Unraveled, Week 24/2023

Good morning and happy Wednesday, friends! Later today, the winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction will be announced, and I plan to watch it live. The photo above is my stack of paper copies of the books I read from this year's nominees (there were two other titles I read on Kindle). I didn't set out to read the entire longlist, but I did read all the finalists plus more and really enjoyed my time reading from the selections.

But before we get into reading, it's Wednesdays, which means it's time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers!

I am very happy to share that I finished my mother-in-law's socks yesterday:

I used my SHaGS pattern (Ravelry link), turning them into shortie socks by knitting a 1x1 ribbed cuff and then going straight into the heel. I did try to match up the stripes and very nearly succeeded, but slight variations in either the yarn, my gauge, or both made them ever so slightly different. I don't think the recipient will mind, though! Her birthday is Saturday, so I have plenty of time to block these and wrap them up.

Now, on to the reading. It's been good this past week! I've finished three books since we last checked in.

The final book I read from the Women's Prize nominees was Wandering Souls. It did not make the shortlist, but in my opinion, it should have. This book follows the journey of three Vietnamese siblings who must find their way in life after the rest of their family is tragically killed on a boat that was bringing them to meet the three children. Teenager Anh has to take on the duties of parent to her two younger brothers and navigate the uncertain world of being a refugee in Margaret Thatcher's England. The story of the three siblings is interspersed with chapters from the perspective of the ghost of their younger brother and with reflections from an unnamed narrator in more recent years looking back on her family's history. It's a really beautiful book that highlights the challenges of being an immigrant, the sacrifices we make for family, and the kindness of others. I gave it 4 stars.

I was in need of an audiobook late last week, so I returned to Ann Patchett's backlist and read Run, which takes place over the course of 24 hours but looks back in time to examine what it means to be a family. I would say that this isn't among Patchett's best books, but her writing is still stellar, particularly her characters. The people in this book are so real, even when details in the story don't seem as realistic. (Also, as a side note, how is it that with all of today's technology, they can't managed to edit out the out-of-place music that indicated it was time to change the CD on the digital version?) I gave this one 3 stars.

Finally, after a long wait from the library, I finally got I Have Some Questions for You -- and I could not put it down. I know some of you read this and didn't care for it, but I absolutely loved it. In many ways, it felt like experiencing the first season of Serial again, and I'm sure there will be some people who feel that Makkai simply changed some details of that case to create her story. I can't put my finger on what, exactly, so appealed to me, especially because she's packed so much into this novel -- a (fictional) true crime story, a MeToo story, a reflection on the main character's time in high school and her evolving sense of self, a campus novel. I think this is one you either really like or really don't like. If you liked Serial, you'll probably like this one. I gave it 5 stars.


I started rereading Pigs in Heaven last night, though it may as well be my first read because I was about Mo's age the last time I read it and I doubt I'll remember much, if anything. I also have two ARCs from NetGalley sitting on my Kindle shelf -- Let Us Descend and Happiness Falls -- that I'm looking forward to digging into, but I think I will try to finish Doctor Zhivago first.

What's on tap for you this week? What do you think will win the Women's Prize?