My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

RATING: ★★★★★

Hello everyone,

if you are still on this blog, you need some kind of award for sticking with me while not updating. It’s been over a year and it’s truly been the most crazy year of my life.

However, I missed book blogging and I’ve had some great ideas for new things to do with this blog. All will be revealed in due time, but I decided that there is no better way to get back into than by reading some of the books on the Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist. Throughout my two years of barely posting, I’ve kept reading and now I want to share my thoughts with you again!

Today, the winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019 will be revealed, so it seemed like the perfect time to discuss my favourite of the shortlisted novels with you! So lets delve right in with My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

My Sister, the Serial Killer is the story of Korede and Ayoola. They are sisters (as revealed in the title) and the novel starts with Ayoola calling Korede to help her get rid of her dead boyfriend’s body. This is the third time Ayoola has called a boyfriend and that Korede has been summoned to help. When Ayoola starts dating the guy that Korede has a crush on, Korede gets confused about where her allegiance lays and struggles with trying to prevent her sister from killing her crush.

When I heard about this novel from the Women’s Prize longlist, I immediately bought it and finished it all within the same day. Literary awards are great opportunities for people to get to know new books and I loved that this was a book that I had never heard of, yet that seemed so perfect for me.

Korede is our narrator and I connected to her right away. She’s incredibly loyal to her sister, but also wants to protect the man she loves. Her voice is unique and I could truly connect with her, even though she is far from perfect. Ayoola has a great arc, from a character that you can’t really understand - because Korede doesn’t understand her - to someone you can also connect with, but again she keeps her flaws. I enjoyed how this isn’t a redemption story, but just an investigation into two sisters with very different personalities that somehow have to connect due to their biological situation.

I saw on Goodreads that many people complained about the sparse writing style of Braithwaite, so I feel like it’s worth the mention. The chapters are short in this book and you can easily read it in one day. This book is not a book for someone who wants to read pages of description. The story takes place in Nigeria and though that is important for the cultural context of the characters, we don’t see much of Nigeria. I didn’t mind this, because I believe this is a character novel - one that focuses on how family members interact with each other.

Personally, I enjoyed that the book left a lot of things open. You don’t need to tell me every single detail of every room or even every single emotion a character feels. Due to the amazing writing, I felt connected to Korede and I could fill in some of the blanks myself - I actually really enjoyed doing that.

For me, this is the kind of book that should win the Women’s Prize for Fiction. It is innovative in its writing style and explores a pretty uncommon subject in an unique way. I don’t know how these awards are chosen, but I think that My Sister, the Serial Killer has a pretty good chance of winning.

Some of my 2018 reading!

Well hello to 2018!

Like a month late. As usual, life has taken all my time away from blogging, but I've read such amazing books lately that I had to fill you all in on at least these two!

Small Great Things - Jodi Picoult

My first book of the year was Jodi Picoult's Small Great Things, which was released last year and has been getting rave reviews since. I love Picoult's writing and always enjoy how she plays with different perspectives on social issues.

Small Great Things starts with Ruth, an African-American labor and delivery nurse. One day she goes to attend to a new-born baby. One of the parents of the baby is Turk and he is a white supremacist who does not want Ruth to touch his baby. Ruth is removed from the care of the child, but she is forced to keep an eye on him when all the other nurses are called away during an emergency. During this time with Ruth, the baby suddenly dies and Turk blames Ruth and sues her. Even though Ruth is innocent, it seems like everyone, including all her friends, are against her suddenly.

The topic of this novel is extremely timely, considering the political climate America is currently in. I have had no desire previously to learn the perspective of a white supremacist, but Picoult makes the whole story engaging enough that I was even interested in Turk. The great thing is that she never tries to make Turk "nice" or "understandable" - he is clearly in the wrong throughout the novel, but she allows his story to stand on its own and to let the reader into the head of someone we all try to avoid.

Small Great Things isn't always an easy read, but it's an important one. If you want to start this year with thinking about our society, and how we respond to certain situations, this book is a great start. As a white woman, this novel showed me how we can be racist, even if we are so convinced we are not, and how to be better allies in the fight for equality.

