Customer Comments

How2BU has commented on (3) products.

Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti by Genevieve Valentine

How2BU, June 7, 2013

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the story of a circus in a post-apocalyptic-style future. A genre-buster: Sci-fi? There are robotics. Fantasy? (Who even knows what that means anymore, with wizard-gumshoes like Harry Dresden and Peter Grant.)
I've enjoyed the circuses of three recent books: Valentine's_Mechanique_, Morgenstern's _Night Circus_, and the one in Howard's _Johannes Cabal: Necromancer)_. With these books, a kind of mini-genre is emerging. Call it "carny futurist" or "imaginative freak shows," (or "bildungsromantic barkers"), but none of those quite capture how well each book, in totally a different way, portrays the humanity of those involved. Anyway, I would recommend reading all three. They are all funny, poignant, and compelling, and use magic as a way to talk about the human condition. (Whatever _that_ is!)

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Beautiful Ruins (P.S.) by Jess Walter

How2BU, June 7, 2013

Remember Altman's _The Player_? This is better, not so inside-Hollywood-icky and involving more civilians, yet equally clear on the repercussions of the business of make-believe. I was disarmed by the characters' portrayals and how effectively the shifts in time/place worked. There are some hilarious insights on a whole range of things.

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How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

How2BU, January 30, 2013

Fearless, funny, and feminist in refreshing ways.

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