The shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019 features six books, two of which are oddly similar retellings of stories from Greek mythology, each with a feminist edge to it. Madeline Miller’s Circe reworks the little-know story of Circe, an equally little-known goddess-turned-witch. It’s a biopic narrative with a love affair thrown in. Pat Barker’s …
European Literature
We are often told the right ways to love and be loved: what our expectations of love should be and how we ourselves should behave in love. We can predict a good marriage, and should expect one, too. We know what a friend should rightly be called on to do in the name of trust …
As a reader, I’ve been harbouring an impatient lust for some quality contemporary writing which captures the gothic legacy of Mary Shelley, Emily Brontë, Bram Stoker et al. A few have come along recently and entertained well enough – writers such as Jessie Burton and Sarah Perry – but their hype, in my opinion, far …
Translated from the French by Euan Cameron ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ is a metaphor. It’s about humanity; it’s not really about books. This is important because we do judge books by their cover art, and their titles, and their fonts. The Office of Gardens and Ponds has the most beautiful cover I’ve …
There are two disparate aspects to The Goose Fritz: its story and its execution. In its story – one which lays on thick a generous helping of thoughtful themes concerning family history, unfinished cycles, and political upheaval – The Gooze Fritz is an undeniable victory. Its execution, however, is awkward, poorly paced, shallow, rambling, and …
It can be a tall order to expect, or even demand, of someone respect for the past. For example, telling a modern-day British woman that she must vote, must understand parliamentary procedure, must make her voice heard, because her foremothers fought and died for the right to vote a century ago is a rough task. …
Known as Valerie: A Novel in the US, The Faculty of Dreams is an honest-via-the-absurd tale of the woman famous for shooting Andy Warhol tells us her life story, illuminating the sad road walked by a human being who was so much more – and so much less – than a would-be killer. A Play …
The most extraordinary thing about Lanny is just how ordinary it is, even as it presents us with the story of a folk creature made of moss and dirt coming to life and hunting down a young child. In his debut novel, Grief is the Thing with Feathers, Max Porter immediately and quite incredibly cemented …
Fairy Tales selected and introduced by Cornelia Funke When you stop to consider it, it’s frightening how many things set in at a young age. Gender roles is a scary one. Manners and etiquette are arguably a positive one, though they can be restricting. Stop and think a little longer and you’ll start to consider …