Every month, GWL team members and volunteers share what we’ve read at our Book Picnic. Here’s what we’ve been reading recently:
Moder Dy (Mother Wave) by Roseanne Watt
Aileen recommended this award-winning book of poetry which is in English and Shetlandic. Translations are provided for the Shetlandic poems as well as a glossary at the back. Aileen really enjoyed Roseanne’s poetry, and found it very evocative of the landscapes and seascapes of Shetland as well as its people. Her writing brought a sense of the history and folklore of Shetland so that its past mingles with the present.
She found Roseanne’s use of language beautiful, very visual and often surprising, and liked the way it drew connections that were unexpected. Her words draw you in so that you are left with a deeper sense of the place and its people, you become part of the landscape too.
Call of the Undertow by Linda Cracknell
Keeping to the sea theme, Anna recommended this novel which is linked to Orcadian myths. It is set in Dunnet Head, the northernmost point of the Scottish mainland and the last bastion before you reach Orkney. It tells the story of a cartographer called Maggie, who goes to live at Dunnet Head following a harrowing car accident in London, where she works.
She stays in a cottage at the end of a strange beach with a large seal population, it is evocative of the folklore about Selkies, the seals who turn into people. Although she is seeking isolation, she ends up getting involved in a mapping project with a local school, leading her to form a connection with one of the children. Anna thought it was a phenomenal book.
Venus and Aphrodite by Bettany Hughes
Pauline recommended this non-fiction book which tells the history of the goddess Aphrodite, from her origins in the Middle East as a fierce animist God that is both Birth and Death. The book also contains photographs and illustrations of the forms that Aphrodite has taken throughout the years. It is not until classical times that she is presented as a naked woman, and we know her now as the Goddess of Love.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Pauline also recommended this novel which is the story of an American family who live on a farm. The three adult daughters have returned to the farm to pick the cherry harvest at the start of the Covid pandemic. Their mother tells them the story of how she got to be at the farm via various other places, and how she became an actress, until she decided she wasn’t very good at it and left.
Pauline said it wasn’t a very difficult read and she read it in about 2 or 3 days. She thought it might be a good book to read if you were feeling a bit peely wally and have some time on your hands, it might nurse you back to health.
Four Hedges: A Gardener’s Chronicle by Clare Leighton
Wendy has been reading this non-fiction book by Clare Leighton, an engraver in the early 1900s who also farmed in the Chiltern Hills. In the 1930s she created a garden from a plot of land and this book described how the garden evolved throughout the year, accompanied by Clare’s beautiful illustrations.
Bird Girl by Mya-Rose Craig
Wendy also recommended this award-winning memoir. Mya-Rose became the youngest person in the world to have seen half the world’s birds, after travelling the world with her family in search of rare birds.
In the process she also witnessed the deterioration of the planet and became an environmental campaigner, determined to save species from extinction.
Classical Poems by Arab Women edited by Abdullah Al-Udhari
Wendy has also been reading this anthology of poetry which is in English and Arabic. It contains an introduction which explains that a lot of the poetry by Arab women is not documented or has been lost. Much of the remaining poetry is by wealthy women who also had many lovers.
Other poems are by women whose stories are not known. Wendy found it an interesting book and easy to dip in and out of as the poems are very short.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
Elaine has been reading this historical novel, set in the First World War and narrated from a Canadian point of view. A woman travels to the war zone to try and find out what happened to her brother, who disappeared during the war. His clothes were returned to her but his tags weren’t there. The sister is a bit of a character in her own right and Elaine found it a good read.
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
Gaby has been reading a lot of short books recently, including this Booker Prize shortlisted novel. Gopi is an 11 year old girl living in London, her mother has just died and her father is doing his best to manage with three children. As a way to cope with their grief and to maintain a sense of consistency, they play a lot of squash.
Gaby thought it was a very tender book, there is a lot that’s not said, as the family gets on with their lives. It’s about coming of age and dealing with grief. Gaby recommended it, especially if you are looking for a short read.
Freakslaw by Jane Flett
Eilidh recommended this queer literary horror novel set in a small town in Scotland, written by a Scottish writer now living in Berlin.
It’s about how a small town changes when a funfair comes to town. It fascinates the local teenagers who are longing for escape. But the newcomers are concealing a darker purpose and a desire for revenge.
