Book Club '23: The Visitor

The series in which I’m reading a chapter of War & Peace each day, and also an Animorphs novel each week, for one year.

This week on Animorphs, we learned that it's possible to morph into useless animals, and that I am altogether too clever to fall for the narrative twists written to surprise and delight ten-year-olds. Yes, clever is what we call this adult shouting into his iPad.

I asked a chatbot to discuss Animorphs: The Visitor and War and Peace chapters 6-14. And for sure, if I hadn't read either of these things I would think the bot was smart and clever, but I have and I know it was totally wrong about what was going on both stories. (It was at least close on Animorphs.) I promise not to ever waste your time with pasting in a bunch of AI garbage and then writing 'gotcha!' at the bottom. There are a lot of opportunities to have that experience elsewhere.

In War and Peace, I was in fact very interested in 'the visitor.' The story moves from the after-party in Petersberg to a new party in Moscow, in which a nameless visitor is present, and I was very curious whether their identity will be revealed at a dramatic moment, or if they go unnamed because they're basically a featured extra. Just a prop that talks, here to pass on the gossip that Pierre tied a cop to a bear.

I've been reading carefully because I've heard that the book is difficult, but so far the plot seems pretty straightforward. War and Peace? More like Dinner and Money!

I found out that The House with a Clock in its Walls by Bellairs, a book that I recall finding mysterious as a kid, is the first in a 12 book series, which could fulfill our monthly goal. But I don't know if I want to invest myself in that much YA, having already committed to an awful lot for one year. Star Wars is close enough anyhow.

Also this week I read Artificial Condition (Murderbot #2) by Martha Wells, The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, and Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock.