whether you're traveling or just bathing in the sun close to home on a vacation break, here are 3 books that I've enjoyed this year that make for good summer reading.
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS, by jessamine chan:
who says that a chilling book has to have a murder in it? this first novel by jessamine chan is no walk in the park, mixing two already scary themes: being wrongly accused and not being able to defend yourself. but she adds a twist to it, the question that has been on every parent's mind: am I a good parent? do other people think that I am a good parent?
frida is a 39-year-old woman who suddenly finds herself juggling the role of mother to 18-month-old harriet and her professional career at the university of pennsylvania. the pressure and exhaustion take their toll on harriet, and in an ill-considered moment, frida leaves her daughter home alone for two hours to go get coffee. here is the beginning of the nightmare. accused by the police of abandonment, she seems to enter a dystopian reality (reminiscent of "the handmaid's tale") where she is under constant surveillance. since the judge is not convinced she has learned her lesson, she is sent to school (prison!) to learn how to be a good mother. this school/prison, with its metrics and data, is only meant to teach these "bad mothers" the right kind of kisses, the right time to hug, how to play, the appropriate time to go to sleep, etc. there is no room for spontaneity, no room for the nuances of each individual.
it is a really stressful book about maternal ethics, the humanity of mothers, mistakes and all. be warned, it may give you insomnia!
who says that a chilling book has to have a murder in it? this first novel by jessamine chan is no walk in the park, mixing two already scary themes: being wrongly accused and not being able to defend yourself. but she adds a twist to it, the question that has been on every parent's mind: am I a good parent? do other people think that I am a good parent?
frida is a 39-year-old woman who suddenly finds herself juggling the role of mother to 18-month-old harriet and her professional career at the university of pennsylvania. the pressure and exhaustion take their toll on harriet, and in an ill-considered moment, frida leaves her daughter home alone for two hours to go get coffee. here is the beginning of the nightmare. accused by the police of abandonment, she seems to enter a dystopian reality (reminiscent of "the handmaid's tale") where she is under constant surveillance. since the judge is not convinced she has learned her lesson, she is sent to school (prison!) to learn how to be a good mother. this school/prison, with its metrics and data, is only meant to teach these "bad mothers" the right kind of kisses, the right time to hug, how to play, the appropriate time to go to sleep, etc. there is no room for spontaneity, no room for the nuances of each individual.
it is a really stressful book about maternal ethics, the humanity of mothers, mistakes and all. be warned, it may give you insomnia!
STAY WITH ME, ayobami adebayo:
this first novel by ayobami adebayo tells the story of yejide and akin, married since college, where they met and fell in love. but after a few years of marriage and no children, the relationship begins to crack. having a child is something yejide, who lost her mother when she was born, desperately wants to do, and it is her duty, the role she has to play as a woman. doctors and tests follow. so do healers and potions.
the couple, who refused polygamy when they married, now find themselves under family pressure to take a second wife. a wife who can play the role that yejide seems unable to fulfill.
the cracks in their relationship are widened when yejide realizes that akin has been keeping painful secrets from her while she has refused to see what is really out in the open.
we witness a story about the fragility of love, the weight of motherhood, a story of pride and betrayal in a nigeria of tradition and modernity against a backdrop of political turmoil. truly enchanting. really a wonderful book!
this first novel by ayobami adebayo tells the story of yejide and akin, married since college, where they met and fell in love. but after a few years of marriage and no children, the relationship begins to crack. having a child is something yejide, who lost her mother when she was born, desperately wants to do, and it is her duty, the role she has to play as a woman. doctors and tests follow. so do healers and potions.
the couple, who refused polygamy when they married, now find themselves under family pressure to take a second wife. a wife who can play the role that yejide seems unable to fulfill.
the cracks in their relationship are widened when yejide realizes that akin has been keeping painful secrets from her while she has refused to see what is really out in the open.
we witness a story about the fragility of love, the weight of motherhood, a story of pride and betrayal in a nigeria of tradition and modernity against a backdrop of political turmoil. truly enchanting. really a wonderful book!
BEAUTIFUL WORLD, WHERE ARE YOU, sally rooney:
sally rooney has already achieved star author status, with the publication of her two previous bestsellers, conversation with friends and normal people (both adapted for television), she is considered the first great millennial novelist. beautiful world, where are you is her latest novel and as such has received a lot of attention.
sally rooney has already achieved star author status, with the publication of her two previous bestsellers, conversation with friends and normal people (both adapted for television), she is considered the first great millennial novelist. beautiful world, where are you is her latest novel and as such has received a lot of attention.
alice and eileen, two young women, once best friends, have grown apart. alice has achieved fame with a first book, but she has had a kind of breakdown and has decided to take a sabbatical in a small village by the sea. here she meets felix, a tinder date, who works in a warehouse packing supplies.
eileen has grown closer to simon, her childhood friend, for whom she has more than just a friendship, as she feels alone and resentful of her friends' actions.
we follow three stories in one: through the e-mails that they exchange, the relationship between eileen and alice, through the omniscient narrator, the relationship between felix and alice and the one between eileen and simon. a beautiful book about the ordinary relationships of friends and lovers, about our own little worlds and how we fill them.
eileen has grown closer to simon, her childhood friend, for whom she has more than just a friendship, as she feels alone and resentful of her friends' actions.
we follow three stories in one: through the e-mails that they exchange, the relationship between eileen and alice, through the omniscient narrator, the relationship between felix and alice and the one between eileen and simon. a beautiful book about the ordinary relationships of friends and lovers, about our own little worlds and how we fill them.
cláudia cavaleiro the editor in chief for CINCO editorial. born in '82 in coimbra, she is graduated in philosophy from the university of coimbra. passionate about books and podcasts in a geek kind of way, she always find something interesting to research. loves to bring awareness to social problems and loves working at CINCO!
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