Friday, April 11, 2025

Gods of the Underworld and Earthly Adventures

 


“The Black Road leads to Xibalba, and at its heart there sits my palace, like a jewel upon the crown of your kings. It is very large, and decorated with colorful murals. It has almost as many rooms as the year has days.” (p. 98)


Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes myths set in modern times. She brings old gods to life, using the language of ancient story-tellers. I’ve enjoyed several of her books, and this was as good as the others. Two gods of the underworld struggle violently for domination, and use a mortal girl to try to win. She emerges as her own person, not a subordinate. Are you in need of escape reading? This is a good choice.

Ordinary Life


April snow.



At the Supermarket

"Disease, Hurricane, and Trump's Tariffs Are to
Blame for Orange Juice Getting Way More Expensive" (Food & Wine)

“Compared with a year earlier, egg prices are up 60.4 percent.”

More Reading

Murakami is always so fascinating! Not to mention gently weird.
This is a short tale of a small boy’s surreal experience in a very “strange” library.
Typical Murakami: lots of food.

Quote: “The food looked scrumptious. There was piping-hot sea urchin soup and grilled Spanish mackerel (with sour cream), white asparagus with sesame-seed dressing, a lettuce-and-cucumber salad, and a warm roll with a pat of butter. There was also a big glass of grape juice. When she finished laying it out, the girl turned and spoke to me with her hands: Now wipe away your tears. It’s time to eat.”

Murakami’s book has beautiful illustrations like this.



Photos © 2025 mae sander
Shared with Readerbuzz, Eileen’s Critters, and Sami’s Murals.

20 comments:

Linda said...

Yum, root vegetables!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Mae,
The book sounds interesting. Your snow images look pretty, I do not mind a dusting on the grass and trees. I hope the flowers do not mind the cold snow. Your food looks delicious. I expect all prices to go up. Love the illustration with all the birds. Thank you for linking up and sharing your critter post. Take care, have a great weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

Shiju Sugunan said...

Interesting book recommendation! Your snow photos are so pretty. That food looks absolutely divine!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I hope the weather changes to Spring soon! It's beautiful here right now so it's a good time to visit Florida! Happy weekend!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Your tray of roasted vegetables looks terrific.

Jeanie said...

I always enjoy your posts like this -- except for the snow! Yummy food. I'm thinking maybe no on the books.

Vicki said...

I love vegetables!
You still have snow? I love snow!

Literary Feline said...

I have only read Mexican Gothic, which I enjoyed, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I have her Gods of Jade and Shadow on my TBR waiting to be read. I have still not tried a Haruki Murakami novel. One of these days perhaps. It's hard to believe spring is here looking at your photos of the snow in April. I hope you have a good week, Mae. Take care!

Joy said...

The cover of Gods of Jade and Shadow is stunning.
That snow is a surprise -- especially for the flowers!

My name is Erika. said...

I've looked at this book several times. I'm glad you liked it. I must say the cover is beautifully done. And your spring looks like mine. We had a couple of inches of snow this morning before it turned to rain. Have a great rest of your weekend Mae. hugs-Erika

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

Spring? Hmm. I do hope the snow is over for you.

Our book club read Gods of Jade and Shadow as the Gulf Coast Reads selection back in 2020. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3556342785. My granddaughter loves books about myths and legends. I should share this with her.

thecuecard said...

I have read one Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel and liked it. Her books run the gamut of several genres. We too got April snow yesterday. Brrr. But it should clear this week. Hope you warm up there.

Jinjer-The Intrepid Angeleno said...

I just tried to read Silvia's "From Signal To Noise". Didn't get very far before I had to bail.

JoAnn said...

Snow in April is always so disappointing, but the photos of the flowers poking through it are beautiful!

magiceye said...

Beautiful murals!

Marg said...

What a striking book cover for the Gods of Jade and Shadow book!

Rachel @Waves of Fiction said...

I hate April snow! We had a late snow last year that ruined a bunch of spring blooms. Not a fan of the insane grocery prices!

Sami said...

Late snow. Here in Australia we are having temperatures 12C (53F) higher than normal for this time of the year (Autumn)! Nice murals Mae.

Cheriee Weichel said...

I am so excited about this book! I've put a reserve on it and am really looking forward to reading it. I adored Mexican Gothic (even if it was a bit too creepy for me.)

Debra Eliotseats said...

I find folklore of any kind to be interesting, but for some reason Mexican myths and folktales are especially fascinating to me. Marking this to read.