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bigcats-birds-and-books · 5 days ago

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Books of 2024: THE NIGHT GUEST by Hildur Knútsdóttir.

Sticking with the insomnia-flavored tiny horror theme (and also, apparently, the Deeply Fucked Up Bright Pink Books Published By Tor theme *side eyes JUST LIKE HOME*).

I watched (Zoomed) a conversation between Mary Robinette Kowal and Hildur on the day the book came out, and it was really interesting! Plus I am SO susceptible to Buying Books Impulsively Because I Think The Author Is Neat (*other side eyes unintentional Columbus Book Festival haul*), so I picked up a copy when Bookshop did a coupon for it.

I'm only a few chapters in, but so far I'm very intrigued! It's starting as a tense little mystery about Why Is She Always Exhausted When She Wakes Up and so far medical professionals have Found Nothing Wrong, which she knows is bullshit but can't solve (the exhaustion and the resignation about it are uh. too real. it's a very real book). The suspense and the tension are already ratcheting up, and the chapters are very bite-size and readable! Will report back a final verdict when I'm done!!

(Side note: it comes with apparently a massive content warning re: animal death/harm, which, per the Zoom conversation, does not fuck up Icelandic readers like it tends to fuck up American readers?? Specifics are all over Goodreads, so check there first if that's a heads up you need!)

#books of 2024 #book photo #the night guest #hildur knútsdóttir #hildur knutsdottir #idk if tumblr will let me find her without accent marks from mobile #love blogging from the big internet though so she gets her correct orthography here #but yeah the whole conversation was very neat!!#it was cool to hear about the process of translation and how this book got here #(MRK read it in icelandic because they're friends but she can't read icelandic very fast any more so she was translating as she went)#(and she introduced hildur to her agent and her agent sold it to tor UNDER THE CAVEAT that mrk had to finish the translation XD)#this is her first book published in english i think?? she's been published in translation before but not english (so this is the first--#--translation she can read and she's pleased with how it turned out/sounds like her!)#i'm love translation so much it was a VERY cool conversation #and i'm so here for Spec Fic In Translation That I Wouldn't Otherwise Have Access to #like. i read translated lit fic because a lot of times translated lit fic is more accessible than spec fic #BUT I LOVE A GOOD SPEC FIC IN TRANSLATION GIMME THE WEIRD SHIT!!!#the vibes on this one are immaculate so far #ALSO. pyr0clast. thinking of you as i read this one. because iceland.#but. watch out for the medical stuff (which is the beginning) and the animal harm is cats so.......maybe not for u #or robin lol. but it's neat! it's icelandic! thinking of you both!!

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