Carolina Novo

took me three years to read but it was worth it. what a beautiful and clever analysis of those times and places where the personal clashes with the political (well, it always does) and history and histories are changed forever. how to write politics without writing non fiction, that is something that Anna Burns does really well. it's a wonderfully written story (for me, at least, I understand that many people aren't fans of the obsessive stream of consciousness, but I love it) story about the many lives that occur while your country and your own life might be ending at any time.

John Green must be a genius.

well, I guess that this year my type of book is stories about religion, what's built around it - the communities, the rules, the secrets, the downfalls and the salvations -, and about how people are impacted by it. in the author's biography it says “Adopted by Pentecostal parents she was raised to be a missionary. This did and didn't work out” - and I think it's always a bit like this in life, isn't it? It works and it doesn't.

After “Crossroads”, this one is probably my 2022's favourite book.

I had this book on a shelf at my parents' house for around seven years. I remember starting reading it at the time and hating it (honestly don't remember why). I grabbed it recently and the experience couldn't have been more different. I haven't read something so plot-driven in a long time, with so many twists and turns, and although I usually prefer slower-paced books, more character-driven, this really really caught my attention and made me really happy. “This book restores your faith in fiction”, it says on the front cover. And it really does. What a lovely, warm read.

Enquanto lia este livro, ao longo destas últimas semanas, não conseguia parar de pensar nele. Agora que acabou, acho que nunca o vou esquecer.

Ps: crying a lot.