Follows a pregnant woman researching her uncle’s past after World War II.

What impressed me the most about The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams is the excellent and loving research that has gone into the writing of this novel.

In a small Swedish town, a bank robbery has taken place. The bank robber is, obviously, not a professional for trying to rob a cashless bank. The robber stumbles into a showing for an apartment, on New Year’s Eve no less, and accidentally turns the incident into a hostage situation.

This was a surprising book, unlike many of the espionage novels I’ve read before. The story takes place over 70+ years in which the protagonist finds himself on the edge of history, like many of us do.

I don’t know much about Poe’s life, besides the bullet points many people are familiar with. I thought the author did a good job re imagining his life, habits, and most of all motivations. I especially enjoyed the chapter in which Poe wrote his most famous poem “The Raven” and how it came to be.

It is unclear what role Koba plays in Stalin’s government, except that he is a very high, and admired advisor. Koba, like Stalin, also came from Georgia and, like Stalin, excuses the crimes which the regime commits as a path to a greater “worker’s paradise”. It is a very interesting exercise to explain such concepts to an audience, especially if they’re ten year olds. Koba, at points, seem to be trying to convince himself of the deeds he is a part of, instead of convincing Leon

A historical fiction story following two female reports during World War II. Annie March arrives in France, 1944 after D-Day, her mentor is Martha Gellhorn, an ace reporter, editor, who is in a troubled marriage to writer Ernest Hemingway. Annie gets to know several soldiers and takes on photography to tell her story.

I really enjoyed four out of the five stories. One story was, for me, a little difficult to follow and somewhat convoluted, but overall it’s a very enjoyable book with great takes on time travel, as well as traveling between worlds.

Overall I thought the book was a fun read, humorous and creative. I don’t know if I would have enjoyed it as much if I didn’t see the movies, and pop-culture cloud around them

It’s silly, insane, jumps around, and makes little sense especially if you read the first book. If you didn’t read Gideon the Ninth, I suggest you do, if you did – brush up on it before starting this one. The narration in this book is so unreliable that it doesn’t only alters what Harrow remembers, but attempts to alter what the reader remembers as well.