Alice Walker’s 1986 short work Am I Blue is a poignant and thought-provoking story which, at surface level, details a woman’s friendship with a horse she names Blue, while, on […]
Category: Book Reviews
The Lives of Girls and Women from the Islamic World in Early Modern British Literature and Culture by Bernadette Andrea
Bernadette Andrea’s historical text The Lives of Girls and Women from the Islamic World in Early Modern British Literature and Culture traces it back to explore the lives of various Muslim women who came to Britain from the Medieval period onwards, either willingly or unwillingly to see how these early women were changed by and changed the lands they came to.
Thoughts on Brand New Ancients
Kate Tempest’s Brand New Ancients pushes the idea of what poetry can be, telling a complete story through verse rather than serving as a collection of individual poems. It’s the kind of story that deserves to be read all in one go, preferably with tea, and lose yourself into the world of these characters whose lives intersect in ways that are recognisable to the reader.
A Review of Marlena, the Debut Novel of Julie Buntin
Marlena is the stunning, intricately thought out début by young New Yorker Julie Buntin. Fresh with clearly remembered and intimately experienced details of the struggle and turbulence of adolescent life, […]
Thoughts on The Hate U Give
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give tells the story of Starr, who witnesses her innocent best friend Khalil being shot wrongfully by police in her home of the “ghetto” of Garden Heights, and how she struggles to find her identity between her home and the suburban high school she attends. It describes how she handles her grief and how she deals with the legal enquiry to his death as the only witness to the incident.
Thoughts on Are You My Mother?
Alison Bechdel’s second memoir, Are You My Mother?, explores her relationship with her mother and her quest for her to understand their relationship. It discusses her experiences of therapy in her attempts both to understand herself from a psychoanalytical perspective and the way she and her mother interact with each other. It also covers her parents’ relationship, and her mother’s marriage to a closeted gay man as detailed in her first memoir, Fun Home.
Thoughts on Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl tells the story of Cath and Wren, identical twin sisters who, until college, have shared everything together. Wren chooses the stereotypical college experience – parties, boys, and dancing – whereas Cath sees herself more as “the kind of girl who fantasizes about being trapped in a library overnight”.
Thoughts on Nasty Women
Nasty Women, released by 404 Ink on International Women’s Day, brings together a collection of women from all walks of life to discuss the issues that are important to them. Covering topics like race, body image, class, and identity, the collection covers a wide variety of the issues that women today face.
Thoughts on The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
A couple of days ago, I finished reading the popular third wave feminist non-fiction book The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf, and its 368 pages of socio-political commentary, theory and […]
Triumph for Scottish Heroines Finally Recognised in Hall of Heroes
Stirling’s National Wallace Monument is an imposing place of historical resonance. Within its strong grey walls sits a gallery which features the marble busts of sixteen men from Scottish history, […]