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dommiz Locked account

dommiz@ramblingreaders.org

Joined 1 year, 11 months ago

Part-time organic sheep farmer in Exmoor National Park, rest of the time an International development economist (SE Asia & UK). Sometimes reads books, not as often as I would like. Mastodon: @dommiz@climatejustice.social

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dommiz's books

Currently Reading

Rosa Rankin-Gee: Dreamland (Paperback, 2022, Simon & Schuster, Limited) 4 stars

Very well written dystopia story

4 stars

Very good addition to the near-future dystopia genre. Reminds me of ‘The Wall’ (John Lanchester), and is a sort of counterpart to that book. The story is character-driven, instead of dwelling too much on the political circumstances that have led to the crisis that serves as the backdrop. Very thought-provoking.

Rosa Rankin-Gee: Dreamland (Paperback, 2022, Simon & Schuster, Limited) 4 stars

Very good addition to the near-future dystopia genre. Reminds me of ‘The Wall’ (John Lanchester), and is a sort of counterpart to that book. The story is character-driven, instead of dwelling too much on the political circumstances that have led to the crisis that serves as the backdrop. Very thought-provoking.

Lulu Allison: Salt Lick (2021, Unbound) 3 stars

Review of 'Salt Lick' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Interesting scenario, but not entirely convincing. Would the countryside really be abandoned after a pandemic in the way the book depicts? The recent experience of COVID suggests the opposite!
The writing is excellent, beautifully crafted in some places, and that makes it pleasurable to read. However, the plot is very thin and not well structured. This is a case of a good writer looking for a better story to tell, so one to watch.

reviewed The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall Trilogy (Volume 3))

Hilary Mantel: The Mirror & the Light (Hardcover, 2020, Henry Holt and Company) 5 stars

“If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?”

England, May …

Review of 'The Mirror & the Light' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It is long, yet somehow one doesn't want it to end.

The quality of writing is extraordinary, and the way Mantel evokes an era none of us can know is so bold and brazen that the reader falls under her spell completely.

Very cleverly, she does not crave our sympathy for Cromwell in any of the three books; he is a bit of a thug and a man of his time. However, the reader is invited to respect him and to admire his transformation from humble beginnings in Putney to become one of the most consequential people of the 16th Century. At the end, Cromwell accepts his fate, and its inevitability. As inevitable - and unavoidable - as a kick to the head from his father Walter. For if Cromwell had tried to live his life in a way to avoid such a miserable ending, then he would have had …