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The combination of Antigone, the psychological and physical abuse of jihadi grooming, and the horrors of present day UK media, social media and politics makes for a difficult read.

I heard Kamila Shamsie on Krishnan Guru-Murthy's "Ways to Change the World" podcast, thought she was very intelligent and articulate, and went to see what the library's e-book system had from her. This was the only offering unfortunately. Shamsie is indeed intelligent and articulate and her writing ability makes the rawness of the book's difficult combination bearable.

I feel ill-equipped to comment on the content. It's her lane.

I found this really hard going. The happiest parts are raced through, with much of the book either overshadowed by upcoming sadness or mired in present sadness. Fortunately the bit where the author piles on the tragedy is raced through as well, but by that point my reaction was just "oh come on, enough already." The characters are cliché and stereotypes, and the men tend to be rather controlling. Which makes sense for some of them, as the bulk of the book is about a young woman in the early 1900s. It's a story within a story. It didn't work for me. The first of seven books, it ends with hints towards some unanswered questions. If someone has a blog post with the answers I'd read that but I'm not putting myself through more of this series. There are better, more rewarding books to read.

It was alright. The characters were likeable, though the women especially live a life I don't really get, where SUVs are important and sex doesn't happen outside marriage. The ending was cheesy in that US public declaration of undying love kind of way and that really detracted for me, thus a lower rating. Also repeated mentions of physical beauty/handsomeness. Just let the characters be likeable/lovable for who they are inside. The author did well enough with that it didn't need the physical idealisation. Overall though, it didn't satisfy. Immediately on finishing it I went looking for another free e-book to read and haven't bothered adding it to my Bookwyrm until now. Whereas after a really excellent satisfying book I'm quite content to let it linger for days, weeks even. More pages read, closer to my reading goal, but not necessarily for the better. Perhaps as good as I'm going to do right now, after a difficult winter and start to 2023.

#ReadingOpera I suppose I can recognise why a different time might fall into raptures over this book, valuing tragedy as a sign of seriousness and all. I spent most of it in various degrees of being pissed off with des Grieux. We see Manon primarily through his eyes, she does very little and what she does is far from the sweetness and perfection he accords her. If the author intended that, to heighten des Grieux's tragedy - and for all that the English title and operas focus on her, it is entirely his story - that level of self-reflection was not clear. Perhaps most interesting to this modern reader was how the classism which drives so much of the plot is taken for granted, a normal and accepted part of life, and not commented on until the end. The de rigeur sexism and objectification of women doesn't even get that much recognition. At least the operas have music.

Read this because it was a free ebook and i'd gotten stuck on other things. It went quickly, in part because i was reading to get it done with, which isn't a good sign. The characters are likeable, except for the irredeemable ex. Maybe it's where my head is at, or maybe it reminded me too much of how things really haven't worked out for me at all, but it left me more upset than oxytocin'ed.