Pretentiousness by Dan Fox | When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi | The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately and I've been enjoying it so much. I always felt non-fiction wouldn't be something I'd enjoy reading when trying to relax but it turns out I was wrong! I've been looking forward to delving into yet another non-fiction book at weekends. I have topics I love but I also keep an eye out for interesting subjects which may catch my interest. 

The three books I've selected below are all rather short but definitely pack a punch. Pretentiousness is a fantastic essay on the art of pretending and why it matters; When Breath Becomes Air is a stunning and beautifully written memoir from a doctor suffering from cancer; and The Argonauts is a book that blends essay and memoir about gender, motherhood and identity.

~~~

Pretentiousness: Why It Matters by Dan Fox

Published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2016
Bought the ebook edition

What is pretentiousness? Why are we afraid of it? And more controversially: why is it vital to a thriving culture? This book will argue that pretentiousness is the engine oil of culture; that it has always been an essential lubricant in the development of the arts, from the most wildly successful pop music and fashion through to the most recondite avenues of literature and the visual arts. Demonstrating how pretentiousness forms part of daily life, this book aims to ignite a lively debate about public discourse around the arts, advocating critical imagination and open-mindedness over knee-jerk accusations of elitism or simple fear of the new and the different. Drawing on the author's own experiences growing up and working at the more radical edges of the arts, this book is a timely defence of pretentiousness as a necessity for innovation and diversity in our culture.

~~~

I kept seeing this book popping up in my Twitter feed and I couldn't quite understand why someone would ever think pretentiousness mattered. After reading the author's compelling case, I see I had fallen in the prejudiced idea of seeing pretentiousness as a very one-sided negative trait. Dan Fox goes through the history of the word itself and how it's been used in the past and the negative connotation which crept up relatively recently.

No art would ever be thought-provoking, original and unusual if people didn't have a tendency to pretend. Everything would feel very same-y and safe. Pretending to be a bit more/better/different than you are is a way for a person to reach further than what they would/could otherwise have done. This really made me question my automatic reaction to some art that feels a bit too "out there".

One aspect of the book that has really been fascinating to read - and which I'd never really thought about before - is the part about people pretending, not to be better than they are, but pretending to be   like everyone else - "just an ordinary person". I think it resonates particularly with all the discussions regarding diversity in the Arts with everyone pointing the finger to the problematic "them" and acting as if they themselves are not part of the problem.

This book also introduced me to Fitzcarraldo editions who have a fantastic list - I already have picked up Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett and Memory Theatre by Simon Critchley to read.

~~~

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Published by Bodley Head, 2016
Thanks to Vintage for the finished copy!

What makes a virtuous and meaningful life? Paul Kalanithi believed that the answer lay in medicine’s most demanding specialization, neurosurgery. Here are patients at their life’s most critical moment. Here he worked in the most critical place for human identity, the brain. What is it like to do that every day; and what happens when life is catastrophically interrupted?

When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable reflection on the practice of medicine and the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.

With a foreword by Dr Abraham Verghese and an epilogue by the author’s wife, Lucy.

~~~

I love reading books about death and it seems there have been so many published this year. This one is spectacular, it is written by a doctor and a writer who wrote this while dying of cancer. It is powerful and beautifully written and in some parts took my breath away.

It blends memoir with incredible reflections on medicine, death and healing. I can't recommend it highly enough.

~~~

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

Published by Melville House, 2016
Bought the ebook edition

An intrepid voyage out to the frontiers of the latest thinking about love, language, and family.

A timely and genre-bending memoir that offers fresh and fierce reflections on motherhood, desire, identity and feminism.

At the centre of The Argonauts is the love story between Maggie Nelson and the artist Harry Dodge, who is fluidly gendered. As Nelson undergoes the transformations of pregnancy, she explores the challenges and complexities of mothering and queer family making. 

~~~

This is a fascinating book about Maggie Nelson's reflections on life, femininity, love, motherhood and language while also talking about her life and her relationship with trans artist Harry Dodge who describes himself as a "debonair butch on T". 

The writing in the book is incredibly compelling and the beauty of the writing combined with the breadth of topics made for a fantastic read. The author includes quotes from a bunch of theorists about feminism, parenting, gender studies etc to try to make sense of the reality she lives in. I like the idea that knowledge and awareness are fluid concepts that evolve over time, rather than a fixed knowing state of being that remains unchanged. 

