Category: Reading

  • Favourite Reads of 2018 So Far

    Favourite Reads of 2018 So Far

    Somehow, we’re already over half-way through 2018 and as the summer holidays approach I’ve had lots of people asking me what books they should read on holiday. So for this blog, I thought I’d try and pick my five favourite books from the first half of 2018, whether or not you fancy reading them on holiday is up to you.

    Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi

    Let’s start with one I actually read on holiday, shall we? My general rule is that if a book is recommended to me by two or more people in a short space of time then I should ignore the pile of unread books next to my bed and read it immediately. As was the case with this beautiful book. Homegoing traces two parallel family trees through every generation from the colonised Gold Coast to twenty-first century Mississippi. The stories in this book intertwine seamlessly, to reveal how slavery and colonialism leave indelible traces. So much happens in so many different places (in the world and in time) and yet every character in Gyasi’s book is fully formed and deeply complicated. Homegoing is a really special book.

    There’s also lots of interesting period commentary in this book if you’re here for the #Periodically blogs.

    The Cows – Dawn O’Porter

    I’ve talked about this book a lot since I read it in January, so why would I stop now? Everyone I’ve recommened The Cows to so far has loved it and it always kickstarts some really interesting conversations about motherhood, womanhood and, for want of a better word, unmotherhood. The book has a twist that literally dropped my jaw – I’ve had texts of shock as each of my friends have reached this page. Want to know what the twist is? Well, you’ll have to read it.

    Read my full review of The Cows here.

    Chanson Douce – Leïla Slimani

    In English this book is called Lullaby – you’ve probably heard of it as it’s been all over the place with headlines like, “The Killer-Nanny Novel that Conquered France.” It’s such an unusual, gripping and dark book. Thrillers are not usually my cup of tea, but I might have to reconsider that after Chanson Douce. The social, political and moral issues it explores give this book a real edge. This was one of the first contemporary French novels I’ve read and now I must read more. 

    Hag-Seed – Margaret Atwood

    This half-play half-novel is a retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and is Atwood like you’ve never read her before. Set in a Canadian prison, this contemporary retelling uses Shakespeare’s themes and Atwood’s skill to create something brand new and brilliant.

    Read my full review of Hag-Seed here.

    Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge

    If you’re looking to swatt up on BME history in the UK this book is a great place to start. Eddo-Lodge’s voice is so refreshing and hard-hitting, informed yet digestible that it creates something truly unique. Her chapter on White Feminism was particularly poignant to me, as well as her discussion about how it’s no longer enough to simply just not be racist. I loved it so much that I then binged her podcast About Race, which I also recommend.

     Like the sound of these books? Buy them now from Wordery.

  • My 5 Favourite Potter en Français Translations – PART 4

    My 5 Favourite Potter en Français Translations – PART 4

    As you probably know by now, I recently read the Potter books one through seven for the first time in years and it’s been a ride — even more so than normal because this time I’ve done it in French. I’ve loved sharing my favourite translations on Fictitiously Hilary and I’m sad to say that this is the last blog I’ll be adding to the collection. Catch up with the others by clicking here:

    Part One     Part Two     Part Three

    Here are my final favourite French Harry Potter translations, taken from across the seven books.

    Image result for quidditch gif

    Le Quidditch

    The title of everyone’s favourite wizarding sport remains the same in French, but the same can’t be said for the rest of the game’s elements. The players’ roles are directly translated as chasers become “poursuiveurs,” beaters become “batteurs” and the seeker becomes “l’attrapeur.” I can’t for the life of me figure out the logic behind the Quaffle translation, which becomes “Souafle” – I guess both words are kind of onomatopoeic in their respective languages? Bludgers become “Cognards,” which comes from the French verb cogner, meaning to bang, knock or strike — figures. The Golden Snitch, rather magically, becomes “le Vif d’or” – or meaning gold, while vif is an adjective that can mean anything from vivacious, keen, sharp, quick, strong or bright – I’d say the Snitch is all those things…

    Transplanage & Désartibulement 

    Apparating and splinching become more relevant in the final two Potter books and I was interested to see how they’d be translated. Translator Jean-François Ménard goes for are “transplanage” (noun) and “transplaner” (verb) for apparating, and “désartibulement” for splinching. Transplanage presumably makes sense in terms of the word “transplant” but I really can’t put my finger on the translation of splinching. It obviously doesn’t mean too much in English, which doesn’t help me understand the translation. It’s really bugging me, so any French readers, please let me know if/why it makes sense!

    Image result for hedwig gifs

    “Un hibou huhula…”

    In part two, I talked about how much fun I think it is to discover onomatopoeias in other languages, and in Deathly Hallows (or les reliques de la mort in French) I found another corker. As Harry and Hermione are recovering in the Forest of Dean, Harry hears an owl, except in French, it’s “un hibou hulula.” “Hululer,” I then confirmed is the French for to hoot, but since you pronounce it “hoo-hoo-ler” (but with the almost non-existent French ‘h’) you literally have to make the “hoo-hoo” sound owls make. Magic! Much better than our old “twit-twoo!”

