Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths - Helen Morales

"The picture of classical antiquity most of us learned in school is
framed in certain ways -- glossing over misogyny while omitting the seeds of feminist resistance. Many of today's harmful practices, like school dress codes, exploitation of the environment, and rape culture, have their roots in the ancient world.

But in Antigone Rising, classicist Helen Morales reminds us that the myths have subversive power because they are told -- and read -- in different ways."

I thought this was going to be a scholarly classical reception volume: it's not. Instead it reads like a series of popular articles that have a link (sometimes tenuous) or spring from a classical phenomenon (not always a myth) which Morales uses as a foundation for writing about our own cultural flashpoints, principally around feminist resistance to patriarchy but which also attend to other inclusive issues around race, gender and sexuality.

The writing is frequently fierce (and rightly so) with flashes of ironic humour (the terrible danger to men of a naked collarbone!) and the whole thing is easily read in 1-2 hours. I'd say that if you're already familiar with Greek and Roman culture and classical myths then there might be a bit too much storytelling rather than analysis here, but that feels appropriate for a cross-over audience. While I was familiar with most of the connections between myths and popular culture and the myths themselves, being both a classicist and queer, it was still lovely to read an eloquent book about this subject which is very close to my heart. I would highly recommend this book to people that know little about either Greek and Roman Myth, culture, or modern feminist issues. 

Age Rating 16+. Mentions of rape and violence. 

Three Daughters of Eve - Elif Shafak

"Peri, a married, wealthy, beautiful Turkish woman, is on her way to
a dinner party at a seaside mansion in Istanbul when a beggar snatches her handbag. As she wrestles to get it back, a photograph falls to the ground--an old Polaroid of three young women and their university professor. A relic from a past--and a love--Peri had tried desperately to forget."

I have read Shafak's work before, more specifically her much acclaimed Bastard of Istanbul. However, while I was blown away of the Bastard of Istanbul's prose, I was left wanting when it came to plot. Three Daughters of Eve was far better in my personal opinion. This might be because the themes discussed, such as loneliness, religion and finding yourself stuck between cultures where far closer to my heart than the family estrangement depicted in Bastard of Istanbul. 

Three Daughters of Eve is a multi-layered novel that explores the feeling of being caught in between the tensions that plague the modern era - between traditionalism and modernity, between religiosity and secularism, between East and West - and the consequences of being ideologically unmoored in a polarized world. While Three Daughters of Eve succeeds in scaling down these lofty ideas into the ways they shape the everyday life of the protagonist, it also uses the rest of its characters as caricatures of these ideas, turning moments of potentially genuine connection into staged battlegrounds where the clash between dichotomies can play out. While this should have led to the characters feeling one dimensional and unrelatable, through Shafak's beautiful writing, I still related to them despite understanding what they represented on a textual level.  I enjoyed the novel for the author's skill in evoking time and place, and her depiction of the modern existential crisis that went beyond the individual and into society as a whole, while still being deeply personal. I truly related to Peri and her struggles in finding herself. 

I also adored Shafak's prose. She has a certain style that is both poetic and raw, never feeling overly florid. She cuts through human nature and it's condition in short sharp sentences, displaying a dizzying love for both Turkey and England. 

My only negative to this book is that I couldn’t help but feel that, in some places, there were build ups to scenes that were abruptly abandoned. I was also dissatisfied with the rather abrupt ending although I understood the point the author was trying to make. 

Age Rating 15+ Nothing untoward, though there is a mugging and attempted rape at the beginning. 

By Light Alone - Adam Roberts

"In a world where we have been genetically engineered so that we can
photosynthesise sunlight with our hair hunger is a thing of the past, food an indulgence. The poor grow their hair, the rich affect baldness and flaunt their wealth by still eating. But other hungers remain...

The young daughter of an affluent New York family is kidnapped. The ransom demands are refused. Years later a young women arrives at the family home claiming to be their long lost daughter. She has changed so much, she has lived on light, can anyone be sure that she has come home?"

I was drawn to this book initially by the very interesting premise. I am also willing to admit, here and now, that the cover totally sucked me in. An art deco sensibility is definitely the way to make me interested in starting your book.

The main idea is that science has produced a mechanism where people are able to gain all their energy from sunlight, thanks to a bug that makes their hair capable of photosynthesis. All they need to live is water and a few essential nutrients. A clever idea, certainly, but where Roberts triumphs is in exploring the many unexpected implications of this change. The absolute heart of what makes science fiction. 

