March reading log
It’s April Fool’s, Mercury is in retrograde, and punchers are on the loose in NYC! Stay vigilant! Maybe stay home — and pick up something new to read.
Find my thoughts on what I read last month below.
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall: Should be required reading. Recommended to me by TIME’s Karl Vick, who served as the magazine’s Jerusalem bureau chief from 2010-2014.
He summed it up better than I could for last year’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2023: For most of the century that Palestinians and Israelis have fought over the same land, the conflict has not been nearly as visible as the 2023 war in the Gaza Strip, or the murder of Israeli civilians by Hamas that it answered. Since 1967, when Israel won military control of every disputed acre, the conflict has typically ground along at the level of everyday existence. That’s somehow easier to imagine for the 2 million Palestinians isolated in the fenced enclave of Gaza. But another 3 million Palestinians reside on the West Bank, where Israeli troops enforce an “administrative” control that’s intended to avoid drama. It was there, in 2012, that a fiery school bus accident killed kindergarteners on the outskirts of Jerusalem. In A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, Nathan Thrall not only recounts a father’s frantic search for his 5-year-old son after the crash; his deeply reported book also places the reader in the realm Palestinians navigate every day, a lesser world in which life and death may be decided by others. —Karl Vick
The Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott: What a thrill! I bought this last July from McNally Editions and remembered I had it while moving and picked it up and devoured it. How delicious! “The Ex-Wife” was published anonymously in 1929, stirred immediate controversy, and became an instant bestseller. The book follows Patricia, a recent divorcée who cycles through binge drinking episodes and one-night stands in her newfound “ex-wife” status. A glamorous — and scandalous — time capsule. For fans of Valley of the Dolls, Sex and the City.
Trigger warning: Domestic violence, sexual assault, abortion
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell: Two women meet by chance and strike up a friendship of sorts: Alix, a chic woman with a popular podcaster; Josie, an odd bird with a story she thinks is worth telling. As their relationship progresses, Josie’s dark past starts to catch up with her, and Alix doesn’t realize who she’s let into her life until it’s too late. Gorgeous commentary on the true crime industry. Clever, well-written. Manages to weave together multiple storylines and timelines without mangling them together. The rare thriller that makes me say, ‘That was actually good!’ Recommend!
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang: I think I read this too late. There was so much hype surrounding this novel and unfortunately it just fell short. The premise is fun and fascinating: When Asian American author Athena Liu dies unexpectedly, her white frenemy June steals her unpublished manuscript to pass off as her own. It’s sinister, uncomfortable, and topical but I think Kuang was trying to cover too much ground: It’s part satire, part thriller, part horror, and part fantasy. It also focused too much on Twitter in a way that feels dated now. The ending was a little obvious, which made it unsatisfying, and I had problems with the pacing throughout the entire book (at times, way too drawn out, by the ending, much too rushed).
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty: Not much to say here! Solid Liana Moriarty book (she wrote Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers). About a dysfunctional Australian family who becomes tabloid fodder when mother and wife Joy Delaney goes missing. 500 pages so I’m not sure if totally worth the investment, but good enough.
Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra: I’m sorry but I do not understand the hype here. This book has gotten stars from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, an All Things Considered episode from NPR, and is currently holding a 3.98 Goodreads rating. That’s not to say this isn’t fun; it is. The opening chapters are tense and engaging. An unnamed mother is putting her kids to bed when she hears an intruder break into her house. She creeps downstairs with her two kids and they all huddle in a secret crawl space as they hear his footsteps echo through the floorboards above. The book could be split up into three parts, and this part, the beginning, is by far its best. It’s unsettling and urgent and nerve-wracking and as a reader, you’re just waiting for something bad to happen. The way Sierra drags this out is masterful. The middle was fine enough, but it lost me by the end. I felt like there were just too many plot holes and was exhauste4d by the inner monologue/rambling. The book also hits you over the head with its feminist commentary in a very 2016 “pussy hat” way.