April Reading Wrap Up

04/05/2021

This month was a delightful one for reading. I found myself constantly engrossed in a one book or another and ended the month with my nose still in about three different novels! I was flexible with reading what I fancied so there was naturally a pretty good mix of fiction, non-fiction, shorter pieces, YA, translated fiction and a play as well as audio books to accompany the fairly copious amount of driving I’ve had to do. I’ve found coming out of our current lockdown restrictions to be a bit of a weird ride so reading has perhaps been my escape! Here’s what I read this month:

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey - ★★.5

By now regular readers (hi Mum and Grandma!) will be aware that my book club is trying something different in lieu of actual in-person meet ups where we each choose one book and every month that book is sent on to the next person in line. Eventually, if everything goes to plan, we should all have read the same novels and can have a bumper book group session! This month’s read for me was The Library of Lost Things, a piece of YA fiction about Darcy, a 17 year old bookworm grappling with school, her first crush and her mother’s hoarding problem. This was, I’m afraid to say, my least favourite read of the month. I was actually quite surprised because although YA can be a bit hit and miss (due to me being a slightly older adult now), the description of this book seemed to be right in my wheelhouse. There are certainly moments I enjoyed, in particular Darcy’s relationship with her best friend Marisol, and some really serious and interestingly handled stuff in terms of the severity of her mother’s hoarding and the toll it has taken on Darcey’s ability to live her own life, feel financially stable and be comfortable in her home. The problem for me was that there was just so much going on. There’s a storyline about Darcy’s missing father, one about her Grandmother issuing ultimatums, then her crush Asher’s accident and subsequent health problems, the divorced couple that own adjoining businesses where Darcey works, her strange ability to hold vast sections of text from books and plays in her head. On one hand, life is in reality chaotic and no one issue exists in a vacuum, so it certainly makes sense that a YA book would want to reflect that. On the other, it’s just impossible to explore every topic the author raised and that ultimately means that the ending feels forced and shoehorned in. The main problem for me however is just how uninteresting Darcy herself was as a character. I listened on audio so it’s certainly possible that some of that is due to the choices made by the narrator but in truth she just seemed like a conglomeration of all these issues rather than a fully-fledged character. Her obsession with books would usually have charmed me but instead felt like a bit of a stand in for an actual personality. It’s certainly possible that others will love this book, but for me it fell flat, though I think it’s worth repeating that I am far younger than its target reader!

Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel - ★★★★

I’ll write a more thorough review on this at some point because there’s quite a bit to cover, but as an immediate reaction I thought this was really good. Although my Dad’s side of the family is Jewish and I grew up with a lot of culture, experiences, food and friends linked to Judaism, I have always had a confused relationship with religion. As often seems to happen as we get older, in the last few years that part of my identity has become more important to me and I’ve made an effort to learn and experience more. A part of that has of course been understanding and confronting the issue of anti-semitism. This short book by Baddiel is not an exploration of anti-semitism itself (for that I recommend the books of Deborah Lipstadt) but instead a discussion of his opinion that the progressive left doesn’t view its existence as a problem in the same way that they do, for example, Islamophobia or homophobia. For the most part I found this to be thoughtful and well-written as well as delightfully short (always a boon) and would absolutely recommend it.

Buy it on Bookshop.Org (affiliate link)

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell - ★★★★★

This was my stand out book of the month. What an absolute blinder! I’ve already written a full review HERE so there’s nothing much else for me to say. This is a really great debut and tackles a difficult and much debated topic with such nuance. It’s got one of the messiest, most realistic protagonists I’ve come across in years. Perhaps since Dolores in Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone. Vanessa makes me furious, stressed and broken hearted in equal measure. Of course if you think that reading about this sort of abuse of power is something you’d rather avoid then this book is probably not one for you right now as it’s dark, dismal and uncomfortable. If that’s something you’re happy to expose yourself to in your reading though, I cannot recommend this novel more.

Buy it on Bookshop.org (affiliate link)

Mouthpiece by Kieran Hurley - ★★★★★

This is one of those plays I’ve consistently missed every single time it’s been on. I’ve avoided reading it for ages, because I was hoping to catch it live but finally came to the conclusion that it was unlikely in the near future. I also read it with an alternative perspective - I’d come up with a new idea for a piece of writing and was a little concerned about any potential crossover with this topic, so it was important to me to see how Hurley had tackled it. The outcome was that a) happily it’s different to what I’ve been looking at but b) he’s so good I’ve now lost all confidence in my own writing! The play is set in Edinburgh and is a two-hander between Libby, a playwright who hit a rough patch just as she was getting established and now doesn’t know what her future holds, and the teenage Declan, living in an estate with his sister, mother and his mother’s abusive boyfriend. As this unlikely duo from two very different Edinburgh worlds get to know each other, Libby encourages Declan’s artistic talent in return for using his life story as the basis for her new play, and at first they seem to be exactly what the other needs. As their relationship becomes more complicated, Libby’s play begins to attract attention and the question of whose story it really is to tell becomes an urgent question. This is exactly the kid of theatre I love. Simply told with an interesting but unfussy structure, a love letter to storytelling, art and truth. It’s the kind of theatre that reminds me why it’s important and how well, yet entertainingly, it can tackle the big issues. Hurley is a TALENT.

