Current book progress:

People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice

Ao Omae

“The tales in Ao Omae’s People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice are about sensitive people trying to navigate an unjust world. Take Nanamori, the protagonist of the collection’s title story. The characters in “People Who Talk” are members of the university Plushie Club. Members justify the club to university officials as an organization that collects and crafts stuffed animals. In reality, they use the stuffies for a kind of informal talk therapy.”

More info on -> asianreviewofbooks

L’avversario

Emmanuel Carrère

«Il 9 gennaio 1993 Jean-Claude Romand ha ucciso la moglie, i figli e i genitori, poi ha tentato di suicidarsi, ma invano. L’inchiesta ha rivelato che non era affatto un medico come sosteneva e, cosa ancor più difficile da credere, che non era nient’altro. Da diciott’anni mentiva, e quella menzogna non nascondeva assolutamente nulla. Sul punto di essere scoperto, ha preferito sopprimere le persone di cui non sarebbe riuscito a sopportare lo sguardo. È stato condannato all’ergastolo.”

More info on -> adelphi

Ho paura, torero

Pedro Lemebel, 2021

“Nella primavera dell’86, le notti a Santiago del Cile trascorrono funeree, trafitte da spari, grida e luci di camion blindati. La protesta dilaga e, negli empori dei quartieri poveri, dove vendono un quarto di zucchero a credito, la gente si chiede se quello non sia l’anno buono perché la dittatura venga spazzata via”

More info on -> goodreads

Oranges are not the only fruit

Jeanette Winterson, 1985

“Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985 by Pandora Press. It is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian who grows up in an English Pentecostal community. Key themes of the book include transition from youth to adulthood, complex family relationships, same-sex relationships, organised religion and the concept of faith.

It has been included on both GCSE and A-level reading lists for education in England and Wales,^[1] and was adapted by Winterson into a BAFTA-winning 1990 BBC television drama serial of the same name.”

Read more on -> wikipedia

The Membranes

Chi Ta-wei, 1995

“It is the late twenty-first century, and Momo is the most celebrated dermal care technician in all of T City. Humanity has migrated to domes at the bottom of the sea to escape devastating climate change. The world is dominated by powerful media conglomerates and runs on exploited cyborg labor. Momo prefers to keep to herself, and anyway she’s too busy for other relationships: her clients include some of the city’s best-known media personalities. But after meeting her estranged mother, she begins to explore her true identity, a journey that leads to questioning the bounds of gender, memory, self, and reality.”

Read more on -> goodreads