Hear about the great books, new and old, that our staff have been enjoying.
Nicole has been reading:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
I have been rereading Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, a book I fell in love with when it first came out back in 2012. Sáenz tells the story of two boys, Aristotle 'Ari' and Dante, who are growing up in El Paso, Texas in the 1980s. They learn about love, identity and the complexities of family. It's a book that I have always remembered fondly, with my recent reread confirming my love. The poetic prose and beautiful quotes have always made me linger longer on the pages.
'I wondered what that was like, to hold someone’s hand. I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.'
This is a great queer book for teens (or older!), or for anyone who wants to get lost in beautiful thoughts.
Baz has been reading:
Still Born
Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey
I loved Still Born, its story and explorations of motherhood and 'maternal ambivalence', and Nettel’s head-on, sharply focused approach. The style is clean, economical and elegant. I loved her crisp prose, and so I also loved the work of the translator, Rosalind Harvey.
This was a propulsive read. I got stuck into it during the day and struggled to let it go in the middle of the night – I made myself stop and finish it the next day. It was intelligent, surprising, deeply felt and moving.
Joanna has been reading:
Brother of the More Famous Jack
Barbara Trapido
This month the Hidden Treasures Fiction Book Club is wrapping up for the year with a deliciously pleasurable read – Barbara Trapido’s Brother of the More Famous Jack. First published in 1982, this coming-of-age story spans roughly fifteen years beginning in the late 1960s.
Take it from me and the many writers who adore it – Ann Patchett, Maggie O’Farrell, Lily King, Rachel Cusk – there are many good reasons Trapido’s debut novel is being repeatedly discovered and loved by new generations of readers. Chief among them is that eighteen-year-old Katherine Browne is a terrific narrator. She’s bright, smart, and funny, but also a product of a very suburban London upbringing. When she’s accepted into university and into the left-wing bohemian home of her philosophy professor, Jacob Goldman, everything shifts.
Another reason is the Goldman family itself – kind yet domineering Jake, his radiant, quietly feminist wife Jane, and their six children, including the two oldest, brothers Roger and Jonathan. They are all so well drawn, loud, passionate, uncensored, and averse to conformity. Katherine falls for them as a unit (think Brideshead Revisited but friendlier), and then with some of them individually.
There’s a break-up, several years spent in self-imposed exile living in Rome with a fascist, disillusionment and grief, then a return to London and the chaotic embrace of her surrogate family. Does Katherine get a happy ending and will it be with one of the Goldman brothers? I won’t spoil that here. You’ll just have to read this warm and sexy story of a young woman’s education in life for yourself to find out.
