Book reviews
17
Apr
2020
Review: Chronicle of A Blood Merchant
Posted On April 17, 2020  By Gio  And has No Comment

Chronicle of a Blood Merchant is the second book I have read by Yu Hua, and though perhaps not as moving as To Live, Chronicle shows, unequivocally, why Mr. Yu belongs to the upper echelon of China’s most celebrated contemporary writers. The story of Xu Sanguan and […]

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19
Nov
2018
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Posted On November 19, 2018  By Gio  And has No Comment

The Vegetarian by Han Kang From the book description: Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are […]

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25
Jul
2018
Shōgun by James Clavell
Posted On July 25, 2018  By Gio  And has No Comment

Shōgun by James Clavell My rating: 5 of 5 stars Last spring, I decided to re-read Shogun by James Clavell. I was curious to see what I would think of it, as adult. As a teenager I had loved it. To my surprise, 30 years later, […]

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25
Jul
2018
Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Posted On July 25, 2018  By Gio  And has No Comment

Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko My rating: 2 of 5 stars Mildly amusing, a mix of Harry Potter meets Sam Spade meets Lord of the Ring, but it reads mostly as a very banal story both in form and substance to leave any lasting memory. Originally […]

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24
Aug
2017
Review: Seveneves (***)
Posted On August 24, 2017  By Gio  And has No Comment

(Originally published in Blogcritics.com) Seveneves would have certainly worked better as two stand-alone novels. Stephenson should have paid more attention not only to the structure, but also to the style. His writing needed to be more focused on the story and characters, than interesting facts. And yet, its many […]

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27
Jun
2011
Review: The Man Who Smiled (***)
Posted On June 27, 2011  By Gio  And has No Comment

Article first published as Book Review: The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell on Blogcritics. The Man Who Smiled (Mannen som log) is the fourth instalment in Henning Mankell’s highly acclaimed Kurt Wallander series. The plot revolves around three murders and the figure of Alfred Harderberg, […]

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