One implication considered is that for the first time ever it's possible to have a group of people who have literary no money at all.(Besides slaves obviously.) A group of people that the wealthy can argue don't need to be paid in money. Making them not just poor, but literally penniless. Roberts also examines the possibilities for male/female distinctions (though I will be honest this sounded extremely far fetched), and how a small group of wealthy people might consider those who have the special hair to be a subspecies, and begin to conspicuously wear their hair short to emphasise their extreme wealth. 

Something I thought was clever on Roberts part is that he creates a world in which the wealthy and the poor both realistically portray their stereotypical attributes. The poor sit around all day doing nothing, lazy, sex obsessed, violent, contributing nothing. But for reasons that make sense in the world. The poor, because they are surviving on light alone, have no extra energy to do anything. They survive but are skeletal and easily drained, fighting for the one resource they still need. Water. 

The wealthy, on the other hand, are cut off from reality, selfish and wasteful. They literally make the labouring forces into skeletons and rob them of the ability, literally and metaphorically, to eat. 

The book is divided into four parts, each seen from a different (but linked) individual's point of view. At the heart of the book is the story of a privileged family whose daughter is taken from them on a skiing holiday. They assume initially she has been taken as a hostage, but the authorities gradually explain that something much darker is behind it.

The one fault I would say that the book has is that the forth segment, which is the longest, seen from the viewpoint of the captured daughter, is the least effective. It's partly because the environment she is in forces a slow, plodding development, with occasional dramatic outbreaks of violence and rape, but also because it just doesn't work quite as well as the other sections. I am not quite sure why this is. It's undeniably good, but the others are brilliant. Strangely I absolutely adored the Mother's Chapter. Roberts excels at creating a unique inner voice with each POV, something that many authors struggle with. The mother's internal monologue is so inherently selfish and manipulative. Full of privilege, victim complexes and entitlement. But she is blind to it. We as the readers, not only see her for what she is, but are also made to see the world through her warped eyes and are brough to understand how horrific people can genuinely believe themselves to be good people. Roberts makes use of much of today therapy/self help speech, parroting wealthy celebs self love talk making this character instantly recognisable and all the more horrifying. 

I would also like to point out how wonderful Roberts prose is. There aren't many sci-fi authors that employ such poetic and startlingly beautiful writing. Though it was rambling at points, it actually felt coherent in the world. A boredom in the parent's chapters as they ramble on with no real reason for existence due to their wealth, nothing to strive for. And a surrealist introspection caused by deep trauma in the daughter. 

Age Rating 18+. Violence, death, murder, rape, paedophilia, kidnapping, assault. 

She- Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen: British Women in India - Katie Hickman

"Women made their way to India for exactly the same reasons men did -
to carve out a better life for themselves. In the early days, India was a place where the slates of 'blotted pedigrees' were wiped clean; bankrupts given a chance to make good; a taste for adventure satisfied - for women. They went and worked as milliners, bakers, dress-makers, actresses, portrait painters, maids, shop-keepers, governesses, teachers, boarding house proprietors, midwives, nurses, missionaries, doctors, geologists, plant-collectors, writers, travellers, and - most surprising of all - traders.

As wives, courtesans and she-merchants, these tough adventuring women were every bit as intrepid as their men, the buccaneering sea captains and traders in whose wake they followed; their voyages to India were extraordinarily daring leaps into the unknown."

This was a good, comprehensive and enlightening history of British women in India. It allowed British women to speak for themselves through Primary sources about their life and experiences in India. 

Unfortunately, the sources by the English women are not complemented by any sort of meaningful discussion of Indian women. The British women said Indian women were stuck in zenanas and lived grand but highly claustrophobic lives, and that's all there was to it--Hickman takes this at face value, perhaps ignoring the rich literary and political traditions that women have sustained in the subcontinent. It seems as though we are encouraged to root for or sympathize with women who arrived in the subcontinent because they were daring and "different" from other British women at the time and were sometimes in great peril. In celebrating their accomplishments, Hickman steamrolls over very infuriating events during British colonization and offers no real commentary about their complicity in the whole endeavour. I saw some negative reviews that it didn’t include Indian voices, and it doesn’t at all. But despite my comments, it arguably isn’t what it set out to do. I think it is definitely skewed to favour the British as it hardly every explores how British racism and/or colonialism effected India, which can be somewhat unsavoury at times. However, it seemed well-researched but I am not informed enough about this subject to speak accurately on that front. 

I was appalled to read about the Siege of Lucknow and the Massacre of Cawnpore, things I had never even heard of. To hear about the events of these incidents from Primary Sources just increased my horror. 

One of my main irritation about this book is, that while it never suggested that it would explore Indian women's culture so I cant be too frustrated on that head, I was promised Merchants and Buccaneers. There are glancing mentions of Merchants and no Buccaneers. The huge majority of the women in this book, while having very interesting and illuminating life stories, fit firmly into the Gentlewomen category. I really wanted to explore a wider understanding of the lives these women lived. I could have had less lists of their clothing choices and more discussion of how unmarried ladies made a living? How did the working class ladies get by? What where the lives of the mixed race children? 

