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A world of bookish delights!
Kirstin and Julie
There’s nothing new or stand-out special here but somehow this manages to be a happy heart-warming book. Featuring stock characters and an abundance of clichés, it also encompasses some of the big themes that several books of the moment (Eleanor Oliphant I’m looking at you) favour. Loneliness, anxiety, community spirit and kindness all make an appearance with a dash of gentrification issues and activism.
Circe. If you cast your mind back to school you may remember her as the witch on whose island Odysseus and his crew washed up on their long journey back from the Trojan War, and wasn’t there something about turning men to pigs and, um, did Odysseus have an affair with her? If you have ever wondered why she lived alone on that island, what made her a sorceress, what happened to her after Odysseus left her to go back to his wife – indeed if you have ever wondered about the reality behind the headline story of any woman who plays a bit part in the (hi)story of men – you have an absolute treat in store with this book.
But it seems I’m more in love with it than most U.K. bookshops, which strangely almost ignore this most prestigious of American literary Prizes. That’s a shame, because their choice is more often that not, excellent. Some of the best books that we’ve read other the past few years have been Pulitzer Prize winners. So I’ve decided, single-handedly, to change this. Starting today. Below you’ll find the last four winners. All books that we’ve loved and recommend warmly, books that will take you to new places and different people, and that will make you laugh or cry. Enjoy!
Arthur Less is having a massive mid-life crisis. His last book proposal has been turned down, his boyfriend Freddy of eight years has dumped him only to announce he will marry his new beau instead. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the big five-O is lurking on the horizon. What to do? Escape seems the sensible option. Less by Andrew Sean Greer, which won the Pulitzer Prize last week, gets off to a bit of a slow start but picks up once Arthur hits the shores of Europe. A perfectly pitched comic portrayal of other cultures through the eyes of an American. I grew fond of anti-hero Arthur, his insecurities and fumbling efforts to rebuild his life. A heart-warming, funny and original read.
One day magic breathed. The next, it died.
Orïsha was once a land blessed with ‘maji’, sacred clans people with divine powers over the land. When their magic abruptly vanishes, Orïsha bows to the tyranny of a bloodthirsty king, a despot who wishes to wipe the magic arts from the face of his kingdom. But the children of the fallen maji remain, cowed and silent.One day they will rise.
Han Kang’s quirky Booker Prize winning The Vegetarian opened my, and I suspect many other’s, eyes to South Korean literature. I was curious, then, when Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, a Korean-American, came out to rave reviews. Especially, as I have a soft spot for epic family sagas, the kind that sucks you in and makes you cry when you finish as you feel you’ve become a part of the family. However, Pachinko has turned out to be a tricky book to write about. It has many strong points but almost as many faults. I learned about the immigrant experience, Japanese racism towards Koreans, but missed some more historical context. There were characters in this book I really felt I got to know while others remained like card-board cut-outs. All in all, an uneven reading experience but one which still, somehow, managed to keep me going.
I’ve done it! Sorted my books alphabetically, a plan I’ve had for years. High time, as my books have been piling up on the shelves, helter-skelter, making it impossible to find anything. I’ve been lazily buying new books rather than sifting through my shelves and as a result I have no fewer than four copies of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, for example, it’s a great book but…I decided to separate the books into genres as well, with plays and poetry unfairly being relegated to a lesser shelf. My books look great on the newly painted bookshelf and my anal side is hugely enjoying the sight of them all lined up and the thought of actually finding books that I’ve read. God help the family member who messes this up! How do you organise your books?
