Welcome to my May wrap up! I’m pleased with my reading quality overall this month. I finally tackled some chunky books that had been languishing on my TBR stacks, including The Golem and the Djinni and the first four books in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle! It felt wonderful to escape into fantasy worlds for a while.
Audiobooks made their way back into my life this month too. finished three, one of which was a favourite of the month. I’m a member of LibroFM‘s ALC programme, which means I can listen to advance audiobooks for free in exchange for a review.
I’m also now an affiliate for LibroFM, which is very exciting as they’re such a great company, doing amazing work for independent bookstores. Currently, they’re only available to US & Canadian residents, but if that’s you and you fancy trying them out, please consider using my code ABREADS or click my link. When you sign up for a three-month membership with my code, you’ll get two audiobooks instead of the usual one for the first month! Members of LibroFM also receive 30% off the listed audiobook price, you own your audiobooks, and your credits never expire.
Now let’s dive in to my May wrap up highlights.
Please note, titles with an asterisk* were gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I’m an affiliate for Blackwell’s, so this post contains affiliate links to their site.
May Wrap Up Standouts
The Mountains Sing* by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
If you can, I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook of this beautiful sweeping saga set in Vietnam. There are a few time jumps to get used to, but the narrator Quyen Ngo delivers such an impeccable performance – she moved me to tears several times. Of course, that’s also partly down to Quế Mai’s gorgeous writing – you can tell she is also a poet!
It’s set across the 20th century in Vietnam, following matriarch Trần Diệu Lan and her family, particularly her granddaughter Hương. Their family suffers through a great deal, including the Japanese takeover during World War Two, the land reform, the famine, and of course the Vietnam War. But Quế Mai also includes some tender moments of hope, joy, and love. You’re in for a rollercoaster of emotions with this book.
If you’re in the UK, this book is out later this year with OneWorld Publications. You can preorder it at Blackwell’s.
Preorder The Mountains Sing at Blackwell’s
Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez (tr. Megan McDowell)
This one was sent to me by my friend Kelly on Instagram – she thought I’d like it and she was 100% correct! Not only does one of my favourite translators translate it, but it’s a brutal combination of pure horror and scathing social commentary. Enríquez conjures up such a vivid picture of Argentina, dripping in gothic vibes and supernatural touches. My favourite stories were Adela’s House (goosebump-inducing haunted house story), The Neighbour’s Courtyard (an unassuming neighbour hides a horrific secret), and Under the Black Water (a Cthulhu-inspired tale set in a poverty-stricken slum). Read it.
Buy Things We Lost in the Fire at Blackwell’s
Breasts & Eggs* by Mieko Kawakami (tr. Sam Bett & David Boyd)
I’m a sucker for any story involving unconventional motherhood. This novel is actually a novella (Breasts) and then an expansion of that story following one of the characters (Eggs). Natsuko’s desire to have a child while being averse to sex with men was utterly compelling. She’s determined to have a baby using a sperm donor, despite this not being an option for single women at the time in a conservative Japanese society. David Boyd and Sam Bett do a good job with the translation. However, I have seen in reviews of the original Japanese that Kawakami makes extensive and colourful use of the Osaka dialect, so it’s a shame that wasn’t able to be conveyed in the English. Nevertheless, still a standout read for me, and a deft exploration of working-class women in Japan!
This is publishing in August in the UK, again it’s available for preorder from Blackwell’s.
Preorder Breasts & Eggs from Blackwell’s
The Golem & The Djinni by Helene Wecker
This was another present from a bookstagrammer! Johann (once just an online friend and now my all time best friend – isn’t the internet great?) got me this for Christmas, proving once again that she has great taste. This is the perfect book if you’re looking to be transported to another time and place. New York at the turn of the 20th century, to be exact. It follows Chava, a golem, and Ahman, a djinni, as they attempt to fend for themselves in New York while keeping their real identities a secret from the general population. Steeped in Islamic and Jewish mythology, The Golem & The Djinni seamlessly blends magic with everyday life in New York. I also learned that Wecker based Chava and Ahmad on herself and her husband – I LOVE THAT.
Buy The Golem and the Djinni at Blackwell’s
I also highly recommend The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula K. Le Guin and Three Apples Fell From the Sky* by Narine Abgaryan!
May Reading Stats
Total books read: 16
Physical books: 13
Audiobooks: 3
Total pages: 5313
Audiobooks – click through to see my reviews on Instagram! Thanks again to LibroFM for the free listens.
- Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth (narrated by Brittany Pressley)
- The Regrets by Amy Bonnafons (narrated by Christie Moreau, Gary Tiedemann & Jay Ben Markson)
- The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (narrated by Quyen Ngo)
In May I visited two new countries for my reading the world challenge:
- Guadeloupe (The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan & Ivana* by Maryse Condé, tr. Richard Philcox)
- Israel (Liar* by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, tr. Sandra Silverston)
You can keep up with my reading the world efforts on Instagram by looking under my hashtag #AbReadsAroundTheWorld.
Meanwhile, I made return visits to these countries
- Brazil
- Argentina
- US
- Japan
- Vietnam
- Armenia
- Mexico
My May wrap up included eight books originally published in English, and eight translated from the following languages by the following translators.
- Two Spanish (Megan McDowell and Annie McDermott)
- Portuguese (Julia Sanches)
- Norwegian (Marjam Idriss)
- French (Richard Philcox)
- Japanese (David Boyd & Sam Bett)
- Hebrew (Sandra Silverston)
- Russian (Lisa C Hayden)
That’s it for my May wrap up! I post reviews for most books I read on Instagram, on The StoryGraph, and Goodreads.
If you missed my April wrap up, you check that out here!