4 Stars

Best for:
Fans of claustrophobic mysteries with possibly unreliable narrators and reasonable twists.

In a nutshell:
Abby works at in a town where seven people have gone missing in four separate incidents over the years. The sibling of the latest to disappear has arrived at the Inn where she works, and he has questions.

Worth quoting:
Nothing stood out.

Why I chose it:
When I was visiting my parents last month, my mother recommended this as something I’d like.

Review:
This was an interesting mystery. It had that small town feel that I enjoy in mysteries – much like the Icelandic books I’ve read, where everything takes place in one town, and where everyone knows everyone else’s business.

Abby works at the inn owned by her now-deceased uncle and his wife. She’s been there for ten years, so not a local. She arrived right around when someone went missing – the fifth, after a group of four guys went missing over a decade earlier. The town is right at the edge of the Appalachian trail, so the assumption is that everyone who has gone missing met their end from a fall on the trail.

But four months ago, a reporter came to town, looking into the six disappearances. Then he went missing, and now his brother has shown up at the inn, wanting answers.

The author does a great job of holding back information without it being silly once it is revealed – nothing is truly out of the blue. She also plays around a bit with the narrator – is she reliable, is she telling us everything she knows? The author also creates a very specific feeling with the town and its inhabitants – how some people can never be considered a ‘local’ no matter how long they live there, how people can close ranks to protect their own, how some are always suspicious of others.

I enjoyed this one enough to seek out other books by the author – just downloaded one to read this week.

Four Stars

Best for:
Anyone wanting a beautiful bit of writing that isn’t about a plot so much as a feeling.

In a nutshell:
A day in the life of four astronauts and two cosmonauts as they orbit the earth 16 times.

Worth quoting:
“We find out about our own unspecialness and in a flush of innocence we feel quite glad – if we’re not special then we might not be alone.”

“We think we’re the wind, but we’re just the leaf.”

Why I chose it:
This was a birthday present from my partner, who clearly knows me well.

Review:
Like many people, occasionally I’ll have a moment where I think about the vastness of space and how I don’t understand it. It nearly takes my breath away when I really contemplate it. At the same time, I would love to spend a few days in space, to view Earth and the cosmos from high above.

This book isn’t plot driven – at the risk of spoiling it, there is not unexpected incident putting the six space travelers at risk. We learn a bit about each of their lives – one has just lost her mother (and will in fact miss her funeral while up in space), others have partners, children. What motivated them to want to be sealed in a tiny can circling the Earth sixteen times each day. How they feel now that they are in space. And that is a bit part of the book.

But most of the book is about Earth – what is going on, how humans relate to each other on it, how it appears from above, how it fits into the universe. The writing is beautiful but not overly flowery. It invokes a mood – for me it was a mixture of calmness, overall peace, and also curiosity. It’s a fairly short novel, but it’s clear why it won the Booker Prize in 2024. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit different.

I remember the first time I was on a flight where peanuts weren’t serve, and flight attendants asked all passengers to avoid consuming any peanut products they brought on board with them. This was because someone on the flight had a severe peanut allergy, and that is a particularly scary allergy. As someone who grew up being able to eat pretty much anything, I hadn’t had to think much about this. But I didn’t complain or anything; when I spent a second considering the request, it made perfect sense.

But avoiding bringing any food allergens out in public ever? As far as I can tell that isn’t just unnecessary, it’s unreasonable. Yes, some allergens are severe, but while the rest of us shouldn’t go around smearing peanut butter all over the slides at the park, it’s really up to the parent (or the child as they get older) to be aware of the food being consumed and their overall environment. That might mean wiping down public spaces before letting their child play on them, or bringing their own treats to events. That seems like a bummer, but so many allergens are present in most foods people consume, and it’s unreasonable to request that no one eat pizza (dairy, wheat) or a breakfast burrito (eggs, dairy, wheat) on a bench in Central Park because a toddler might come along and put some of the crumbs in their mouth.

That said, in the case of young children, I see the value in restricting foods that they can bring into the classrooms and cafeterias. Kids — especially younger ones — might not understand the seriousness of a peanut allergy and will want to share the dangerous food with their friends. For me, this means that the danger posed by the sandwich is greater than the inconvenience of a parent not being able to send peanut butter sandwiches in their child’s lunch. I also think it’s reasonable to ask that hosts not have such severe allergens at birthday parties and similar events if a child with an allergy is going to be present.

So, where does that leave us? Should people with allergies just not go out in public? Should parents of kids with severe allergies put them in a bubble? No. Of course not. But they can’t assume no one else will ever eat a candy bar or a seafood sandwich in their general vicinity, and they need to accept that reality. I’d imagine it sucks to have to be so vigilant all the time, but sometimes that’s how life works out.

At the same time, those of us without allergies can still be thoughtful. Avoid consuming the allergens that are most likely to cause severe reactions around people with allergies or around strangers who are essentially captive audiences. This doesn’t mean you can’t chow down on a Snickers at the park; it means don’t pull out some peanuts on the bus and then wipe your hands all over the seat and rail.