Daphne - Justine Picardie

Okay, confession time: I've been in a Daphne du Maurier stanning mood. Ever since I've read Rebecca, I've loved her writing, but lately I just can't stop. I'm reading Mary Anne right now and read My Cousin Rachel last year (spoiler alert: it was fantastic). Justine Picardie wrote a novel about Daphne's research into Branwell Bronte, the brother of the famous Bronte sisters. When I read the summary of this novel, I knew I'd get my fix of Daphne and the Brother siblings.

Similar to Small Great Things, this novel has different narratives as well. There is Daphne du Maurier's narrative as she is trying to write a Branwell biography, while dealing with the infidelity and mental breakdown of her husband. She writes to Bronte scholar J.A. Symington and we follow his story of how he is struggling with old age and how he lost all the respect of his fellow Bronte researchers. And then there is a current story of a young PHD student living in Hampstead, near Daphne's childhood home, who is trying to write a thesis about the Bronte sisters. Her story does not only interact with the same research as Daphne was doing, but she is markedly never named and is married to an older man who still has traces of his ex-wife all over the house.

This modern story immediately makes a reader think of Rebecca and Wuthering Heights. Picardie is amazing at throwing in literary references that make readers think of all the other books they've read. My TBR has grown considerably while reading this novel, but I have to say that the plot of the book is a spoiler for Rebecca, so I suggest not reading this until you have read Rebecca, or have seen the movie.

Though the plot is often difficult, Picardie guides the reader through it with ease. It was so easy to read and I could really lose myself in all the different narratives. Obviously, since I've been on a Daphne du Maurier binge, I preferred her story the best, but the other narratives only enhance her story.

If you want to get motivated about your studies or learn more about Daphne and Branwell Bronte, I'd highly suggest this book. On my reading list for this month is The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte, written by Daphne du Maurier. Now that I've seen the process behind this novel, there is no way I can't pick it up.

Have you read any of these? Did you like them? Let me know in the comments!

Hopefully soon there will be a post about the amazing YA i've read so far in 2018!

Another Brooklyn - Jacqueline Woodson

RATING: ★★★★★

Jacqueline Woodson is a household name in YA, known for writing amazing books that are different from the majority out there right now. Up until last week, she was one of those authors that I knew I was supposed to have read, but never did. When I saw the cover of her gorgeous new novel, Another Brooklyn, I knew I had to read it. Technically, this book isn't sold as YA, but I'm pretty sure that any reader from 14 to 100 can enjoy and learn from this novel.

Another Brooklyn is the story of August coming of age. As August tells the reader at the beginning of the story: 'I know now what is tragic isn't the moment. It's the memory.' While this is August's story, it is also an ode to memories, tragic and not, and how our remembrances can shape us. August is an adult, thrown back into Brooklyn due to a tragic event, and tells the reader about her youth. She isn't reliable, but she is so lyrical and honest, that this book is a joy to read.

August grew up in Brooklyn with three close friends, Gigi, Sylvia and Angela. Throughout the novel, the backstory of all girls is revealed and their mutual, and very different, struggles are displayed next to each other. The book is an ode to the strength of girls, even if everything and everyone is against them.

There are a lot of time jumps in Another Brooklyn and the writing isn't a straight forward narrative. Things are left out or only alluded to, left there for you to fill the gap. However, that is what makes it so powerful. Filling the gap with an endless list of what possibly could have happened makes you relate to the characters so much more. The beautiful writing, mostly poetic throughout the story, makes it easy to relate to the girls.

I finished this novel in a day, but the story still hasn't left me. I want to know more about August. I want to hug her and Angela, Gigi, Sylvia. I want to crawl into the story and prevent certain things from happening. I want to protect them, but also experience with them. Another Brooklyn is unlike other books with its focus on memory and lyrical writing, but it is beautiful and I'm so glad Jacqueline Woodson shared this story with the world.

