Announcements and New Arrivals

Ok, I really only have one announcement, which is that the readalong of The Moonstone starts tomorrow! So if you're really having an urge to read some Wilkie this summer, then you should definitely do this. And also you should anyway because it's clearly going to be awesome, even if the book sucks (which it won't, but you know, if it did we could make fun of it and stuff!)

And with that announcement comes a book I bought...

Obviously! But it's pretty, huh? I'm seriously in love with all these Penguin English Library books, they've kind of become my equivalent objects of lust to the Clothbound Classics, only, you know, they're cheaper! And on that note, I also bought this:

                       

Because the writing in mine was just too small, and well, I just can't deal with that, you know? I also bought (bear with me, guys, this is like a month's worth of books. And it was a booky month) a complete set of Maya Angelou's memoirs which is 6 books that were... wait for it... £3. I don't even know how to pass up an offer like that, so I didn't.

Oh, and here's a thing I did this month- I participated in RAK for the first time, and it was pretty awesome (this totally counts as my wrap up post for that, DON'T TELL ME IT DOESN'T!). So I sent out books to Bex and Ellie, cause I like them and also I approved of their lists (I sent Ellie The Woman in White, and may in fact just use RAK as a vehicle for buying EVERYONE The Woman in White and making sure they read it!) and ALSO Bex sent me This Side of Paradise by F Scott Fitzgerald, with, I have to say, a rather lovely cover!

                                          

See, it's nice huh? So I was really pleased with RAK and will definitely be taking part again this month (although probably not every month, because poor! Or at least not every month until I get a job anyway) and it's really nice and feels really good to do and everyone should do it all the time, ok? And this wasn't the only book I got in the post that I didn't even pay for either! Here's another:

                                  

Eeee! I won this from a giveaway Trish did over on her blog, and I was SO excited because it's something that I'm really excited about now, but probably would have forgotten about, which seems like it would be a very foolish thing to do from all the things I've been hearing about it! So, you know, yay! And thanks again Trish!

And then (I told you this was long. I'm so sorry.) my dad decided that I needed a present for being nice and looking after him and my mum and things, which was really nice of him, even more so because what he bought me was books! (and also a Joni Mitchell album, because JONIIIIII! But also, BOOKS!) And these were these:

Which, by the way, I happen to think were really good choices (he asked me what I wanted and I directed him to my wishlist, so he chose them all by himself) because they're books that I did want, but also may never have actually bought myself. So now I have them and all is well with the world! Ahem, well, not that last part. But you know... And then I was allowed to run around in various charity shops and things and I bought the following:

Which I feel I'm allowed, because I have valid reasons for wanting them all! You know, you've been there right? 

So, I'm really sorry about this post because I even got bored writing it, so, you know, feel free to beat me up later. IF YOU CAN FIND ME hahaha the internet is awesome. 

Oh, and actually there is one more thing: The very same Trish I mentioned earlier is doing this awesome thing called Pin It and Do It, which is a sort of challenge thing encouraging people to make/do the things they've pinned on Instagram. I'm totally on board with this because, like everyone, I assume, I pin many many things with really good intentions and then, erm, never make them. I think I've made one recipe I've pinned, so.. I need to do something about this. I'm being a 'timid pinner' (making 1-3 pins) but hopefully I'll get a few more in than that- we'll just have to see. So go and sign up and I'll cheer you on and stuff! 

And now I'm really done. Go on with your LIVES, good people!

Devouring Books: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

"I followed her through the beaded curtain and into her private world. The beads felt lovely and tickling on my face, and I experienced a shudder of happiness at this. It is true, I thought. I am living a life."

One of the very best things about book blogging is that it forces encourages you to pick up books taht you might never have even considered reading. Had I read a description of The Sisters Brothers basically anywhere 'two assassin brothers in the Wild West set off to kill their next victim' etc etc, I probably would have gone 'meh, Westerns' (having never read a Western, by the way) and moved onto the next book. Fortunately for me, Alice and Megs got there first, and their praise was so incredibly glowing that I thought, well, maybe there's something in it after all. Apparently I didn't trust them enough to actually buy the book, (I got it out of the library) but hey, I still read it!

