We Breed Lions, by Rick Westhead: Whew, this was a tough read; it traces both the history of sexual abuse (by coaches and other authority figures) in men’s youth elite hockey in Canada and the culture of violence and sexual abuse many of the young players perpetrate. I don’t think any sport is free from similar horrors, but it does seem like the combination of hockey adulation, kids leaving home at early ages, and lack of consequences is particularly bad here. I was interested in the section that explored how youth hockey differs in Sweden, where the system at least seems better.
On the Calculation of Volume III, by Solvej Balle: I continue to enjoy these – initially I wondered why the novella form (as opposed to one long volume (ha) or, say, three medium-sized novels, but Balle manages to explore a different facet of “being caught in time” in each one. I see that the English translation of Volume IV is available now, so I won’t have to wait too long!
Like, Follow, Subscribe, by Fortesa Latifi: I was EAGERLY anticipating this examination of family vloggers/YouTubers/Instagrammers (with some discussion of 2010s mommy bloggers, too). It didn’t disappoint – but I did have a sense of “I may know too much about this topic already to fully enjoy what she’s doing here.” I appreciated Latifi’s nuance when discussing social media families, which felt fair even though her preliminary and ultimate conclusions (and mine) were “this is bad and exploitative.” I would have liked more about snark sites focused on family vloggers; that section felt more one-dimensional.
Children of God, by Mary Doria Russell: This sequel to The Sparrow is hard for me to describe…in some ways it felt better-paced than its predecessor, but it still dragged in the beginning, and there were so many new characters that it was hard to keep track of everyone. Where The Sparrow felt like a more natural exploration of “good intentions + lack of understanding = destruction,” this felt like an uneasy and not fully realized allegory.
The Book of Guilt, by Catherine Chidgey: While I definitely enjoyed On the Calculation of Volume III and Like, Follow, Subscribe, this was the book that pulled me out of a reading slump. I’ve seen some comparisons to a very famous book that deals in some of the same things (not flattering comparisons; more of the “a pale imitation of X” variety), but I don’t think those are fair. I’ve had similar issues with other novels, but to me this explored related ideas in a way that was completely its own. Highly recommend.
