Lockdown 3.0: Latest Reads (Part 2) : A Brummie Home and Abroad

Lockdown Library 3.0: Latest Reads (Part 2)

Looking at the books I’ve marked as read over the past couple of months, themes have started to emerge. Last year I consciously made a decision to read more books from authors of colour, and telling stories from different backgrounds and cultures, and this has continued into 2021. My reading this spring has taken me from the Dominican Republic to Iran and Siberia – by way of wartime Dublin and 17th century Lancashire. There’s also been some pretty dark stuff in there (TRIGGER WARNING) – paedophilia, incarceration, labour camps, stillborn babies, murder and even a global pandemic.

You can read my recommendations from my Christmas and January book haul here.

The Pull Of The Stars – Emma Donoghue

There’s nothing like reading a book about a global pandemic, in the middle of a global pandemic. When Emma Donoghue started to write this book to commemorate 100 years since the Spanish flu killed 50 million people, she could not have imagined how some of her narrative would ring true in 2020. The book tells of just three days on a maternity ward in 1918 Dublin, and is a visceral, harrowing but compelling tale of birth, death and love.

Grown-Ups – Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes is back to her absolute best with her ninth novel, exploring family dynamics, secrets and lies, with her inimitable wit and warmth. The prologue takes place with some explosive revelations at a family dinner; the subsequent narrative is taken up by multiple storytellers to retell the events leading up to that scene. There are some weighty issues covered, in particular eating disorders, compulsive shopping, depression and the plight of Syrian refugees. But as always with Keyes novels, these are covered with compassion, tenderness and light humour. And I dare you not to fall just a little bit in love with Ferdia.

Ellie and the Harpmaker – Hazel Prior

I enjoyed Away With The Penguins a lot, and was pleased to find that Ellie and the Harpmaker continues in a similar warm vein. Hazel Prior writes quirky, flawed characters so well, and you can’t help falling a little bit in love with Dan, the harpmaker of the title. It’s a tale of two unlikely people bringing out the best in each other. Oh, and a pheasant named Phineas that quickly becomes one of the star players.

The Familiars – Stacey Halls

Based around the true story of the Pendle Witch Trials in 1612, this story takes real-life characters and weaves them together in a fictional tale. It’s the intriguing story of two women whose lives become inextricably bound together, until both of their lives hang in the balance. It is a beautifully told story, with well-crafted characters, and it just stays on the right side of fantasy and the supernatural. Ma Lee has already given this one the thumbs up.

The Foundling – Stacey Halls

I accidentally read two books by Stacey Halls this month, and I’ve enjoyed both immensely. Based in Georgian London, The Foundling focuses very much on motherhood. The story is told from two perspectives; Bess, who gives up her child to The Foundling Hospital in the hope of claiming her when she is in a position to care for her better; and Alexandra, a reclusive widow who finds it difficult to connect with her daughter Charlotte. The author takes us from Alexandra’s wealth and privilege to the dank squalor and poverty of Bess’ life. Another absorbing and atmospheric tale from Halls, who is definitely one to watch.

Cilka’s Journey – Heather Morris

The follow-up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey tells the tale of a courageous and determined woman whose heartbreaking story does not end after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Instead a new chapter begins, in a desolate Russian gulag inside the Arctic Circle. Although based on a real-life character, Heather Morris uses intense research of accounts from that time to weave a fictional narrative for Cilka as she finds friendship, purpose and love in a brutal and unjust system.

Girl A – Abigail Dean

A heartbreaking and harrowing read at times, this is the fictional tale of Lex – Girl A – and her siblings, survivors of a childhood spent incarcerated and starved of both food and parental affection. What happens to these children when they grow up? How are their lives impacted? The chapters are long, and the timeline shifts paragraph by paragraph, but a difficult subject is tackled with sensitivity and the reader is with Lex every step of the way.

Dominicana – Angie Cruz

This coming-of-age tale follows fifteen year old Ana as she is forced into marriage before leaving her home and family in the Dominican Republic for New York. She craves freedom and the opportunity to find her voice, and slowly she begins to imagine a different life for herself. But eventually, she must decide between freedom and family. The chapters are short and flow effortlessly; there is little plot but this is an insight into the oppression and isolation of a young immigrant.

The Stationery Shop of Tehran – Marjan Kamali

This is a simple story of enduring love, heartbreak and destiny, first against the backdrop of a tumultuous time in Iran’s history, and then as our main protagonist Roya settles in a new life in America. The complex political situation is written about in a straightforward manner, and easy to understand even with no prior knowledge of the coup which unsettled the country. There are also plenty of descriptions of sumptuous Persian dishes and a close-up examination of traditional customs.

White Ivy – Susie Yang

White Ivy is largely about identity, reinvention and a desire for acceptance at any cost. Our protagonist Ivy is duplicitous and unpredictable, yet charismatic and vulnerable. Born of Chinese-American parents, and with a penchant for petty crime, Ivy forms an attachments to two boys in her youth, from very different backgrounds. As an adult, their paths cross again, and Ivy is forced to make drastic decisions in order to avoid rejection. The story is a slow-burner, with the focus on character-development, particularly Ivy’s relationship with her family and their traditional values, and also her relationship with the Boston WASP Speyer family.

My Dark Vanessa – Kate Elizabeth Russell

My Dark Vanessa is not an easy read. The titular Vanessa, at fifteen years old, is precocious but naive. In a dual timeline, adult Vanessa looks back on the disturbing relationship she shared with her manipulative but magnetic English teacher. Others have come forward to tell tales of grooming and abuse, but she has convinced herself that their complex relationship is a love story. The book covers the psychological trauma of paedophilia and gaslighting, whilst also challenging the ideas of victimhood and power. The story does meander slightly towards the end, hashing and rehashing the repercussions on Vanessa’s life but it’s a though-provoking and evocative read.

A History Of The World With The Women Put Back In – Kerstin Lücker & Ute Daenschel

This isn’t a book that focuses solely on women in history, nor is it a book which seeks to erase men. It is simply a retelling of the history of the world, with equal billing given to the figures that have shaped our world as it is today. Significant events are explained in a clear manner, suggesting that the book was written with a younger reader in mind. I learned a lot, particularly on topics that were never covered in the school history curriculum way back when.