A short review of the 50 books I read in 2019. Hope you enjoy!
In 2013 my mom's former London flatmate came to visit her in Ballito. She brought my sister and I each a book. I can't remember what I got, but somehow my sister's copy of Alice Munro's Dear Life ended up in my possession. Munro is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize for… Continue reading Short Story 5: Alice Munro – Train
In September last year, I saw Ken Liu talk at the Open Book Festival in Cape Town. He was serious, dressed in an overcoat (I might be projecting this), and his responses to the host were always long and detailed, but fascinating. It was clear that this was a writer who thought a lot about… Continue reading Short Story 4: Ken Liu – The Paper Menagerie
This morning I finished reading Jessica Valenti's Memoir Sex Object. The book is a collection of personal reflections on topics such as street harassment, abortion, drug use, sex, and child raising. Throughout, it explores the way that the world treats women, casting them as objects for men's comment, pleasure, and enjoyment. It also explores the very… Continue reading What would a world where women weren’t harassed look like?
This week the internet is excited about a short story on the New Yorker called Cat Person. I read it, loved it, and will probably write about it soon. In a strange coincidence, this morning I picked up Lauren Beukes' latest collection Slipping and flicked through looking for a short story to read. I landed on… Continue reading Short Story 3: Lauren Beukes, Confirm/Ignore
Lucky I started ahead of time because it's already more than two weeks since my birthday, and I haven't gotten around to reading any more short stories. I did, however, read Marlene Van Niekerk's Agaat which absolutely blew my mind, and was over 600 pages long. So, I don't feel too bad. Second story - one… Continue reading Short story 2: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Cell One
Jen Thorpe 