Not gonna lie, if you keep this form up I'm going to get cross with you for making my TBR expand too much, Ben! 😂 I follow other BookTubers, some of whom also cover the Booker Longlist, and their explanations about some books didn't grab my attention so I thought I was safe, but you did it in your last video with The Safekeep and now you've only gone and done it again with Wandering Stars. What I took from other Booktubers was 'it's good, but you really need to read There There, it's connected but also disconnected in its own way, and some stuff happens' but you've really been able to articulate the novel's components (while also addressing some of the necessary obvious points) in a way that brings to life why it's genuinely interesting and engaging to read. And this is a two-in-one TBR addition because I need to read There There, too! How dare you, Ben. How dare you.
I am very sorry 😂 Going by the other comments it sounds like you should definitely pick up / loan There There as well! It really was a great reading experience for me.
A great video with three really thoughtful reviews. I fell in to Enlightenment and did not find it baggy. I loved the world she created and the mastery of her language and embraced its Victorian vibe. It stood out for me but I understand why it won’t be a book everyone will love. I agree with you about Creation Lake. Sadie is fun, but Bruno is not really fun and at the end I just didn’t quite feel that it had been worth my time. And the issue with Wandering Stars is that it really doesn’t work without There There, and the Booker did not include There There when it longlisted Wandering Stars. Really looking forward to your shortlist hopes and predictions.
I’m thinking I’ll read Wandering Stars without first reading There there. Curious to experience it, and you’re right about the “effects” of a book when it comes (or doesn’t) with another. I get - and applaud! - why you read them both together
I can see how if you don’t get on with the writing style it might be reaaaally boring to read, but I think Perry clearly has a lot of talent! The list all-round is really good this year, in my opinion.
Interesting thoughts on Creation Lake! I didn’t see Sadie as bumbling; I’ve seen lots of spy movies and shows/read spy books that take a looser view of procedure (Homeland is a big one) and Creation Lake didn’t seem out of step with other realistic depictions of spycraft. For me the takeaway is that a lot of times the mission just doesn’t work out, and eventually they get disillusioned. I’ve also read other books by this author and it’s not really her way to give us an ironic or undercutting take on her main character. To me it was more that this supposedly huge mission was pointless: the politician was small potatoes (we’ll never know why anyone wanted him gone) and the commune was ineffective.
That's so interesting! I don't know if I'd say Sadie was bumbling (and if I did say that word, or maybe just the Mr Bean comparison, I have probably over-egged it) but I really felt like she was written as overconfident, and her career history was supposed to emphasise that. And I loved Homeland although I'm not sure I'd put Carrie Matheson down as a particularly together person either 😅 Love that we can take such different things from the same book though!
What a great idea, to read Wandering Stars around There There. I have them both, but have been procrastinating about reading them for reasons that are not entirely clear to me. Starting with Wandering Stars and then taking a break to read There There appeals to me. I will try that!
Think you talked me out of Creation Lake. I was only mildly interested to begin with and now it has fallen even further down my list. Read There, There over a year ago and so have hesitated to tackle Wandering Stars before a review. Loved the Essex Serpent by Perry so I must say out of the three on this review that is the one I am leaning toward but not before I get my hands on Playground which remains the one I am. most interested in. Thanks for more great reviews. I appreciate all your work putting these videos together.
Yeah I think Creation Lake won't be for everyone, but I had a fun time with it. If you enjoyed Perry's writing in The Essex Serpent, I expect you'll love Enlightenment. Thanks for watching!
Ben, I totally agree with you on Enlightenment and Creation Lake. But, I read Wandering Stars without reading There There - I felt that it should be able to stand on its own as a prize contender. I absolutely adored the first section, but the rest of the book didn’t hold up for me.
That’s a shame to hear about Wandering Stars! Yeah it’s definitely a tricky one, and definitely agree that a book should stand alone on a prize list. Together they were great! Although sequels have been nominated (and won!) before so I guess there’s no hard and fast rule 😅
I probably should’ve reread There There, and may as well not have at all bc I didn’t remember any characters, yet still agree with you regarding Wandering Stars ; and I too found the wall and getting by parts so powerful.
Creation Lake was a fun read, once i got over the lack of thillerish plot lines. I agree - Sadie was a hoot. My favorite part of the book was Platon's fate, how he ended up going out versus what was "planned" by Sadie. I found that hilariously satirical and such a jab at spy thrillers. Maybe it's just me. I was also fascinated by the Cagots. Overall I loved the anthropological bits of this book. It was all very compelling to me.
The Creation Lake macaroon/macaron misunderstanding is actually just a common American one (I’m Californian and run into this frequently). This might be a case of accuracy funnily enough!!
