What we’ve all seen by Mike LucasCredit:
What we’ve all seen
mike lucas
Penguin, $19.99
A decent introduction to Stephen King-style horror for early high school readers, Mike Lucas’ What we’ve all seen centers on four friends – Shell, Gray, Charlie and the narrator – who we are told upfront are hiding the death of a child. They’ve all heard the rumors about Hag’s Drop, a towering cliff from which, it is said, witches were thrown to their deaths long ago. They say the place is still haunted by the spirit of a vengeful witch, and when the children tempt fate while investigating, things take a deadly turn as a nightmare comes to life. I particularly liked the character of Shell, a visually impaired girl full of life who seems the most vulnerable to danger but who is also the wisest, the one who sees what others do not see. The novel remains age-appropriate – there’s nothing horrific to melt the eyes – and is essentially a well-turned buddy story dressed in the tension of psychological, supernatural horror.
A dolphin called Jock by Melody Horrill
Credit:
NON FICTION CHOICE OF THE WEEK
A dolphin called Jock
Melody Horrill
Allen & Unwin, $32.99
Melody Horrill grew up holding her breath, fearfully awaiting the next violent eruption between her parents. A childhood that left her disconnected from the world and the people around her. Serendipity in the form of an encounter with a damaged dolphin called Jock opened her up “to the possibility of belonging, to love in its raw, unfiltered form.” The light Jock brought to her life when she started working as a volunteer, monitoring river dolphins in the waters of Port Adelaide, is woven into the dark history of her past. The lone dolphin’s confidence in her, his expressions of unbridled joy in her company, and her thirst for connection transformed her. Their poignant story arc has the satisfying quality of a contemporary fairy tale with an urgent message about the fragile yet profound connection between humans and the natural world.
The Horde of Words by Hana VidenCredit:
The Horde of Words
Hana Viden
Princeton University Press, $27.99
When the term “wordhord” appears in Old English literature, it is usually associated with “unlock” – which is exactly what this delightful book does. It unlocks the treasury of 1000 years old English words that shape our language and our understanding of the world. While some Old English words such as “bliss”, “cild” (child), “wis” (wise), “craeft” (craft) and “englisc” (English) remain almost unchanged, others seep surreptitiously in our consciousness. “Dom” was replaced by “judgement” – from the French after the Norman invasion – but persists in “doom”. The earthiness of much of Old English makes it ripe for revival. Take “end-woerc” for “pain in the buttocks” or “torn word” for a word that causes grief or distress. And what a pity that we can’t give COVID the more inspired name of “Oelf-siden” (elf-enchantment): an unknown condition accompanied by fever.
Nothing but the truth by The Secret LawyerCredit:
Nothing but the truth
The Secret Lawyer
Picador, $34.99
When this anonymous British lawyer started out, he had a firm belief that “stories of bleeding-heart sobbing do not absolve you of your role in the social contract”. Exposure to the world of criminal law completely changed them. The secret lawyer opens with law school and the hyper-competitive “brown-nosed race” to get an education with an experienced lawyer, building the moment it dawned on them that people caught up in the criminal justice system could be truly innocent. As the years pass, there are the risks of exposure to harrowing cases and gruesome images, and how that can swing between casualness and paranoia. Though it may sound dark, this journey through the underworld of the criminal courts is written with a knowing levity, a seasoned wit, and a keen appreciation for the messy complexity of human affairs.
The internet is not what you think it is by Justin EH SmithCredit:
The internet is not what you think it is
Justin EH Smith
Princeton University Press, $34.99
Early on, as he ponders where the internet has taken us, philosopher Justin Smith accuses him of being “anti-human.” Yet just as the Internet isn’t what you think it is, neither is this book. As Smith addresses what’s wrong with the web — particularly compelling is his exploration of how it affects our attention and how it encourages us to trade our sense of self for “an algorithmically traceable profile” — he also offers insight. holistic view of this machine-mediated communication as an extension of all forms of communication in nature. In terms of human history, he argues, the evolution of the internet “is just the latest twist in a much longer story of thinking about the connectivity and unity of all things.” Thus, even as he shows how the canvas distorts us, he remains attentive to the weft of the whole fabric and the positive potential it harbors. It is a demanding read but well worth it.
#Mieko #Kawakami #visceral #force #Japanese #fiction