Mini Reviews: Guapa by Saleem Haddad and Endurance by Alfred Lansing
5*****
This is quite the tale, what a crazy adventure! Endurance tells the story of Shackleton and his crew and their Arctic expedition. The men ran into more than their fair share of trouble, to put it lightly. The book is fascinating and really shows you the incredible power of human resilience and tenacity. Perfect for an armchair traveler, it read like a novel and I couldn't put it down!
4****
Guapa is an interesting book, because it is not set in a named country, which I think was a smart move on the author's part, and yet, it is very specific about Muslim culture. The story is told in a 24 hour frame, though fleshed out considerably with flashbacks, which add a lot of roundness to the protagonist. I did feel that all the other characters remained a little hazy, but maybe that was intentional. This book reminded me a lot of Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, which has stayed in my mind a good while after I read it. I imagine I won't be quick to forget Guapa either. It's a thought provoking book and impressive as a debut!