August Reading Roundup

Here are some short reviews of the books I've read this month!

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Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

Set in Shaker Heights, a town that represents order and perfection, lives Elena Richardson, a woman whose whole life has been dictated by following the rules. When free spirited artist Mia, and her sixteen year old daughter Pearl move to town, the two families become emotionally invested in a custody case, which raises questions of race, culture, family, rights of the child, and rights of the mother. With vastly differing opinions on the matter, Elena is determined to regain control. Intent on uncovering the secrets of Mia’s past, Elena begins digging. But her obsession with Mia’s past sets off a chain of events that’ll have a cataclysmic effect on her, and her family’s future.

Little Fires Everywhere centres around the intense love that motherhood brings, buried secrets, and the suffocating weight of perfection.

The characters are rich and perfectly intertwined with each other, whilst still feeling realistic. The use of a parallel plot, detailing Mia’s life as a student and a new mother keeps the story engaging. However, I didn’t find this book to be as gripping as other reviews led me to believe. By the end of the novel, it didn’t feel like much had changed. I found myself hoping for more of a climax and more drama. Once the climax peaked, everyone continued to go about their lives with little change. However, this being said, the lack of said drama did keep the story feeling realistic and authentic.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and found it to be very thought provoking. It encouraged me to stop and consider questions of identity and the power that secrets can hold. I’d give this book a 4/5.

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Olive - Emma Gannon

Joined at the hip for as long as they can remember, Olive and her friends have always done everything together. So when her best friends’ lives start to move towards marriage and motherhood, Olive begins to question her life and how she wants it to look. Quickly realising that she doesn’t want to have children, Olive struggles to navigate her relationship and friendships, with the ‘taboo’ hanging over her head.

This is a very light, modern read, that I went into without much idea of what the story was about. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have picked up a story that revolved so heavily around the topic of pregnancy, but it made a refreshing change to the kind of books I usually read. I enjoyed the writing style that Gannon used but in terms of the overall story, it wasn’t my cup of tea.

I found Olive’s character to be frustrating rather than relatable, and at times I actively didn’t like her. I felt that her life and her constant career successes were a little unrealistic, which wasn’t helped by a number of plot inconsistencies. I also found myself getting bored at the midway point and felt that the plot was becoming repetitive and predictable.

In conclusion, I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love it either and it isn’t one that I would rush to read again. I’d give this book 3/5.

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A Theatre for Dreamers - Polly Samson

Set on the tiny island of Hydra in 1960, eighteen-year-old Erica flees from her father in London, with boyfriend Jimmy to Greece, to join its colony of writers, artists, and musicians. Based on real painters, poets and authors from the 1960’s we see the world of Hydra through Erica’s eyes as she watches the island come alive in the summer.

This is a beautifully written book that immediately captured me by its blurb. I went into this novel a bit naively, expecting it to have a touch of Mamma Mia about it. I was fully expecting a light holiday read and a little Greek escapism. Instead, Polly Samson explores both the hedonistic lifestyle, as well as the disappointments and frustrating realities of being a woman in Hydra.

Because of this, I found it to be a bit of a slow burn at first and I was continuously frustrated by Erica and Marianne’s eagerness to act as housewives for their partners. However, once I got past this and accepted it as the unfortunate way of life for women in this time, I was hooked on the prose and Samson’s writing style. By the end of this novel, I was desperate for a trip to Greece and was the perfect dose of escapism. I’d give this book a 4.5/5.

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Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a collection of four interconnected stories set in a café in Japan, that offers its customers the unique experience of traveling in time. There is only one rule, you must return to your seat before the coffee gets cold.

Admittedly, I only picked up this story because I liked the cover, but in this case judging a book by its cover paid off.

This is a charming and emotional book that I read in one sitting. The pace is a little different than I’m used to, but I was rewarded with a heart-warming story that left me wandering when and where I would travel back in time to. I’d give this book 4.5/5.