April was a month of blue skies and yellow cowslips under the hornmbeams, of billowing white blackthorn blossom along the river banks, the wide Norfolk horizons filled to the brim with sea, marshes and sandflats, of low key Easter celebrations and re-unions with old friends. I re-learned running and actually enjoyed it. It was a very happy month for me. And May is my favourite month of the year, so all-in-all life is very good, (despite my poor kids gearing up for all sorts of exams). April looked a bit like this for me.
I also managed to read two books this month in an effort to keep up with The Year in Books challenge - they were Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey and We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. Both shared a common thread of presenting the reader with confusing, disorientating events and unusual characters, shocking suprises and curious, sometimes unresolved tensions. I particularly enjoyed Healey's exploration of dementia and the humanity and tenacity that fights to remain against the odds, it is certainly a brilliant and utterly original debut novel. Fowler's book I just found too disturbing to really enjoy, (although nothing is graphically violent), and to describe it would be to give away the central shocking fact of the story, but it is a deeply unsettling read and is staying with me in a not entirely pleasant way. Both books are sharply and convincingly imagined, exploring fascinating, tragic psychological landscapes. I would recommend both, there is humour amidst the sadness in these stories and hope as well as loneliness. This month I am going to read a classic novel that passed me by somehow, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - have you read it, am I in for a good 'un?
I also managed to read two books this month in an effort to keep up with The Year in Books challenge - they were Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey and We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. Both shared a common thread of presenting the reader with confusing, disorientating events and unusual characters, shocking suprises and curious, sometimes unresolved tensions. I particularly enjoyed Healey's exploration of dementia and the humanity and tenacity that fights to remain against the odds, it is certainly a brilliant and utterly original debut novel. Fowler's book I just found too disturbing to really enjoy, (although nothing is graphically violent), and to describe it would be to give away the central shocking fact of the story, but it is a deeply unsettling read and is staying with me in a not entirely pleasant way. Both books are sharply and convincingly imagined, exploring fascinating, tragic psychological landscapes. I would recommend both, there is humour amidst the sadness in these stories and hope as well as loneliness. This month I am going to read a classic novel that passed me by somehow, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - have you read it, am I in for a good 'un?
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your April mosiac is beautiful Belinda, love the ring in the sand photo. good luck to your exam taking children, we have GCSE's starting soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tess, best of luck to your eam-taker too, roll on late June! x
DeleteI have read both of those recently too. I loved Elizabeth is Missing- it was such a touching and alternative book and I really felt for all of the characters. We are All Completely Beside Ourselves was such a bizarre story and I couldn't engage or sympathise with anyone. It was all a bit distasteful for me. Not feeling terribly inspired to choose my next book. Any recommendations gratefully received! Love your blues and yellows mosaic. Here's hoping May is full of sun and happiness. Ax
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you felt similar about We are All Completely Beside Ourselves, not having characters you really engage with and feel for is a necessity for me too, although the central premis of psychological experiments being worked out in real families is interesting and actually happened, but it is all just pretty disturbing and somehow the characters couldn't carry the weight of the subject matter to me, but maybe that was part of the point, personalities were warped and weakened? I am trying a classic this month, is there a classic you missed out on? I just thought it would be a nice change from contemporary novels?
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