All round a very interesting and illuminating read that I thoroughly enjoyed, however explores a narrow demographic and doesn't try to weave these narratives into the larger story of Indian history. A good starting point but requires substantial further reading into Indian History, feminism, Indian gender politics and British Colonialism. 

Age Rating 17+ Some very distressing and graphic description of certain events. 

A Girl is a Half Formed Thing - Eimear McBride

"Eimear McBride's debut tells, with astonishing insight and in brutal
detail, the story of a young woman's relationship with her brother, and the long shadow cast by his childhood brain tumour. Not so much a stream of consciousness, as an unconscious railing against a life that makes little sense, and a shocking and intimate insight into the thoughts, feelings and chaotic sexuality of a vulnerable and isolated protagonist. To read A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing is to plunge inside its narrator's head, experiencing her world first-hand. This isn't always comfortable - but it is always a revelation."

I don't often review a book that I have stopped reading because I don't feel that I have a full view to accurately critic the piece of work, but I had to speak about this book. 

The content was something that I was truly interested in reading about and experiencing. A conflagration of pain, sexuality, abuse, trauma, religion and growing up. All themes right up my alley. I also appreciate authors experimenting with new styles of fiction, prose and testing the limits of literature. Without experimentation we cant progress. Despite what it might seem like in some other of my reviews, I appreciate every book that an author writes no matter how much I dislike it. Writing is difficult and we all have something unique to bring to the literary table. 

And this book is incredibly unique. So unique that I actually couldn't finish reading it due to the almost impossibility of comprehension. You either let this strange novel teach you how to read it, going right back to Primary School, and grow accustomed to its impressionistic voice, or you suffer through what feels like a migraine in print. I actually felt like I was having a stroke while reading this. I’m not convinced that pride of endurance is sufficient reward for completing. I might re try reading this book at some point as there where some paragraphs that where incredibly and poetically raw. McBride's epileptic prose style might actually be better suited to describing the depths of trauma then neatly constructed paragraphs. 

Age Rating 18+. Incredibly adult themes such as rape, incest, abuse, mental illness and more. 

Candide - Voltaire

"Candide is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that -- contrary to the teachings of his distinguished tutor Dr. Pangloss -- all is not always for the best."

I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when I picked up this book, with little understanding of Voltaire's philosophy or the plot of Candide. So you can imagine my surprise at the contents of this wonderful and horrifying little satire which might shape up to be one of my favourite books. 

Voltaire's novel introduces the reader to Candide, a wide-eyed, calm and amusingly bland young gentleman who resides at Castle Westphalia and who believes in the philosophy that "everything in the world is for the best." One of the first scenes is filled with two emotional opposites for Candide who first gets to kiss his love, Cunegonde behind a screen, only to then be kicked out of the castle, literally, by the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh.

Here begins Candide's incredible, fantastical adventure which takes him all over the globe with his mind always believing in "the folly of optimism". Moving on from being a soldier in the Bulgarian army to being shipwrecked, being involved with the aftermath of an earthquake, discovering then leaving the mythical El Dorado, to being robbed and swindled more times than seems fair - our hero has a lot of bad luck. One of the overarching issues of this narrative is to present that it isn't just Candide that bad things happen to and that the world is just pretty damn horrible. Tragic things happen to all our main characters including philosopher Dr. Pangloss, Candide's love Cunegonde, and a nice old lady who saved Candide from certain death. The tale is humorously and satirically presented in short, sharp chapters by Voltaire. Most descriptions of doom and degradation are presented in a highly comic fashion which not only serves to allow the reader to continue reading with less emotional scarring but also highlights the stupidity/horror of optimism and a "positive outlook" in these kinds of situations. Though somehow there where scenes that where just so horrific yet comically absurd that I couldn't help but laugh. 

The heartlessness, negativity, and cold-heartedness of humans is a frequent aura and undertone throughout. The novel features all sorts of nastiness such as rape, murder, torture, prostitution, robbery, and slavery among other nastiness and nonsense. 

The whole cast is, strangely, relatable and likable with each being a symbolic caricature of some aspect of ourselves. Some of the times they meet up with friends spontaneously all over the world is amazingly far fetched and draw attention to the satirical character of the story, allowing the characters to compare experiences, hardships, and evolving outlooks. Two of the main characters are the optimistic philosopher Dr. Pangloss and ultimately pessimistic scholar and travel companion of Candide's, Martin. The juxtaposition here is very interesting, with a "black and white"  of these two view points.

