Books

I have been wary of The Handmaid’s Tale for at least 5 years, if not more. The book had been on my to-read list for what seems like forever, but for some reason I had imagined the story to be a horrific display of violence that I would find too hard to get through.

It turns out that in this case, fear is worse than the danger itself. However, that is far from being the case in Gilead, the fictional state in The Handmaid’s Tale is set and where a Christian totalitarian regime has replaced the U.S government. Margaret Atwood’s novel was a gripping read that I am very excited to finally tell you about!

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I have added many a feminist book to my to-read list on Goodreads and I have been making my way through them slowly but surely over the past few years. Some, like Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, shook me to my core (and I am not exaggerating), while others were quieter contributors to the new ideas flying around in my head. I read How to be a woman by Caitlin Moran a few months ago and decided to give you my thoughts on the book here!

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I’m not quite sure how I stumbled upon Restaurant of love regained… The novel’s title made me think of those feel-good books that have overtaken book stores of late, where a young woman goes through a breakup with her boyfriend who she comes to realise was never « the one », moves to a new city or country or changes jobs, opens up a sweet shop or a restaurant or a bakery and then finds new love. These clichés I had in mind prevented me from reading Restaurant of love regained earlier, as I don’t really enjoy that kind of literature that doesn’t challenge me intellectually at all.

However, if I had followed my instincts and avoided the book entirely, I would have missed out on a refreshing and poetic piece of writing! The saying says that you mustn’t judge a book by its cover, but I think it would be useful to remember that you shouldn’t make a snap judgement based on a title either.

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I don’t often review French novels, as 90% of the books I read are English or American. But I am half French after all, so it’s time I gave French literature a little love too! I am happy to present Le journal intime d’un arbre (or Secret Diary of a Tree), a 200 page novel I first heard about on the French blog Friendly Beauty. If you speak a little French, I hope you’ll give this novel a try!

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After having read – and loved – the WWII fiction novel Code Name Verity, I started on Rose Under Fire, its sequel, as soon as I had finished the first book. Here’s what I thought!

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My list of books to read on Goodreads currently has 57 books on it. The selection is eclectic, including classics I feel I “should” read like Frankenstein or Gone with the Wind, a few thrillers I am trying to work up the courage to read and finally, a massive amount of contemporary novels that I delve into with abandon.

Some books have been waiting for my attention for years, while others are more recent finds. And very occasionally, I hear about a book that I am so sure I will love that I add it to the list and start reading straight away. Code Name Verity, a young adult historical novel, was one of those books.

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Hello again! I had not intended to abandon the blog for a full six weeks, but between moving and extra projects at work, I barely had time to get enough sleep this past month, never mind blog! I began today’s article quite some time ago, but never got around to finishing it up until now. Today’s book review is about A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, the very last book of the massive pile of presents I unwrapped on Christmas day last year.

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