"Eric is an uncertain, awkward young man, a would-be writer, and a traveller in spite of himself. Happy to follow his more confident girlfriend to Mexico, he is overwhelmed with sensory overload, but gradually seduced - by the strangeness, the colour, the mysteries of an older world. He finds himself on a curious guest for his own family in a 'ghost' mining town, now barely inhabited, where almost a hundred years earlier young Cornish miners worked the rich seams in the earth."

I bought this book randomly from one of my favourite bookshops in Prague, and actually liked it more than I expected. It is not a thick book, but a pleasant little journey to another world.

According to it's name, I think this book could make an excellent bookring, if there are any interested readers.

Zigzag-ring:

elstaplador (UK)
em64 (FIN)
erpax (FIN)
Amynita (FIN)

The Zigzag Way has started...

This arrived in the post this morning. Thank you AgdaAgulina!

In the post to em64!

I enjoyed this book; it was the old story of going to find one's ancestors, to try to work out who they were, and, by extension, who you are, by going to where they were. (In this case, Mexico.) It is something that I wonder about myself, sometimes. Also about: cultural appropriation, work, inspiration. Recommended.

The book arrived yesterday. Will start reading it very soon, looks like an interesting read. Thanks for sharing!

I haven't read Desai before so it was an interesting read. I did like the story, though I was not overly ecstatic. In the beginning I had to struggle a bit to get into the story but it helped the further the story went. My favorite bit was Betty's story.

Got this book from em64 today. Thank you for the ring, AgdaAgulina!

I also had to struggle a bit to get into the story. I constantly got lost in over-poetic language. In addition, I couldn't help thinking that the characters lacked depth. Author's way to describe nature and culture made book enjoyable and the journey itself was enchanting.

Many thanks AgdaAgulina!

Seuraavaksi Amynitalle...

The Zigzag Way arrived a couple of days ago! Need to finish another book first, but will start reading this one as soon as possible!

I also struggled to get sucked into the story. But I did enjoy the book after all. A nice little trip to Mexico. I've read a couple of books by Anita Desai's daughter Kiran Desai, so it was interesting to read a book by her mother.

I thought the chracters lacked depth. The story was revealed to the reader little by little, but I'm not sure that was necessary. If I'd known about the grandmothers fate in the beginning (in chronological order) and followed Eric's journey to find her after that, maybe the book would have hold me in its grip a bit better... In some books it's great that the pieces of the story come together little by little, but I'm not sure if it was the right thing in this one.

The Zigzag Way has zigzagged it's way back to home, through a cozy cafe and all the readers. Thank you all very much for reading and joining! More rings soon...

I brought this home with me from a BC meetup in Helsinki today, mainly because of the location but also because it looked so intriguing!

Bigger than its size. Quite atmospheric and rather melancholic. Thanks for sharing!

The book made its way to me - thank you!!

(I forgot to journal this after reading and can't remember much about it anymore, except that I found it a bit weird... but in what way, no idea anymore :D)

Dia de los Muertos is around these days I think, so it's time to set this book free... Enjoy!