The Motley Stones

This is an interesting collection from NYRB. They had already released one of the short stories "Rock Crystal" on its own as novella. It's here but with a different translation. That's one of my favorite short stories so I'm going to review it next week as an entry itself. What is here in The Motely Stones is pretty good. I already read "Limestone" about a priest which was ok. I felt the same way about the story Rock Milk too. I liked the beginning of "Rock Milk" when you meet the family more than the war elements that came later. "Granite" is pretty good. It's about two children who survive a plague and how they meet later in adulthood. Then there's "Cat-Silver" about a wild girl who becomes friends with a family and eventually saves one of them from a fire. I really like the Austrian writer Adalbert Stifter. His work is still being translated today which is all very nice but he should be just as recognized as the people he influenced like Nietzsche and Thomas Mann. He had a vivid imagination. He's apparently has a following in Germany but not to the USA for some reason.

The House of the Spirits

This was made into a 1990s movie with Meryl Streep. I have no desire to see the movie as its not the way I imagined the Latin American novel to be. It's over 400 pages. I read it in a short time. It's about the Trueba family. You meet the clairoyvant Clara and her husband Esteban. He's an aggressive man and she doesn't return his love. There's their daughter Bianca who has a forbidden romance with a musician. There's Bianca's daughter Alba who falls for a revolutionary named Miguel. Esteban's bastard son is the one who almost brings about the destruction of the family. It's a pretty impressive debut and remains Allende's most famous book. This isn't light reading as it contains a few taboo topics. The magical realism of the book is pretty cool as it makes the book almost otherworldly. I am interested in reading Isabel Allende's other books.

The Bus Driver who wanted to be God

I read The Nimrod Flipout recently and thought it was good. I remember really liking The Bus Driver who wanted to be God which I read twenty years ago. It stills hold up. The best story is Kneller's Happy Campers which is a love story about the afterlife of people who have committed suicide. It later became the movie Wristcutters which was how I found out about Etgar. I really liked The Bus Driver who wanted to be God too about a uptight bus driver being gracious one day. I liked Good Intentions which was about a do gooder and a a hitman. Korbi's Girl was also worth reading. It's about the consequences of a teenaged boy stealing another's girlfriend. Etgar Keret has an original voice and I'm going to read even more from him.

Weaveworld

I got involved in this right from the start but it ran out of steam towards the last fifty pages. It's around 600 pages though so that's not bad. It's about a hidden world inside a carpet. It changes the lives of Cal and Suzanna, two humans who try to save the world within it from three bad guys Immacolata, Hobart, and Shadwell. I noticed that this and Abarat had a religious figure as a bad guy. That can't be a coincidence. It took me a while to read it. It's too bad Clive didn't do a movie of this. Clive Barker always has a vivid imagination. This is not for young adults like Abarat but the good guy characters are more likable than any of the characters in The Hellbound Heart. This is why I wish Goodreads had half star ratings. I would give it 3.5 but I rounded it up to 4.

No Flying in the House

This was a really enchanting children's book from the 1970s. Betty Brock just wrote two books this and the amazing out of print The Shades which I have already reviewed. I wonder why she didn't write more. This is about a girl who discovers she's a fairy and a dog named Gloria who looks after her. This book is about more than just magic. It is about friendship and family. It's cute and it has a good message. It's pretty short too and inexpensive.

The Nimrod Flip Out

I read The Bus Driver who wanted to be God and other stories in my twenties after watching the movie Wristcutters which was based on a short story in the book. I loved them both. In fact I need to reread the book. I decided to try another short story collection by Etgar Keret. This is definitely not for children. I'm not a fan of most adult books nowadays since I don't like to read profanity and so forth. But I have to admit this was done well. Most of the stories are only a few pages. My favorite was easily about the faithful dog who keeps dying and comes back to its master. It was macabre and sweet. I also liked the story about the talking fish. Etgar Keret is one of Israel's most famous writers. If you want something offbeat Etgar fits the bill.

When Five Years Pass

This was a later play by Lorca. It's about a man who has been turned down by a girl he waited five years for. The play is experimental. The last act was kind of hard to follow. This isn't his best play. It wasn't made in his lifetime. I think a viewing of it would be more recommended than just reading it.