Tag: women

‘The Women of Troy’ by Pat Barker

~ Lucy ~ Leave a comment

Thanks to Penguin UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Women of Troy’ is a direct sequel to Barker’s 2018 ‘The Silence of the Girls’. Euripides’ ‘Trojan Women’ is probably my favourite Greek tragedy, so I was slightly miffed that Briseis is again the main character and narrator of this story seeing as she isn’t in the ‘original’. I guess I don’t find Briseis the most compelling character that the book could have focused on, but I imagine Barker wanted to continue where she started so here we are.

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“The Harpy” by Megan Hunter

~ Lucy ~ Leave a comment

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Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll admit it, I requested this book because of the title – even the most tenuous Classics reference is enough to suck me in. I have been fascinated with Harpies ever since I was young. I don’t know if it’s because they are part bird or if it’s their sheer unadulterated, irrational feminine rage, but I’ve always thought they were really cool. Maybe that’s really strange but I’m guessing I’m not completely alone because Lucy, the main character in this story also shares this fascination.

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“A Woman” by Sibilla Aleramo

~ Lucy ~ Leave a comment

Thanks to Penguin Press UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hmmm…how does one summarise a book such as this? I guess by saying it is VERY Italian. The book is an autobiographical account of the life of the Italian writer Sibilla Aleramo and follows the early part of her life and career at the beginning of the 20th century. Continue reading ““A Woman” by Sibilla Aleramo” →

“Stranger in the Shogun’s City” by Amy Stanley

~ Lucy ~ Leave a comment

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Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone who reads and researches a lot about Japan knows that there isn’t much tangible social history about those outwith the nobility. This book seeks to shine some light onto a life of an “ordinary” Japanese woman coming of age in the early 19th century. This was a time of huge political and social change in Japan and it was still largely closed off from the wider world and the social and cultural influences of the time. I say “ordinary” because Tsuneno was still rather privileged by the standards of the time, at the beginning of her life at least.

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“The Bass Rock” by Evie Wyld

~ Lucy ~ Leave a comment

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Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of three women whose stories are cleverly interwoven across time. The main setting is the area around North Berwick where the Bass Rock looms eternal. Sarah and Ruth’s narratives are written in the third person and Viviane’s is in the first person. This was quite an interesting approach for the author to take but it took a little bit of getting used to as a reader. There is an element of the supernatural in the story but the living are scarier than the dead in this particular tale.

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“Antigone Rising” by Helen Morales

~ Lucy ~ Leave a comment

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Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this book when I first heard about it. I am currently doing my Masters in Classical Studies and I teach it at High School level too so anything which prompts deeper thinking or poses interesting questions I am 100% here for.

The book is split into eight chapters covering topics ranging from violence against women, war, dieting and body image, gender fluidity and…Beyonce. So far, so interesting.

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“Red River Girl” by Joanna Jolly

~ Lucy ~ Leave a comment

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Thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand the past few years, you’ve probably heard about the rampant abuse and murder of indigenous Canadian women and girls, if you’re interested in true crime at least. Despite the media focus, it is clear that the violence persists, and this book focuses particularly on the death of one young girl, Tina Fontaine.   

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“The Tenth Muse” by Catherine Chung

~ Lucy ~ Leave a comment

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Thanks to Little Brown and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. 

This book made me feel interested in and enthused about Maths which is really saying a lot. I know a lot of people say they hate Maths but I don’t, I just really, really struggle to understand it. A friend of mine who is now a Professor of Mathematics once told me to think of it like a language. Little did he know that I am crap at languages too.

Anyway, this book is something rather special. I was worried that it was going to be one of those awfully clever books that makes me feel thick, but I was pleasantly surprised (and relieved!). 

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