The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt. Slow going, because of density as well as subject matter. But illuminating.
The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood. A series of loosely linked, semi-autobiographical stories about the author’s time in Berlin in the 1930’s. At times funny, at times poignant, never sentimental or romanticized.
Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro. This is a reread. One of my favorite short story collections. Every story is like a punch in the gut (in a good way) and full of such complex emotions.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Another reread, but it’s been at least a decade since I read it, so I’d forgotten a lot of it. I love the ambiguous ending. I don’t love that race is not discussed at all, because Gilead seems like the kind of place that would absolutely reinforce white supremacy, and I wish Atwood had acknowledged that. Without it, the story feels thin and underdeveloped.
Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault. I don’t know why I’m having so much trouble getting into this. When I first discovered Renault, years ago, I loved her writing. I devoured The Bull from the Sea, her novel about Theseus. But somehow the Alexander novels are more challenging for me. It’s going slowly.
The Petrified Flesh by Cornelia Funke. I grabbed this because I absolutely loved Inkheart. I finished Petrified quickly but I have to say, it was disappointing. The first chapter is essentially a prologue that I think is unnecessarily confusing, and the protagonist is too superhero — he’s the best at everything he does, which becomes rather tiresome. One of the things I loved about Inkheart is that the protagonist is a young girl at a great disadvantage — she’s young, she’s powerless, she’s lost — but is able to step up and be brave. By contrast the protagonist of Petrified is a swaggering, unbelievably accomplished young man.