And it truly is kind of wonderful. It is a Western, but as much as it's that, it's also a character study of Eli, one of the assassins who is maybe not so sure about what he's doing anymore. He travels alongside his much more inscrutable brother Charlie, (who is inscrutable both to Eli and to the reader, who only has Eli's thoughts to go on) but the fact that we don't know much about Charlie's innermost thoughts (if, indeed, he has any besides 'where is the booze and the ladies?') is fine because Eli is so amazing.

Seriously, I could write a whole book about how much I love Eli (and in a way that's exactly what DeWitt has done) but I'll try and be brief here. Eli is a complex guy in many ways, but it's clear that a) killing doesn't really come naturally to him, and furthermore he doesn't really like it, and b) he'd much rather be living a simple life, and running a shop or something. It's especially awesome that we know this about Eli, because viewing him through basically any other character, he'd seem pretty intimidating, being a notorious criminal and all, but because we're privy to his thoughts, we know exactly how much of a softie he actually, intrinsically, is.

I mean, seriously. Eli's horse is distinctly below par, but because he doesn't want to hurt its feelings, he can't bring himself to buy a new one. He falls in love with every woman he comes into contact with (in an adorable, giving them money way, as opposed to a creepy, stalkerish way) and, in his head at least, he's an all round good egg. Because we are also in his head, it's easy to ignore the bad things he does, and even easier to want to squeeze his little (big, intimidating) face, and cuddle him all day long! Honestly, I don't think I've come across a more compelling narrator since Charlie from The Perks of Being A Wallflower, and that is saying a lot because, damn, I really love that kid!

So, with such a compelling character, I'd be ok if the actual story of The Sisters Brothers wasn't so hot, but hey, whaddaya know, the story is also consistently awesome. I love a good journey in a book, and this has that, along with some fighting, killing, and unexpected but wholly welcome meditations on what it means to be human. Essentially, it's a perfect combination of a fairly straightforward Western adventure story, with a more highbrow look at the human condition- it never goes too far in either direction, and the result is a book that both entertains and resonates, in a way that so few books manage to do. And that, my friends, is what you call being an excellent writer.

In conclusion, read this, read this, read this! And if you are Alley, I'm pretty sure that you're obligated BY LAW to read this now. I haven't taken my copy back to the library yet, and I"m not sure I can... I'm very attached and might need to secure my own copy before relinquishing this one. THAT'S HOW GOOD, PEOPLE!

Summer Mini-Readathon Time!

No Sunday Sundries this week, because lookit! Sarah Says Read's Mini-Readathon! I will just say that mum did have her last chemo on Friday which is AWESOME, and also, just thank you everyone who's said kind things over the last 5 months or so- every single comment where you say you hope that mum's ok, or that I'm ok just really makes me feel so much better and keeps me going, and honestly I just love you all. She's still probably got to have radiotherapy at some point, so this isn't exactly the end of the cancer thing, but it's the end of one stage so I just wanted to say thank you for reading my grumbling and just for the support.

Ahem, so I just got all emotional! Now onto the reading! I literally have no idea what I'm going to read today- it occurred to me yesterday that I haven't made a book pile or anything, so apart from my Fuck the Patriarchy Readathon list, I'm kind of going in blind. I'm thinking that I'm definitely going to try and read Anthony and Cleopatra, but apart from that I really don't know what else! I'm half-heartedly reading both The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain and The Invention of Solitude by Paul Auster (oh, and The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir) so I might try and get stuck into one of those too, but Shakespeare and I definitely have a date.

I think I'm just going to start reading whenever I wake up (I am, of course, writing this on Saturday) and then just time the 12 hours from there, but we'll see, we'll see! If you haven't signed up already, then I'm sure Sarah will let you do so today, so if you fancy a bit of reading then I say, go for it! Have funnn!

