March Books

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The Dark Forest (黑暗森林) by Liu Cixin

I sped through The Three-Body Problem, the first book in Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don’t quite know why nearly a whole year has passed before I picked up the second book tbh. I really liked this one too and read it rather quickly, not as fast as the first one but we’ll get into that in a minute. Actually, let’s get into that now, this book had a massive flaw, the whole dream woman subplot.

I found Luo Ji’s whole romance storyline incredibly cringe-worthy, the idea of him dreaming of a woman and then her existing, in reality, is just stupid and a bit too Pygmalion for my liking, and it doesn’t add anything to the plot. If anything it just shows up Liu as not being able to write a decent female character. Although, someone on the r/threebodyproblem subreddit makes a compelling argument as to why this happens in the novel, and yeah I’m inclined to agree with them, however, that doesn’t excuse how badly written she is, like does she even have a personality? If anything she is just a glorified plot device and there to make a tongue in cheek comment on ‘the dream woman’ cliche.

But let’s forget about the bad because this book has some phenomenal moments, especially when it gets into philosophy and ethics. The whole Zhang Beihai storyline took an amazing turn and really demonstrated how far people are willing to go to survive! And the theory/metaphor of the universe being a dark forest is so disturbingly brilliant.

I also have to replicate these quotes from the book because I got chills reading them 😂

'If I destroy you, what business is it of yours.'

'Darkness was the mother of life and of civilisation.'

'Don't say where we are! Once we know where we are, then the world becomes as narrow as a map. When we don't know, the world feels unlimited.'

Can’t wait to finish the trilogy and read the mammoth tome that is Death’s End, and I will be reading this soon as I am in such a Sci-fi reading mood at the moment!

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi - Sága Book Club Review

This book is not like any other book I have read. I was mesmerised, and still am by how Emezi weaves her prose, it’s poetic and energetic, brimming with life. The story is fascinating and devastating in equal measures and I think I will have to re-read it another few times to fully grasp its complexity, or perhaps I never will as I am a white cisgender female. I also loved how Emezi explored African folklore and gender identity throughout the novel and I think this is the kind of book that needs to be taught in schools, it’s imaginative and informative so there are naturally lots of things to learn from its pages and so much room for analysis.

Ultimately, Freshwater is a book that will stay with you, but beware that some elements such as rape, suicide and self-harm may be a bit too much for some people as these themes are triggering, so if you haven’t read it yet or if you’re thinking of recommending it to someone bear that in mind. I think I have so much to say but I just can’t find the words to say it. I love when that happens with a book because that’s when you know that you’ve just read something remarkable, I also think that after mulling it over for a week or two I’ll be more coherent in my thoughts.

But right now, I’m going to hand it over to BBC Africa's Princess Irede Abumere and guest reviewer media specialist Yvette Uloma Dimiri.

December Books + Top 5 Reads of 2020

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These are my final reads of the year and a Top 5 of the best books I read in 2020.

December Books

The Invention of Love by Sara Schaff

This Ok, but completely forgettable collection of short stories was an advance copy I got from Netgalley, and tbh I feel like maybe one story out of the lot was interesting. I feel like recently my reading choices are very hit and miss. Schaff’s stories focus on women, and quite a few of them have no dimensions at all, and some are just completely dull, like the story about siblings trying to sell a rundown house. Yawn.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Das Parfum. Die Geschichte eines Mörders) by Patrick Süskind

What a disappointment. I felt like my expectations of this book couldn’t be further from what it actually was. I thought I would get a creepy Paris set novel that follows a warped murderer as he terrorises the city. Instead, it was a boring story that flirted slightly with the creepiness but felt more like something Flaubert would write (which isn’t necessarily bad in itself I just didn't expect this tone). I nearly gave up when he was in the cave for years, and then the weird perfume induced orgy was a massive eye roll moment. All in all, I don’t get the hype it was a complete waste of my time, and I could probably have read a few other books in the time it took me to force myself to finish this one!

The Englishman by Douglas Stuart

I read this short story by recent Man Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart for the very reason of seeing whether I like his writing style enough to read his award-winning book Shuggie Bain. Short answer, Yes, I do. The Englishman was published in The New Yorker and follows a young gay Scottish man who takes a trip down to London to stay with the eponymous Englishman as part of an “arrangement”. The short story is beautifully written and explores the naivety of the narrator wonderfully. I will most likely be picking up Shuggie Bain very soon as a result.

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I Have the Right to Destroy Myself (나는 나를 파괴할 권리가 있다) by Kim Young-ha

This is my 3rd re-read. I don’t normally re-read books very often, but this concise book fascinates me. I love Kim’s writing, his imagination and how dark this story is. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it but be warned it is very dark.

Best Books of 2020

Last year I read 58 books, some of them were short stories (do they even count?) and others were absolute mammoths! Overall, these are the 5 books that stood out above the rest, the books that had me hooked and voraciously consuming page after page.