The Mothers - Brit Bennett

RATING: ★★★★★

I'm in America again!! This means that I will basically live at Barnes and Nobles for six weeks and in my first few days, I've already found some amazing new releases. I started reading The Mothers first, because I heard so many positive things about it. Even though usually books don't live up to their hype, this is one novel that I couldn't put down and I am so happy that Brit Bennett's story is out there.

The Mothers is the story of three African American teenagers growing up in California. Nadia Turner's mother recently committed suicide and Nadia is figuring out how to to deal with that while also deciding about her future and what to do after high school. She meets Luke, who is twenty-one and was a talented football player who had to retire because of an injury. He is the son of the local pastor and is waiting tables while trying to find a new dream. Another fixture in the church is Aubrey, who one day just wandered into the town looking for salvation. She lives with her sister and hides a traumatising past. 

As the title suggests, this is a book about mothers, but on more levels than I ever thought possible. It is clearly about Nadia's mother, who committed suicide for reasons no one seems to know. It is about Aubrey's mother, who is far from ideal and has put her child in some very harmful situations. It's about Luke's mother, who is a role model for the whole community and wants her son to be one too. However, it is not just that simple. Motherhood comes in many forms in this novel. Without spoiling it for any future readers, every single event that unfolds shows that motherhood is more complex than most people ever hold possible.

Besides a very strong theme, this is also just a very strong story. Nadia, Aubrey and Luke are all realistic characters with their own struggle who intertwine and relate on many unexpected novels. It's a story about growing up, and more specifically growing up African American in a society where your choices can be limited by your race. Just like Ruby, this book was an eye-opener for me to the specific challenges that seem so far from mine as a white European. This book doesn't lecture, this book shows and makes you feel everything every single character is feeling, even though it might be completely unknown to you before this story.

The writing is absolutely beautiful with every character having a distinct voice that transports you easily into their head. While I usually dislike changing perspectives, Brit Bennett does it so effortlessly that it makes the story only better.

No review will do this book justice, because it is an emotional story that stays with you long after you finished it. This isn't just about reading, this is about experiencing and I won't be able to stop recommending this book for a very long time.

The Good Guy - Susan Beale

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads

Five most important points

1. A heartbreaking tale about love and betrayal in 1960s America

2. Shows that "good guys" are really the worst men out there

3. Will make your feminist heart soar

4. Beautiful writing

5. Features the cutest kid I've ever read.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion of the book. 

Today is another session of: Emma picked a book solely based on the cover and had no clue what she was getting herself into. Remarkably, for once, this actually worked out. Though I picked The Good Guy because the amazing retro cover, I fell in love more and more with each page and left it feeling amazed by Susan Beale's writing.

The Good Guy is the story of Ted, who lives in suburban Massachusetts with his wife Abigail and new-born child Mindy. He's a disappointment to his family and in-laws by not becoming a lawyer, but focusing on a career as salesman of tires. Though he makes good money, he constantly feels underappreciated - especially when Abi starts excelling at university. He looks for distraction in an innocent fling with Penny, but that soon becomes more than he bargained for.

Look, any book with the title The Good Guy gets major side-eye from me, and luckily Susan Beale does not try to convince the reader how Ted is amazing. He thinks he is a good guy, he honestly truly to God thinks he does everything right, while he is actually a massive idiot who puts the women in his life in the worst positions. Not just Ted thinks he's nice, his whole neighbourhood does too, and this book just shows that you never truly know a person. Even though Ted seems perfect, his whole life actually seems perfect, he is deeply unhappy and deeply insensitive to the needs of those around him. 

Though I loved to hate Ted while reading, which shows the strength of Susan Beale's ability to write a great unlikeable character, I fell deeply in love with both Abigail and Penny. Both are extremely different and both were such a joy to read. While Abigail is focused on her education and the struggles of combining motherhood, her own life, and the expectations of a 1960s housewife who has to do everything in the house, Penny works but dreams about settling down and finding her prince charming and child. Throughout the book, both women seem to want what the other one has, though the reader is shown the downsides of each of their lives (mainly the fact that Ted is in it, but that's my opinion).

