July 2026 Book Recaps

 July 2026 Book Recaps

The Astronaut! By Oana Aristide

I enjoyed the originality of Astronaut! It packs a punch with an unlikely friendship between an old radical and a little girl, and a string of brutal killings that are attributed to bear attacks, and political dissent culminating in a possible moment of great change in the oppressive Ceausescu regime of Romania in 1989, all with a dark, biting humor. 

 

 

July Classic Challenge:

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises is about a group of expats living in Paris and traveling to Pamplona, Spain to see the running of the bulls and bullfights. But mainly, the story centers on a free-spirited woman everyone seems to be in love with: Brett. She’s engaged to one man, sleeping with others, and flirting with everyone. 

 

I didn’t quite connect with this book. Getting hammered was their main pastime, which I could overlook, but antisemitism was a strong factor in the story and there were several “N”words peppered around. 

 

I also don’t care too much for Hemingway’s spare and minimalistic prose that he’s known for. His dialog sounds particularly choppy to me. 

 

Here’s an example with my thoughts in italics:

 

“I think it’s hell on earth.”

“It’s good to see each other.”

“No, I don’t think it is.”

“Don’t you want to?” (see each other?)

“I have to.” (why?)

 

Still, I am glad I read it just to see what it was about, but I wish it would have been a buddy read, because I have a couple questions.