July 2023

Greetings, and welcome back to the latest book stack - read in May & June.

Of the 8 books here, I would say only 2 were duds, so that's definitely a positive that I liked/loved most of them! I would love to know what you thought if you have read any of these. All the titles are affiliate links to purchase if you so wish!

Let's get into the reviews.

1. Notes to Self - Emilie Pine

TW: addiction, sexual violence

This was a harrowing but important read.

This collection of non-fiction essays written by the author about her own life, Emilie bravely reflects on the experiences and tragedies of her past, touching on difficult topics like addiction (her father's alcoholism), her struggle with infertility, her parent's separation, feminism, her relationship with her own body and sexual violence. She writes in a beautiful way, managing to bring humour into the difficult, showing intimacy and honestly throughout.

A great and important read. Would recommend to everyone.

2. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan

This one I read in one go (it's v short with large writing which is great for us blind bats of society), on one Sunday night when the scaries were in full swing, and I absolutely loved it, albeit incredibly sad.

The story is set in 1985 in a small Irish town in the weeks leading up to Christmas, where we meet Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, with a wife and five daughters, as he faces into his busiest season.

One morning, as he is making a coal delivery at the local convent (you know where this is going), he comes across something there which forces him confront his own past and the horrors covered up in his own town, controlled by the church at the time. It's beautifully written and while sad, is a story of hope, empathy and a quiet hero. A must read.

3. Love Marriage - Monica Ali

I was expecting such big things from this book as it came SO highly recommended across the board, and I have to say I really, really didn't enjoy it. I very rarely put a book down without finishing it, but approx 300 pages into this 500 pager, I was actively not enjoying it at all so just closed it and picked up a different one.

The story is set in present-day London, where Yasmin is training to be a doctor like her Indian-born father, and is engaged to Joe, also training to be a doctor, with a famous feminist mother. Their two families couldn't be more different, and, it seems neither could Yasmin and Joe in other ways.

As the wedding day comes closer, issues of infidelity and secrecy come to the fore, both in Yasmin and Joe's relationship, as well as that of Yasmin's parents.

I just found the whole story super dragged out and the twists were very random and made no real sense to the overall plot. Wasn't a fan.

4. Foster - Claire Keegan

Another beautiful, short read from the author of Small Things Like These. Again, I absolutely loved this book - I kind of knew I would based on how much I loved the previous one - and devoured it in a day.

The story is set in Ireland in 1981, when a small girl from a poor family is sent to live with foster parents on a farm on the coast in Wexford, not knowing when she will return home and anticipating what her life with these strangers will look like. The foster parents who take her engulf her in a warmth and affection that she has never experienced before, and she blossoms during her time spent with them. There is no punishment with them, only love, learning and kindness.

However, a secret is uncovered which brings the fragility of her dream life on the farm to the fore.

I adored this book and found it very moving and emotional. Another must read from Claire Keegan.

5. Cleopatra & Frankenstein - Coco Mellors

TW: suicide

This book has so much hype so I had very high expectations, and while I didn't dislike it, it did fall short.

The story follows 24 year old British painter Cleo who moved to New York and is still finding her feet when her student visa starts to enter its final months. She meets Frank, who is 20 years her senior, wealthy and successful. They marry impulsively so Cleo can get her green card, but the marriage ends up changing both of their lives irreversibly in ways they never could have predicted.

Throughout the book we meet a whole cast of characters in the lives of Cleo and Frank, each with their own issues and burdens.

Like I said, it was an easy read and I didn't dislike it, but I was expecting bigger things considering the hype it had.

6. Let the Great World Spin - Colum McCann

This book was recommended to me as one to read if I liked The Hearts Invisible Furies and A Little Life (which I LOVED both of), and while I didn't find it very similar to them, I thoroughly enjoyed it regardless.

The story starts on a late-summer morning in New York City at the Twin Towers in August 1974. Between the towers a mysterious tightrope walker dances, runs and jumps, a quarter mile above the ground. The author then begins to tell the story of the people watching him on the streets below.

We meet Corrigan, a young Irish monk, helping the prostitutes of the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning the loss of their sons in Vietnam, a young artist at the scene of a hit and run, and a mother and daughter prostitute and their friends.

These lives are woven together throughout the book, some unexpectedly drawn together watching the tightrope walker, each showing the pain, joy, mystery and hope of New York City in the 1970s.

Such a gorgeous but heartbreaking book. A great read.

7. Grief is the thing with feathers - Max Porter

TW: death, grief

This is going on my favourite books of all time list, immediately. Such a beautiful and moving read. I have always seen this book recommended, and if you have ever experienced grief it is such a relatable and comforting read.

The story is set in a London flat, where two young boys and their father face the unbearable pain of their mother and wife's sudden death. The father pictures a future of emptiness. In their despair, they are visited by Crow (a metaphor for grief itself) - antagonising and tricking them, while also minding and healing them (as grief does), insisting on staying until they no longer need him. We watch the weeks turn to months while the physical pain of loss begins to turn to fond memories as the trio begin to heal and piece their lives back together.

I underlined so many beautiful phrases and parts of this book, it is amazingly written and manages to bring humour at times into an emotional and heartbreaking tale.

An absolute must read for everyone and super short, so an easy one to get through.

8. Sula - Toni Morrison

TW: racism

My first Toni Morrison read was Beloved, and while I really loved that book, it was quite dark. I think Sula is an easier introduction into Morrison if you haven't read her before - it has some similarities to The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett if you read and liked that.

The story is set between the 1920s - 1940s and follows the lives of two women from their childhood in a small Ohio town, growing up surrounded by racism and injustice, through to adulthood, confrontation and reconciliation. Nel choses to stay in their home town, while Sula escapes to college and city life, and an act by Sula pulls their close friendship apart. When Sula eventually returns to her home town she is seen as a rebel and traitor, while both women must face the consequences of their choices.

I really enjoyed this book, it is a short read but the story is impactful and packs a punch.

Et voila! Another book stack done and dusted. I would love to know what you've been reading recently and if you have read and enjoyed any of these books.

Thank you for reading as always,

S ✗