Slow burn mystery, kind of an inverse of the “rich people behaving badly” trope, with two women grifters who find themselves mixed up in more than what they bargained for. Great for summer, and great on audio!

So many true crime references!

This book is part of my goal to read a book from every country. It’s another curmudgeon story, which I haven’t been a fan of. Originally published in Germany, the translation is well done and read easily. But being in Herr Schmidt’s head for the entire time was definitely frustrating!

I enjoyed this book’s premise that fairytales were and remain a way of explaining differences or being “other” to children and even ourselves, and that they may seem innocent but really contain some insidious ideas about what’s “normal.” Each chapter consistered of reframing the way I’ve viewed fairy tales for so long, and at the end of the chapters, Amanda Leduc shared her own experiences as a women with cerebral palsy at the end of each chapter. I think parts of the book could’ve been edited, as they felt a bit repetitive, but this is a read that is worth the time. Leduc is a solid writer, and I appreciated the way she used fairy tales, modern research, and her own experiences to share more about being disabled in an able-bodied world.

This review is for the audio. I usually take in romances that way, and I was expecting this one to have a similar style. I was pleasantly surprised at Tia Williams’ and Mela Lee’s unique voice and performance, which included “so true it has to be funny” humor - like not being able to think clearly while wearing pants, being an adult is a lie and we’re all just all toddlers, and how one of the side characters is the human equivalent of a spam email. Yet through it’s hilarious moments, it’s not frothy or light; the humor almost seems to be a coping mechanism for the pain the characters experience. I was a bit confused at first, since the narrative switches between the different characters and timelines, but once I understand the premise, it took off from there. Recommended if you want the A24 take instead of the Hallmark experience.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s the story of a yellow house in present-day Massachusetts, from its foundation in the 18th century to the present time. Its evolution is told in a series of stories about the residents, interspersed with letters, journal entries, and poems/songs that, to my knowledge the author wrote himself, but feel of the time. There are also paintings, almanac entries, diagrams, and a lot of nature writing. The prose is irreverent, surprising, and wistful. It feels like the author found all these disparate elements and wove them together into a seamless narrative. It’s kind of like The Vaster Wilds’ more offbeat cousin. I don’t think it’s for everyone, as the style is non-traditional. But if you enjoyed Lincoln in the Bardo, I think you’d like this one!

5 stars!