The title comes from the Argonauts who, despite replacing sections of their ship time and time again, still called it the Argo. It feels like a lovely metaphor about life and identity. I loved this book and I also loved the fact that it goes beyond the idea of family, motherhood and femininity as cis and heteronormative concepts.

~~~

Let me know if you've read any fantastic non-fiction lately!!

May Reads

Hi all,

Here are the books I've read last month:

Bulles and Blues by Charlotte Bousquet and Stephanie Rubini

This is the third book in this French graphic novel series that follows the lives of middle school teens. I loved the first two ones (Rouge Tagada and Mots Rumeurs, Mots Cutter) and this one was equally enjoyable. I love reading about the feelings of isolation and fitting in that the main character experiences and also the passion for drawing. I really love where this series is going and I think I'll do a post about all of them soon!

The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple) by Agatha Christie

I have become a HUGE Miss Marple fan so progressively going through the whole collection. This one is about a group of dinner guests telling each other stories with a mystery and the other having to guess the answer. There are thirteen stories told by different characters and Miss Marple is just showing everyone up by being amazing as always. This wasn't one of my favourite but I still hugely enjoyed reading it (and guessing 5 of the mysteries!).

Girls Will Be Girls: Dressing Up, Playing Parts and Daring to Act Differently by Emer O’Toole

I was really looking forward to this book and even though I loved most of it the last couple of chapters left me cold. I'm a feminist and also queer and I struggle sometimes to agree with what the new wave of (straight) feminists say. I thought this book would be one that wouldn't elicit this reaction. I was completely behind the whole idea of gender as a performance and costume and found that aspect fascinating to read about. The part of "dressing androgynous" and feeling ashamed of one's appearance less so. Worth a read if you ignore the last two chapters.  

Say Her Name by James Dawson

Say Her Name was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize shortlist and is a horror YA story set in a boarding school. I was very much looking forward to reading it as I grew up with (a French equivalent of) the Bloody Mary myth and it was great to see how it’d work in a contemporary setting. It's great for fans of YA horror. 

Finding Jennifer Jones by Anne Cassidy

I absolutely adored Looking For JJ and I've had my eye on this sequel for ages. We find Jennifer Jones as a student living in a flatshare and working for the summer. She is coming to terms with her new life and is trying to find her place in the world. Looking at the age of the main character and the themes talked about in the book, this could be technically qualified as New Adult though I know most titles in this age group are very different and mostly centred on sexy times. I loved this book and I loved the themes covered and I'm so glad Anne Cassidy shared the end of JJ's story with us. 

Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande

Someone heavily recommended Being Mortal to me which is Atul Gawande's latest title so the author was on my radar when I spotted this title at the library and decided to give it a go. This is the first one of his books I read and I was pleasantly surprised as I never thought a non-fiction book focusing on medicine would ever be my cup of tea (I mean, I faint at the sight of blood and have a phobia of needles and anything linked to hospitals...). I really enjoyed reading this and I'm looking forward to reading his other books (which Goodreads tell me are even better).

Disclaimer by Renee Knight

This is one of the domestic noir titles that has been recommended to me a lot. My wife loved it and I was looking forward to reading it but I ended up not loving it. I think it made me extremely uncomfortable and it wasn't quite the pleasant read but the plot is full of twists and turns and I can see it working really well for crime readers.

Recipes for Love and Murder (A Tannie Maria Mystery) by Sally Andrew

I absolutely adored this book! Cosy crime? Food? Fabulous main character? I mean was this book written for me?! It's Miss Marple meets Nigella. I loved the intrigue, the characters, the writing. Only negative thing I'd say is that the book really should come with all the food mentioned in the book for you to eat at the same time as the characters. 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Another domestic noir which I ended up not quite loving. In the same way that Gone Girl is a brilliant book that is a disturbing and stressful read, I can't say this has been enjoyable. I didn't like most of the characters. It's an interesting premise though and I'm sure all crime/domestic noir fans are loving this book. 

A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I was SO looking forward to this book. I've enjoyed reading Sarah J. Maas's other series and this looked like a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast so YES PLEASE. But I ultimately didn't connect with the story as much as I'd hoped. There are Sarah J Maas's punchy writing style and sensual characters but the plot and world-building was what drew me out of the story.  

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

I was part of the online event Queer YA Scrabble last weekend on my other blog Queer YA and I read this as part of it. I've had this book on my radar for years and was so glad to finally read it. I hadn't realised it was a verse novel and it was a very pleasant surprise. The style really lends itself to the story and I found it truly amazing and inspiring. See my review here if you want to read.

~~~

That's it from me. Hope you enjoyed this new format of post on the books I've read and you see something in there that you might fancy! What did you read in May that was mind-blowingly good? 

In June I'm reading some more LGBTQIA YA, the new Judy Blume and A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara which is fast becoming my new favourite book ever. 

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles - Fabio Geda

Hi everyone!

My translated fiction reading has been a bit slow this summer but it is coming back in force with this review of the Italian best-seller In The Sea there Are Crocodiles and my future Japanese YA novels week (21-27 November!) which will be co-hosted by the lovely Nina and Katy at Death Books and Tea!

Summary from Amazon:

One night before putting him to bed, Enaiatollah’s mother tells him three things: don’t use drugs, don’t use weapons, don’t steal. The next day he wakes up to find she isn’t there. Ten-year-old Enaiatollah is left alone in Pakistan to fend for himself.

