Evening Reads

My Dark Vanessa (2020) isn't a relaxing, 'poolside' read. It's a read that is uncomfortable and rightly so. The book is centred around fifteen year old Vanessa who is abused and groomed by her forty-two year old teacher. The book covers the period during the abuse and the consequence of this in Vanessa's adult life. It's a hard book to review, because it's a fictional piece of work about a victim of abuse and who's to say how it should be written or portrayed. First of all, the book is really interesting and eye opening. Especially as it's written from Vanessa's perspective, who is a direct victim of abuse. This can lead to some of the graphic scenes of abuse feeling somewhat romanticised. However, I can justify it as it's written from Vanessa's perspective, who doesn't believe she is being abused and views her relationship exactly as it's written. Another thing I will say is that the book, in my opinion, is too long. I real...

The Hype around this book is real! So many people have this as one of their favourite books of all time and as was one of the most beautifully, heartbreaking books they had ever read. Where The Crawdads Sing (2018) is centred around 'Marsh Girl' Kya, who was abandoned by her family and the entire town that surrounds her. Kya finds comfort and friendship in mother nature, but when the town's 'golden boy' is found dead, Kya becomes prime suspect. The story covers decades of Kya's life, so it's safe to say I was truly invested in this book. This book really touched me on a level a book never has. The lyrical, melodic prose were a joy to read and I devoured every word of this book. I started crying over seagulls at one point.... yes seagulls...and no I'm not lying. I truly felt like I was in the book, a feeling I have only ever felt a handful of times, but it was as if I could feel the sand and the wind of the Marsh. The writing is beautifully breatht...

Three Women (2019) may have been one of the most anticipated books of 2019 (and yes I am only reading it now... in 2020). Taddeo spent eight years tracking the three women who are the focus of the book; Maggie, Sloane and Lina and the risks they take to fulfil their sexual desires. Each of the women go through different sexual experiences; Maggie has an inappropriate relationship with her teacher, Sloane's husband watches her with other men and Lina's husband refuses to touch her. The book is a very raw and real account of passion and desire. I'm not going to lie this book took me a while to get into. This was mostly due to the fact that although the book is non-fiction, it's written in a really strange fictional, novelised way. I imagined it to be almost a report, or written like a study, but the language is more like something you would see in Fifty Shades Of Grey. The book is written in third person, which feels really strange when the issues amongst the wome...

As the days and weeks have been merging into one, I went on a bit of a mad one and bought some books I would never normally read. The first being David Sedaris' Calypso. I've seen reviews stating this was the funniest book people had ever read and others saying it wasn't their cup of tea and was too self indulgent. Honestly, Calypso (2018) was one of the funniest books I've ever read. I laughed, I cried and the book is a perfect mix of humour and sincerity. This really is one of those books that sits on a shelf all on its own. It's a genre of its own. Sedaris has a unique way of commenting on subject matters that vary from everyday life to dark and troubling. Yet something about the way the book is written and constructed makes me feel as though I were talking to a friend over coffee. My favourite chapter by far was 'Your English Is So Good', I literally belly laughed so much while I was reading this! I haven't read any more of Sedaris' work ...

I was so scared to read The Testaments when it first came out, simply because of how much I loved the previous book, The Handmaid's Tale . I was terrified it wouldn't live up to the hype and I would be left with nothing but a 'don't meet your idols' kind of feeling. Anyway the time came and I finally decided to read it! The Testaments (2019) by Margaret Atwood, picks up fifteen years after the infamous ending of the first book The Handmaid's Tale (1985). It is ultimately 'the testaments' of three women and their experience in patriachal Gilead, with chapters alternating between the three narrators. The story really enticed me and gave me every inch of information I wanted to know after the first book. It really drew me in and I had that feeling of 'needing' to finish it and know what happened. The tone and narrative of The Testaments, differs so intensely from The Handmaid's Tale, primarily due to the fact two of the narratives are fro...

Now we're all in lockdown, I decided to make a serious effort to read those forgotten books that have lived next to my bed for a good few months (more like a year) and first on my list was The Haunting of Hill House (1959)  by Shirley Jackson.  I didn't really know what to expect when I bought this book. I'd read Jackson's We have always lived in the Castle and the book was a rollercoaster of twists and turns so I didn't really expect a traditional 'haunted house' story and the book  definitely fulfilled my expectations. The book is ultimately centred around Dr Montague, who decides to investigate Hill House for potential spiritual activity with the aid of three others; Eleanor, Theodora and Luke. The predictability of a typical 'haunted house' book comes in the night with the ghosts and phantom arms that aren't really there. But, the unexpected nature of this book is the psychological road it takes you down.  The psychological el...