Interior Chinatown, by Charles Yu: Really clever and funny. At one point I thought a courtroom scene was going to descend into didacticism, but Yu pulled it back.
Children of Radium, by Joe Dunthorne: I do love the archetypal “I was looking for this one thing but found something completely different” story, and there’s lots of good exploration and excavation here…but I felt a little shortchanged on radium overall. Also, the author’s mother probably needs a whole book about her.
The English Understand Wool, by Helen DeWitt: I didn’t realize this was a novella and was startled when it ended, but it was a delight. I’m torn about whether it would have been even more of one with another 200 pages, and I’m undecided. Something about it reminded me of Poor Things – tone or the underestimation of the main character.
The Hounding, by Xenobe Purvis: A great premise – group of sisters turns into dogs in response to small-town 1700s misogyny – but left me wanting. The themes were pretty hammered in, and in general there was no subtlety. Also, while I understand holding the sisters at a remove keeps them mysterious, I would have much rather heard from them than from other (almost entirely male) characters.
On the Calculation of Volume #1, by Solvej Balle: I’m extremely into this, though I can’t imagine how there will be seven books. It’s a familiar trope – the same day, over and over again! – that manages to say something (or several things) new about observation, accumulation, and experience…while also providing an intriguing mystery.
