This is one of those books that you cannot spoil because the prologue, and even the back cover, tell you how it ends. I felt robbed of my sense of discovery and wondered: I already know the plot, why read it, then? Driven by curiosity, it was only at the end, after reflecting on my read, that I thought perhaps the point isn’t discovery. Instead, it’s a reflection on how the protagonist writes about her past to show who she was and who she has… Read More »Pages for You
While I was indulging in one of my favourite activities, wandering in a bookshop, my attention was caught by this book. When I realised it was written by a priest who is gay and in a love relationship, I had to read it. Coming from a Catholic background where the traditional religion doesn’t accept homosexuality or allow priests to have partners, I was immediately intrigued by the unique perspective this book could offer. I started to build my expectations, by assuming it would offer self-help… Read More »The Madness of Grief (by Richard Coles)
Virginia and Vita loved their husbands, and they also loved each other. This book is a selection of letters that they exchanged, and some extracts from their diaries which offered some additional interesting insights. Their correspondence was highly intellectual, yet also so intimate that at times I felt like I was intruding. I learned lots of new English words; with almost every sentence containing one I had never heard of before. I was pleasantly surprised to find pictures of both of them on the inside… Read More »Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West: Love Letters
I wish I had read the content warnings first: rape, homophobia (strong graphic content), child death, alcoholism, physical abuse and some other bad and heavy stuff that I don’t like to read. I was tempted to not finish it on many occasions, and I did find myself skimming a bit because the writing wasn’t capturing my attention. I could follow it, but I just couldn’t connect to the story. I know this book is considered a classic but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. I’m… Read More »The Women of Brewster Place (by Gloria Naylor)
An impressive and smart novel, it made me feel like it was a memoir of a real person. Very easy to read, I couldn’t wait to finish the book but at the same time, I didn’t want it to finish. I was so emotionally invested in the characters that I felt I cared for them and I even cried hard at one point. It covers important topics such as sexuality and sexism; also female inner power and the power of love, which is never wrong,… Read More »The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo