Our regular Book Picnic note taker and blogger Jenna was away this summer, so I took some notes which our volunteer Aileen has kindly typed up. So, better late than never, here are our reading recommendations from the summer of 2023 (Part 2; you can find Part 1 here)
The ones with a star* can be borrowed from GWL. To check if they are available visit this page: http://womenslibrary.heritage4.com/
Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh
Recommended by Anna. From the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet’s Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Around the World in 80 Trains is a celebration of the glory of train travel.
Packing up her rucksack – and her fiancé, Jem – Monisha Rajesh embarks on an unforgettable adventure that takes her from London’s St Pancras station to the vast expanses of Russia and Mongolia, North Korea, Canada, Kazakhstan, and beyond. The journey is one of constant movement and mayhem, as the pair make friendships and swap stories with the varied and eclectic travellers they meet on board, all while taking in some of the earth’s most breath-taking views.
After the Party by Cressida Connolly
Recommended by Pauline. It is the summer of 1938 and Phyllis Forrester has returned to England after years abroad. Moving into her sister’s grand country house, she soon finds herself entangled in a new world of idealistic beliefs and seemingly innocent friendships. There is talk of another war, and a solution that will restore England to its former glory.
At a party hosted by her new friends, Phyllis lets down her guard for a single moment, with devastating consequences. Years later, Phyllis, alone and embittered, recounts the dramatic events which led to her imprisonment and changed the course of her life forever.
Nevada by Imogen Binnie*
Recommended by Ren. Maria, a trans woman in her thirties, is going nowhere. She spends her aimless days working in a New York bookstore, trying to remain true to a punk ethos while drinking herself into a stupor and having a variety of listless and confusing sexual encounters.
After her girlfriend cheats on her, Maria steals her car and heads for the Pacific, embarking on her version of the Great American Road Trip. Along the way she stops in Reno, Nevada, and meets James, a young man who works in the local Wal-Mart. Maria recognizes elements of her younger self in James and the pair quickly form an unlikely connection that will have big implications for them both.
Lullaby by Leila Slimani (translated from the French by Sam Taylor)
Recommended by Gaby.
When Myriam, a brilliant lawyer, decides to return to work, she and her husband look for a nanny for their two young children. They find Louise: a quiet, polite and devoted woman who sings to their children, cleans the family’s chic Paris apartment, stays late without complaint and hosts enviable birthday parties. But as the couple and their nanny become more and more dependent on each other, jealousy, resentment and suspicions increase, until Myriam and Paul’s idyllic domesticity is shattered.
The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer
Recommended by Anna.
This novel takes the reader back to the terrifying witch trials of England and a paranoid society where women’s lives are decided by gossip and grudges in this story told from the perspective of a silent woman. No one is safe, and women find themselves punished for their own misfortunes and those of their neighbours.
Join our Librarian Wendy in conversation with the author on 30th November 2023: https://womenslibrary.org.uk/event/online-event-the-witching-tide-in-conversation-with-margaret-meyer/
Circus Train by Amita Parikh
Recommended by Elaine, the novel follows the story of Lena Papadopoulos, the daughter of a circus illusionist, Theo. Brilliant and curious, Lena longs to become a physician despite her father’s overprotection and the limits her world places on her because she is disabled. She rescues Alexandre, an orphan with a mysterious past. Over several years, as their friendship flourishes and Alexandre trains as the illusionist’s apprentice, World War II escalates around them. When Theo and Alexandre are contracted to work and perform in a model town for Jews set up by the Nazis, Lena’s courage is put to the test as she must learn to make her own way in the world.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori)*
Recommended by Pauline, this popular novel tells the story of 36 year old Keiko who works in a convenience store in Japan. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life. In the store, unlike anywhere else, she understands the rules of social interaction―many are laid out line by line in the store’s manual―and she does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a “normal” person excellently, more or less. Keiko is very happy, but the people close to her, from her family to her co-workers, increasingly pressure her to find a husband, and to start a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action.
The Life Cycle: 8000 miles in the Andes by Bamboo Bike by Kate Rawles*
Recommended by Wendy, this non-fiction travelogue follows the adventurous Kate Rawles as she cycles the length of the Andes through South America on an eccentric bicycle she built herself. The Life Cycle charts her mission to find out why biodiversity is so important, what’s happening to it, and what can be done to protect it.
From the Pacific Ocean to rainforests and salt flats, Kate learns that armadillos can cross rivers by holding their breath, that Colombia has more species of birds than North America and Europe combined, and that in threatening species and ecosystems, we’re tearing down our own life support system. En route, she witnesses the devastation of goldmining and oil drilling but finds hope in the incredible people working to regenerate habitats and communities. As she reaches the ‘end of the world’, she realises that to tackle biodiversity loss we all have a role to play.
Dominicana by Angie Cruz*
Recommended by Gaby, the novel tells the story of Ana Canción. Fifteen year old Ana never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes to her and promises to take her to New York City, to help her family, she must say yes. But in America, she is lonely and miserable, and forms a desperate plan to escape. However César, Juan’s free-spirited younger brother, convinces her to stay.
As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family’s assets, leaving César to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, dance with César at the Audubon Ballroom, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.
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