Inland – Tea Obreht

A novel about the American West from the viewpoint of a woman. Nora is struggling to keep her family both together and alive. They have very little money and even less water. Coming from a line of families who have spent their lives moving from place to place in search of something better, Nora is torn between staying on the outskirts of a town she’s come to call home and having to go somewhere else so that she can actually carry on breathing.

3/5

Supper Club – Lara Williams

Definitely a more MeToo coming of age story. But with flawed women at the helm. The aim of supper club is to take up space. Both in body and in the sense of a venue. It’s an art project, it’s a statement. A good summer read.

3/5

The Far Field – Madhuri Vijay

Shalini lives in Bangalore with her father, her mother having recently died. She’s restless, lost and puzzled about someone from her past. Again, another story of a selfish main character who uses her privilege to go on a soul searching journey to places she knows very little about.

Midhuri Vijay evokes so much in the prose. There’s never an exact reason given for Shalini’s selfish behaviour which actually makes it a much more real story in that sense. A product of her environment.

4/5

Adults – Emma Jane Unsworth

Honestly, this far into July I felt like I’d picked up the same book but in different countries. Mother and daughter relationships are pretty popular it seems. Along with unconvential friendships. Either it’s a common theme or I’m just picking up the same book by accident.

4/5

Queenie – Candice Carty Williams

Such a good book for right now. I can see why it’s been so popular. This was a library borrow but I think I’ll be purchasing my own copy as it’s a definite re-read. I can’t say much more than the actual reviewers who count when it comes to Queenie. They are the readers who see themselves portrayed. Who get to have their own lives told in literature. It’s a positive move. Possibly my only gripe about is that it plays into a trope about Jewish heritage and wealth. It’s more than possible that this was accidental but it felt uncomfortable.

5/5

Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout

So refreshing to have the story of the title character told through the eyes of the people closely and distantly connected to them. There’s an incredible amount of scope to play with and it’s been done well. Olive is difficult, strong and scary. Again, parent child problems. How they see each other so differently to what the other thinks they do.

4/5

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