Week 3
This week I read 4 books. I worked, played video games, watched movies, cooked and pretty much did nothing but read. I had a weird sense of melancholy earlier in the week and returned to the things that comfort me most - sad movies and books. But it turns out a little time with my friends and some whimsy sorted me right out.
This week I purchased a fancy page turner and kindle stand. Not too fussed about the stand but I loooove the page turner.
Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
I have been waiting for SO long to read this - it’s been on my Amazon wishlist for what feels like over a year, and I’ve been waiting for the price to drop from 11.99. It did, and I had just received a new page turner. What better way to test it out, than by reading a long book that felt (initially) quite dense.
In this novel, Peter is 40 years old. He works as an immigration lawyer, in the depths of a cruel, sick system. He has had a few, very fleeting relationships with other men. He has been estranged from his mother for years, and is close to being estranged from his sister. This is his choice. One day, he agrees to take on a case to cover his colleague. He meets Vasel, an Albanian man who seeks asylum on the basis of his sexuality. As Peter attempts desperately to make Vasel take his asylum application seriously, he must grapple with his past, its consequences and his relationship with his mother.
I just loved this. At first, I found it really confusing; especially the switch in perspectives. But I finished this in 2 sittings, 1 before I fell asleep and 1 immediately after I woke up the next morning. I think Haslett did an incredible job of portraying the grim reality of the legal system (whether it be asylum, crime or family court). He also did an incredible job of depicting and carefully showing how guilt eats up at you over the years, and how it can all unravel, oh so quickly and oh so suddenly. Bravo!
Rating: ★★★★★
Affairs by Juliet Rosenfeld
I saw this recommended on TikTok (I am usually always sceptical about TikTok recommendations. Never again will I be tricked into reading Colleen Hoover adjacent books), and I found the premise really interesting. Rosenfeld picks a handful of people, all who have conducted affairs for various reasons. She interviews them, and unpicks the psychological reasons why a person can cheat on their partner. She also examines the consequences of ther affairs, in cases where the affairs came to light. As most psychotherapy books go, it didn’t surprise me by leaning towards the idea that childhood events and trauma set up a predisposition to start affairs. But I found it interesting and compelling. The way Rosenfeld built up each story was well done and actually quite thoughtful and considered, even if the psychology didn’t quite grip me.
Rating: ★★★★☆
The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein
My sister recommended this book to me - this is the same sister that introduced me to the Theranos scandal and the subsequent book Bad Blood. And so started my love for investigative non fiction. The Mushroom Tapes is about Erin Patterson, a woman who murdered her in laws by feeding them deathcap mushrooms disguised in a beef wellington. This book is specifically about the trial, the evidence and the possible motives Patteron could’ve had for the crime.
I did… Not enjoy this. I really enjoyed the parts where Patterson’s crime, life and actions were described. I hated the format of this book though. Essentially, a tape recorder is passed around the women as they drive around, or sit around. And they talk about what they saw, or thought, or did in relation to the trial. It’s a book that would be best served by being a podcast or documentary. It was difficult to follow, and had very few contextual clues about what was happening. There was no period in which we became familiar with the women as they discussed Patterson, nothing to make the reader in any way connect with them. It really let the book down.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Stasiland by Anna Funder
Oooh I loved this! I read a book earlier about the GDR and found I knew very little about it. Stasiland is specifically about the East and West Berlin, and those affected by the split - but more importantly, those affected by the stasi. The stasi were a sort of secret police force within the GDR, but they were recruited from ordinary German people. It meant anyone could be a member of the stasi - your neighbour, your colleague, your own brother. You could trust no one.
Funder interviews and meets some of the core people involved in the Stasi, and she talks to them about their motivations, what things were really like and how oppressive it felt to be trapped in the GDR. One of the saddest stories was of a woman whose newborn son was too ill to be treated in a GDR hospital, and needed to be moved to East Berlin. But one day, as she went to cross the border into East Berlin, she found she could not go. She could not visit her infant child. I think, for me, that really hit home how anyone could be impacted. She was later asked to hand in the name of one of her only friends, and it just… It really broke my heart. The choices people were forced to make, to survive and live under such an awful regime. Funder writes well, and she doesn’t shy away from showing you her own emotions as she interviews these people. Another excellent book.
Rating: ★★★★★