Seasons of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

This book was introduced to me through Uni as it was on my year 3 reading list, which I will forever be grateful for as this novel blew me away. It’s dark, unexpected and beautifully written and has helped me expose how ignorant I was (and still am) about colonialism. I will forever continue to re-read this book and recommend it to everyone as it’s not only an important portrait of Black Arab culture in Post-Colonial Sudan; it’s a stunningly realised novel.

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The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

This book is hardcore sci-fi but infinitely readable that in itself is a feat. I found The Three-Body Problem unputdownable and being a slow reader that can take weeks, months or sometimes a year to finish a book this is high praise. I love how it mixed past and present and how the layers of mystery unfolded as you read on. I have the rest of the trilogy ready and waiting, and I have actually made a start on the next book The Dark Forest.

Heroes and Villains by Angela Carter

I’ve been a fan of Carter ever since reading and studying The Bloody Chamber back in school for A-Level literature. I think she will forever be one of this country’s greatest writers. Heroes and Villains is set in a post-apocalyptic world and reads like a dreamy, nightmarish fairytale.

Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah

This book unravels like a strange dream or a fragmented film where recurring motifs become unsettling and have you guessing where the boundaries between reality and fantasy merge within the narrative. Suah’s prose is also rather magical, and this is perhaps my favourite work of hers that I’ve read so far.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

I really enjoyed Madame Bovary, and that’s probably mostly down to Flaubert’s wit, and perhaps to a certain degree, the translation by Magaret Mauldon as this book reads very easily which isn’t always the case when it comes to classics. I also think Emma is a fascinating protagonist. She almost feels quite modern the way her imperfections are laid bare and her distaste for the banality of marriage and provincial life.

Honourable mentions: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Naiv. Super. by Erlend Loe and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

April Books

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April was a month of solid reading, and I made a nice dent in my Quarantine TBR. This post is coming rather late as I was busy finishing my final essay for uni this month! Yes, that’s right I am done, fini, finito, 끝났다!

As we are all stuck inside and I am trying to be more considered with my purchases, most of these books have been borrowed from my local library via the Libby app. I think even after we are released from quarantine I am going to be more reserved when it comes to buying books.

The Three-Body Problem (三体) by Liu Cixin

Did I devour this book in 3 days? Yes, I did. Was it epic? Oh yes! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I can’t wait to get to the next book in the trilogy. As I stated in my Quarantine Reading List post I am already a fan of Cixin’s work from reading many of his short stories but this book is just sensational and I really enjoyed how the mystery slowly unravelled and how Chinese history in the form of the Cultural Revolution blended into the narrative to great effect. If you love Science Fiction you must read this book!

The Turkish Embassy Letters by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

A Uni book from earlier in the year, I decided to finish it so that I can declutter it as I am like the rest of the world using this prolonged period of time at home to sort through my possessions. I thought it was an ok read, and naturally, the most interesting parts were when Montagu was exploring Constantinople, but that in itself is problematic. Orientalism and colonialism is a tough subject to broach and as Montagu was a privileged white woman seeking out the ‘exoticness’ of the Ottoman Empire and its social customs it’s also an important subject to assess to educate yourself on. If you're interested in historic travel writing it might be worth reading but I can’t say I would have read this if I didn’t have to.

Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Butlers, banter and life lessons.

Ishiguro's story of Stevens a pretentious but well-meaning Butler is a touching story of memory and regret that perhaps can inspire us the reader to seize the moment. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

This is the first Young Adult book that I have read in a while (except Harry Potter I guess) and I must admit that I only read it because I heard that Netflix is making a TV series out of the trilogy that this first book belongs to and a companion duology called Six of Crows. I found it to be quite a fun read but quite obviously formulaic but I have heard that most people think Six of Crows is better, so I’ll read the rest of this series and then move onto that one.

Pride and Prejudice by William Shakespeare

Just kidding Pride and Prejudice is obviously by Jane Austen but one can’t help but notice the similarities between this novel and Much ado About Nothing. Elizabeth and Darcy are Beatrice and Benedict, Jane and Bingley are Hero and Claudio and then that blasted Wickham has to be no other than Don Jon.

Anyway back to my review, this was my penultimate uni read and my first Austen book and I liked it very much. Austen is renowned for her wit and I found myself quite often literally laughing out loud. Pride and Prejudice is obviously the quintessential romance novel and I found Darcy in all his socially awkward glory to be rather endearing and thoroughly relatable.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

What a wonderful novella. To Be Taught, If Fortunate follows four astronauts as they explore four different planets, in this future humanity, knows it is not alone in the universe and through this mission, Chambers presents weird and wonderful alien organisms to us. Another fascinating facet of this story is that humans have a technology that can edit their genes to make them less fragile in the face of new alien environments. This is also a quick and easy read and you could quite easily finish it in one sitting.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I must admit that I thought I would like this book more than I actually did, of course, it was a good read, I just didn’t love it. And for that reason, I don’t think I will read Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There unless someone can convince me it is far superior to the first book.