescently self-indulgent.