Book review: The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam

Wasted VigilFor a country that has featured so heavily in major news events in my lifetime, I have read very few books set in Afghanistan. The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam is not only set in Afghanistan, it also covers many of those same major world events. I adored his first book Maps For Lost Lovers and this was his follow-up.

It’s shortly post-9/11. Marcus is an English doctor who has spent most of his life living at the edge of a village near Jalalabad. His progressive, outspoken Afghani wife Qatrina was murdered by the Taliban. Now the Taliban have moved on from the area but two local warlords are sparring for control. A disparate group of people find their way to Marcus’s house. He, meanwhile, is mainly waiting for news of his daughter Zameen who disappeared during the Soviet invasion. Or if she hasn’t survived, perhaps he can at least find the son she is rumoured to have had.

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June 2024 reading round-up

Another month when I read a lot and didn’t do much reviewing. We also watched some good films and started watching season 3 of The Bear. Which continues to be both stressful and brilliant. Oh, and we watched all of Mr and Mrs Smith, created by and starring Donald Glover. It’s not as good as Atlanta but it is good – and much lighter fare.

Most days have been gorgeous so I’ve done a lot of sitting in the garden reading and throwing a ball for the dog. I’ve been on some bike rides, taken a couple of days off work to enjoy the summer, and treated myself to multiple book shop visits.

I attended a brilliant event at Bookhaus called Reading For Gaza. Palestinian-Italian author Sabrin Hasbun read an excerpt from her memoir about visiting Gaza. Noreen Masud read extracts from her book A Flat Place and explained why she has joined Book Workers for a Free Palestine. Nikesh Shukla introduced the work of a writer he is mentoring, Anam Raheem, who lived in Gaza for five years. She worked at Gaza Sky Geeks, a tech hub and community space, with Matt Davis who also spoke at Bookhaus. I found this event sad and hopeful, inspiring and beautiful. Matt runs a mutual aid fund for Gaza if you are looking for a specific place to donate money where it can truly help.

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Book review: You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

You Exist Too Much book coverLike the best literary novels, You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat encompasses several big topics in what might seem like a simple, quiet story. I saw this book recommended on several social-media posts about Palestinian books and it is to some extent about being Palestinian, but much more too.

Arafat, like her main character, is Palestinian-American and grew up between the US and the Middle East. Her unnamed narrator has for years struggled to reconcile her queerness with her mother’s conservative values. Now she is finally in her first serious relationship with Anna, even living together in New York City, she feels ready to tell her mother she is bi. She is not close to her mother but does speak to her every day, so this is a big step. One that she has been avoiding for years. But she finds herself sabotaging what she and Anna have by obsessing over a potential new love interest.

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May 2024 reading round-up

Well that was quite the about turn from wet lingering winter to sudden summer. In the first half of May I powered through books, for lack of much else to do. Then finally the sun came out and we managed a few long(ish) bike rides. I am quite far behind previous years in my cycling practice for annoying health reasons but I’m pleased to find I can keep pootling along, albeit much slower than Tim.

I watched the TV adaptation of One Day, which was great and just like the book it made me cry. And we’ve started season 3 of Bridgerton, which is fun as ever. And I’m excited to see that a TV adaptation of Queenie is coming soon.

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TV review: Call My Agent

Call My Agent poster

I loved this show. After our holiday in Paris at the end of January I wanted to keep the holiday magic alive. So I finally checked out French comedy Call My Agent/Dix Pour Cent (France Télévision/Netflix 2015–2020) several years after I heard the recommendation from TV critic Rhianna Dhillon. It’s so good I devoured all four seasons within a couple of months.

The show is set at a Paris talent agency, where established agents Andréa (Camille Cottin), Mathias (Thibault de Montalembert), Gabriel (Grégory Montel) and Arlette (Liliane Rovère) manage stars’ – mainly actors – careers, egos and dilemmas. We’re introduced to their world through Camille (Fanny Sidney), a young woman who has come to Paris to confront her estranged father and stumbles into a job as Andréa’s assistant.