Update 1: 4.45pm


Welp, it's 4.45pm here and I'm just writing my first update. 'She must have been reading SO HARD!' I hear you cry, but alas, instead I've been watching heats of the Olympic swimming (NONE of the Olympics happens when I'm asleep! This is going to be a time suck...) and having lunch round my nans and chatting and whatnot. I have read abouttt.... 60 pages though, which is not a lot for like 6 hours (I'm going to say I started at 10.30am, cause let's go with that) but I'm fine with it, and now I don't have anything else to do today BUT read, so there's that. Since this is the first time I've been online today, I'm a gonna do the starting mini-challenge, I guess!

1. Tell everyone 3 random things about yourself
1. I am ridiculously obsessed with Joni Mitchell right now, and I kind of want to be her...
2. I have the hugest collection of tights anyone has probably ever seen
3. I have a bruise on my foot at the moment and I don't know why.

2. Is this your first readathon?
Not by a long shot! Although this was my first readathon last year, and got me in the readathon spirit, hence I love Sarah's readathons :)

3. Do you have any specific goals for today?
I really don't, other than what I said above which was to read me some Shakespeare. Which I haven't done... I'm going to get right on that!

4. Do you have any specific snacks, drinks or books planned?
I really don't! I want to read Anthony and Cleopatra, but I have no snacks, which is what happened to me during the last readathon which makes me really sad! I did make some cookies on Thursday, so maybe I'll have some of them...

5. What hours do you plan on reading during?
Well, since I started at 10.30, I plan to finish at 10.30, but I might just kind of keep on reading until bed, since I've already lost SO much time today... we shall see!

Update 2: 7.00pm


I'm about to take a little break to have some tea (um. The meal, not the drink. Just to be clear) and maybe watch some Olympics (but not ALL THE OLYMPICS, Laura...) but before I do that I'm going to do the second mini-challenge that Sarah JUST posted cause I'm a nerd and also AWESOME. Ahem.

So, I'm reading Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare, and here's a line:
"If I lose mine honour,
I lose myself: better I were not yours
Than yours so branchless." (Act 3, Scene 4)
I mean, he's trying to get away from his wife so he can go back to his lover, but still, honour, sure! Ah, Shakespeare, you crazy fool!

Update 3: 10.45pm


Sooo, I just finished Antony and Cleopatra and that looks like all I'm going to get finished today, but hey, one page of Shakespeare counts as like 5 pages of anyone else, right? I have, I calculate, read about 150 pages today, which isn't amazing, but isn't really terrible either, and I'm pleased with it, especially considering my super-failed start, and also the fact that the Olympics are on, people! I'm going to read a little bit more, basically until bedtime (which will be quite soon, I reckon) but this shall be my last update for the day, until I do the wrap-up challenge thingy tomorrow.

So, yeah! Have fun continuing to read, American people, and I shall catch you on the flip side! (You know, tomorrow.)

So Let's Wrap This Up...


I know you've just been waiting for this final wrap up thing, don't tell me you're not! Here goes:

1. How Many Books and/or pages were you able to read?
I finished one book and read about half of another, but the one I finished was Shakespeare, so... I feel like that should count for more! But in actual real life, I read about 150 pages.

2. About How Many Hours Were You Able to Read For? (Were there many distractions, breaks etc?)
Many many breaks and distractions, but I'm going to say I read for maybe 4, 4 and a half hours? I didn't really properly time myself at all, but that feels about right.

3. Do you have any likes/dislikes about the 12 hour readathon, compared to a 24 hour readathon?
I definitely still like the smaller amount of pressure with the 12 hour readathon, and especially the 'starting whenever' aspect, because I bloody hate waiting around til 1pm to start reading... Not that I'm going to stop doing the 24 hour one, but still!

4. Favourite and least favourite books read today? Favourite and least favourite challenges?
I liked both the books I read today, although I possibly didn't read the Shakespeare as 'deeply' as I like to do... But I really don't have a least favourite! And I liked all the challenges, even the one I didn't do (the taking a photo one, cause it got all dark, and I was like... hmmm.... might just leave that one)

5. Do you have any suggestions for things you'd like me to do differently for the next readathon?
I can't really think of anything, other than maybe don't do it when the Olympics are on?! Not that that should be a problem, since it'll be January and a non-Olympic year!

