Angle of Shenzen D.A.

[maribou]

D. A., by Connie Willis
Fun but slight YA SF story about a kid who gets dragooned into the Space Academy. Compared to Heinlein but honestly it reminded me more of Paula Danzinger (that's not a bad thing ...).
(191/250)

Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
I absolutely loved both the intertwined stories of this novel - the historical thread of the narrator's grandmother & her emigration to the west, and the more contemporary story of a crippled and angry historian holed up with his grandmother's papers. It was kind of like Updike, only without the annoying parts.
(192/250)

Shenzhen, by Guy DeLisle
This graphic travel memoir of the author's time working in the titular city pleases me more on a subconscious level than anything else, so I'm hard put to explain why I think it's more than mediocre. Not much really happens and it's only funny a few times. And yet. Maybe it's an existentialism thing. The content isn't as compelling as the previous volume, Pyongyang, by a long shot, but it feels just as hard to put down.
(193/250)

Comments

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

I liked Pyongyang. DeLisle was able to convey the creepiness of North Korea and at the same time make me laugh at some of it, which is no mean feat.

[maribou]

Absolutely, that's what I liked about it too. But Shenzhen is not nearly so good at either of those things - and I still didn't want to stop reading long enough to say, get dinner. Twas odd.