Haha kinda. I think it's more that the Booker is still a very literary prize, so any novel they describe with genre words is really only loosely that genre. But probably just indicative of the judge's reading habits. A 'page turner' to a reader of literary fiction is probably a very different thing to a 'page turner' for a reader of thrillers.
Creation Lake annoyed me. I like Kushner's writing, but I think the point of the novel would have worked better in a short story. There is no reason why it should be 400 pages. Bruno's emails become tedious quickly. Because our narrator is unreliable and a mess, I was hoping we were working towards one. However, it just felt like one long joke and the joke was not even that funny. As for Wandering Stars, I only read this book. I thought it was a mess. The second half is just uninteresting because it covers predictable material with the addiction stories. I did not care about the male characters and I wanted to know more about Opal or Jackie. Even though it was shorter than Creation Lake, it took me longer to read.
Sadie is definitely not *not* annoying 😂 I really enjoyed Bruno’s emails to be honest - I could read a whole non-fiction book on that format. Shame to hear Wandering Stars wasn’t for you. I thought the addiction storyline(s) were really effective, but I’m not familiar with Native American history much beyond Killers of the Flower Moon so it felt very relevant and fresh for me. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!
Ahh that’s a shame to hear it didn’t work for you. The two together were exceptional, so I was curious to know how it might hold up without There There!
Congrats! Reading There There in the middle of Wandering Stars is a bit of brilliance
I'm glad I saw someone mention Tommy Orange recommending doing it like that, or I'd have never known!
Not gonna lie, if you keep this form up I'm going to get cross with you for making my TBR expand too much, Ben! 😂 I follow other BookTubers, some of whom also cover the Booker Longlist, and their explanations about some books didn't grab my attention so I thought I was safe, but you did it in your last video with The Safekeep and now you've only gone and done it again with Wandering Stars. What I took from other Booktubers was 'it's good, but you really need to read There There, it's connected but also disconnected in its own way, and some stuff happens' but you've really been able to articulate the novel's components (while also addressing some of the necessary obvious points) in a way that brings to life why it's genuinely interesting and engaging to read. And this is a two-in-one TBR addition because I need to read There There, too! How dare you, Ben. How dare you.
I am very sorry 😂 Going by the other comments it sounds like you should definitely pick up / loan There There as well! It really was a great reading experience for me.
Creation Lake: I put a hold on the book and because of this video I should have it by February 2025.
Here’s a comment to come back to in March 2025 once you have read it:
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It was worth the wait!
A great video with three really thoughtful reviews. I fell in to Enlightenment and did not find it baggy. I loved the world she created and the mastery of her language and embraced its Victorian vibe. It stood out for me but I understand why it won’t be a book everyone will love. I agree with you about Creation Lake. Sadie is fun, but Bruno is not really fun and at the end I just didn’t quite feel that it had been worth my time. And the issue with Wandering Stars is that it really doesn’t work without There There, and the Booker did not include There There when it longlisted Wandering Stars. Really looking forward to your shortlist hopes and predictions.
Thank you for watching! Can definitely see how if Enlightenment catches you it could *really* absorb you. Perry is definitely talented!
I’m thinking I’ll read Wandering Stars without first reading There there. Curious to experience it, and you’re right about the “effects” of a book when it comes (or doesn’t) with another. I get - and applaud! - why you read them both together
Based on the comments on this video, it sounds like it might be worth considering There There if you can!
We did it, Ben. 😂😂
The Booker actually could do with an Electoral College, and Booktube being one of the states that gets to vote.
@@benreadsgood IT WASN'T PAUL LYNCH, STOP THE COUNT
Please don't look at my 2023 longlist ranking... 😂
Congrats on finishing the list! I’ve heard pretty damning reviews of enlightenment so it’s good to hear a different perspective.
I can see how if you don’t get on with the writing style it might be reaaaally boring to read, but I think Perry clearly has a lot of talent! The list all-round is really good this year, in my opinion.
Interesting thoughts on Creation Lake! I didn’t see Sadie as bumbling; I’ve seen lots of spy movies and shows/read spy books that take a looser view of procedure (Homeland is a big one) and Creation Lake didn’t seem out of step with other realistic depictions of spycraft. For me the takeaway is that a lot of times the mission just doesn’t work out, and eventually they get disillusioned. I’ve also read other books by this author and it’s not really her way to give us an ironic or undercutting take on her main character. To me it was more that this supposedly huge mission was pointless: the politician was small potatoes (we’ll never know why anyone wanted him gone) and the commune was ineffective.
That's so interesting! I don't know if I'd say Sadie was bumbling (and if I did say that word, or maybe just the Mr Bean comparison, I have probably over-egged it) but I really felt like she was written as overconfident, and her career history was supposed to emphasise that.
