April Wrap Up… What A Month!!

It’s time to bid farewell to April 2020!! And that’s not a month any of us are going to forget in a hurry.

I know this post is about books read and adored but if we are honest there is no way you can do any kind of wrap up of the last month without mentioning ‘the C- word’.

Yesterday my 12 year daughter said to me, “Mum, don’t you think it’s strange we are living through something that kids are going to be taught about in history?” And she is right! Scary, hard and life changing times such as these will change our country, and this is historic.

‘Lockdown’ has dramatically changed our lives. For our family despite the challenges there have been some lovely positives. I can’t remember the last time we consistently ate together at least once a day. We are eating more home cooked food. We are using local shops more and more. We have house trained the puppy. I see my ‘working away’ husband everyday.

But there are things I miss desperately. Friends and family above all else. But also little things like the ability to browse a bookshop for five stolen minutes, having the house to myself and savouring the absolute quiet, throwing my hands up and saying ‘Sod it! Let’s get a takeaway’, that sustaining thought that we have planned things to look forward to. Going out the front door to work and school.

Don’t get me wrong, our lives under lockdown are no where near as difficult as others. I know we are lucky, but this time has and will continue to challenge and change us.

So in some ways blathering on about books read seems small fry. Probably it is, but it is my constant. My marker in the sand during strange and shifting times. And when my grandchildren are learning about this in history in the years to come, this might not be a terrible thing to share. Because it will be real, tangible and mine. April 2020 also marked the First Year Anniversary of Bookbound. It’s been tethering me for one whole year and that is something to celebrate.

And now, on to the books!!

So this month has been quite heavily dominated by The Women’s Prize . Just before the short list was announced on 21st April I published my own musings, possibly ramblings, which you can find here

I outlined the books I had read from the long list and offered my humble opinion. During the month of April I read Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell, The Mirror and the Light- Hilary Mantel, Red at the Bone – Jacqueline Woodson and A Thousand Ships – Natalie Haynes. And do you know what, I loved every single one of them!

Red at the Bone is compact and quirky. For a short book it manages to paint the picture of one Black American family’s life from the 1920’s right up until the present day. Woodson is author who uses her words sparingly, treating each like a precious commodity. Brevity is her superpower and it’s one I love, having never acquired it myself!! I am not going to lie to you, I was gutted that this one wasn’t on the short list.

A Thousand Ships is a beauty. If you loved Circe, The Song of Achilles or Silence of the Girls step right this way. Haynes has given the females of the Trojan war, both before, during and after the conflict, a voice. She has given them validation, provoking anger, outrage and admiration in equal measure. These woman are strong, they have their own stories and they have an emotional intelligence not previously explored. my personal highlight were the letters of Penelope to Odysseus, edgy and heavy with shades of Carol Ann Duffy’s brilliant poems The World’s Wife .

The Mirror and The Light is a beast of a book. At nearly 1000 pages this took over a quarter of my reading time this month. Regulars to the blog know I love a bit of Tudor history and this series by Mantel is the definitive work within this genre. This is the culmination of the trilogy devoted to the rise and life of Thomas Cromwell. It is quite simply brilliant. I know the books aren’t for everyone. They are dense and packed with research, political and religious history and often darkness. But I love them. This was always going to make the Longlist. And I am sticking my neck out and saying it will win the Booker.

And finally we come to Hamnet. This book!! I honestly don’t know where to begin. This one quite simply blew me away. It is billed as the story of Hamnet, Shakespeare son who died as a youth, but it is so much more. It is a celebration of family, of love, of sacrifice, of fear, of that terrible feeling of loss and inevitability, of power and powerlessness, of grief and every emotion in between.

I had every intention of reviewing Hamnet. But I know I can’t do it justice. It is a book you just have to experience. It is O’Farrell’s best work to date and quite possibly her masterpiece.

And from one of my books of the year to another. Ladies and gentlemen I give you The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld. Any one who follows me on Twitter will know that I have been tweeting like a woman possessed about this book since finishing it a week ago. My review can be found here . This book is my new obsession and it is going to take something very special to topple this one from the books of the year pile.

I have also been involved in two fantastic blog tours this month. One was in celebration of a breathtaking debut novel Conjure Women by Afia Atakora. The story of Miss Rue, a black midwife and healer, it spans the period from the end of slavery, through the American Civil War and into the new and uncertain territory of freedom. I read this at the beginning of the month and I am still thinking about it now. If this her debut I can’t wait to see where Afia Atakora goes next.

And from a novelist at the beginning of her journey to one firmly established; I throughly enjoyed reading and reviewing I Am Dust by Louise Beech. In these strange times when you can’t get to the theatre, I Am Dust brings all the thrills and more to you! Set in my university city of Hull, this is a unique novel. My blog tour review can be found here.

This month has also been about ‘dipping’ for me! By that I mean having a few books around that I can dip in and out of when I have a few moments of head space and clarity. One such book has been The Moth . I saw that Maggie O’Farrell has included this part of her Reading Hour on World Book Night and I was intrigued. A stunning celebration of oral storytelling I plan on blogging about this one very soon.

I have also been loving the collection of works by women poets through the ages, skilfully put together by Ana Simpson. She is Fierce, is quite simply sustaining me on a daily basis. Stunning .

And a dipping book that became a devouring book is the delightful collection of short stories A Registry Of My Passage Upon The Earth by Daniel Mason. This one is due out on the 14th May, and a review is coming. I am only allowing myself to say that this is one of the best collections of short stories I have read in a while…Watch this space!

So all in all quite a month. Not too many physical books but lots of love for those I read. I should also mention I have just emerged from the enveloping warmth that is the final two Cazalet Chronicles, listened to on Audiobook. It is my mission in life to bring these books to every household in the land. Long live Elizabeth Jane Howard!

Happy reading and here’s to May!

Rachel x