Three Books I'm Reading Now, 11/9/26 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading three fantastic novels: Louise Kennedy's newest, Stations, about two teenagers in politically charged 1980 Ireland; John Green's first novel for adults, Hollywood, Ending, about two young actors about to make it big and navigating the pressures of Hollywood; and Paul Yoon's poignant novel told from the perspective of a wartime military dog, Etna.
What are you reading, bookworms?
01 Stations by Louise Kennedy
In 1980s Ireland, two teenagers feel the nation's political upheaval reflected in the disarray of their own lives.
Róisín shares her deepest fears and secrets with best friend Red, including how her father abandoned her mother and herself in a shabby flat. Red, from a posh family with money, is more circumspect about his own troubles, but when Róisín realizes the truth of her father's new life in London, she relies on Red as she always has.
The two grow apart, yet Red looms large in Róisín's mind and affects her ability to trust and love.
I received a prepublication edition of this novel courtesy of NetGalley and Riverhead Books.
Louise Kennedy is also the author of Trespasses.
02 Hollywood, Ending by John Green
In John Green's first novel written for adults, he presents two up-and-coming actors about to hit it big in a movie alongside an established star.
In laying bare the various forces, tedium, manipulation, money, power imbalances, and pure joy of acting that go into making the fictitious film in the novel, Green explores the crush of fame, the subsumption of the true self, and the culture's relentless desire for information that threaten to break someone seeking to live authentically.
The love story illustrates the seeming impossibility of finding one's self while in the pervasive public eye--and while caught between others' conflicting needs, desires, demands, and plans.
This is gorgeous John Green writing, and I love a behind-the-scenes peek. I love this so far.
John Green is also the author of the excellent nonfiction work Everything Is Tuberculosis, the collection of essays The Anthropocene Reviewed (which was one of my six favorite nonfiction reads the year I read it) as well as the young adult novels An Abundance of Katherines, Turtles All the Way Down, The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and Paper Towns.
03 Etna by Paul Yoon
Etna is told from the point of view of a military--then ex-miltary--dog plucked from a farm, trained to assist troops, then abandoned following the protracted war in Yoon's imagined nation, one that is frequently in conflict.
Etna, scarred physically and emotionally from war, becomes determined to return home to the farm where he first lived. He feels compelled to find once again the smells, sights, and sounds of his youth, even if everyone he once knew there has likely perished.
The dog journeys across a broken nation, in which the humans and creatures who have survived the fighting try to scrabble out an existence amid the post-war rubble and lawlessness. Etna struggles to find something to believe in, despite the trials and pain he has experienced.
Paul Yoon is also the author of Run Me to Earth, Snow Hunters, and multiple short story collections.
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