“Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell

It was a rare book, a precious one. One of those which evoke the past in an original, unusual way. I don't read contemporary historical novels like that often. I like many of them, but they always lack something, if not in their characters, then in their style. In the end, I'd say that 'Hamnet' … Continue reading “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell →

“Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell

... Or when being epic and panoramic through ages is, in the end, not enough. I remember when I saw the "Cloud Atlas" trailer. I must have been eleven or twelve, waiting to see an animation in the movies. The trailer was the only thing standing out from the other teasers before the movie. I … Continue reading “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell →

“The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”

It's my third novel by the Brontë sisters I've read. And as it was with Jane Eyre and with Wuthering Heights, I am surprised with so many things. Do you know this feeling when somebody's style and somebody's tropes are familiar and alien at once? Old-fashioned and still relatable at the same time—literally? That's me … Continue reading “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” →

“Jane Eyre”

It's a funny feeling when you know well some tropes and contexts, but you've been reluctant to read its source material for years. Rich guys with with a past. Ordinary heroines one can feel represented by. Mysterious mansions. Dark secrets which will be revealed sooner or later. Of course I've read about it in so … Continue reading “Jane Eyre” →

Yes, “The Time Traveler’s Wife” Is Somewhat Problematic

So, there's been a TV series based on it recently. There was a movie several years earlier. There was a stage adaptation. And all this inspired by a cult novel of the not-very-prolific author. Yes, I'm talking about The Time Traveler's Wife. And you have no clue how glad I am: That over times, some … Continue reading Yes, “The Time Traveler’s Wife” Is Somewhat Problematic →

“Wives and Daughters” and Society

Up to the later parts of the book, reading Wives and Daughters, the last novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, was a pleasant and, after a way, edifying experience for me. Later, however, it made me sad and thinking about questions I didn't necessarily want to ponder on. And then Gaskell sent Roger Hamley to Africa. And … Continue reading “Wives and Daughters” and Society →

“The Essex Serpent” by Sarah Perry

I wouldn't say that this book was a disappointment to me. However, I have to admit that I expected more from it, and I wasn't given it, sadly. Maybe I thought that there would be more magical realism there. Something like "The Familiars" by Stacey Halls, you know. Maybe I expected, from the Wikipedia description, … Continue reading “The Essex Serpent” by Sarah Perry →

“Prodigal Summer” by Barbara Kingsolver

It's almost incredible, to read another book by an author and to know at once that, yes, it was worth to return to that writer. Barbara Kingsolver is one of them. Prodigal Summer is, after a way, similar to Flight Behaviour. Here and there, we get a story of unwealthy white people from American South. … Continue reading “Prodigal Summer” by Barbara Kingsolver →

Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver

I was a bit afraid of returning to the works of Barbara Kingsolver. Although I loved The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna, I was dissapointed with Unsheltered. I felt as if there was too much politics there, even if I agreed with the author on many levels. Also, the narration wasn't as captivating as in … Continue reading Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver →

Literature as the Mirror of Author’s Time: The Foundling by Stacey Hall

Trigger warning: SPOILERS Set in the middle of eighteenth century in London, The Foundling is a book about a poor girl forced to have renounced her child. Step by step, we discover not only what has happened to the child but also to the woman, that other, who fostered it. We also learn of things … Continue reading Literature as the Mirror of Author’s Time: The Foundling by Stacey Hall →