I loved the way that the book ends. I wont spoil it too much, but it was just perfect. The group of lost souls finding a unity in tending and being surrounded by nature and enjoying their own creative hobbies. The difference of outlook being forgotten in the coming together to live as good a life as they are going to get. The ending was surprisingly hopeful, at least to me, for such a horrifying story. You will not be able to avoid suffering as it is a part of life and complete optimism is a stupid outlook with so much pain in the world, however you can still find a life where you can, if not overcome you trauma, at least live with it. 

The story reminded me somewhat of the Journey of Buddha before he becomes the Buddha where the naïve and sheltered Indian Prince first ventures out and encounters all of the suffering in the world. I don't know whether this was intentional on Voltaire's part but it was an interesting thing to note. 

Age Rating 18+. As stated above this book contains every level of awfulness possible and doesn't shy away from it. 

Sorcery of Thorns - Margaret Rogerson

"All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has
known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them."

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun and aesthetically unique fantasy romp. The characters, while not unique in their archetypes, where funny, relatable and loveable. Rogerson's dialogue between protagonists is witty and suitably banter-y. Nathaniel Thorn was easily my favourite character being wonderfully sarcastic and also bisexual. Yay representation! Rogerson's writing is also brilliant. Her rendering of scenes left me breathless with detailed images in my mind that I would want to paint if I had any artistic skill. Small interactions deepen characterisation and there are many imminently quotable passages, with much of Silas's dialogue being truly terrifying.  

Plot wise, it was predictable, which is not exactly a bad thing and there were enough plot twists to keep me engaged. The concept of this book was astonishing, the world building was interesting and truly the selling point. The atmosphere of the Libraries, the steampunk world, the statues coming to life, ladies with swords down their dress, demon footmen. Just impeccable. All of it was just excellent. 

However what let me down was that some plot elements just weren't explained, or explained really really badly. I mean the reason that the books listen to Elisabeth, the big reveal...is because she grew up in a Library. That's it. All the previously murderous books suddenly treating her like she is a beloved niece...is because she grew up in a Library...I am sorry but what! That is such a boring and lazy reason and it really felt like Rogerson didn't really know what to say. 

I appreciated the unique concept and world that she tried to convey. I was aware of her intentions and inspiration with the whimsical world building, snarky love interest, secretly soft demon, etc. Unfortunately there was no romantic chemistry between the couple at all, (they felt like siblings to me), and the villain is one-dimensional and moustache-twirling. There are definite merits to this book and I appreciate the effort to create a unique type of fantasy story, and while it wont win any awards, it was fun and enjoyable. 

Age Rating 14+ Nothing untoward. Some low level fantasy violence and kissing. 

Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

"The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning
the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld."

This is my first book by Moreno - Garcia. I have heard a lot about her work, especially as I am some one who enjoys the rather nebulous category of magic realism. I must say that I enjoyed the way that Moreno - Garcia writes, with some truly wonderful descriptions and prose, however I found the characterisation and plot deeply lacking. 

Gods of Jade and Shadow had a great beginning. Martin, Casiopea, and her grandfather were all initially well depicted, and then I just wanted to go to sleep. It began to get tedious VERY early on in the story, and I was bored before she even introduced Hun-Kame, the Mayan God of Death. He brought about some respite from the slow movement, but not for long. The jazz era twist was a great idea but it leant nothing really to the story, it didn't further the plot or the conflict in Casiopea. 

I wanted so much more from this. I wanted to know more about the culture, the magic, folklore, stories of the Mayan culture. I wanted to explore the social dynamics of 1920's Mexico. What was it like? What was it like to be indigenous? Did some people keep their old religion or had it been completely lost to Catholicism? How did the flapper movement seem to a highly religious people? It wasn't a horrible book, but it definitely do justice to the wealth of Mayan or Mexican culture. 

I understand why many people think that this is a YA rather than an Adult book as it certainly reads like a YA, with the plot skimming over much of the deeper themes that I was expecting. I was hoping/ expecting the book to explore the conflict between Cassiopeia's identities and religion. I wish this had been further explored, more of Casiopea questioning her upbringing and the Catholic way of doing things when confronted with a Pagan god. How would their moral be similar or different? I wanted Casiopea to have more conflict around her mixed identity and come to realise how beautiful her indigenous heritage is through her interactions with Hun - Kame. However none of this is ever explored leaving the characters feeling flat and the plot had no emotional stakes whatsoever. I couldn't care for these characters or become invested in their journey. 

However all that said, I would give Moreno-Garcia's work another go as I enjoyed her writing style.

Age Rating 15+. Some light familial bullying.