This is a light, workplace comedy very much in the vein of W1A, the BBC comedy that satirises the BBC. Genuinely great actors with excellent comedy chops are placed in largely frothy and/or satirical storylines. The guest stars are actual, mostly French, celebrities playing themselves. (Which I admit I did not realise for the first few episodes as I did not recognise the names of the early guest stars. I guess huge celebrity in France does not necessarily mean huge international star.)

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Book review: The Simple Art of Killing a Woman by Patrícia Melo

The simple art of killing a woman book coverFor about six months now I’ve been subscribing to the Good Book Club. Their ethos is intersectional feminist fiction from women, queer men and writers who identify as non-binary. They only choose books from indie publishers and celebrate diverse stories, often in translation. Since March, in addition to being a monthly postal subscription, they run an online book group to discuss that month’s book.

Their April book exemplified all the above. The Simple Art of Killing a Woman by Patrícia Melo (translated by Sophie Lewis) is a Brazilian novel about violence against women, with a particular focus on Indigenous women. It’s angry, funny, provocative and gave us a lot of fodder for discussion in the book group.

An unnamed young lawyer from Sao Paolo narrates this story. After she is hit by her boyfriend she takes a temporary project on the other side of Brazil. It’s a study of femicide cases in Rio Branco, a small city near the border of Bolivia in Acre, a rainforest region. The narrator attends court cases, interviews fellow lawyers and the families of the deceased.

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April 2024 reading round-up

April wasn’t very eventful, which might be for the best. I fell asleep in most films we watched and rain postponed a lot of plans. But we did get a couple of sunny weekends that felt something like spring. The books were a mixed bag. I think I might need more upbeat reads on my TBR.

If you’re reading this on 1 May, happy International Workers Day! Else, happy whatever day it is.

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Book review: The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

Robber Bride book coverIn my late teens and early 20s I read almost solely literary fiction, and in particular anything reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement or the broadsheets. This being before social media or Wikipedia, pretty much all I knew about each book would be one article I’d read in the paper. Back then I thought of Margaret Atwood as a literary fiction writer and I remember my surprise on discovering she also wrote brilliant science fiction.

These days I think of Atwood as primarily a writer of science, or speculative, fiction. So I experience the opposite surprise when I pick up one of her books that’s straightforward fiction. The Robber Bride was published in 1993, Atwood’s eighth novel, of which just one had been science fiction (The Handmaid’s Tale, 1985). It is loosely based on the folktale The Robber Bridegroom, but with all the major characters reimagined as women.

In October 1990 three old friends meet for lunch in Toronto. Roz, Charis and Tony met at college back in the 1960s, but the real reason they have stayed friends is Zenia – and their shared hatred of her. As they finish their lunch Zenia walks into the restaurant. Which is surprising as they held a funeral for her four and a half years ago, truly thinking her dead.

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March 2024 reading round-up

Happy Easter Monday, folks! As is traditional I have spent my weekend mostly reading. I also did some library reorganising for added bookish activity. It’s been a good long weekend.

March has been…wet. I’m starting to miss taking the dog on long, fun expeditions – much as I like the four parks near our house. I really hope we get a few dry days soon. On the plus side our front garden is full of daffodils, tulips and pansies.

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Book review: The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

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The first woman book cover

I’m a sucker for a coming-of-age novel. Throw in some feminism and inspiration from folklore, and I am guaranteed to pick it up. Hence my interest in The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. With a story set in Uganda from 1934 to 1983 it also covers territory I’ve learned a little about in the last couple of years but from a very different perspective.

Kirabo is raised by her grandparents in a small village in the Bugerere region of Uganda. Her family owns a lot of land and is near a good village school, which means their house is always full of cousins sent to live with them. On the brink of her teens, Kirabo is the youngest of the children and is frequently picked on or excluded by the teenagers, but she knows her grandfather Miiro will protect her from them.

What he can’t protect her from is the flying – Kirabo has begun to have out-of-body experiences when it feels like she is flying through her house or the village. The only person she can trust to help is Nsuuta, their neighbour who is widely considered to be a witch. Nsuuta was a pharmacist until she went blind and has always lived alone, so it isn’t hard to see where the witch reputation came from. Her advice to Kirabo is largely feminist teachings.

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