Dear reader,
I’ve been reading a lot, perhaps more than usual. There have been a few duds: predictable detective novels (here, here), forgettable forays into fiction (this sure didn’t live up to the hype), and even what I might have typically considered an “airplane novel” (here). We won’t be getting on an airplane any time soon, but we can still indulge!
In this dispatch, I’ll share a few great books I’ve read since last time. There’s no theme to the grouping. Rather, these are books that were engrossing, informative, or thought-provoking, and a welcome break from the news.
And, speaking of duds, here’s a definite non-dud that has dud in its name! “The Dud Avocado”, an overlooked classic gifted to me by my friend Michelle (whose newsletter is worth a perusal).
So, without further rigmarole…
Fiction
“The Year of the Runaways” by Sunjeev Sahota
Traces the stories of Indian workers who have come to London to try to make a life. This novel examines their hardships and the stories it tells are brutal, honest, and unmerciful: Visa marriages, the sale of one’s own organs, police raids, and friendships torn apart.
Historical Fiction
“Lady's Maid” by Margaret Forster
A Victorian lady's maid, a servant from her mid-teens into her forties, has every aspect of her life chronicled in this sweeping, meticulously detailed and vivid portrait.
Wilson and her relationship to her boss is unpacked, no detail is spared. As her mistress, a famous author, travels abroad to Italy, Wilson goes with her and eventually gets married, has children, and tries to take stock of what her life will be after servitude.
This book is tragic, revelatory, fascinating, and utterly engrossing. It's long - I was reading it for a week, which was wonderful because it had been a while since I'd been so immersed in a book that lasted me more than a couple of days. This is one that will stay with me.
Non-Fiction
“Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe
Narrative non-fiction about Dolours Price and her role in The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This book does live up to the hype. While occasionally long, it’s frequently gripping, and delves deeply into a profoundly violent historical topic that is recent enough to reverberate in recent memory; many of the key people covered in this book are still alive. The author says that, in Belfast, history is "alive and dangerous".
Science Fiction
“Exhalation” by Ted Chiang
Do A.I. beings have legal rights? How would a time machine work? Amazingly intricate short stories that are both science and fiction. Highly readable for non-fans of science fiction (like me).
New Release
“The Glass Hotel” by Emily St John Mandel
Emily St-John Mandel’s latest is “The Glass Hotel”, which I pre-ordered as soon as it was announced and devoured in practically one sitting. It’s a gem of a novel, more similar to her earlier works than to her mega-blockbuster Station Eleven (which is a favorite of mine that I wrote about here). Here are the notes I sent to a friend to pique her interest:
A beautiful hotel in a remote location near Vancouver Island
A Ponzi scheme unravels
Life aboard a cargo vessel
A woman named Vincent
The overall effect is atmospheric and mysterious.
Memoir
“Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren
A book about trees, and the many things we do not know about them, along with some fascinating things we are discovering. Also a book about a deep, enduring friendship. Written by a preeminent paleobotanist and scientist, this book is as much about what it is to be a woman in the sciences as it is about how we should all have a dedication to and passion for trees. This book is strange and memorable and probably unlike any other memoir you’ve read lately.
Wild Card
“The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance” by Edmund De Wall
A book about an inherited collection of Japanese netsuke [tiny carved ornaments], and their passage from Japan to Paris then Vienna, then back home to Japan. Also, a family history spanning more than five generations and the Second World War, via Odessa to Paris and Vienna then on to Japan. A brilliant book that is full of surprises, despite a slow start.
Have you read any of these books? If so, how did I do? My goal is to recommend books that, if you were to buy, would reflect well on me, the one who recommended them. Similarly, I want them to be books you’d feel cool about recommending to someone else, or purchasing as a gift.
Let me know which you like, and which were duds.
Happy page turning!
- Vero
ps. I linked to Munro’s Books and encourage you to support a local, independent bookstore. Recently, I purchased a few books online as gifts from Munro’s, and they packed each with a personalized note from me to the recipient, which was a nice touch.