Hey friends,
How’s everyone doing?
I started a new job this month that’s 3 days a week so I’m absolutely loving this spare time for fun activities (or mainly just hanging out with Vern). Let me know anything that’s on this summer that’s worth seeing - there’s a Giacometti exhibition at the Barbican that’s currently top of my list.
One book that I read this month has left me feeling quite conflicted. There There by Tommy Orange is heralded as a modern classic and seems to be an author favourite, so I was very excited to finally read it. It depicts what life looks like for urban Native American communities, following twelve characters as they gear up for the Big Oakland Powwow. I found it tried hard to do too many things, and even for me the unrelenting bleakness and repetitive storylines made me glad to finish it. I SO wanted to love this book but just didn’t - would love to know if any of you have read it!
Thanks for all of the poetry recs - I’ll report back. Would love any suggestions for easy summer reads if you’ve got em!
Lots of love,
Izz
Books
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
This was my choice for book club and I really enjoyed it (definitely an easier read that Go Tell It on the Mountain). I’m really fascinated by the context of him writing this book - it was shunned by most publishers who only wanted ‘another black novel’, not a story about an intense love affair between two men - David and Giovanni - that critiques a society built on wealth, inequality and shame. If you haven’t read any James Baldwin I’d say this is a good place to start!
Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
A quiet but moving novel set in County Mayo, where Dev - a young man who lives an isolated and introverted existence - is wrapped up in a plot by his cousins - the henchmen for the local drug dealer - to recoup an unpaid debt. The characters feel incredibly real, in large part to exceptionally written dialogue. Definitely worth a read.
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
This is one of my favourite books I’ve read so far this year! I read Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood last year and really enjoyed it so wanted to give her Booker Winner a go. It’s one of those books that leaves you wondering how someone even began writing it let alone managed to make 800+ pages with 20 odd characters feel like a breeze. The book begins with Walter Moody’s arrival in Hokitika, New Zealand, in search of the fortune promised by the 1860s gold rush. But the beginning of his new life stalls when he stumbles upon a secret council of twelve men who are trying to piece together a puzzle of scams, blackmail and murder that implicates them all.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Hamnet is another very readable novel from Maggie O’Farrell. I found it slightly less compelling than The Marriage Portrait, just because there’s less plot driving it forward, but it was a lovely read. Will definitely be watching the adaptation with Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley.
TV
The Four Seasons, Netflix
The new Tina Fay show has a brilliant cast (Fey, Steve Carrell, Colman Domingo) and is easy, light watching. Love a 25 minute episode!
Films
The Prestige (free on Prime!)
Hard recommend if you haven’t watched. A classic Christopher Nolan mystery thriller with a top tier cast to boot (not withstanding Scarlett Johansson’s terrible English accent.)
Aaaaand some Vern pics for those of you who made it this far xx
