The Man Without Talent

The Man Without Talent by Yoshiharu Tsuge, 216 pages.

Tsuge's graphic novel about a man who routinely and continuously disappoints his wife and child because of his lack of ambition and inability to form a viable plan for supporting his family. He tries repairing and selling old cameras, working as a ferry operator, and selling rocks. He leads an unsettled life, thinking that money will be coming in soon from his semi-preposterous ideas. An odd look at some odd people in mid-eighties Japan,

Network Effect

Network Effect by Martha Wells, 350 pages.
The first full-length Murderbot novel from Wells. Murderbot finds itself and several of its human friends kidnapped by some odd alien -type beings. Being Murderbot, mayhem ensues.
For those not in the know (you should definitly be "in the know" many of my colleagues and the wonderful Ann Leckie have convinced me of this) Murderbot, formerly a SecUnit, a lethal security robot under control of a profit-driven, unscrupulous company, but now, thanks to its ability to disable its governor module, and with the help of ART and some decent humans, an independent sort of lethal robot / human who (which?) often finds itself in mayhem-rich environments. Network Effect is a bit looser and more rambly than the novellas which precede it, but it is still an excellent, excellent book. And, am I the only one who feels that Murderbot and the Expanse operate in the same universe? Very similar universes? Okay, just me. Cool.
Thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Missouri State Library, The MLC, of which UCPL is proudly a member, was able to purchase a downloadable audio version of this book. I read it the old-fashioned way, because I could not wait, but downloadable audio brings an enormous amount of joy to my life and you should give it a try.

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara, 347 pages.

Jai, Pari, and Faiz all live in the same basti (or slum settlement) in an unnamed Indian city. When the second of their classmates  goes missing, Jai believes that he has learned enough from television to become a first class detective and solve the mystery around them. Jais first suspect, a fellow student, is a bully, and connected to a local nationalist group. No one is willing to help, though. The local police are corrupt, and no one with any real power is interested in the fate of the poor, let alone poor children.
Pari is the smart one of the three children, but Jai is somewhat scornful of her advice. Faiz, who holds down a job at a tea shop is too busy to help and tries to convince Jai that the disappearances are the work of malign Djinn, but as the disappearances mount and the children witness too much of the worst that people can do, the truth is more horrifying and prosaic. A compelling book.

The Glass Hotel

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, 301 pages.
Mandel's follow-up to her enormously successful Station Eleven is a quieter book. The tragedy here is much more personal; its scope narrower and involving only of those immediately near
Vincent and her older brother Paul. They were both set adrift by family tragedy in 1994 when Vincent was 13. Paul who had been attending college and had already been in an out of rehab, was already struggling. Paul's actions serve as catalysts for both siblings, bringing Paul futher downward, but sending Vincent into the orbit of Jonathan Alkaitis, a Madoff-like character whose crimes affect many. An intricately constructed and engaging work that moves in and out of time. It's a beautiful book.