That was the Month that was April 2023

1. Boulder by Eva Baltasar 
2. The power and The glory by Graham Greene 
3. Conversations in Bolzano by Sandor Marai
4. The Strangers in the House by Georges Simenon
5. The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier
6. Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth 
7. A System so Magnificent it is Blinding by Amanda Svensson

I am finally back on track after the move initially this month; bookshelves running late, and other things slowed the blogging, but I managed to review seven books. I started with a poetic Catalan novel that follows a love affair in Iceland. Then a priest on the run Is chased through Mexico. Then we catch up with Cassanova on the run after escaping prison, heading back for an old love and a former rival he fought over. Then we have a man awakening to a dead body and refacing the world. These three were my entries for the 1940 club, which I love whenever it comes around. Then I reviewed a trio of international booker books. Firstly, a French Hamlet sees a night of violence and secrets come to light. Then a daughter estranged from her mother returns home, watches her, and looks back on her life. Then a set of triplets over the world and then return home when their father disappears, and secrets are finally revealed.

Book of the month

I missed including the Booker ones as we shadowed them, but this was a real gem and reminded me how much I loved Greene. He is one of those classic English writers, who mixed tense, human emotions, and catholicism so well.

Non-book events

I queue from 5:30 to get my record store day records. I got the Echo and the Bunnymen, Ian Mcculloch, Pixies, the Fall, and the two Heidi Berry records as a splurge, but I have some great memories of artists I have loved since my teens. We also have Netflix back, as it is part of our new tv package. So we have watched a series called The Watcher, a series about a couple that moves to the dream house and then gets a weird letter from someone calling themselves the watch and several odd things happen along the way. We also watched a film called Woman at the Window, a twist on the rear window story in a way.

Next month

I will round of the outstanding booker reviews we will be announcing the shortlist for the shadow jury choices this month. I have many books read and ready to review, and I hope to get to a few backlisted from my own tbr pile later this coming month. Other than that, I will just do what I always do flow my own path.