Reviews and Comments

A gorgeous book, I hadn't annotated a book so much in a while. It's thoughtful, imaginative and highly political.

I loved the idea of playing with the trope of "the chosen one" and putting an elderly woman instead. But the execution wasn't as good as the pitch: the main idea and character felt under-exploited (a teenager takes over mostly), and I could see no real evolution in her. Some characters weren't very useful and some lacked depth, being just a bit more than a name, while becoming important in the end. The writing was good enough, but there's only so many "fidgeting with the hem of their t-shirt" or "hugged herself" or "her hip hurt badly" that I can take. All in all, some nice and fun ideas, but maybe it could have gone really into parodying the genre, or on the contrary, be more serious about it all, avoiding cliches, repetitions etc.

I'm simultaneously jealous of this whole Caucasus mountain trek, and grateful that the author described the scenery, the people he meets and their history in such a generous and humble way. This is not an ethno-study, an adventure book full of swagger or a historical essay, it's journalism in the purest form, with genuine curiosity and a real attachment to a region and its inhabitants.

This books quotes Kill Bill, Cyndi Lauper and Shania Twain -- and also numerous other authors and books, zines, movies more... directly on the subject --, which makes it not just interesting but also funny and smart.

I had the re-read The Space Between Worlds quickly, after beginning this one, because there were things I didn't remember and a lot of the context is needed for this one. I liked the change of perspective, with Mr Scales being a runner this time and her different views on things. It was interesting to see that she's also an unreliable narrator, and that's all right really. One thing I regretted was the lack of explanation as to why a certain event happen (I won't spoil with explaining why what, it should be obvious I guess) In any case, it's a great read, lots of action, despair, anti-heroes and queerness.

J'aime bien écouter le podcast d'Arte "Bookmakers", parce que régulièrement, ça me fait découvrir des voix très singulières et des auteur·es dont je n'avais jamais entendu parler. Et après trois épisodes avec Justine Niogret, ça donnait pas mal envie. Alors sans doute Gueule de Truie n'est pas le plus évident pour aborder sa bibliographie, l'écriture est brutale, très imagée, le propos sans interdits, donc on aime ou pas. C'est un peu indigeste parfois, dans la seconde moitié, lorsqu'on perd un peu de vue où l'auteure veut nous emmener, où on a l'impression de tourner en rond dans la folie des personnages sans aller vers une résolution. Malgré tout, il y a plein de choses intéressantes, de tournures de phrases, d'idées, d'images.

Another brilliant book by Nghi Vo, who is such a consumed storyteller, the kind who gently take your hand and make you believe every detail. A fascinating read.

Un court livre hyper percutant, à la croisée entre le récit (des bribes du procès des dirigeants d'Orange), l'essai (sur le monde du travail et le langage managérial), et l'objet littéraire pour parler de cette langue et porter ce récit. Le chapitre 23 est l'illustration parfaite de la violence des entreprises et du mépris insondable de ses dirigeants pour leurs employés.

It has the tropes of the genre : a tired detective in a metropolis he doesn't quite know, powerful men, booze and prohibition, sleazy journalists, and of course, melancholia, jazz and femmes fatales. But the rest is a very smart departure in an alternate history: what if the smallpox brought to America was a non-lethal variant? The Native community would be thriving, along the Mississippi, it would have a city and a state built on their power and syncretic beliefs. That's Cahokia, where the delicate balance that holds it all is threatened by a gruesome murder. It's a book that takes you in, and embraces you and makes you believe that Cahokia is real and pulsating, on the right bank of the Mississippi.

The ending felt a bit rushed but all the built-up and atmosphere was extremely well done -- the climate catastrophe was realistic, people coping, trying to live their lives, still going to their mindless jobs in offices or serving coffee while the world slowly goes under water...

I wanted to go as far as possible with the published books, and this one got back on the main plot with a lot more to learn, deduce, suspect and guess. The writer said she was working on the following ones, so I can leave the series for a while and be on the lookout for the next one when it's published. All in all, the whole series is really worth the time, even though it's a bit long sometimes, everything matters, all the details build up an very interesting universe, with its people, customs, landscapes and monsters of all types... it's pretty unforgettable.

The first half of the book is full of the promises one could expect after reading the first two : more clues, more local mysteries, more answers. I can't say I feel entirely satisfied, even though there's a lot of good moments. I can't say much about the second part without spoiling, but I felt it veered into horror a bit, and while the plot is extremely surprising, a bit of frustration lingers. I'll be looking for more answers in the fourth book I guess.

So here's the second volume of the series and as it's almost double the size, there's a change of pace in the story. Now it's a long march east in hostile land, with its challenges and encounters, and it will take up until the end to have a bit more revelations and clues as to what's really going on. There are some really interesting parts and a few that are a bit boring or repetitive (then again, the land itself seems very repetitive), but all in all, it's well worth it!