Like with most stories that start with a twenty-something London-based office worker navigating the breakdown of a long-term relationship, your mind settles in for a harmless piece of Chick-Lit. And then Caroline O’Donoghue’s Promising Young Womenknocks you off-centre by turning into something else entirely.
The praise on the book’s sleeve repeatedly uses the word “gothic.” Thanks to a module I did in my final year at Swansea (brilliantly named Uncanny places and cyberspaces: Gender and the fantastic) I’m well aware that gothic tropes aren’t limited to stories set in haunted houses in the nineteenth century, but even so Promising Young Womendoes something totally refreshing with ideas of uncanniness. It’s a novel that proves how relevant gothic images, like starving women fading away, mirrors, periods and other bodily fluids, continue to be relevant and effective at portraying contemporary crises.
“I don’t have a boyfriend or a fabulous career, and I think she’d like some better adjectives to describe me to her friends with.” – Promising Young Women
At first, the book doesn’t have the most groundbreaking plot you’ve ever heard of (woman’s anonymous blog seeps into her real life) but O’Donoghue gradually gets under your skin as she tells Jane’s story. A story that while almost fantastical is likely to be relatable and understandable for any young working woman.
The darkness and depth of this book creep up on you and by the time you’ve realised, you can’t put it down. Dealing with power imbalances (professional and romantic), mental illness and the false security of the Internet’s anonymity, this debut novel makes O’Donoghue one to watch.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I like a lot of things about Amazon. It’s fast, generally reliable and it almost always has what I’m looking for. What I don’t like is that it means I never physically buy books in shops, especially independent ones. So for 2018, you might remember, I set a resolution to buy books from anywhere but Amazon and Waterstones – as a sort of cooperate-book-buying detox, you could say, a chance to broaden my book-buying horizons. This blog is something of a resolution update, where I’ll share where I’ve been buying books instead.
Buying Online
So despite the whole wanting to go out into, god forbid, real-life stores thing, there’s only one independent bookseller in my town and it’s for kids. While I tend to be in London at least once a week, I don’t always have time to explore the bookish stores around me so I needed to find at least one online alternative. A preliminary Google sent me to Wordery and Hive, both of which I have tried.
Hive is cool because it makes a donation to an independent bookseller near you when you order something. For me this is great because I don’t have any reason to visit the children’s bookstore in town. With Hive I get to support a local store even though I won’t necessarily being shopping there. My issue with Hive is that more often than not, it doesn’t actually have what I’m looking for, be that new or old releases. It does, however, sell DVDs. So while it hasn’t become my online bookshop of choice, my DVD collection has continued to flourish despite my Amazon ban.
When it comes to WorderyI am yet to find fault with it. The books are no more expensive than Amazon (often cheaper), their stock is amazing and their delivery is free and fast. What’s more, every order comes with a complimentary bookmark – that’s me sold. Given that it doesn’t sell everything else in the world like Amazon does, it’s impossible to fall down a random crap shopping spree, so it’s just books at good prices delivered fast – what’s not to love? I’ve also started trying to make a dent in the preliminary reading for my masters course and when it comes to academic books that I can’t get in the library or second hand, Wordery has had the best prices so far.
Update July 2018: I now have an affiliate link for Wordery, so if you’re buying books there please use this link when making your way to the site!
Buying In-store
As mentioned I’m not exactly spoilt for choice when it comes to local bookshops in my town, so boycotting Waterstones has been much harder than avoiding Amazon – not that I’ve given up! When in London I am spoilt for choice with independent, or at least alternative, booksellers. I have a list of shops I want to visit that I’m slowly making my way through but here’s where I’ve been so far.
Burley Fisher Books is a shop I stumbled into for a book launch and found it rich in all my favourite authors as well as more quirky and unusual books that I might not have otherwise found. I was there for the launch of Tigerish Waters, and you know how I feel about that one! It’s up near Haggerston and Dalston which isn’t super easy for me to get to, but when work takes me in that direction again I’ll be sure to have a browse.
Persephone Booksis a publisher and bookseller near Holborn that reprints and sells otherwise forgotten fiction and non-fiction by (mostly) women writers from the mid-twentieth century in gorgeous grey editions. They’re not exactly cheap but they run a deal for multi-buys and it’s a really special way to collect and explore forgotten treasures of women’s literature.
I’m still searching for an independent bookstore that crosses my regular path and has a mix of new finds and popular books I’m likely to be looking for. The stores I plan on hitting next include the London Review Bookshop (which apparently has cake!) and the Big Green Bookshop (always excellent on Twitter).
When it comes to older and classic books I’ve been going to charity shops, of which there are an abundance of here. When I’m near Southbank I like to have a peruse at the book stalls under Waterloo Bridge, which will be in walking distance from my university next year… I smell trouble.
I also visited Foyles for the first time, which I know is hardly independent but it was different at least. I deliberately headed for the Tottenham Court Road store because it has a Grant and Cutler concession – a foreign language bookstore. Speaking of…
Buying Foreign Language Books
My visit to theGrant and Cutlerpart of Foyles was good. It had what I needed and so much more, but it was pricey as hell. This has been my general experience of buying French books without Amazon.fr so far – expensive.
A magical place!
I mentioned months ago that I was having issues locating a specific edition of the French Potter books, even on French Amazon. I eventually found a solution by ordering online from a South Kensington based store called Librairie La Page. The whole delivery process ended up getting a bit muddled and the online store was a little pricey so I wasn’t feeling too hot on this one, until… Last week I happened to be in the area and made my way to the store in search of an Emile Zola book. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting to be greeted in French, but when I was I immediately knew Librairie La Page was a gooden. For five minutes I got to nose around French books, ask for help in French and overhear conversations in French – in West London! I can’t say I’m in West London very often but I will happily go out of my way to immerse myself in a little French culture from time to time. The store hosts readings and talks by Francophone authors, which I hope to attend soon. Definitely worth some time on the circle line and a couple of extra quid.
Please let me know about any other indie bookstores you think I should check out, it’s been a lot of fun discovering new places so far but I feel like I’m only just dipping my toes in the water.
fictitiouslyhilary.com 