Discovered this sister and brother by learning more about the poet W H Auden. Fascinating lives and I learned a lot about pre-war Germany and the early rise of Hitler.

Dark, disturbing story set in Yorkshire. It felt like the deep past but was jarringly in the present!

Really enjoyed this short historical read. I was not expecting the humor but Sarah Kemble Knight sounds like a fun woman to know. Enjoyed references to places I know in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Ouch, this one stings. Some humor to help the sting, but still ouch.

This story reminded me of how Japanese people package small things--neatly, efficiently, cleverly, and with great beauty. That was how this small novel conveyed the story of an odd young woman who does not fit in. I suspect she is what we would call "on the spectrum" but she is not unhappy. Maybe a little lonely, and most of all puzzled by what people want from her. I found it sweet and poignant.

I really liked Lispector's first novel, written when she was 23. I'm sure I only grasped a small part of the literary depth. Main character Joanna is hyper-conscious of her thoughts and impressions, almost to the point of madness. I have never read anything like this before.

This was Lispector's last book. I don't feel at home in her writing, and yet something is compelling. In this story, Macabea is poor, naive, and undernourished but exists happily in her own mind and self-constructed reality. Lispector's prose is enigmatic and dreamlike.

Strout really "gets" families and communities, and I think that is her strength in all her novels. Although not my favorite of hers, still very good and well-constructed. I would have liked to have had a bit more insight into why the nephew threw the pig's head--is this what a shy boy does without the goading of drunken friends?

I listened to the audio. It was hilarious, raunchy, sometimes clever and sometimes silly. It was like he had a checklist of all the Southern stereotypes but he did them well. I have met many of them and in fact some live on my street!