Saturday, November 30, 2024

Reading List for November, 2024


 

The list of books read in November is, unfortunately rather sparse, particularly when compared to the number of books on October's list.

The first on the list is one written by South Korean writer, Han Kang. Han has four books translated into English (I've read them all) and sorry to say, Greek Lessons is far from my favorite. A bit too poetic for my tastes. The book received dazzling reviews but frankly, I could not take a liking to it.

Death Among the Undead by Masahiro Imamura can be described as a Japanese, Sherlock Holmes styled locked room mystery, with zombies. A little over the top, but mildly entertaining.

Third on the list is The War on Warriors by Donald Trump's pick for United States secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth. This book was recommended by Commentary magazine's editor, John Podhoretz. The book goes a long way in describing the changes Hegseth might make to the armed services, but it isn't at all clear that he'll pass Senate confirmation.

My favorite for the month is Percival Everett's James: A Novel. As described in wikipedia,  

James is loosely based on Mark Twain's classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Some of the early scenes of Everett's novel closely follow Huckleberry Finn, but as the two separate and Jim goes off on his own picaresque "adventures", the tone turns more serious as it explores issues of rape, murder, beatings, and racism. 

Of the four books read this month, James receives my highest praise.

The list:
Greek Lessons     by Han Kang
Death Among the Undead     by Masahiro Imamura
The War on Warriors     by Pete Hegseth
James: A Novel       by Percival Everett

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