Overall, The Good Guy is an interesting look into the lives of women in the 1960s. In an era where women had to be married to start a family and where they were expected to give up everything for that husband, it is fascinating to see what happens when they behave out of the norm. Susan Beale writes beautifully and is able to guide the reader easily through the story while connecting to all the characters. While you might not love them all, you'll be invested in all of them. I've read this book in a day and felt sad when putting it down and leaving Abi and Penny's world. I can't wait to read more by Susan Beale.

A Spool of Blue Thread - Anne Tyler

Rating: ★★★★☆

Publication Date: February 10, 2015
Publisher: Bond Street Books
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 358 pages
Goodreads

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

Once upon a time, I set out a goal to read all books on the Man Booker Prize shortlist of 2015. I decided to start with A Little Life, which is one of the longest and emotionally draining books I've ever read. Needless to say, I couldn't read any other book after that for weeks and thus I never read the Man Booker Prize shortlist. But when I was able to request A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler on Netgalley, I couldn't resist reading this book and I'm sure glad I did.

A Spool of Blue Thread follows three generations of the Whitshank family that all live in the same house. Their home is the core of the narrative through which different people are explored. There's the youngest generation, with four children all trying to find their way, their parents, who tried to find out what exactly family means and the grandparents, with the grandfather who build the house and his journey to make it a home.

It is important to note that nothing really happens in A Spool of Blue Thread, however, even though I am usually one of those readers who wants action, I really enjoyed A Spool of Blue Thread. The fact that there isn't a lot of action works beautifully for this story line. This is about a regular family who has their issues and problems, but nothing out of this world. There's romance, loss, worries, and concerns that any family has during any period of time. It felt realistic and touching, also because Anne Tyler just writes beautifully and is able to transport you into her world so easily.

A Spool of Blue Thread is a book you finish and then think about your own life, family and house and what really connects people together. Will the events of the book stay with you forever? No, not particularly. Like I said, they're not shocking or mind blowing. But it is a very enjoyable read and it really makes you reflect on your own life, while also missing the peaceful world Anne Tyler created. 

This book is perfect for this season; it's cold and rainy and who really wants to go outside? I suggest some tea (or coffee, if you're fancy like that), a cosy blanket, a fire place and A Spool of Blue Thread to get through February.

At Hawthorn Time - Melissa Harrison

Today is the review of the final Costa Book Awards shortlisted novel and I have learned at the end of this that the Costa jury likes reading complicated narrative plots that play with characters, time and space.

At Hawthorn Time isn't an exception to this rule. Again, we get several different narrators, but this time we get the event that brings them all together at the beginning of the story. A car crash on a small country road in England brings together some very different characters that are connected to the small town, but all so very unlike at the same time. The prologue is written in the second person, really meant to draw the reader in and to prepare them for what is coming, which is very enjoyable. Being approached by the narrator, an ominous third person at that point, enhances the reader's investment in the story at the beginning.

However, that investment slowly went downhill for me. I feel like I'm critiquing in the same way as with The Green Road again, but it is just a fact for me that switching between characters a lot makes a book harder to read. Even though I liked the plot, none of the characters sticked with me or left a very big impression. There is the unhappily married couple, the vagabond, and a young man trying to connect to his grandfather. All the characters seem well-rounded and there was so much to their stories, but there was no way to discover all of it with the constant narrative jumps. The writing is that amazing that it gives the reader enough to continue reading, even in the spam of a couple of pages, but I just really wanted more depth to the characters, especially since the plot is so driven on those characters bring on the main event.

Overall, At Hawthorn Time was a very intriguing read. The beginning makes you immediately curious as to what could happen next in the story and it gives a great push to continue reading. However, my interest slowly faded towards the end of the book and when the final climax came, I just wasn't that impressed with it. The writing is beautiful and the plot well crafted, but I really wish I could have spend more time with all the characters.