Devouring Stephen King: Needful Things

Needful Things is the last of the Castle Rock books (and, although King sometimes says something is the last of something and then reveals himself to be a dirty liar *cough* The Dark Tower *cough cough* I think this is actually the case with this book) and it's a bit of a rollicking end to it too. It's an incredibly detailed look at the way a community in a small town operates, as well as being a bit of a fable along the lines of 'Be careful what you wish for'. In other words, it's pretty awesome.

In a very Stephen-King-like way, and with this being the last Castle Rock book and all, there is reference to all the other stories that have taken place in Castle Rock (The Dead Zone, The Body, Cujo, The Dark Half and Sun Dog... and I think that's it!) and because I'm a sucker for things like that I just love love love it! But the thing is, these mentions really aren't shoved down your throat, and they feel entirely natural- there's a hint, for example, that Cujo, or the spirit of Cujo or something might be back, and a big showdown happens where that guy in The Dead Zone had a big vision, and it just all feels comfortable and homey, almost, that you know the setting even if you don't know all these characters yet.

So! These characters. King brings back Sheriff Pangborn from The Dark Half, which I really think was a stellar decision, because that dude? He's got charisma! Sadly, they also kill off his wife in between the books (not a spoiler, because it actually doesn't happen in either book. Ha!) which makes him sadder and kind of deeper, and also gives him a new love interest, Polly Chalmers who is a super awesome female character (read: she's not a wife and owns her own business) which is such a refreshing change for King. Even if all the other ladies in the book are wives... Hmmm. Anyway, they're an adorable couple and the perfect protagonists to set against the new and extremely sinister guy in town, Leland Gaunt, owner of Needful Things (it's a shop), chief hypnotiser and all round bad guy to anyone observing goings on in this book, but a generally well received guy in town. He gives the people what they want, and they love him for it.

And honestly, there is so much about this book that feels so... clever to me, because while there are of course big gory battle scenes (swinging intestines, anyone?) and many sinister moments, and a big scary monster who looks like a dude, there's also a lot more to this book that makes it kind of awesome. In looking really deeply into a small town and seeing what makes it tick, King uncovers so many deep buried hurt and angry feelings that Gaunt is able to use to his advantage in order to fuck shit up, but the point is, he wouldn't be able to do it without their consent. And so, by preying on both people's need to acquire things AND their petty squabbles and hatred, Gaunt is able to do a lot of damage just by tipping everyone over the edge- making them feel like they need to 'protect what's theirs' and hurting anyone who gets in the way of that.

In this, it's really a look at what people really need as opposed to what they want, and in spite of the name of his shop, Gaunt doesn't really sell anyone what they need, and the things he does sell them that they want make them forget what it is they really need- the love of their families, a sense of common decency, and some goddamn order around their town! But, while Gaunt is the ringleader and obviously a supernatural presence, he wouldn't be able to do the things he does if the people weren't as they were,  and, as in basically all the Castle Rock stories, the supernatural element becomes almost incidental to the story- Gaunt doesn't directly kill anyone, I don't think, and while he is undeniably the ringleader of all the events, the people still do what they do, which is kind of the scariest part of all.

My only slight criticism is that it's possible Needful Things could maybe have been slightly shorter- I realise that King wanted to get a full cross-section of the townspeople involved (lots of juicy deaths!) but there were at least a few conflicts that perhaps didn't need to be included. Actually, this isn't even a criticism from me, because although it was long, it didn't really ever drag for me, but I can easily see how it could for other people. At this point, I'm just grateful for any King book that isn't The Tommyknockers, but this one really is the best I've probably read (excluding The Dark Tower books) since Misery. Not that it's as good as Misery! But still, it's pretty great.

I read this book as part of the Fuck the Patriarchy Readathon. If you'd like to donate to Rape Crisis, please visit this Justgiving page. Thanks!

