April was a chaotic month. I was drowning in university assignments while also adjusting to my boyfriend moving in last-minute due to the pandemic. I became a homeschool tutor and babysitter for my younger brothers. I lost my two part-time jobs and I had to stop volunteering. While I was obviously saddened by much of this, I am also so grateful to be living with my loved ones at this time. My heart goes out to whoever is reading this, and I hope that this little corner of the internet serves as a temporary distraction. No matter what is happening in the world, literature is always there for us to escape into. So, onto the books I read in April!
‘On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous’ by Ocean Vuong
A beautifully written work of fiction, the well known Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong’s debut novel explores first love, family dynamics and identity. Little Dog writes a letter to his illiterate mother that unravels the family’s Vietnamese history and the immigrant experience along with his own journey with masculinity, sexuality, race, class, and language. I enjoyed every word.
‘Surge’ by Jay Bernard
Jay Bernard, who is a non-binary Black poet from the UK, pens a collection charged with societal criticism while remembering those lost without justice. They showcase how the events at Grenfell and the New Cross Massacre fit into the larger timescale of inequality for British BME people in the eyes of the law.
You can also find spoken-word videos by Jay Bernard on YouTube which I highly recommend. I listened to the audio version alongside my reading and found it really brought the words to life. This is a poetry collection that criticises and showcases racism in Britain and also contains themes of queer identity.
‘Where The Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens
Zoologist Delia Owens’ first piece of fiction rocketed to the top of bestseller charts after her story of young love, injustice and the beauty of nature captivated its readers. Her novel follows the story of Kya, a girl abandoned by her family and shunned by society, as she grows up by herself in the marshland of North Carolina. Her story spans years and we grow up with her through her teens, new relationships, and dreams of future career paths. The plot is driven by the murder of the town’s ‘golden boy’ and the mystery behind what happened that night, but it’s the characters that Owens creates and her scene building of the natural surroundings that truly makes this story.
‘My Sister, The Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwite
A short, satirical thriller that does what it says on the tin. Nigerian nurse Korede’s beautiful and glamorous sister, Ayoola, uses her charm to get away with murder. Literally. Korede receives a phone call requesting help to clean up each time her sister murders a recent love interest. A lighthearted and snappy read that touches on the complexities of sisterhood and cleverly inverts the typical male dominated genre.
‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney
I read Sally Rooney’s Irish romance, ‘Normal People’ in April along with pretty much everyone else in the world.
I really enjoyed this, but I understand why it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Despite devouring this in a day, I am surprised at its success. The storyline is pretty dejecting and the lack of speech marks coupled with random archaic adjectives (‘originary’, anyone?) teeters on the line between effective and pretentious.
However, Sally Rooney has a talent for taking forgettable, every-day moments and using them to create depth in her character development. I enjoyed the style of writing so much. Her talent for picking up on those subtle details filled me with appreciation and a little bit of envy. For me, this is one of the books that I’ve enjoyed reading the most lately. (And yes, the TV series is also excellent)
‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo
Evaristo’s novel follows the lives of 12 characters through 12 chapters and examines what it means to be a Black woman in Britain today. I loved this book because of how alive the characters felt. Their narratives were varied, the relationships felt real and raw and nothing felt sugar coated. Their race / gender / sexuality wasn’t the crux of their story, as is usually the case in popular culture. When I finished the book, I was disheartened at the realisation that I hadn’t read stories like this before. Representation and diversity in literature is so important, and Everisto proves that it can, and should, be done well.
There were some areas that bothered me, but overall the positives outweighed those. Please note that there is some triggering content in this and the structure takes getting used to.
‘Call Me By Your Name’ by Andre Aciman
Brought to you courtesy of the HMV 2-for-a-fiver deal. An angsty coming-of-age summer love story set in Italy – and not much more to it. This story is not usually my cup of tea but I got sucked into the hype (by which I mean the photo of Timothée Chalamet on the cover). Which was a mistake because this book does exactly what it says in its blurb. I personally found the overly descriptive introspective narrative grating and pretentious, but I can see why it has such a cult-like fan base. I’m yet to watch the film but I hear it’s better.
‘The Dutch House’ by Ann Patchett
A multi-generational tale following two siblings. Epic family dramas are by far my favourite kind of book. I listened to the audio which was narrated by Tom Hanks but I wish I had read it. Some of the details I felt I would have appreciated more if I had read on the page. Audiobooks have a tendency of being a little more hazy to me. However, I enjoyed this a lot and would love to live in this house. It read like a modern fairy tale, so if you’re in to that vibe this is for you.
And there we have it guys! Eight books in a month done and dusted. I might actually become that freakish person who reads 100 books a year at this rate.
Cwtch Book Club 