Buy it on bookshop.org (affiliate link)

Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir - ★★★★

I bought this translated fiction novella for my sister as I thought it sounded quirky and, despite loving Iceland, neither of us had ever read anything by an Icelandic novelist. As soon as she read it she passed it onto me with instructions to read quickly so we could discuss it and I have done as ordered! Like nothing I’ve ever read, Ólafsdóttir’s writing style is at once totally readable and very strange. If I was discussing this book as a work in progress with my writing group there’s so much I would pinpoint as a problem. The protagonist, Hekla, holds us at arm’s length throughout the novel and relationships are often superficially explored. All the characters Hekla is close to, her friends, her boyfriend, her brother, are constantly depicted by way of their most extreme moments or emotions, one friend speaking almost exclusively in long, meandering monologues. Despite, or perhaps because of all of this I found myself gripped by Miss Iceland. Sixties Reykiavik is grim compared to the progressive, beautiful city we’ve visited, and the main focus of the novel is Hekla’s attempt to become a writer and an independent woman in a male dominated society. She’s a quietly determined woman, a staunch supporter of her much loved best friend Jon, who is sinking under the weight of the struggle of living as a gay man in a homophobic society. While Ólafsdóttir is seemingly talking endlessly about canapes and Ulysses and volcanoes and cats, we accompany Hekla on a moving journey as she and Jon attempt to find their places in a world that fights them at every turn.

Buy it on bookshop.org (affiliate link)

Go Your Crohn Way by Kathleen Nicholls - ★★★★

My mother has Crohn’s Disease and, for as long as I can remember, it has impacted the way she’s been able to live her life. As a highly anxious child who absolutely did not handle my parents being unwell with any sort of sense of reason, I’ve never really got a handle on what Crohn’s is and how it affects a sufferer. So long as I knew that my Mum was safe, that was enough for me. Nowadays I have more of an understanding of what it means to have a chronic illness and I realise how unhelpful and uneducated much of how I approached it has been. I spied Go Your Crohn Way, Kathleen Nicholls’ personal account of a life with Crohn’s, during a library browse and decided that it looked like an accessible start to my self-education. Nicholls’ book isn’t a self-help book per se but nor it is a memoir, instead it’s a few personal stories tied together with some tips and tricks (think: how to pack for hospital visits) and some confidence boosting affirmations that a chronic health condition needn’t dominate your life, no matter how scary it might seem when you’re diagnosed. It’s mostly written as a guide to the newly diagnosed but is helpful as something hoping to be a supportive ally. The thing is, despite the topic, this is a really fun book. Nicholls is a punMASTER (I feel she’ll be pleased by this aspect of my review) and slips nicely between jokey banter and earnest gratefulness for her supportive partner, friends and family. She doesn’t gloss over the less delightful aspects of the illness which is really helpful, or about the unhappiness and fear she has felt at times but she also clearly embraces life and stresses all the excellent things she has going for her. Mostly I thought that she really clarified the differences between IBS and IBD as well as other aspects of the ins-and-outs of Crohn’s. However I was surprised that the references to her personal diet seemed to consist of wine and biscuits. Without wanting to suggest that she must promote a perfect lifestyle, I was surprised that these were presented without comment when discussing a disease that is directly impacted by diet and wondered if a discussion of personal choice where so many limitations exist might have been appropriate. Again though it’s important to remember that Nicholls has not purported to write a book that does anything other than share her own experiences of living with Crohn’s. I lent the book to my Mum who devoured it in about 24 hours and said that, even years into her own experience with this illness, she found it a really helpful and enjoyable read that reflected a lot of her own journey.

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True Crime Story by Joseph Knox - ★★★

My full review of this book is HERE and it’s probably worth reading only if you’re not going to read True Crime Story yourself because it is pretty much impossible to discuss without spoilers, at least in my humble opinion. In short, I neither loved nor hated this book. I thought the structure was really well-done and I love a book that incorporates different forms of communicating the story, in this case emails, news stories and interview transcripts. While I was rapt for the first third of the book I soon felt that the experimental format sometimes overshadowed the story and I’d started to lose interest by the time it all wound up. It’s a really interesting idea and I’m glad I read it but it left me a little bit deflated.

Buy it on bookshop.org (affiliate link)

You and Me On Vacation by Emily Henry - ★★★★

My second Emily Henry novel (first was Beach Read) and I’m officially a fan of this fresh, fun romance novelist. I like that both her books so far have had unique storylines that don’t feel in any way repetitive or familiar tropes. I’ve reviewed the novel in full HERE but in short I thought that this was a sweet and touching love story with a difference and Henry’s writing style kept me interested throughout.

Buy it on bookshop.org (affiliate link)