3 stars:
This combined work of short stories is truly some of the most descriptive literature I have ever read. I haven't read very many translated works, but I'm very glad that I picked this one up. The writing read almost like poetry and the translator did a marvelous job translating Grin's work.

By far, I recommend reading Fandango and Other Stories when you do not have anything pulling your attention away. It was hard for me to figure out where each short story was taking place as the setting was not always described in full detail. Even being pulled away for a quick second shook my focus and I could no longer place the setting of the stories.

I recommend this collection of short stories to anyone looking for a collection of Russian literature, which is by far a translated work that I see people reading these days. Especially when Alexander Grin's work was not admired until after his death.

I couldn’t put The Red Lotus down. I love books that contain both medical mysteries and murders. What’s better than a book with a possible pandemic, especially during the current events (COVID-19 2020).

I have no real thoughts on this because honestly I can’t remember a lot of the plot as it took me so long to read it. I do recommend the audiobook narrated by Bill Homewood

DNF. 100 pages in and still a snooze fest. POV wasn’t for me.

Thank you LibroFm and the publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

If I’m being honest, it’s hard for me to right a review on this.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Why? I wanted MORE. With so many thoughts from a diverse group of Black men and women, it’s hard to not want to hear more of it. Each person talked about how they got started on the movement, how young, and what they do now.

While the audience may be more geared towards young Black listeners, I know have more of an idea of what I can do to help in the movement.

I highly recommend giving this listen.

"A Brief History of Seven Killings" failed to keep me interested. I started the book in the middle of March and just finished it in the beginning of June. I can usually finish a book of this size in less than a week, but the lack of a connected plot in the first half of the book did nothing to keep my interest. The last two parts of the book held more of a plot, and I found that it was easier to keep interest once I got to the fourth and fifth parts. I admire the amount of detail that Marlon James put into the book and it was interesting to read into the world of the Jamaican drug world. The details made it easier to understand the time and place of each section. The Jamaican slang/language was difficult to understand at times because I had never heard of most of the terms and I had think of what each term meant while reading.

My main complaint about "A Brief History of Seven Killings" was that each chapter was in the point of view of a different person and it was hard to connect each of the characters to each other. I found myself looking at the list of people at the front of the book quite often.

Wow. It took me just over a day to read The Nickel Boys and now I realize it’s no surprise that it made the long list for the National Book Award.

The Nickel Boys reads like nonfiction. Colson depicts Dozier School for Boys as the Nickel Academy set in Jim Crow era 1960s. He centers the story on Elwood, a young African American boy who lives with his grandmother in Tallahassee. He had everything going for him. A job, great high school grades, and he was going to take college courses. However, his dream is cut short when he’s falsely accused and arrested for stealing a car. Nickel Academy now awaits him. There he’ll get sent to the “White House” on property twice. He’ll meet Tucker and from there, their stories become intertwined.

The Nickel Academy is a timely story as authors are diving into history and pulling forward untold stories to give them new life in both fiction and nonfiction.

I haven’t read Colson’s Underground Railroad, but it is sitting in my TBR pile. I hope to get to it sometime this year.