Short reviews of every book I've finished so far this year
Does what it says on the tin.
Reviewing the complete list of books I’ve read this year feels a bit like taking a photo of my undie drawer and putting it on the internet. Not very sophisticated. Not enough pairs. God, what’s that crap in the corner? Still, I love reading books and chatting about them but hardly anyone in my personal life reads the same books I do (sad face), so here we are.
Only paid subscribers get the full undie drawer today (plus some of my thoughts about reading habits); everyone else can enjoy the first three reviews. If you’d like to read on, I happen to be running a 30% off sale until the end of June:
Michel Houellebecq, Annihilation (2022)
This is the third Houellebecq novel I’ve read (Atomised, Whatever) and the author said it will be his last; the critical consensus is that it’s bad and Houellebecq fell off. It was depressing, dark and funny in the author’s usual manner—everything he writes is worth reading because his peaks are so brilliant—but I agree with all involved that this particular field has been ploughed enough now.
Rebecca K Reilly, Greta & Valdin (2021)
I read this book because it’s frequently cited as an example of New Zealand’s recent literary renaissance. It wasn’t my cup of tea. The biting, self-aware style for which it has been widely praised I found exhausting, like 300 pages of Twitter in 2017. The part where the brother goes to Argentina is good though, and Auckland is faithfully rendered, which is always fun (for an Aucklander).
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)
Until January this year I had never read Slaughterhouse-Five or anything else by Kurt Vonnegut. Someone definitely should have put this under my nose when I was 17, although I suppose I would have ignored it. Anyway, my dad bought me a copy for Christmas and I devoured it in two sittings. I understand why everyone gets Vonnegut-pilled as soon as they read him, and I’m Vonnegut-pilled now too. Such clear, funny and humane writing.
