In Progress

Last year I received an ARC of Jonathan Evison's West of Here (my review) and loved it.  It was a strange book in many ways, but I really liked it.  A while back, I received another Evison ARC, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving:  A Novel.

Because I've been so busy with other projects, I put off reading it.  Last night, I finished a book and went looking for something else to read, and Evison's new novel was a perfect fit.

Wow!  So very different from West of Here, but I'm already loving it!  Expecting a similar style and content, but a different story, I was surprised to note all of the differences.  What is the same is Evison's ability to create characters you care about, flawed and human, quirky and funny and sometimes sad.  Thank you, Algonquin!

Read recently, but not reviewed -- Murder in Mumbai by K.D. Calamur, Night Watch by Linda Fairstein, and Fated by Benedict Jacka.
-----

Do you ever wonder about reviews that use words like luminous, brilliant, fresh, surprising, and inventive, but when you read it, you find it dim, stale, predictable, and derivative?

I'm reading one of those right now.  Well, I was.  It has been put aside.  Since it is very short, I may return and finish it at some later date, but I wonder about the people who reviewed it.

Did they really like it?  Were they paid?  Does it get better?  Am I just an odd man out?
----
In the film department, if you have the chance, you should see The Intouchables, a brilliant (in my-- ;-p --humble opinion) French film that is uplifting and funny.