Some books you read, and then you just sort of forget; they don't make any difference in your life. Some you think about for a while after, but then they fade from your memory and you move on to the next thing. But there are some books that just get their hooks into you and… Continue reading Five books that changed the way I read
Tag: 20th Century
The Island (1959) by Ana María Matute
Getting ready to write this post, I realised it's been three months since I posted on here. I honestly didn't realise that much time had passed. That is this pandemic life - time has completely changed. Living in this weird in-between state of anxiety and hesitancy with little pockets of “normal life”, with hardly any… Continue reading The Island (1959) by Ana María Matute
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East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity by Phillippe Sands (2016)
image: goodreads.com This is a book about many things. Ostensibly you could say that East West Street is about a lawyer and historian, Phillippe Sands, exploring the lives of his maternal grandparents (and his mother) before and during the Second World War. It starts as that, catalysed by Sands being invited to give a lecture… Continue reading East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity by Phillippe Sands (2016)
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House of Glass by Hadley Freeman (2020)
Let me preface this review by saying that I have not written a book review, or any blog post, for months now so please bear with me... in June I went back to work after maternity leave, but due to lockdown my little one's nursery was not open at the time and so my husband… Continue reading House of Glass by Hadley Freeman (2020)
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Once We Were Sisters by Sheila Kohler (2017)
Like the last book I read, I found Once We Were Sisters through my GoodReads recommendations. I had never heard of Sheila Kohler but soon discovered that she is well-established writer of fiction, and this is her first memoir. It centres around her relationship with her older sister Maxine, and the devastation of Maxine's sudden… Continue reading Once We Were Sisters by Sheila Kohler (2017)
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Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada (1932)
As some regular readers may know, I absolutely love Hans Fallada's novel Alone in Berlin, and re-read it in 2017 (post here). For some reason this remained the only book of his I had read for some time. I bought a copy of Little Man, What Now? a while ago, I actually can't remember when,… Continue reading Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada (1932)
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Death in Spring by Mercè Rodoreda (1986)
I adored Rodoreda's novel A Broken Mirror (my review here) and so when I saw that Penguin had brought out a new edition of her novel Death in Spring, I had to get myself a copy. And what a beautiful cover! Ostensibly the novel tells the coming-of-age story of a teenage boy in a small… Continue reading Death in Spring by Mercè Rodoreda (1986)
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On Being Stuck
I am in a sort of reading quandry, and it's why I haven't posted in a while. If you've looked at my GoodReads recently (though honestly why would you) you'll see that I am 'currently reading' two books - something I never do. I started Simone de Beauvoir's Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter back at… Continue reading On Being Stuck
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By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart (1945)
This is one of those books that I had heard of vaguely and meant to read for ages - but for some reason didn't. Luckily my reading lists project is getting me to read more of these sorts of books. And so I finally ordered a copy of By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and… Continue reading By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart (1945)
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A Broken Mirror by Mercè Rodoreda (1962)
I came upon this book entirely by chance in Waterstone's - it was the cover that made me pick it up, and I am so, so glad I did. A Broken Mirror is described on the inside cover as "A haunting classic of modern Catalan literature from one of Spain's most prestigious writers", but honestly… Continue reading A Broken Mirror by Mercè Rodoreda (1962)
These Little Words 