Tag Archives: review

Wifehouse by Sonya Walger

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , ,

I know that Miranda July’s All Fours divided readers – I thought it was an astonishing story about a woman questioning her role and her identity (and without getting into gross generalisations, there’s a reason this happens during menopause, when the gentle scrim that oestrogen provides is ripped away). Wifehouse by Sonya Walger tackles similar themes (although without July’s humour and quirk).

…the ruin was internal, invisible and incremental. She had no words for the aching elasticity of time. Continue reading →

Winter Swimming by Dr Susanna Søberg

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , , ,

I was the child who wouldn’t get out of the water. My parents would stand at the shore, yelling for me to come in. They’d have packed up all our gear and would start walking, before I dashed out to catch up with them – wrinkled like a prune, crusted in salt, and gloriously happy. Continue reading →

Finishing Short Story September with…

Posted by Kate W in Fiction, Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I finished Short Story September with one fictional collection – Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh – and one essay collection – Over the Water: Essays on Islands by various authors. Continue reading →

Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , ,

I read Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash months ago – ridiculous to be writing a review now but I am because, since reading it (in May), I have recommended it to so many people.

And this is what I say when I recommend it – “The ending isn’t fab but it doesn’t matter because by the time you get there, you will have laughed so much, you won’t care.” Continue reading →

Sophie, Still Standing by Meg Mason

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

In some ways, Sophie, Sill Standing by Meg Mason is wildly unbelievable. But in other ways (and I was reading it while I was enjoying the Edinburgh International Book Festival) it is clearly informed by experience and therefore quite believable (and Mason’s chat with Ann Patchett reveals a bit about that experience).

Anyway, real of not, it doesn’t matter a jot. The story is charming – it features Mason’s signature, gentle humour, and it’s set at a literature festival – what a bonus! Continue reading →

The Marriage Plot – Family Family by Laurie Frankel

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , ,

First up, Literary Wives has had a rebrand – we are now The Marriage Plot. We decided that a new name was in order to be more inclusive, and broaden our definition and consideration of roles in long-term partnerships.

So, to the club selection – Family Family by Laurie Frankel. Even with our rebrand, this book didn’t fit our intended focus because there are no core partnerships in the story. Instead, Frankel looks at how families are formed and what counts as ‘family’.

Continue reading →

Air by Christian Kracht

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

When it came to discussing Air by Christian Kracht, my book group didn’t do much discussing. Rather, it was an hour of questions and speculation –

  • was it an Arthurian myth?
  • the row boat, the screw, the gun – where did they come from?
  • is it a VR game?
  • why are they traveling south to the North Sea?
  • is it a commentary on climate change?
  • is it a story about belonging and outsiders?
  • does the main character fall into a memory bank?
  • …and what the hell was going on with the horses?!

Continue reading →