Books like Einstein's War

I knew exactly nothing about the Spanish Civil War before reading this. It's an odd book - a memoir of a period of time in his life where he didn't exactly do much - stood in a trench for a few months, didn't shoot anyone in Barcelona, then got shot in the throat. Still, the explanations of the war and the politics of it all were surprisingly interesting, even if I don't think it was the clearest. Orwell does an exceptional job of describing the reality of the war and how it changed him, and I think that's the most interesting takeaway - war was (and is) tragic, unfair, disgusting, lousy, muddy, exhausting, and yet, both pointless and inevitable. And at the centre of it all, are humans.

In the closing remarks of the book, Orwell is travelling back to England.
"Down here it was still the England I… show more.

In my opinion, Demon Copperhead wins the prize for most original voice this year. Kingsolver places the reader inside the head and heart of a young boy whose needs are immense but resources are scarce. This produces all kinds of emotion and learning, but in an entertaining way that keeps you reading from start to finish. I'm happy Kingsolver didn't preach in this book as she often does in others. The story was enough; it sent her message loud and clear without the need for explicit persuasion about poverty or foster agencies, poor parenting and education, or a better life for a young boy in rural Appalachia. Great book!