An Abundance of Novels
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An Abundance of Novels
A very bookish post for your Sunday :-)
There is much to say of the comfort singularly found in a book’s embrace. Unsurprisingly, I was that kid walking out of the library next to my grandfather, holding a stack of books so tall I could hardly see over it. He carried the rest of them. In a place as generous as a library, how could I choose just one?
I was enchanted by books. If I could have crawled inside the covers and become part of the story myself, I would have. To a certain extent, this is reading. Becoming part of something else, something that’s far away but feels intimate, so up close you’re enveloped.
Lately, I’ve read some impeccable stories that I’ll tell you about below. At the end, I have some updates for reading on the horizon. I hope you enjoy this very bookish post on your Sunday and Mother’s Day for those of us in the States. :-)
What I’ve Read Lately
The Huntress, by Kate Quinn
Nina is a young woman from the Siberian wilderness who joins the famous Night Witches, an all-female bomber squad that flew hundreds of missions during World War II. After the war ends, she joins a group of Nazi hunters as they search for a notorious assassin who was hiding in the US as a dutiful housewife.
I miss these characters deeply. The way their stories spoke to one another and moved the plot was touching. Kate Quinn also addresses a sordid part of history in this book; there were many Nazis who hid in the USA and elsewhere without any retribution.
The Marriage Portrait, by Maggie O’Farrell
Lucrezia de Medici is a 15-year-old duchess who supposedly passes away from illness in the 1560s, but legend has it her husband killed her. No one could ever prove it, though. Maggie O'Farrell takes that true story and reimagines it in this novel. You’ll have to read to the very end to see whether Lucrezia lives or dies…
Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
In the late 19th century in southwest Nigeria, the Ibo people thrive. Deeply set with the passing of thousands of years, their culture is part of their very being.
Okonkwo of Umuofia is a highly-respected man, known near and far for being a fighter. This novel follows his life as his people are first confronted by European missionaries, then controlled by an imperialist English government.
By the end, my blood ran cold.
Trespasses, by Louise Kennedy
I opened this novel with much anticipation and began to read by lamplight long after I should have slept. Even with my high expectations, I didn’t expect to fall so in love with Trespasses.
Cushla is a Catholic teacher (at a Catholic school, no less) during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. She has a forbidden love with a Protestant man that is as enthralling as it is morally objectionable. (If you read, you’ll see why.) I grew to care deeply for the fates of the characters, especially Davey, a little boy in Cushla’s class whose teen brother is accused of murder during such a tenuous, violent time in history.
Kennedy’s way of setting the mise en scène is unparalleled. This novel is about imperfect people in an imperfect place and it’s brutally honest in a guttural way. I adored it the entire way through.
Excerpts of nonfiction:
The Creative Act: A Way of Being, by Rick Rubin
I read a few parts of Rick Rubin’s treatise on creativity. He’s right—it truly is a way of being. It is more than what I do or a trait I have. It is who I am. There were many quotes that spoke to me as a creative writer, but I included my favorite below.
The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.
-Robert Henri
Black Sea, by Caroline Eden
Black Sea is multidisciplinary travel writing, a truly immersive experience. Eden shares travel writing from three cities on the Black Sea: Odessa, Trabzon, and Istanbul. The way she spoke about Odessa in particular made me want to go after the victory. And the photography! Oh, it’s stunning. This one’s a real treat.
Bonus! Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi penned a long-form nonfiction piece in The Sewanee Review about the concept of time, her Iranian heritage, her complicated relationship with her brother, and the saving grace of literature. She lost me in a couple spots, but overall it’s a wonder. Hat tip to my alma mater for publishing this one.
Upcoming for the reading challenge
As an intro for newcomers and a reminder for everyone else, I created a reading challenge for 2023. You can see the post explaining it here:
May’s theme:
Read a novel featuring a religion you don't understand or know little about.
My pick: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
In 2021, I read I Am Malala and was enthralled by the stories from her life as a child. The way she expressed her Muslim faith and what it meant to her left an impression on me, even though I don’t share her beliefs. I still don’t know very much about Islam, so I wanted to read a novel featuring it for May’s theme.
I chose A Thousand Splendid Suns in part because it’s been on my TBR for years, but also because of my reading experience with Things Fall Apart. I really struggled to stay engaged (especially in the first half) because women’s perspectives are absent.
The book is amazing, probably one of the greatest works of literature from the 20th century. I just wanted to hear what women thought about Ibo culture and what it meant to them to have that erased by outsiders who couldn’t care less about them.
In A Thousand Splendid Suns, women are the protagonists. I can’t wait to dig in.
If you’re following the reading challenge and want to choose a novel around Christianity, I (as a Christian) recommend these:
Gilead — I haven’t read this one yet, but I plan to this year. It won the Pulitzer, and Marilynne Robinson is a Christian.
The Handmaid’s Tale — This is what can happen when there’s no room for healthy theological disagreement between believers of the same faith tradition. If you’ve seen the show, I still recommend reading.
The Testaments — Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. I cried at the end. My heartstrings swell just a little bit even reminiscing on this book.
June’s theme:
Read a novel set in the place you're from. The more local, the better!
My pick: Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
A recent Pulitzer Prize-winner alongside Hernán Díaz’s Trust, Demon Copperhead is an Appalachian retelling of David Copperfield.
Truth be told, I’m not from Appalachia technically. But I am from the South and have been shaped by this land—and Appalachia is a 3-hour drive from where I’m sitting right now.
I’m only one chapter in and completely in love. Raw, gripping, real—its prose is demanding, making you reread to fully grasp it. I get the feeling this one will make top 5 of 2023, and this year has been full of really good books.
Other Book Challenges
As I mentioned in my last reading update from Panama, I’m also (very) loosely following the reading challenges of my local bookshop and Rebecca Makkai’s 84 Books Project.
Along those lines, I want to read one novel set in Asia and another that’s been translated to English.
For AAPI heritage month:
Pachinko has been on my TBR for quite some time, and now is the moment! I’m ready to experience it.
Two translated novels, both coincidentally written in Polish:
Swimming in the Dark, by Tomasz Jedrowski — A forbidden love blooms between a communist and an anti-communist behind the Iron Curtain.
The Books of Jacob, by Olga Tokarczuk — A power-hungry, charismatic figure rises to the top of a religion in medieval Poland, then does the same in two other religions across Eastern Europe. He’s based on a person that actually lived hundreds of years ago.
I wish you the embrace of warm late spring days and long nights with a book you’ll stay up for. Until we meet again!
Sarah
P.s. Next time, I’ll be here with the next installment from Panama and Ecuador. We left off at the cloud forest. This is where the trip really began for me. Stay tuned!