curiouslykatt's Reviews (1.12k)

“Most of life is so dull it is not worth discussing, and it is dull at all ages. When we change our brand of cigarette, move to a new neighborhood, subscribe to a different newspaper, fall in and out of love, we are protesting in ways both frivolous and deep against the not to be diluted dullness of day-to-day living.”

Capote is a genius. In a 138 pages of a lost manuscript that was published posthumously, Capote captures a beautifully, imperfect, messy grey summer. 

You can easily read it on a beautiful summer afternoon and at the end of it be satisfyingly sad. 

Grady is in the twilight of her youth. She has one summer to be precocious and let life happen to her and that summer is now. Left to her own devices she embarks on a summer that is for her and her alone. From cocktails with her friend Peter, to her secret affair with Clyde,

this summer will be for her. 

Summer crossing is easily a novella you could read ten times over and pull out new pieces and quotes worth diving into and dissecting. I got to spend a beautiful summer afternoon with a friend discussing and pulling at various threads from this book and each new idea made me love the book even more. 

The manuscript was forgotten for decades and likely left unfinished by Capote, and frankly it’s a perfectly abrupt ending. 

I have never been so happy to be left so sad by a book. Grab a glass of rosé, find a seat in the sun and read this book. 

‘So, you found an old letter that mentions a book no one’s ever heard of, hidden in a bookshop that doesn’t exist.’

May Bookclub read: The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods. 

Lost indeed.

This one was not for me, which is disappointing because accordingly to my kindle I tagged ten quotes within the first few chapters. I was in it. I was enjoying it. I loved Madame Bowden. IT COULD HAVE BEEN A DELIGHTFUL READ. 

Dual time lines, multi POV, great all things I love. 

Trying to tackle a multitude of complex traumatic issues flippantly, while weaving between past and present, fantasy and real life, less so. I think something editing would have really boosted the enjoyability and if Martha and Opaline had more distinct voices. Pick one struggle, treat it appropriately and with some depth, not throw every struggle at the characters and shoulder shrug the details away. In a way, this read like a debut where the author is still trying to find their footing so I was shocked to find out Evie Woods is a pen name for an established author. 

The last quote I tagged was at 42% and frankly it went downhill well before that, it all started after a man writing a PhD level paper didn’t think to use Google.

A lovely idea of a book that could have been a treasure, but ultimately a poorly delivered unsatisfying story.