And I loved Homeland although I'm not sure I'd put Carrie Matheson down as a particularly together person either 😅
Love that we can take such different things from the same book though!
What a great idea, to read Wandering Stars around There There. I have them both, but have been procrastinating about reading them for reasons that are not entirely clear to me. Starting with Wandering Stars and then taking a break to read There There appeals to me. I will try that!
I can’t take too much credit - I saw someone mention online that it was a suggestion by the author himself! Definitely an excellent way to read them.
I have all of these from the library now. So many books to read, so little time. Haha! Your reviews are helping me prioritizing!
“So many books, so little time” is basically the mantra of Booktube 😂
@@benreadsgood Haha! Absolutely!
Think you talked me out of Creation Lake. I was only mildly interested to begin with and now it has fallen even further down my list. Read There, There over a year ago and so have hesitated to tackle Wandering Stars before a review. Loved the Essex Serpent by Perry so I must say out of the three on this review that is the one I am leaning toward but not before I get my hands on Playground which remains the one I am. most interested in. Thanks for more great reviews. I appreciate all your work putting these videos together.
Yeah I think Creation Lake won't be for everyone, but I had a fun time with it.
If you enjoyed Perry's writing in The Essex Serpent, I expect you'll love Enlightenment.
Thanks for watching!
I have to go to bed, but before I do, I simply must say that I love the third hand on the thumbnail 😂
Sometimes you need a helping hand 😂
@@benreadsgood Genius!
Ben, I totally agree with you on Enlightenment and Creation Lake. But, I read Wandering Stars without reading There There - I felt that it should be able to stand on its own as a prize contender. I absolutely adored the first section, but the rest of the book didn’t hold up for me.
That’s a shame to hear about Wandering Stars! Yeah it’s definitely a tricky one, and definitely agree that a book should stand alone on a prize list. Together they were great!
Although sequels have been nominated (and won!) before so I guess there’s no hard and fast rule 😅
I probably should’ve reread There There, and may as well not have at all bc I didn’t remember any characters, yet still agree with you regarding Wandering Stars ; and I too found the wall and getting by parts so powerful.
Ooh it’s good to know that the book still works even with a hazy recollection of There There!
Creation Lake was a fun read, once i got over the lack of thillerish plot lines. I agree - Sadie was a hoot. My favorite part of the book was Platon's fate, how he ended up going out versus what was "planned" by Sadie. I found that hilariously satirical and such a jab at spy thrillers. Maybe it's just me. I was also fascinated by the Cagots. Overall I loved the anthropological bits of this book. It was all very compelling to me.
Yeah the way things went down felt like just another very fitting entry on Sadie's resume 😅 Lots of fun to read!
The Creation Lake macaroon/macaron misunderstanding is actually just a common American one (I’m Californian and run into this frequently). This might be a case of accuracy funnily enough!!
It's definitely a common mistake in the UK too, and I would have more sympathy for it if Sadie wasn't supposed to be an international spy! 😅
I am over half way through wondering stars and am finding it hard to finish...
Ah, that’s a shame. If you’re not too far into part two, would definitely recommend hitting pause and reading There There (if you haven’t already).
so like if the booker jury calls something a page turner (wild houses / creation lake) we should expect the exact opposite
Haha kinda. I think it's more that the Booker is still a very literary prize, so any novel they describe with genre words is really only loosely that genre. But probably just indicative of the judge's reading habits. A 'page turner' to a reader of literary fiction is probably a very different thing to a 'page turner' for a reader of thrillers.
Creation Lake annoyed me. I like Kushner's writing, but I think the point of the novel would have worked better in a short story. There is no reason why it should be 400 pages. Bruno's emails become tedious quickly. Because our narrator is unreliable and a mess, I was hoping we were working towards one. However, it just felt like one long joke and the joke was not even that funny. As for Wandering Stars, I only read this book. I thought it was a mess. The second half is just uninteresting because it covers predictable material with the addiction stories. I did not care about the male characters and I wanted to know more about Opal or Jackie. Even though it was shorter than Creation Lake, it took me longer to read.
Sadie is definitely not *not* annoying 😂 I really enjoyed Bruno’s emails to be honest - I could read a whole non-fiction book on that format.
Shame to hear Wandering Stars wasn’t for you. I thought the addiction storyline(s) were really effective, but I’m not familiar with Native American history much beyond Killers of the Flower Moon so it felt very relevant and fresh for me.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!
📖 🪱 💚
Read Wandering Stars without having read There There and loathed it. First part was good and the second part was non-sensical. Sorry but no.
Ahh that’s a shame to hear it didn’t work for you. The two together were exceptional, so I was curious to know how it might hold up without There There!