This is part three of my 60 books to read before I’m 60. As before, they are set in countries outside of the UK and USA. The previous books I’ve read can be found here and here.
Books 11-15 are:
11. Black butterflies – Priscilla Morris
Set in Sarajevo in 1992. Black Butterflies details the day to day realities of living in a city torn apart by war. Although the subject matter was depressing the book was well-written and captured the horrors of war (unusually) from a female perspective.
An image from this book that has stayed with me since reading is that the phrase (and title) “Black butterflies” refers to the charred pages of books floating out of Sarajevo library when it was burned during the siege.
Sense of place: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Readability: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10
12. Around the world in 80 trains – Monisha Rajesh
A non-fiction book about Monica’s travels on trains with her fiancé, taking in countries such as Tibet, Russia and Mongolia. It focusses more on the people she meets rather than details about the actual journey or places she visits. However, I particularly enjoyed reading about her train tour and guides in North Korea, as it’s a country few people ever visit.
Sense of place: 8.5/10
Plot/subject: 8.5/10
Readability: 8/10
Characters: 7/10.
Overall: 8/10
13. The clockwork girl – Anna Mazola
Set in Paris in the 18th century. This is a book about both royalty and poverty, told from the viewpoints of three women. The primary character is a girl who is sent to spy on a clockmaker, by becoming a personal maid to his daughter. This leads to her discovering the world of automaton and disappearing children.
I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction so I only read this as it was a book club choice – I’d never have picked it up by choice but I am glad I read it.
Sense of place: 9/10
Plot/subject: 7.5/10
Readability: 8/10
Characters: 7.5/ 10.
Overall: 8/10
14. Days at the Morisaki bookshop – Satoshi Yagisawa
Set in Tokyo, this Japanese translation tells the story of a 20-something who goes to live with her uncle in his secondhand bookshop after a relationship breakdown. A non-reader to begin with she subsequently finds joy in books and others who read them.
This was a quick read (only 160 pages), which I read in less than a day. The plot is simple but the book provides a great insight into Japanese culture. The ending was a little rushed but overall a gentle heartwarming read.
Sense of place: 8/10
Plot: 7/10
Readability: 8/10
Characters: 8/10.
Overall: 8/10
15. The high Caucasus – Tom Parfitt
This book was purchased after we went to a talk by the author (and journalist). It details a walk he took, to help him recover from witnessing the end of the siege at Beslan, when more than 300 people were murdered. His feet took him over 1000 miles, along the Greater Caucasus mountain range, passing through Russian republics such as North Ossetia and Ingushetia.
It was great to read about an area that very few authors cover. The start of the book, about Beslan, is quite harrowing but as he walks he encounters kindness of strangers and we learn a lot about the region and the various conflicts it has endured. Not overly uplifting, but very interesting.
Sense of place: 9/10
Plot/subject: 9/10
Readability: 8.5/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Challenge partly completed.
Pop over to read the full list of my 60 things to do before I’m 60.