Holding Tight, Letting Go by Sarah Hughes

Journalist Sarah Hughes died from cancer in 2021. This book is a collection of her essays, some new work, and reflections from some of her closest friends. The result is cohesive – it creates a clear and consistent picture of Sarah and the reader is left in no doubt about how much she was loved and is missed by friends and family.

Hughes experienced an enormous amount of grief in her life (aside from her own illness, she had two still births). She is frank about her experience, but manages to put this alongside the things that made her happy. It’s remarkable what a person can endure.

3.5/5

Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes

Dare I say ‘vanity project’? Or self-indulgent? Plenty of readers will love this latest offering from Barnes but I found it rather dry. It’s about a man called Neil, who is reminiscing about his late history teacher, Elizabeth Finch. Both Neil and Elizabeth were a little obsessed with Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor (and a person who might have changed the course of history had events fallen a different way). Neil’s thoughts on Julian form an essay within the book, and it’s also where Barnes lost me (because if I wanted a history text, I’d read a history text).

It’s possible that this is one of those books that is better read than listened to, particularly as it would have allowed time to reflect on Elizabeth Finch’s ‘wisdom’ –

Insults most often occur when arguments are being lost.

Wondering if Barnes is falling into the McEwan category for me (that is, more recent misses than hits).

2.5/5

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

A relatively light but insightful novel that exposes the ‘spectrum’ of racism from subtle assumptions to all-out aggressive attack, alongside related issues such as the additional impact of appearance and socioeconomic status. There are a handful of characters that are truly likeable, notably Emira’s group of girlfriends (their energy bounces off the page) and three-year-old Briar, whose questions (“Why can’t I smell that?” and “How come we don’t know that lady?”), are absolutely adorable. Truthfully, Briar made this book for me.

“Should I come eat pie with you this week?”
“Yes,” Briar decided. “But you can only have ten pieces.”

3/5