Bryan Cranston Is Basically The Best Actor Ever

I was going to write a review of You've Got Mail and post it today, but then it got ridiculously hot and I got slightly delirious and could barely remember my own name, let alone the whole plot of a movie, so you get this instead. It's going to be great though, so just shhhh and listen.

SO, last night I watched Malcolm in the Middle for the first time post-Breaking Bad (and for the first time as a sort-of grown up, so hello focusing on the parents!) and it totally freaked me out. Like, unbelievably so. Cause, like, the dad who can't make decisions and is basically a crazy person only not in a psychopath way? He manufactures meth! And makes lots of decisions that are life threatening and scary and he's a pretty bad person, but he takes care of 4 boy children? RUN AWAY FROM HIM NOW!

Only, the thing is, the characters are so incredibly different that this was barely something that crossed my mind (other than, because I watched Malcolm in the Middle specifically because I couldn't remember Cranston in it at all, and because I wanted to compare his performance to that of Breaking Bad). And I realise that all I'm saying here is basically 'actors play different roles! The world is round! The sky is blue!' and so on, but seriously? SUCH a different role. Only it isn't, because a key factor to both characters identities is being fathers, but apart from that? It's literally like a different man plays each of them. Literally like that. Not just 'oh, he does this so well, it's so different to when he was in X' but actually like 'this isn't even the same person, and it's literally impossible that it could be'. But it is!

Hence, Bryan Cranston is the greatest actor ever. To be able to do two such incredibly different roles, and do them both so well, is something that I think he should be constantly praised and revered and all that kind of stuff for (to be fair, he has been nominated for an Emmy 7 times for both Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad, so it's not like he's exactly unappreciated) because his range is ridiculous. To be able to embrace the sitcom madness and over-the-topness of Hal, as well as to literally become Walter White is a pretty impressive feat, and one that I feel like not all that many actors could accomplish. Because they're not fucking awesome.

This really was an 'actors play different people sometimes!' post, huh? I don't care- just watch Breaking Bad AND Malcolm in the Middle and you tell me you're not impressed. Next time: I can't believe Johnny Depp is both Edward Scissorhands and Captain Jack Sparrow! (I actually really can't. But you don't need to hear about that...)

Devouring Books: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

"A woman may possess the wisdom and chastity of Minerva, and we give no heed to her, if she has a plain face. What folly will not a pair of bright eyes make pardonable? What dullness may not red lips and sweet accents render pleasant? And so, with their usual sense of justice, ladies argue that because a woman is handsome, therefore she is a fool. O ladies, ladies! There are some of you who are neither handsome nor wise!"

There is really TOO much to say about Vanity Fair for just one blog post (or at least one post that won't bore everyone silly, not that I've ever worried about that before, huh? Huh?) but I'll give it my very best shot. I mean, even now, about a week after finishing it, I'm fairly sure that I'll need to read it about 80 more times to grasp all of its little nuances and quips and awesomeness. And I'm also pretty sure that won't be a hardship.

Let's see. When I first started reading Vanity Fair, I was slightly irritated by the authorial voice and its constant cutting in, (and when I ranted about it on twitter, Alice told me off, because, as she quite rightly said, it's a book without a hero, and when did that ever happen in those days?) but it was surprising how quickly I got used to it, or rather just didn't mind it anymore because the book was SO AWESOME. It's just... it's so sharp and cutting and funny and just so completely representative of a particular time and place but also pretty relevant to todays people. I bought the above copy of the book (after I'd read it... basically, the writing in my copy was too small, so I read a library book version, and now I have a pretty one! With good sized words!) and on the back it says:

"While Vanity Fair was criticised on publication as being a cynical view of mankind, Thackeray's epic adventure is a searing portrayal of men and women at their most vulnerable."

To which I say: this is literally the most cynical book I've ever read. And I think we live in a pretty cynical age, but this just tops everything else with its pulling apart of its characters motives and in basically not having a good word to say about anyone. I can't even tell you how many reviews of this I've read where people have gone 'Well, I hated all the characters so I didn't really like this book' and now I'm like 'You're SUPPOSED to hate all the characters! Thackeray hates all the characters, and possibly all the people ever to have lived in the world!'

