What I'm reading ...

I have started The Island Home by Libby Page. It is time for some straightforward fiction and I have enjoyed this author’s work before. Here’s the blurb:

Lorna's world is small but safe.She loves her daughter, and the two of them is all that matters. But after nearly twenty years, she and Ella are suddenly leaving London for the Isle of Kip, the tiny remote Scottish island where Lorna grew up.Alice's world is tiny but full.She loves the community on Kip, her yoga classes drawing women across the tiny island together. Now Lorna's arrival might help their family finally mend itself - even if forgiveness means returning to the past...

I’m in Seattle, Where Are You? - by Mortada Gzar

This book delivered what I had hoped for: a look at an unfamiliar world. I was surprised and sometimes shocked by what I read about the treatment of homosexuals and others who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time in Iraq.

As the book is translated, it is hard to comment on the writing style, but there was a somewhat foreign “voice”. This did not make the book hard to read or less enjoyable.

What I'm reading ...

I have started I’m in Seattle, Where Are You? by Mortada Gzar. As the last book I read was so short, I thought I’d continue working down my non-fiction list. I always like biographies and memoirs and this promises to show me another unfamiliar world. Here’s the blurb:

As the US occupation of Iraq rages, novelist Mortada Gzar, a student at the University of Baghdad, has a chance encounter with Morise, an African American soldier. It’s love at first sight, a threat to them both, and a moment of self-discovery. Challenged by society’s rejection and Morise’s return to the US, Mortada takes to the page to understand himself.

In his deeply affecting memoir, Mortada interweaves tales of his childhood work as a scrap-metal collector in a war zone and the indignities faced by openly gay artists in Iraq with his impossible love story and journey to the US. Marginalized by his own society, he is surprised to discover the racism he finds in a new one. At its heart, I’m in Seattle, Where Are You? is a moving tale of love and resilience.

The Missing: The True Story of My Family in World War II - by Michael Rosen

Given that this book was aimed at children, it is unsurprising that I read it very quickly. Although I think it would be great as an introduction to WW2, Holocaust etc. for a, say, 10 year old, I found it a very interesting and informative read. I think I’ll hang on to my copy and inflict it on the first grandchild who seems old enough.

What I'm reading ...

I have started reading The Missing: The True Story of My Family in World War II by Michael Rosen. This small book caught my eye in an Oxfam bookshop a few days ago. I have enjoyed the author’s work, particularly on the radio, and thought that this book might teach me something. Here’s the blurb:

By turns charming, shocking and heart-breaking, this is the true story of Michael Rosen’s search for his relatives who “went missing” during the Second World War – told through prose, poetry, maps and pictures. When Michael was growing up, stories often hung in the air about his great-uncles: one was a clock-mender and the other a dentist. They were there before the war, his dad would say, and weren’t after. Over many years, Michael tried to find out exactly what happened: he interviewed family members, scoured the internet, pored over books and traveled to America and France. The story he uncovered was one of terrible persecution – and it has inspired his poetry for years since. Here, poems old and new are balanced against an immensely readable narrative; both an extraordinary account and a powerful tool for talking to children about the Holocaust.

Should We Stay or Should We Go - by Lionel Shriver

This is an outstanding book that really delivers on the promises of the blurb. Although it appears to be about a gloomy subject - i.e. death - there is so much more to it. It made me think about the meaning of life, of death, of relationships and priorities and choices. The structure of the book is so creative and gives the author a great vehicle to explore ideas.

It is very contemporary, including events related to Brexit and COVID. The quality of writing is everything that I expect from this author. There is even the odd bit of humour!