Time for the monthly reading report. . . .
October followed September's great reading with another felicitous stack of books. From my 2020 Reading Journal, these entries:
- Brit Bennet's The Mothers (literary fiction; coming-of-age; Black writer)
- Alessandro Baricco's Senza Sangue (Italian literature; literary fiction)
- Ann Cleeves' The Crow Trap (mystery)
- Ann Cleeves' Telling Tales (mystery)
- Magda Szabo's Iza's Ballad (literary fiction; mother-daughter; old age; trans. from Hungarian)
- Marc E. Agronin's The End of Old Age (creative non-fiction; self-help; pscyhology; aging)
- John Farrow's Ball Park (mystery; Canadian -- set in Montreal)
- Kwame Onwuachi's Notes from a Young Black Chef (memoir; Black writer; restaurant culture; anti-racist; food-writing)
First book of the month, #61 in my journal, was Brit Bennet's The Mothers (which I read as an e-book from the Vancouver Public Library). I recommended Bennet's more recent The Vanishing Half in my September post. I enjoyed The Mothers as well -- was particularly intrigued by the narrative voice, something like a Greek chorus watching from the wings, with a perspective that struck me as both invested and yet somewhat detached. (My niece, who reads prolifically and posts about it at Pages and Pinots, liked this even more than she liked The Vanishing Half -- see her post about it here.)
Above, and continued below, the entry for Book #62 of the year, the first Italian book I've finished -- Brava Per Me!Entries #63 and #64. . . Yes! I finally read Ann Cleeves, and I have no idea why I didn't get here sooner. Early October, a day when I was very reluctantly acknowledging the end of summer, and wanted only to curl up on the couch with a good thick mystery, consolation for a wet grey world just out the window. And Vera Stanhope obliged. . . The Crow Trap was the perfect antidote to my mood, so much so that I followed up with the second title in this series, Telling Tales.
Bibliophile's comment: Having a print copy of the book (paperback, borrowed from the library) made my tea-drinking, couch-reading even more satisfying that first day. But I also very much appreciated being able to download an e-copy of the series's second title the very next day. Choices! Gotta love 'em!
(My Instagram post about The Crow Trap here
Entry #65 Magda Szabo's disturbing, poignant, thoughtful novel Iza's Ballad, translated by George Szirtes.
Someday I'll write a bit about the various paths that lead me to the books I read. . . or bring them to my door. I'd never heard of Magda Szabo until an interesting woman I've only met on my Zoom screen (in my Italian class) told me about it in one of our "breakout room" chats. Her enthusiasm prompted me to reserve Iza's Ballad at the library. . . From the few reviews I've looked at since reading this novel (here's a good compilation), I think I might have been better to read Szabo's much earlier work, The Door. And I will, someday, but meanwhile I'm pleased to have been introduced to Szabo's writing.
Have you read either? So much that is compelling and resonant in Iza's Ballad-- set in the urbanizing, modernizing Hungary of post World-II --about a mother and daughter, both trying to do their best to care for the other after the elderly woman is widowed. They miss the mark grievously; sometimes love is not enough. (As a residual effect of my teaching years, I often catch myself dreaming up syllabi for possible courses. For example, I might imagine a reading list for a course that explored construction and representation of the mother-daughter relationship; in such a course, I might pair Iza's Ballad with Kyung-Sook Shin's Please Look After Mother (which I mentioned in my May post) as two novels that look at the relationship of an adult daughter with an aging mother.
Entry 66: Marc E. Agronin's The End of Old Age which I've photographed with Iza's Ballad because they both treat aging, albeit from different perspectives and via different genres.
Entry #67 is another thriller/mystery novel, John Farrow's Ball Park, one of three "prequel" additions to the Èmile Cinq-Mars' series I like so much (character, setting, fine writing, insightful observations about hermeneutics and morality and epistemology as these are manifest in detective work). I wrote a fairly long post here about his earlier book, The Storm Murders. Ball Park is shorter and lighter than my favourites in the series -- nor does it feature a protagonist my age, part of the appeal with the earlier novels. I'm happy to have it, nonetheless -- it's interesting to watch Cinq-Mars in his youth, knowing who he will become -- and I'm looking forward to reading the remaining two prequels.
And then the final book in my October reading . . . .
Some great recipes included in the book as well, and I think it would make a good gift for any of the cooks and gourmands on your list. . .
But right now, the cook in my life is just plating the chicken cacciatore -- the fragrance of which has been growing increasingly intense as I've been finishing this post. And my tummy is growling too loudly for me to write any more. I'll be back before too long, though, to discover what you've been reading. With the increased confinement of this Coronavirus winter, all your recommendations will be welcome to the community of readers who gather here occasionally. Comments below open and waiting for you. Thanks!