Except. Well. I don't really think he does. Sure there were points where I definitely thought he was just this giant misanthrope, but there are at least a few characters he really cares for. Poor old Dobbin who can pretty much never catch a break is treated with a gentle mocking, but he's also a relatively successful character, and Emmy, who is constantly chided for being too silly and over-emotional and obsessed with her husband, but is still treated by the narrator with a certain amount of sympathy. I mean, I'm not saying he's nice about them, exactly, but he's probably the least harsh with them than anyone else, probably because they're the least involved with, and obsessed with, the ups and downs of Vanity Fair.

Who he really hates, though, is Becky Sharp, the social climbing, good-marriage obsessed harpy who will literally do anything for attention but won't tuck her child in at night. I mean, really- she's a pretty dreadful person (I mean, character... obviously...) and Thackeray makes sure that we know that. With his cynical and awesome ways, of course. But this isn't all as bad and attacky as it all sounds, because Vanity Fair is really really funny. And a lot of that does of course come from the cynicism, but some of it also just comes from the ridiculous idiosyncrasies of people, not always expressed in a cruel way, but just in a wholly accurate way that I think even people of our times (like, you know, me) can understand and appreciate, and, you know, laugh about. Which is always good!

Here's what I will tell you about Vanity Fair which seems to be the thing that nobody tells you about Vanity Fair: it's really epic. And the marriages happen about 100 pages in, which surprised the hell out of me because I assumed the story was heading for 'how the evil Becky Sharp found contentment with a good man', but nope! The marriages are almost immediate, and then the fun can really begin! It's funny because, at that point, Vanity Fair kind of started reminding me of Anna Karenina (just, in its scope and its being outside of like domestic issues and things) and I was like 'hmm, I wonder if Thackeray was inspired by Tolstoy' but our good friend Wikipedia informed me that Vanity Fair was written a good 30 years before Anna Karenina, so... I guess, if anything, it was the other way around. Or nobody was inspired by anybody and I'm just crazy.

This is my last point and then I'm done, I promise, but here's a thought. Vanity Fair seems to be fairly kind of sympathetic, or if not sympathetic than just sort of progressive in its attitude towards women. I mean, sure, the good woman is the one who takes care of her child and does all the things for her husband, while the bad woman is the one who does not, but there is a sense in which women are seen as equal, or maybe even superior beings, especially when it comes to social matters. Also, I'm always sort of grateful when there is a 'bad girl' character anyway, because at least they're letting the woman do something instead of just sitting there as a kind of ornament, you know? I'm not saying that Vanity Fair exactly challenged gender stereotypes or the patriarchy or anything (nor would I really expect it to) but it is kind of respectful of women and the things they do and the way they are treated in return. Sort of. I mean, there's this passage, which doesn't exactly say 'women should be allowed to do more things!' but just sort of appreciates and validates their own personal struggles, and shows a great deal of understanding of the trials they face:

"What do men know of women's martyrdoms? We should go mad had we to endure the hundredth part of those daily pains which are meekly borne by many women. Ceaseless slavery meeting with no reward; constant gentleness and kindness met by cruelty as constant; love, labour, patience, watchfulness, without even so much as acknowledgement of a good word; all this, how many of them have to bear in quiet, and appear abroad with cheerful faces, as if they felt nothing."

So. Possibly slightly mid-19th century feministy (i.e. not feministy at all, but sympathetic to women), but definitely hilarious, and cynical, and hilariously cynical. I honestly can't say enough nice things about Vanity Fair, but it wouldn't really be in the spirit of things to be nice about it- I should probably just be cynical. But I can't because it's too awesome, and you should read it RIGHT NOW and then tell me how much you love Jos Sedley because, well, who doesn't?!

Devouring Books: In Love and Trouble by Alice Walker

"For the drums will soon, one day, be silent. I will help muffle them forever. To assure life for my people in this world I must be among the lying ones and teach them how to die. I will turn their dances into prayers to an empty sky, and their lovers into dead men, and their babies into unsung chants that choke their throats each spring."

