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Wow.

In some ways this is radically different from the Olondria books, which are the other things I've read by Samatar so far: where those are an overwhelmingly rich feast with many interwoven strands, this is a short, very sparsely written story with a very tight focus. But Samatar is an exceptionally good writer, and part of what makes all of them work is simply that. And I see something of a continuity:

A Stranger in Olondria: one person's very self-centred account of some epochal changes in a place he doesn't entirely understand Winged Histories: 4 peoples' accounts of how their stories weave in and out of the events of A Stranger in Olondria. This book: all about connection, imposed or chosen.

...which is probably as much as I can say without spoilers. #SFFBookClub

It took me months to read this because I wanted to savour every poem, and the very personal essays that Wang included as a sort of translator's notes / author bio hybrid.

The 5 poets have very distinct voices and styles, and I hope that more of each of their work gets translated into English. Without being able to read the originals I can only judge so much about the translation but I found them very readable, the footnotes helpful without being excessive, and the distinctness of each poet's voice seems like a vote of confidence in the translations.

I enjoyed reading most of this book, but as I went on from one story to the next I noticed I was taking longer and longer breaks between the stories. In the end I stopped a couple short of the end just because I was about to head out on a trip and I realised I wasn't finding it compelling enough to bring the physical book with me. I'll probably read them eventually, but I'm not in a hurry so I'm just considering this shelved for now.

The basic premise is that all the stories are pieces of the history of what appears to be one empire which has waxed and waned in size and power over a very long time, possibly millennia. But I'm not quite sure if I have that right, because the stories are generally not connected to each other - I think I caught one ruling dynasty's name getting repeated but that's the only explicit link I've picked up so far. Which I don't necessarily mind in itself--after all I've enjoyed plenty of collections of totally unconnected short stories--but it seems to have constrained the author just enough for the stories to start to feel samey even though they're about clearly different eras and take a variety of narrative points of view.

I noticed somewhere that this book was originally published in Spanish as two separate volumes. I might have enjoyed it more if I'd read one volume and then set it aside for a while as I tend to do with successive instalments of a series. The repetitiveness didn't really start to bother me until some way into the second volume.

#SFFBookClub

This is a topic I've been interested in since visiting Zagreb a few years after its war ended, and wondered about how different its 20th century built environment felt from other recently-Communist places I'd visited. I wasn't there very long and one can only read so much into the shapes of buildings, so it's always just been a sort of "hrm, I ought to learn if there's any there there" sort of thing at the back of my mind. So when @loshmi@social.coop posted social.coop/@loshmi/113568017088684018 I figured this book could be a way for me to find out.

Finally reading the Oct/Nov #SFFBookClub book. A few chapters in and I'm both enjoying it and seeing what seems to have frustrated a few other readers. I'm curious to see how I find the balance of those as I read on.

Referenced by Tressie McMillan Cottom in a recent article; the thesis seems to be that whiteness as an identity is a powerful political force distinct from and in addition to out-group hatred. I'm not sure I understand what it means for a dominant group's identity politics to operate distinct from hatred of the Other, and if this reference had come from an author I respect less I might dismiss the idea, but given the context I want to learn more and try to understand it.

I don't know about you, but I'm finding everything really hard right now.

So today I come to you with free books. No code. No minimum purchase. No secret handshake. Just free books.

If you need a dash of hope, then maybe The Left Hand of Dog will bring you joy. www.whitehartfiction.co.uk/products/left-hand-ebook

If you'd prefer a story of women getting justice through any means necessary, then A Bit of Murder Between Friends might be what the doctor ordered. www.whitehartfiction.co.uk/products/between-ebook

wandering.shop/@clacksee/113464365271096503

This podcast has got me very interested in this book: www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada/sloc-s6-ep11-1.7320521 - and the same author's "Native Seattle" is wonderful so I have high hopes for this one.

Not only in the story itself, but also the pacing and atmosphere make this a perfect resolution to a series I've been slowly reading for something like 10 years. The circle feels satisfyingly complete, and I probably will start again with A Wizard Of Earthsea sooner or later.