Brian Keaney

"Hollow People" is a book about hope. In Tarnagar, those who dream are considered crazy and put in an asylum. Dante is the boy who serves meals to the asylum's patients but no one cares about him except Bea. They share a secret: they can dream and what they see is a city, destroyed but at the same time alive.Their lives change when a new patient comes to the asylum. He tells them that the city of their dreams exists. Non-stop adventure in an alternate world with a touch of paranormal and dystopia makes this a must-read.… (meer)

I received this on NetGalley in exchange for my review. This book presents a fictionalization of the life of Thomas De Quincey, who wrote the first book about drug addiction. Based on his travels to London and time spent with the young prostitute Anne, the book imagines the time before they meet, their meeting and drug use, and their eventual separation. There is a third voice of a young man captured by Dutch slavers, but I found that more of a distraction. Apparently, the third character is based on one account of De Quincey’s where he meets someone he refers to as a Malay. The Thomas and Anne chapters were good with distinct voices. The book imagines what happened to Anne, even though De Quincey was never able to find her again. 3.5 ⭐️… (meer)

The Alphabet of Heart’s Desire a historical novel, told from the viewpoint of three very different people, a young girl who becomes prostitute, a black Malay boy, who becomes a slave and Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859) the aspiring poet who would go on to become an infamous writer and opium addict of his day. All three characters are well developed in the book and I got a good feel for their life stories, all very different backgrounds but all face difficult and harrowing life experiences. I did feel compelled to read on with the book right unto the end though the plot was very slow to develop. The book gives a great insight into the time and the real hardships and challenges people of all classes faced at that time.

@readingagency @Hhousebooks using #Alphabetofheartsdesire… (meer)