In a book that takes a true story and shapes it into a beautiful piece of fiction, Italian novelist Fabio Geda describes Enaiatollah’s remarkable five-year journey from Afghanistan to Italy where he finally managed to claim political asylum aged fifteen. His ordeal took him through Iran, Turkey and Greece, working on building sites in order to pay people-traffickers, and enduring the physical misery of dangerous border crossings squeezed into the false bottoms of lorries or trekking across inhospitable mountains. A series of almost implausible strokes of fortune enabled him to get to Turin, find help from an Italian family and meet Fabio Geda, with whom he became friends.

The result of their friendship is this unique book in which Enaiatollah’s engaging, moving voice is brilliantly captured by Geda’s subtly simple storytelling. In Geda’s hands, Enaiatollah’s journey becomes a universal story of stoicism in the face of fear, and the search for a place where life is liveable.

~~~

You are not going to be surprised if I say that I adored this book, right?

I know, I know what you're going to say, I *always* love the translated books I review in my Lost in Translation feature, and I keep telling you how much you *need* to read them, so much that I'm turning into the boy who cried wolf and you don't believe me anymore.

But guess what? This one, you really do need to read it! No really!

This story is a real eye opener. Not only do you see life through the eyes of someone from a foreign culture and country, but you also see how things are like in countries who do not have the chance to be democraties and you see the theme of immigration through the point of view of the immigrant. Enaiatollah is sent out of Afghanistan by his mother who wishes him to survive and not be a casualty of the Talibans which had taken over the country. His travels bring him to Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece and Italy. He is just a child yet he manages to get through countries and survive very hard conditions. 

What is fascinating to see are the similarities between our culture (Western European that is) and Enaiatollah's, and I think that is why it is important to read this book. Enaiatollah is a regular little boy, he lives with his family, he plays ball with the other children in the village and he really likes to go to school (though he'd rather play outside!). People in his village are not Talibans and are on the contrary bullied by them. From his very early years, Enaiatollah witnesses his teacher getting killed. 

There are some real heart-breaking moments in the book and Enaiatollah meets many people, some of which happen to help him, others who will hurt him. Any random act of kindness is remembered and cherished by Enaiatollah but he doesn't blame the ones who hurt him. I found him to be full of love, for the people around him that he comes across, but also for the countries and the different cultures he encounters. Enaiatollah proves to have a real hunger to learn and to live.

The book is a conversation between the writer, Fabio Geda, and Enaiatollah Akbari who is now an adult and sometimes, Fabio or Enaiatollah come out of the story to clarify one point or discuss bigger themes and I found it to be really interesting because everything is put in perspective and the book becomes more than just a story.

What I loved about this book is that Enaiatollah, no matter how horrible and dangerous the things he goes through are, doesn't lose faith. He doesn't even think he is to be pitied. I mean he is just a kid when he leaves his country and moves into territories which have some of the harshest life conditions on this planet and yet he doesn't give up. This is an incredibly uplifting story, it makes me believe that anything in life is possible and anything can be achieved by pretty much anyone. 

This book is quite simply breathtaking and is a wonderful way to get to see the world through the eyes of an Afghan child in his journey to find a new place to call home.


Info: It is fine for both boys and girls. There are some violent bits in it so younger children might find this a bit hard to read if not reading with an adult who can explain some things (which would be a great way to approach the book).

Thanks to RHCB for the proof copy!

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles, by Fabio Geda | 2011 | RHCB | Proof copy from publisher

National Non-Fiction Day!!

Hey everyone!

Today is National Non-Fiction Day!

You can visit the website here, follow @allnonfic on Twitter here or even "like" their facebook page here.

As specified, on their website, National Non-Fiction Day is an annual celebration, initiated by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups in partnership with Scholastic Children’s Books. It aims to celebrate all that is brilliant about non fiction and show that it’s not just fiction that can be read and enjoyed for pleasure.

With non-fiction titles, children can learn about the Earth, animals, historical figures and science in an interesting and entertaining way.

Since I couldn't review a non-fiction book for the event, here are links to bloggers who did post reviews:

Chicklish has made a round up of all the non-fiction reviews aimed at teenagers which were published on the website (here)

Nayu's Reading Corner has published a beautiful review of Under The Sea (here)
Fluttering Butterflies talks about her sons' favourite non fiction books (here)
Rhiana Reads talks about The Usborne Art Sticker Book which she reviewed with her daughter (here)
The Girls Without a Bookshelf reviewed the brilliant Undercover Economist (here) as well as The Gettysburg Approach to Writing and Speaking Like a Professional (here)


And last but definitely not least, the lovely Becky at The Bookette wrote about Her Reader Identity And Non-Fiction (here) which I found fascinating as well as reviewed Drawing, Doodling and Colouring for Christmas (here) which sounds *so much fun*

Have a lovely day people!

x Caroline