Books I read - Jan 2023

Last year, the number of books I ended up reading was an unimpressive ten. This year, I have challenged myself to triple it and the gears in my brain turned to settle on the magic number being 3 per month. I am not so confident of attaining my goal, as I fear I will lose the drive to do so, as more days pass on.

Never the less, here I am, having finished reading 3 books and wanting to talk about it.

If anyone has been keeping with my posts, they would know I have fallen in love with the Discworld novels. I love the world building, the characters, the humor and most importantly, the sincerity and respect the author places on the subject he is satirizing about. The books themselves feel like talking to an old friend who happens to be witty.

That's not to say the Discworld novels aren't without issues. Pacing is one, I always find the middle part of the books to be wavering, and slowing down. But this is usually in service of fleshing out the world or the characters. Another issue I have had, is that sometimes I am simply not familiar with the subject of the book. The second book in the Witches Series (Wyrd Sisters) was satirizing Shakespeare, particularly Hamlet. Having not read or seen Hamlet, I wasn't able to fully appreciate it. I could feel the jokes flying over my head and that was frustrating.  

And I was happy to discover both those issues weren't present here, in Witches Abroad. I was familiar with the theme this time around (Fairy Tales) and there was an air of mystery surrounding the antagonist, which the kept pacing taut.

The story is about three witches who have to travel to a far off land to fairy godmother a young maiden called Emberella and prevent her from marrying a prince. Along the way, they come across vampires, werewolves and other things one might find in fairy tales.

This is one of the funnier books I have read in the Discworld series. I enjoyed the road trip style (though they are no roads here) more than I expected to, and that covers the two thirds of the book. There are also some heavy, somber passages peppered in, and somehow they don't take away from the lighter passages. They contrast well with the lighter sections, and also add much needed weight to the stakes.

The characters are great as usual. I am growing more and more fond of the witches with each book.

If you want something funny or something to keep you amused, a good little distraction, I highly recommend picking this one. One of the great things about Discworld novels are that, most of them are standalone. One doesn't have to have read the previous entries, though it does help.  

I first came across Lessons in Chemistry when I was in Barnes and Nobles pursuing on what to buy. It was heavily advertised, there were stand-ins everywhere, and the premise honestly sounded fun. And I liked the minimalistic art on the cover. Given that it was sold out, I assumed it would be a good one, and I was not wrong about it being good.

A delight for readers of Where'd You Go, Bernadette, this blockbuster debut set in 1960s California features the singular voice of Elizabeth Zott, a scientist whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show.

That description gave me a false impression that this was a cross between Marvelous Mrs Maisel and 30 Rock. I was thinking this is going to be a lighthearted and a quirky read when I ordered it off Amazon. But you see, I am not that bright sometimes, and this was one of those times. In hindsight, comedy not being in the list of genres should have realigned my expectations.

So imagine the confusion when I was like 50 pages or into this book and the protagonist is sexually abused by her the thesis advisor. And oh, it gets much worse later on. But that's when I started to realize this was more of Little Miss Sunshine than anything.

This is the life story of Elizabeth Zott and the struggles she faces as a woman in the field of science and also being a single mother in the 60s. This book was more of a cathartic read, even though I wasn't the target demographic. I felt there were a lot of issues, yet I don't regret reading this one. In fact, I would go out of my way to recommend it. Just know what you are getting into.

The writing style makes it a page turner. I didn't have issues with the pacing, as nothing dragged on. The plot moved on nicely at a brisk pace. It doesn't take an inquisitive or a deep approach to exploring prevalent sexism in the scientific world of that era. Yet, it dives enough into the subject to get the point across.

This is mostly historical fiction, but there are too many "this happens only in the movies" moments, which at first did detract from the experience. The characters don't feel like real people in any sense. Then I simply got used to it. There is tonal whiplash too, which again needed some getting use to. But underneath it all, I was invested and sympathized with the main character, and that is what got me through this book.

The realization that sexism is one of those things that will only die alongside the heat death of the universe is a depressing thought. We have made progress, but books like these remind us that it is never enough, and there is always more work to be done. That alone justifies the existence of this book.

I liked the book despite its flaws and ability to put a damper on my mood. Though, I don't think I will pick it up any time soon for a re-read.

The recent resurgence in Whodunit movies can be attributed to the success of Knives Out (2019). We have had two Hercule Poirot movies, a sequel to Knives Out and even a satire/homage to Agatha Christie in the form of See How They Run (2022). To say the genre is hot now is an understatement, and as a fan, I couldn't be happier.

So when I was reading Crooked House, I was pleasantly surprised about how much it inspired Knives out. The patriarchy of an eccentric, wealthy family is dead because someone switched the vials on purpose. Everyone related is a suspect, and then there is a question of a missing will and inheritance. So it's not hard to see from where Rian Johnson built his premise for Knives out.  

What makes this book an engrossing read is also what makes (in my opinion) Agatha, one of the greats. The book is deceiving, inviting and accessible. Instead of placing importance on the act of murder, she explores the psyche of everyone involved. The act itself is not a paradox that flummoxes even the most brilliant of minds. Instead, it is so simple that anyone could have done it. The only way for the stand in detective to solve the case is to get into the minds of the suspects and the victims.

And gradually, she peels back the layers, constantly adding more color to the mystery. It builds up, at a steady pace, but it never dips. Her style of writing is so easy to read that I found it hard to put the book down. She doesn't bog the readers with the minute details, but rather keeps the plot moving along through dialogues and plot developments. It feels considerably effortless to read her books compared to others.

Agatha is also one of the those rare creators who refuse to be trapped by the medium they are telling their stories through. We have seen her push literary boundaries and break the unspoken rules in her other novels. This book has some of that inventive edge.

The characters are all well fleshed out, and she has you guessing until the very end. The pay-off, the reveal, was a little iffy the first time I read it. But thinking about it more, it made more sense. And I genuinely had a good time with this one.

It is not on the level of And There Were None or The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but it is still an incrediably good book.

Post Script

If you have any opinions on the above or have any suggestions, please feel to reach out to me. I would totally appreciate it. I plan to pick up Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett next. Also, I might look into some romantic novels since it's February next month.