Below are some of the books we at the Sentinel Sun have read, enjoyed, and would love to share!
The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka
The surrealist novella depicts the struggles of Gregor Samsa, a breadwinner salesman, as he attempts to adjust to his sudden, inexplicable transformation into an oversized insect.
Kafka’s portrayal of the Samsa family’s increasingly disturbed reactions to Gregor’s condition tugs at my heartstrings. The tragedy of Gregor’s decline is balanced by the book’s absurdist style, allowing for a heartfelt, but not overly devastating story.
There is also an intriguing contrast between Gregor's grotesque transformation and his sister’s graceful metamorphosis into maturity. Finally, Kafka’s chef-d’oeuvre is only about 100 pages, making it a speedy read for bibliophiles!
The novella tackles themes of alienation, family, ethics, and economic burden.
Flowers for Algernon
Daniel Keyes
Flowers for Algernon tells the story of Charlie Gordon, a mentally disabled man who takes part in an experimental procedure aimed at increasing intelligence. In diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life.
The novel looks at so many different ideas: from mental disabilities to human nature, from love to ignorance. It also makes you feel so many compelling emotions: frustration, exasperation, hope, thankfulness, just to name a few.
It was initially written as a short story, but it was later expanded into a novel (and film).
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
Set in the city of Ketterdam, six teenagers team up to break into a prison.
Me Talk Pretty One Day
David Sedaris
Me Talk Pretty One Day" is a collection of essays about the everyday life of author, humorist David Sedaris.
Terminal Boredom: Stories
Izumi Suzuki
An anthology of speculative sci-fi short stories exploring everything from strife among the genders to matriarchal utopias to intergalactic relationships to eerie “earthling” rituals to dystopias of entertainment-bound idle youth.
Suzuki’s speculations of modern society are particularly striking. Combined with vague and gritty, albeit lively, fever-dream-like settings, the anthology is able to conjure visions of the future, allowing the reader to introspect about our current society.
It is the first of Suzuki’s, a post-1968 cult-figure in Japan, books to be published in English.
The Lathe of Heaven
Ursula K. Le Guin
When George Orr has discovered that he has the power to change reality through his dreams, he seeks help from a psychiatrist, to no avail.
Flying alien turtles. Need I say more?
The Queen’s Spy
Claire Marchant
The merge of history and the present through the depiction of an unsolved mystery rooted from the Royal Family in the 1500s with a touch of romance.
I love the Dark Academia feel it gives. The setting is calm with beautiful details such as apothecary and making medicine, and yet there are unexpected surprises within the plot. It constantly leaves me with questions after finishing each chapter.
My Brilliant Friend (series)
Elena Ferrante
Two girls come of age in a rough part of 1960s Naples, surrounded by violent masculinity and poverty. The friendship of the two girls over the years is told through the eyes of Elena, the more timid of the two. From childhood to adulthood, we see the tumultuous ups-and-downs of their relationship, and their deepest emotions. Ferrante is amazing with the psychology of the teenage girl. Though Elena and her friend Lila grow up in a wildly different environment than the present, I found that my thoughts and Elena's are often the same. Lila is a larger-than-life character whose bravery and wit is almost glorified in Elena's mind. Ferrante's writing is also incredibly vivid, fleshing out their community and giving us a view of their social environment by their local traditions and gossip.
A beautiful portrait of the vagaries of female friendship.
Consists of 4 novels, and has also been adapted into an HBO series featuring Margherita Mazzucco and Gaia Girace as the two girls.
The Wall
Marlen Haushofer
A middle-aged woman on vacation in the Alps, wakes up in her hunting lodge one day to find the land surrounded by an invisible wall. With no other human being left alive, the woman can only rely on herself and her limited environment to survive. It's not often that you see a survival story with such an unlikely heroine. Written in first-person from the perspective of the woman, not only do you see how she gets by day by day, but also what it means to be human in a world that no longer has humans.
Even though the wall creates a terrifying situation for the woman, it soon turns into her home. The silence in the Alps can be peaceful one day and eerie the next. The best time to read it is at night before bed.
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