6 Degrees is hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best; each month, we start with a book, link through to 6 more and see where we end up.
This month’s starter is Room by Emma Donoghue, a book which I found compelling but whose child narrator was not my favourite thing. I assume that, whether you’ve read Room or not, you’re familiar with the premise of a young woman and her son trapped in a single room by her kidnapper and rapist. The kidnapping/escape idea is what takes me to my first link.
The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer starts with a mother losing her young daughter in a crowd; the little girl has been kidnapped for weird reasons which unfold later on in this twisty and unpredictable novel.
Coats may not seem like the most interesting link, but another novel in which cold-weather attire is an integral plot point is A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, in which main character Kell has an amazing-sounding coat that can be turned inside-out into into numerous different styles. I want one.
Magic takes me to one of my favourite books of 2016, All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, which begins with Patricia, a young girl with some interesting powers, who has a bizarre conversations with some birds.
Talking to animals moves us along to a weird little gem I read recently – Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou. Set in Mabanckou’s native Congo, it’s narrated by a murderous porcupine whose fate is linked to an angry young man. It’s a really odd but brilliant book.
From a porcupine to another spiky creature, I’m linking to The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, which isn’t actually about a hedgehog at all, but a concierge at a Paris apartment building whose inner life contrasts firmly with her outrwad appearance.
And I can’t talk about Paris without ending on one of my favourite novels of all time, Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, which I read in a manic two days a couple of years ago and still haven’t fully recovered from.
Have you joined in with 6 Degrees this month? Please link to your list in the comments. And have you read any of these books?
wildeonmyside.wordpress.com 
I like the sound of Memoirs of a Porcupine, the author has just been nominated for the Man Booker International Prize for his latest book…
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I’m a big fan; I’ve read three of his books now (although not Black Moses, the new one you mention) and they’re all excellent.
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Onto my wishlist he goes!
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The only one of your chain that I’ve read is Les Miserables, which I loved – it took me ages to read it though! I haven’t read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, but I have read The Gourmet, also by Muriel Barbery – I quite liked that book, full of description of mouth-watering, rich and sumptuous food!
Here’s the link to my chain – http://www.booksplease.org/2017/04/01/six-degrees-of-separation-from-room-to-wives-and-daughters/
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This is such a cool feature! It’s interesting to see where you can end up by linking books 😛
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A nice list of books, I like the animal theme.
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Hi, this is the first time I’ve contributed in 6 Degrees of Separation, and I’ve loved following the links. You’ve made me interested to get hold Memoirs of a Porcupine too. It sounds fascinating. I read The Elegance of the Hedgehog last year and found it a meaty, interesting read, although not at all what I’d expected.
Having a go at this challenge was great fun. The link to mine is here
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I particularly love your coat link and your hedgehog link 🙂 I loved Barbery’s book and although have read another of her books, I gave her most recent release a pass (read the first few chapters and it all seemed quite odd…).
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I’m glad to hear about your experience with Les Mis as it’s a book on my TBR pile – the size of it is rather daunting!
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I own A Darker Shade of Magic but haven’t gotten to it yet. I’ve not read any of these! This is such a fun feature, and you always do a good job with it.
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