May had the same vibe as those days in between Christmas and New Years when time becomes an abstract concept. I had no idea what day it was, or what time it was, at any point. Routine became a thing of the past. Well intentioned notions of at-home-workouts vaporised sooner than they were spoken about. My previously stable sleep schedule transformed into Netflix binges until 2AM, followed by restless slumbers into mid morning. However, I did manage to submit my final university assignment. The satisfaction of which I allowed myself to enjoy for approximately two seconds before panicking about what comes next for a literature graduate in an avalanching economy. Anyway, enough of that. Here are the books I read in May.
‘Conversations With Friends’ by Sally Rooney
I love Sally Rooney’s writing. Am I basic? Maybe. Do I care? A little. I couldn’t wait to read this after the obsession I had with ‘Normal People’. Sally’s novels are made for compulsively binge reading. This book follows Frances, a 21-year-old poet, and her friends Bobbi, Nick and Melissa. Again, Rooney’s enviable talent for writing beautiful sentences about things as mundane as drinking coffee are what made my heart flutter for this one. I’ve seen many criticisms about the characters being unlikeable and cold, which I understand, but for me that is one of the positives. Personally, I like reading about flawed people, and to me the quality of writing has more influence over my reaction to a book than the plot. I also appreciated seeing endometriosis being spoken about in literature. It’s rare I see discussion of periods or disabilities spoken about in the books I read. Note to self: be more mindful about seeking out inclusive reads in these areas. This book has many similarities to ‘Normal People’, but on my reflection post binge-reading I decided that this very much pales in comparison.
‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness
I love when a book doesn’t do what you expect it to. Who is the target audience of this book? It is rooted in classic fairytale storytelling, yet, I would consider it borderline cruel to hand this heartbreaking novella to a child under thirteen.
They say great things come in small packages. At just over 200 pages, I didn’t expect that this little novel would be the kind to have a lasting impact on me. It made me cry, and that rarely happens! Patrick Ness proves that great storytelling can be done simply. This story went a complete different direction to where I expected, and the unique narrative swept me away. It’s rich in metaphors of grief, loss and anger. I can’t really imagine recommending this to anyone I know because it’s so deeply sad, but if you’re looking for a quick & powerful read that will stick in your mind for years – this is it.
‘Pachinko’ by Min Jin Lee
This is the best book I’ve read in a long time. It’s the kind of story that makes you marvel at what literature is capable of. It spans almost the entire 20th century, following the family of the resiliant Sunja – whose teenage relationship with a wealthy older man alters the path of generations of her Korean family – within the context of Japanese colonisation, political chaos and wartime. It addresses an area of history that is largely unspoken about outside of Asia. As soon as I finished this I wanted to start reading it again. Check out the podcast conversation discussing the novel’s themes with the author on the LitUpShow podcast.
‘Queenie’ by Candice Carty-Williams
Queenie is a fun character. At first, I struggled with the writing style. The genre is not one I usually reach for (I prefer literary fiction) but I really wanted a more contemporary read to mix things up. At first, I found the long sentences and short flashbacks in the first chapters quite distracting but I soon stopped noticing this when I got into the story. It was tough watching a character with so much wit and lovableness make such self depreciating decisions. Her relationships with men are upsetting and deflating but towards the end of the novel we see Queenie’s growth. I really liked how the depiction of mental health recovery was presented as non-linear, and the characters’ discussion around the fact that ‘normal’ doesn’t exist when it comes to mental health.
I think my favourite parts of the novel were the group chats. She talks about everything from her sex life to the gentrification of Brixton in a group chat nicknamed ‘The Corgis’. The use of texts is such an amazing way to display dialogue / characterisation in a natural way but it is shied away from in literature for some reason. I recently saw this in the emails in Normal People, but even that felt a bit outdated/ too lyrical compared to the more realistic sound bites of character and thought used here.
I loved the female friendships (apart from Cassandra) and can imagine this as an insanely good Netflix series. It manages to deal with some very serious issues in such an accessible manner without detracting from the gravity of them. This book is funny and heartbreaking at the same time.
‘Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge
I can’t recommend this enough. Prior to listening to this as an audio-book, I was largely ignorant to the racial history of Britain. In school, we learned about the American Civil Rights movement and the Apartheid, but were left bereft of the perpetual history of racial injustice in Britain. As a white person living in the UK, it is my job to educate myself to the best of my ability on the history of racism in my country and it’s place in society today, because racism is everyone’s problem. I recommend this as a good starting point for white British people to begin their education on why racism is a problem that everyone should care about. It covers many topics from slavery to white privilege to media representation to feminism to class divide and so much more.
‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury
I mainly picked this up because it had been sitting on my shelf for months and I felt guilty whenever it caught my eye. It explores a dystopian American society where books are outlawed, and the ‘firemen’ burn any literature that is found. I’d recommend this as a great starting point for the sci-fi / dystopian genre as it’s quite short but has a strong message.
I really enjoyed the themes presented, such as the danger of censorship, the fear of the unknown and the value of literature, while also appreciating how accessible the language was to display these. However, the world building wasn’t as developed as I would have liked and the novel read more like a long short story to me. Overall, though, I valued the story and would recommend for those who are new to science fiction.
‘Educated’ by Tara Westover
This reads a little too good to be true. I found myself absorbed in this book as though it was a piece of fiction, despite it being a memoir. If I’m honest, I haven’t fully made up my mind on this enough to review it properly. If you’re into non-fiction reads surrounding a rags-to-riches style narrative: this is for you.
Cwtch Book Club 