Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners. I’ve come across this meme through Emer at A Little Haze Book Blog. Emer has an interesting book blog and is one of my favorite book bloggers. Do check out Emer’s book blog.

I decided to do my own Goodreads Monday post because it is the only day of the week for which I have no dedicated book blog post. I already do Top Five/Ten Tuesdays, WWW Wednesdays, Throwback Thursdays, First Impression Fridays. In a manner of speaking, I am coming full circle. Moreover, this meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give reason why you want to read it. It is that simple. Before I get carried away, here’s my first Goodreads Monday post.

This week’s book:

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann

Ducks-cover-R2-1“Baking a multitude of tartes tatin for local restaurants, an Ohio housewife contemplates her four kids, husband, cats and chickens. Also, America’s ignoble past, and her own regrets. She is surrounded by dead lakes, fake facts, Open Carry maniacs, and oodles of online advice about survivalism, veil toss duties, and how to be more like Jane Fonda. But what do you do when you keep stepping on your son’s toy tractors, your life depends on stolen land and broken treaties, and nobody helps you when you get a flat tire on the interstate, not even the Abominable Snowman? When are you allowed to start swearing.

With a torrent of consciousness and an intoxicating coziness, Ducks, Newburyport lays out a whole world for you to tramp around in, by turns frightening and funny. A heart-rending indictment of America’s barbarity, and lament for the way we are blundering into environmental disaster, this book is both heresy – and a revolution in the novel.”

Why I Want to Read It

When the 2019 Man Booker Prize Award winners were announced, an unexpected buzz seized the world of book Twitter. Many a reader claimed that Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport was a more deserving winner (I am currently reading the other Man 2019 Booker Prize winner, Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman Other). I’ve already read Atwood’s The Testaments and I was underwhelmed. The Twitter buzz instantly piqued my curiosity as it was the first time I have heard of the book or of the author. The feedback on the book were generally positive; there must be some good reason why it was shortlisted for the prestigious literary award.

My interest in the book was further consolidated by Emer’s review on the book. It has got a dominant female voice which is totally fine with me. I also like the challenge that the book presents – its unorthodox prose and its colossal size. I have a penchant for lengthy narratives (read between my lips: Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind).

How about you fellow reader, is Ducks, Newburyport one of the books in your TBR list? If yes, may I know the reasons why you want to read the novel?

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