Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

Blurb from Goodreads

The anticipated novel from the Booker-shortlisted author, exploring love, betrayal and morality in 1920s Penang.

It is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert’s, comes to stay.

Willie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of his day. But he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write. The more Lesley’s friendship with Willie grows, the more clearly she sees him as he is – a man who has no choice but to mask his true self.

From Man Booker Prize-shortlisted Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors is a masterful novel of public morality and private truth a century ago.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! Today is June 12 which means that the Philippines is celebrating its 125th year anniversary since it declared independence from Spain; we were part of the Spanish overseas empire for over three centuries. So, happy independence day! But with everything that has been happening, one can’t help but beg the question, are we really free? Have we really removed the shackles that pinned us on the ground for centuries? Or are we still slaves, but now by other things, such as deeply hidden emotions, resentments, or even social media? With all these, I hope that everyone is experiencing real freedom. I also hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit.

Lucky us, it is a holiday here in the Philippines but I hope everyone had a great start to the week and the work week. The first day of the week also means the start of a new blogging week. To kick off another week of blogging, I am sharing a fresh Goodreads Monday update. Two months of British literature was succeeded by two months of Japanese literature. Now, I am in the midst of a journey across the rest of the Asian continent, most of which I have not explored as much as I explored Japanese literature; my forays into Chinese and Indian literature, for instance, are lacking. Currently, I am reading Dipika Rai’s Someone Else’s Garden, the third consecutive novel by an Indian writer I read this year; it is also part of my 2023 Beat the Backlist Challenge.

To align with my reading theme this month, I will also be featuring works of Asian writers in my Goodreads update this month. Today, I am featuring Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng’s The House of Doors. Tan was recommended to me by a Facebook friend; he recommended Tan’s debut novel, The Gift of Rain but I ended up reading his sophomore novel, The Garden of Evening Mists. I was deeply impressed by The Garden of Evening Mists, hence, I wanted to read more of Tan’s works. Unfortunately for me, he only had two books, back then; I had trouble finding a copy of The Gift of Rain.

Lo and behold! I learned that Tan recently released a new novel, The House of Doors. This comes twelve years after his sophomore novel; The Garden of Evening Mists was also shortlisted for the 2012 Booker Prize. The news caught me off guard but it was news that I fully welcomed; I immediately informed my friend of his newest novel and now we are both looking forward to it. It seems that Tan is going back to his roots for his third novel. I hope that I can acquire a copy of the book soon and make it part of my foray into Asian literature this year; I have also resolved to expand my exploration of Southeast Asian literature. Crossing my fingers.

How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!