“To Paradise” by Hanya Yanagihara

It's a big novel—a big novel on so many levels. It doesn't meet all the expectations I've had about it, but it doesn't have to. It is, just like “People in the Trees” and “A Little Life”, complicated, bold, and original. And I think that we need such stories. “To Paradise”, though having three very … Continue reading “To Paradise” by Hanya Yanagihara →

“An Invincible Memory” and Demythologization

'An Invincible Memory' is a 1980s novel by the Brazilian writer João Ubaldo Ribeiro. Spanning over 150 years in its main action, it tells a story of several families from the region of Bahía. As many Latin-American novels, it isn't only a 'moving family saga' with 'epic scenes', for it is more thought-provoking than just … Continue reading “An Invincible Memory” and Demythologization →

When Magical Realism Works: “The Last Warner Woman”

Once I've written about 'The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina', concluding that copying the Marquez/Allende-like style in a magical realism novel isn't enough to make it good. Now I'm going to write about a 2010 novel by the Jamaican writer Kei Miller, 'The Last Warner Woman'. If someone asked me how to do magical realism, I'd … Continue reading When Magical Realism Works: “The Last Warner Woman” →

‘Utopia Avenue’

Out of four novels of David Mitchell I've read so far, this is the best one. It's witty and touching, and, unlike his other novels, it never gets boring in the middle. It's a story about the 1960s and a fictional British band, Utopia Avenue. Elizabeth 'Elf' Holloway, Dean Moss, Jasper de Zoet, and Griff, … Continue reading ‘Utopia Avenue’ →

‘Ruth’ by Elizabeth Gaskell

There are novels which make you grow and expand your understanding of other people in ways you wouldn't have predicted. I've recently read such a book. It's 'Ruth' by Elizabeth Gaskell, an early Victorian story of a young mother, Ruth Hilton, and her illegitimate son, Leonard. Ruth leaves her hometown with Mr Bellingham, a spoiled … Continue reading ‘Ruth’ by Elizabeth Gaskell →

The Uncanny Cornwall of Daphne du Maurier

So far, I've read only three novels by Daphne du Maurier: 'Rebecca', 'Jamaica', and 'My cousin Rachel'. Each of them was gripping in its own way, and each of them depicted its characters and settings very vividly. I can see now why they are classics. And I can see why so many people see them … Continue reading The Uncanny Cornwall of Daphne du Maurier →

“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 →

“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” →

“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 →