Loved itBut we also have Jenny Urpenbeck who wrote this beautiful novel called Kyros which I rated so highly last year. You will have seen that book in my best books of 2024 video.
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Boys in the Valley
Philip Fracassi
2021 · 352 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveThe Exorcist meets Lord of the Flies, by way of Midnight Mass, in Boys in the Valley, a brilliant coming-of-age tale from award-winning author Philip Fracassi. St. Vincent's Orphanage for Boys. Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania. Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future...a family. Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent's and the children within. Soon, boys begin acting differently, forming groups. Taking sides. Others turn up dead. Now Peter and those dear to him must choose sides of their own, each of them knowing their lives — and perhaps their eternal souls — are at risk.
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On the same reading listPersonalize your recommendations100%Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth
Wole Soyinka
2021 · 512 pages · 1 review
Others: Negative"In an imaginary Nigeria, a cunning entrepreneur is selling body parts stolen from Dr. Menka's hospital for use in ritualistic practices. Dr. Menka shares the grisly news with his oldest college friend, bon viveur, star engineer, and Yoruba royal, Duyole Pitan-Payne. The life of every party, Duyole is about to assume a prestigious post at the United Nations in New York, but it now seems that someone is determined that he not make it there. And neither Dr. Menka nor Duyole knows why, or how close the enemy is, or how powerful. [This book] is at once a literary hoot, a crafty whodunit, and a scathing indictment of political and social corruption."--Dust jacket flap.
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On the same reading listPersonalize your recommendations100%Daisy Haites
Jessa Hastings
2021 · 477 pages · 12 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveAll 20 year old Daisy Haites has ever wanted is a normal life, but it’s just not on the cards for her. Raised by her older brother Julian since their parents were murdered in front of them 12 years ago, Daisy hasn’t ever lived beyond the watchful gaze of her gang lord brother. But Julian’s line of work means that Daisy’s life is...complicated. And things don’t become any less complex when she falls hard for Christian Hemmes, the beautiful and emotionally unavailable boy she’s been involved with for the last few months, who also happens to be one of the few men in London who doesn’t answer to Julian. Christian’s life is no walk in the park either, being in love with his best friend’s girlfriend and all… He’s happy enough to use Daisy to throw off the scent of his true affections, that is until she starts to infiltrate those too. As their romance blossoms into something neither were anticipating, Daisy, Christian, and Julian each have to come to terms with the fact that in this life everything comes at a price. As their relationships intersect and tangle, they all learn that sometimes life’s most worthwhile pursuits can only be paid in blood.
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
1818 · 240 pages · 31 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.
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On the same reading list87%Jack Edwards loved bothPersonalize your recommendations13%Weird things customers say in bookshops
Jen Campbell
2012 · 158 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveCustomer: Have you read every single book in here? Bookseller: No, I can't say I have. Customer: Well, you're not very good at your job, are you? A simple Twitter question posed by John Cleese-"What is your pet peeve?" -inspired Jen Campbell to start a blog collecting all the ridiculous conversations overheard in her bookstore, everything from "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?" to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year’s weather; from "I've forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter" to "Excuse me ... is this book edible?"; and from "Can books conduct electricity?" to "My children are just climbing your bookshelves: that's ok... isn't it?" If we didn't know it already, this irresistible book is proof positive that booksellers are heroes, the world over.
The Elementary Particles
Michel Houellebecq
1998 · 274 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveZedenschets van de tweede helft van de 20e eeuw aan de hand van de levensgeschiedenis van twee halfbroers, de één een vergeestelijkt wetenschapper, de ander een jachtige erotomaan.
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On the same reading listPersonalize your recommendations100%
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