    Image result for mudblood gif

    Sang-de-Bourbe & Moldus

    Onto a slightly more unpleasant translation now, one that became more and more present in the final books — Mudblood. In French, this derogatory slang for a Muggle-born wizard becomes “Sang-de-Bourbe” — which reads more as “Sludgeblood,” but it certainly does the job. Come to think of it, I never talked about the translation of Muggles, I think it’s slightly nastier in French, it’s “Moldus.” My English mind immediately goes to mouldy, but in French “molle” means soft, weak or floppy, so it’s nicer than it sounds, just.

    Le plus grand bien 

    The deep philosophical “greater good” issues in Harry Potter have always been ruined for me because I immediately think of Hot Fuzz, but I was interested to see how it would be translated. Turns out, very, very literally! I thought French grammar might overcomplicate it, but it is simply translated to “le plus grand bien” —  word-for-word that’s “the more big good” – that’ll do it!

    Related image

    Thank you so much for reading these blogs! They’re not exactly examples of hard-hitting journalism but they’ve been so much fun to write. And that’s on top of the fact that reading the books in French has been incredibly rewarding and a great way to keep my French up since graduation. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much as I’ve loved writing them.

    Merci beaucoup, onto the next French/magic/literary adventure! 

    Image result for harry ron hermione gif

  • Review: It’s Only Blood – Anna Dahlqvist #Periodically 25

    Review: It’s Only Blood – Anna Dahlqvist #Periodically 25

    Last week I attended the launch of gender, sexuality and human rights journalist Anna Dahlqvist’s book It’s Only Blood: Shattering the Taboo of Menstruation. The conversations on the night, between Dahlqvist, the founder of Bloody Good Period Gabby Edlin and the audience were interesting enough, but the book itself stands out as an enlightened piece of writing about the profound impact that period taboos, period poverty and poor menstrual hygiene have on menstruators’ lives.

    The book was originally published in Swedish and has been translated into English by literary translator Alice E. Olsson. Olsson was at the launch and discussed the fun (and struggle) of translating some of the menstrual colloquialisms.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BjJ2uqLFo_-/?taken-by=baraliteblod

    It’s Only Blood is not a list of historical period myths, instead it’s a contemporary assessment of how reinforced menstrual shame continues to cause harm on a monumental scale. “Even though shame and silence are experiences shared by menstruators all over the world, the consequences become far more serious when an additional dimension is introduced: poverty,” Dahlqvist writes.

    The testimonies, many from school girls and activists from Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh, India, America and Sweden, are combined with Dahlqvist’s research of UN legislation to highlight the fact that inaction when it comes to menstrual hygiene, education and resources means that many human rights are being violated, and yet, there’s a distinct lack of retaliation by politicians. The book is also coloured with Dahlqvist’s personal anecdotes and descriptions, which makes this serious book palatable – it’s rare to get a non-fiction book that you can’t put down.

    “Power over the period is a necessity, a precondition for participation in public life,” Dahlqvist writes, in reference to the serious social and educational issues poor menstrual hygiene can bring about. When school girls don’t have access to running water or locking doors, their options are rather bleak. If they bleed in public they’ll experience immense shame (the weight of which is only heavier when menstrual myths maintain that seeing or touching menstrual blood is bad luck), returning home to secretly clean and change a cloth at lunchtime, avoiding school entirely or hoping, at risk of infection, that one cloth or pad can survive a whole school day. Unsurprisingly, this has a profound and direct impact on their education. The book also explores how, contrary to popular opinion, these problems don’t go away as menstruators leave school.

    One particularly interesting part of It’s Only Blood is the connection Dahlqvist draws attention to between infections, like UTIs and Bacterial Vaginosis, which can be caused by poor menstrual hygiene, with HIV and HPV (leading to Cervical Cancer). Society, including period product providers, encourages menstruators to aspire to be clean and fresh while simultaneously not letting anyone around them know that they are bleeding. With all this shame and secrecy, it’s no surprise then that students in Malawi dry their menstrual protection under their mattresses or that in Bangladesh, one women hides her cloths in the roof, rather than drying them in sterilising sunlight. It’s a public health issue, why aren’t we treating it as such?

    Not only is Dahlqvist’s book intersectional in the stories that it tells, it also covers the intersections of menstrual hygiene with poverty, politics, commercial business and cultural and social stigmas. If you’re already active in combatting period poverty It’s Only Blood will spur you on and if you’re new to the discussion, the book will motivate you to join the ranks. Activists’ stories of feats large and small show how desperately change is needed, but also how in some cases, how little it takes to dramatically improve things.

    It’s Only Blood perfectly showcases how menstrual shame causes problems for everyone and why shattering the taboos will undoubtedly improve individuals’ lives and society in broader terms.

    Buy It’s Only Blood from Wordery by clicking here.