I've had this book for the longest possible time (or, as long as I can remember, which isn't really that long but let's pretend it's AGES) and I presumably bought it in a post-Color Purple haze of 'well that was clearly the best book ever'. And then promptly left it in various places around my room for many many years (again, probably not that long. Maximum 23 years, but probably even less than that... Probably). So, duly added to the TBR Challenge list it was, and then to the Fuck the Patriarchy readathon list, and so the time for ignoring it was pretty much over. It had to be read.

And what a little treat it was! The cover I have is different from the one above, and it fails to mention that this is a collection of short stories, so when I opened it and realised that this is what I was getting I kind of went 'okayyyy... Let's see what you've got then, Walker.' I figured, it's basically only 140 pages long, and so even if the stories are bad (I don't know why they would have been, but there you go) at least it won't take long to read. Long it was not, but filled with emotional power and incredible writing? It sure is!

Seriously, it's a pretty amazing book. It's one of those books that makes you go 'I can't believe I left you so long, I'm SORRY!' and makes you wonder what else you might be missing out on in books you own but have left unread for YEARS. Food for thought, let me tell you! And the stories? They're basically, as this cover helpfully tells you 'Stories of Black Women', which was probably clear because they're written by Alice Walker; and, well, they're just so varied and spectrum-y and just plain wonderful. I mean, I think it's fairly universally acknowledged that black women are basically the most downtrodden group of people anyone can think of (obviously I'm generalising, and I guess I mostly mean non-white women, but just go with me on this yes?) because of how they have to put up with the dual prejudices that come with being a) non-white, and b) a woman, and so when you come across anything that kind of puts black women to the forefront and says 'here we are! We exist, and this is what our lives are like!' well, I'm pretty much down with things like that.

And I say I'm down with things like that, and I am, but you know what's even better? When these things are put to the forefront with objectivity and sensitivity and excellent writing, all of which Walker does here. There's nothing didactic about what she's writing, it's more just like... this is who these women are and what they're like and what they believe, and they exist and you'd do well to remember that. Which is not to say that there's no emotion attached to them or their stories, and in no way are all these women meant to be saints or devils, and nor should they be- they're just people, who have obstacles and struggles and are trying to get through them as well as they can. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, all of them feel very very real.

Please note my generalising statements and lack of reference to actual stories, and see: my lack of ability to review short story collections. Having said that, let's just talk about a few of them:


Roselily: A story about a 'bad girl' who has 4 children already but has found a man to marry her, and she doesn't quite know how she feels about this. I kind of liked the form more than the story- it's an internal monologue that goes on in-between the lines of the wedding service and kind of blew me away as the first story in the collection. It's almost more like poetry than prose, and it's pretty special.

"Really, Doesn't Crime Pay?": About a woman whose husband doesn't understand her and so she has an affair with another man, to whom she tells all the stories that she can't risk writing down. All of which seems to be going really well, until he betrays her in the worst way...

Everyday Use: A story that I think is all about Walker's dislike of a certain kind of black activism, that involves both disdaining 'ignorant/unenlightened' black women, whilst also revering the things that they've made. Basically: bitchy elder daughter goes back home having decided her upbringing wasn't good enough, and wants some precious family quilts, over her younger, quiet, severely burnt sister. It's all very nuanced and interesting and I could probably analyse it forever. But, you know, I won't...

The Flowers: A sort of shocking, really really sad two-page story that I'm not going to give away basically any of because it's kind of the whole thing. But seriously, it's really really sad.

And those really are just a few of my favourites, but to be honest, it's alllll good. Seriously.

So, if you're looking for a collection of short stories to knock your socks off, then this one should do it. I feel very naughty having neglected this book for so long, but so glad to have read it now, even more so because it's a book that applies for like FOUR challenges, which is fairly awesome (to me, because these are the things that count as achievements in my LIFE). And my advice to you, if you don't want to read this, is to read a book that you've bought but discounted many times. It might just make your heart happy.

I read this book as part of the Fuck the Patriarchy Readathon. If you'd like to donate to Rape Crisis, please visit this Justgiving page. Thanks!