We spent the last 10 days of September on holiday in France. It was glorious. We had a great time, ate great food and are mostly sad to be home. We had a chill week on a small, quiet island bookended by weekends in cities. I have approximately a bajillion photos to sort through but for now please enjoy this picture of my reading spot last week.

I spent most of the holiday reading a book set near where we stayed, The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild by Mathias Enard (translated from French by Frank Wynne). I didn’t quite make it to the end before we got home (it’s a pretty long book) so I’ll save my final assessment, but I do know it won’t usurp The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver as my favourite read this month, as that was truly excellent.

Books read

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
An epic family saga following the family of an American Baptist minister who all move to Congo in 1959. At first the challenges they face are around the lack of shared language, trying to grow food and recruit local villagers to their church. But Congo is on the cusp of independence from colonial rule under Belgium. The family find themselves in the midst of political upheaval and have to deal with guilt and responsibility as well as their personal survival. I loved this. It is complex and nuanced, and also beautiful.

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
I’ve decided to read/reread all of this series in order. This first volume still absolutely holds up. I had forgotten quite how silly some of the storylines are. But it’s also a brilliant combination of light satire and genuine reflection of people in San Francisco in the 1970s.

The Desert and the Sown: Travels in Palestine and Syria by Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell’s travel diaries follow her 1905 journey through Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, an area at the time primarily ruled by the Ottoman Empire. She was already an experienced traveller at this point as well as an established archaeologist. She spoke fluent Arabic, Greek, Latin, English and French along with a smattering of other languages. Bell was an impressive, accomplished woman. She was also part of the racist, imperialist establishment. And honestly the archaeology descriptions got a bit dull and repetitive.

More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
This is the volume where some of the details about characters teased in the first book are revealed. Landlady Anna Madrigal’s mysterious past is unveiled, Mona goes on a journey of self-discovery. I had forgotten that a lot of the rich society characters from the first book also reappear. There’s another weird crime for Mary Anne to investigate too. A lot of fun.

Diamond Dust by Anita Desai
Short stories set all over the world exploring relationship dynamics in everyday situations. These are gorgeous, I’m really glad I finally picked it up from the TBR. The title story is about an older academic couple in Delhi looking forward to spending their summer break in the Himalayas. But then an old friend comes to visit and pressures them to stay in the hot, dusty city so he can visit the sights. My favourite story is about a young family driving long-distance for their holiday when they are suddenly stuck in traffic because a lorry is blocking the road. The circumstances are faintly ridiculous and completely real.

Netherford Hall by Natania Barron
I decided to start my holiday reading with something light and frothy. This book has witches, vampires, magic curses, queer characters and romance in a Regency historical English village. There are nods to Pride and Prejudice, but Barron also introduces a whole world where magic is woven into the class divisions and rules of society. This was really fun.