Well, after a short detour to mystery and other fiction I finally finished the letter A with Of Love and Shadows, by Isabel Allende. It was a good book, but towards the end I think she went overboard a little bit with describing the atrocities of the military junta that dominated Chile for so many years. It pretty much stopped the narrative, which is not what a writer should do in a work of fiction. I think Allende should go ahead and write a non-fiction book about that era (if she hasn't already done so), and get it over with.
During my detour I read one of Ruth Rendell's mysteries, Tigerlily's Orchids. It was quite good and a fast read, fortunately. Following that, I read J.K. Rowling's latest book, this time for adults, The Casual Vacancy, which reminded me quite a lot of Ruth Rendell, especially in the way Rowling writes of the class warfare that is endemic in English society. It was a very good book, well written and fast paced, if a bit disturbing and sad, especially at the end. Rowling seems to have a mission of presenting the world from an adolescent's point of view. Not knowing any adolescents in today's society, I can't attest to her accuracy in portraying them, but I do admire her desire to do so.
I will now get back to reading my book collection, starting this time with the letter T. There are a number of books in this group, some fiction, some non-fiction. I'm not sure yet which I will begin with, but I'll be sure to report on it here.
Stay tuned . . .
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