Emotional Loss & Childhood Fears: ‘A Place Called Here’ by Cecelia Ahern
‘A place called Here’ is an easy-to-read story about loss, in particular, the emotional response to childhood fears. While reading this novel, I reflected on my own childhood anxiety of not being able to complete everything I’ve ever wanted to do, or not being able to read every book in existence. Sandy Shortt, the protagonist, […]
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Big Little Lies is a gripping light novel that immediately draws the reader in. Starting with fragmented snippets of police interviews that slowly hint at the story’s truth, the author masterfully builds the suspense to a satisfying climax. This small-town playground mystery thriller addresses serious topics such as domestic violence and sexual assault. Despite the […]
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
The Night Watchman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, was inspired by Erdrich’s own grandfather who belonged to the Turtle Mountain Reservation on which this book’s story is based. The novel tells the story of the resistance to repeated oppression and the real-life assimilation and termination policies against native peoples. Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at […]
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams tells the story of two lost souls, Alisha, a 17-year-old, and Mukesh, an Indian widower, who both live in London. They somehow manage to find each other living amongst the chaos of the busy city. They form a unique bond of kinship through books found on a reading […]
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo
‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo follows the intricacies and complexities of womanhood, privilege and feminism. Written in a non-traditionalist narrative form, this novel tells non-traditionalist stories of womanhood and otherhood. We have Yass, the university student finding herself, learning that it’s okay for teenage ideals and values to be challenged. Her university friend challenging […]
Book Review: MEMOIRS OF A POLAR BEAR By Yoko Tawada (Translated by Susan Bernofsky)
Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada tells the story of three generations of anthropomorphic polar bears – this intergenerational element is an aspect common in Tawada’s work. The opening act tells of the grandmother who after spending years performing in the circus, retires to an administrative position, where she tackles the bureaucracy of […]
Book Review: Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
Fever Dream was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2017. It is a complex and almost surreal story that leaves you with more questions than it gives you answers. The multi-layered nature of this story (a story within a story within a story) makes it tricky to jump into its depths at first, especially […]
#BangingBookClub: Asking For It by Louise O’Neill
So Youtubers Hannah Witton, Leena Norms and Lucy Moon are running a book reading club called #BangingBookClub. As opposed to making a video, I’ll be participating via my blog! Their video review The first in this year’s list is… Asking For It by Louise O’Neil **trigger warning:novel contains rape and descriptions of self-harm** {Blog post […]
Exploring Anne Blankman’s Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke
This book me took me a while to read because, in all honesty, it’s not genre I usually read (and so it took me a while to really get into it) and because I’ve been so damn busy! “Soon she wouldn’t witness the miracle of blood and sinew responding to her thoughts. Soon she wouldn’t […]
Book Review: Holy Cow by David Duchovny
Holy Cow tells the story of Elsie, an anthropomorphic cow with human attributes which receive no acknowledgement and no explanation, who along with a turkey and pig, escapes her farm in order to pursue her dream. “Oh yeah, we believe in God. In the shape of a cow. Not really. Scared you,though, didn’t I?” Although […]