95 Books In 2006, George W. Bush read 95 books. We will do better.

A retirement home murder mystery with a sense of the ridiculous. The language of this book is sharp and meticulous. Morbid without melodrama. And what characters! Have I met another Claire in literature that I’ve liked? (I might have, but it’s 2:30am, so I’ll go with no.)

This was a one-sitting read for me. The pacing was just right. In fact, if I were to describe The Humbug’s Diet in one word, I’d called it “balanced.” Or maybe “delightful,” but that just sounds too flippant for a text that is so well-constructed.

I’m going to link to an article I read about Jewish fantasy just before I started The Humbug’s Diet, although I hesitate because I worry about the dismissive tone of the word “fantasy” when I can’t offer a firm reality or a definitive worldview as an alternative. I guess I’ll just say it is not my intention to frame this text as fantasy, which is not to say it is not fantastic, or fantastical. But this article was in my head when I began to read this book, and so here it is.

~Claire