"finished copy gifted by the publisher

beautiful and illuminating lectures on writing as an other, the responsibility of writing / exploiting one's otherness, and the commitment of expanding that otherness to encompass all who are oppressed globally. Throughout the lectures, Nguyen weaves his personal life - his parents' otherness as refugees, his own otherness as a 'minority', etc. - and writers who have impacted his understanding of himself as an "other". While academic at times, TO SAVE AND TO DESTROY is a demonstration of how a modern great writer, thinker, and educator, constantly reflects on one's selfhood and complicity via a clear-eyed view that's not afraid to say, "we still have much work to do, but we can do it together."

phenomenal "

"Emma Donoghue’s carefully-crafted, historical novel’s set on a train travelling from Granville in Normandy to Paris. Although Donoghue’s story is rooted in actual events, a train derailment that took place in October 1895, she’s more interested in the train as “a visual parable of progress and speed and modernity gone wrong.� Part of the way this concept plays out is through Donoghue’s diverse cast from rail workers to bourgeois families to bohemian artists, writers and performers. A cast that forms a microcosm of late nineteenth-century French society, opening up commentaries on issues ranging from racism and imperialism, emerging technologies, gender to class divides.

Donoghue's material, the numerous insights into political and cultural complexities in France in the years leading up to the Fin de siècle were often striking and informative � I was impressed by the research underpinning Donoghue’s story and her attention to detail from allusions to the Dreyfus Affair to her near-seamless incorporation of historical figures as key passengers. I also liked the way in which elements of classic French literature were woven into the text � Donoghue’s portrayal of the impoverished, sanguine Blonska wouldn’t seem out of place in a novel by Zola. But ensemble pieces can be tricky especially when there’s no obvious overarching plot tying everything together � unlike Murder on the Orient Express where it’s clear everyone has a part to play in the unravelling mystery. Here there’s so much space devoted to sketching out each individual character’s traits and background that the underlying plot � which involves young anarchist Mado who’s planning a desperate, political act � tends to get lost. So that this felt more like a collection of vignettes strung together than it did a unified narrative - I sometimes found myself fast forwarding through scenes featuring characters I found less compelling. However, for anyone who likes trains and/or has an interest in the period I think it’s still very much worth exploring.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Picador/Pan Macmillan for an ARC"