Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley
This book felt like it took a lifetime to read. With the amount of characters and raw information about the horse racing industry, there was no way to avoid flipping back to the character list and rereading pages two or three times. When I started it I almost expected it to be a 5-star read, but the momentum stopped as the book got comfortable with its mode of storytelling.
My biggest criticism is Tiffany's place in the narrative. She's the only woman of color in the book, and every time someone new meets her they immediately fixate on her looks. This could have been an interesting commentary on the lack of diversity in the "boys club" of racing, but since Smiley was juggling so many plot-lines at once it never came to a head. Overall, it needed more direction, but it was still a fascinating glimpse into the scene. / ★★★½
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
The ideas and writing style of Geek Love are two entirely different beasts. Dunn has created a one-of-a-kind world, and I enjoyed her blurring the lines between fantasy and realistic, if farfetched, weirdness. On the other hand, nothing particularly gripped me or encouraged me to keep reading. For the last 100 pages or so, I downloaded the audiobook to listen to on a long drive. Despite my general dislike of audiobooks, that's what brought up the rating from a 2.5/3. I could finally hear Oly's voice. Even now, after having time to reflect, it annoys me that I didn't like this more. The book needed to be a little more fantastical -- it would've benefited from illustrations to go along with the chapters. I'm sure it was more poignant in the 60s, now it's just another in a long line of dark, "edgy" novels I've been disappointed by. / ★★★½
Slow Horses by Mick Herron
Sometimes it's nice to place your day in the hands of a semi-competent thriller writer and see where it puts you. I read this mostly because I want to watch the TV series, and while it wasn't on par with Raymond Chandler, River Cartwright was a compelling narrator. The main thing that takes me out of a lot of thrillers is the standard of having policemen or lawyers or government agents as the protagonists. I don't feel sympathy for them because this is the line of work they've chosen. Cartwright is a fuck up, and that much more interesting for it. He reminds me of Rudy Baylor in some ways.
The original plan was to read the rest of the novels covered by the show before binging it, but people seem to prefer the show to the books anyway. Personally, I don't know if I could trust Herron to differ his writing style enough to make a series hold my attention. If I do continue, it will probably be in a couple months once the experience of reading this has worn off. That makes it seem like this book had more of an impact on me that it did. That's okay. Not every book has to be perfect or impactful to have a good time. / ★★★★
The Trespasser by D.H. Lawrence
I found another Lawrence at my favorite used bookstore, so of course I had to pick it up. It's a lot shorter than Sons and Lovers, which meant it didn't have enough time to utilize Lawrence's strength of building intricate storylines. It also put stress on the story to be evocative in every line, when Lawrence's work is more focused on feelings that technical skill (though he does have it). At times the holiday was monotonous, which may be a pro in the sense that I was immersed in the characters' minds. I don't know. Lawrence's writing was still beautiful and lyrical and all that crap. It was a strange book to be my last read of the year, and strangely fitting. Let's run down the clock with something that is going to change us forever, yet never have a lasting impact. It doesn't matter that it takes place in summer, it is a deeply gloomy, winter-y book. Here's to more strange early 20th century books in 2026. / ★★★½
4 books — 1622 pages — avg 3.63 ★
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