For those currently tuned into the mayhem of British and American politics, the world appears to be existing on the brink of apocalyptic doom. While political trends usually operate on an endless pendulum swing from left to right, the vitriol and division that seems to characterise both contemporary policy and propaganda has instilled the sense … Continue reading Monday Musing: Liberalism, Literature, And The Myth Of ‘Political Correctness Gone Mad’
Tag: Literature
The Best Books By Immigrants (And For Immigrants)
From the moment that we wake up to a sense of our own place in the world, we are forced to grapple with the question of belonging. Where our adolescent selves willingly turn our entire sense of identity over to the emotional landscape of our favoured groups - skaters and emos being the most popular … Continue reading The Best Books By Immigrants (And For Immigrants)
The Original Goths: Why Women Write Gothic Horror
One of my first introductions to the history of women in the world was through the anti-suffrage propaganda poster 'A Woman's Mind Magnified'. A mind-bendingly offensive insight into the machinations of the political and social elite, this sort of propaganda has always accompanied efforts by marginalised groups to escape the confines into which their entire … Continue reading The Original Goths: Why Women Write Gothic Horror
Monday Musing: How Children’s Fiction Has Made Me A Better Reader (And Person)
A few weeks back, I wrote what is essentially my love letter to all adults who indulge their desire for the fantastic with a willing dive into the world of children's fiction. Where books have been the principal markers through which I remember significant moments in my life, there is an incredible amount of sentiment attached to … Continue reading Monday Musing: How Children’s Fiction Has Made Me A Better Reader (And Person)
Review: Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
"The most racking pangs succeeded: a grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. Then these agonies began swiftly to subside, and I came to myself as if out of a great sickness. There was something strange in my sensations, … Continue reading Review: Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Monthly Reader: October 2019
The year's spookiest month is upon us, with pumpkins and inconveniently adhesive cobwebs a-plenty. My love for October has grown exponentially since I moved to the US. Where my childhood memories of the month have little in the way of costumes and candy, my husband's experience of pumpkin carving and the annual terrorising of neighbourhood … Continue reading The Monthly Reader: October 2019
The Monthly Reader: September 2019
It's been quite the month. I turned 31 at the weekend, quietly decrying the fact that I'm now officially 'in my 30s'. Birthdays as a continuously nomadic expat are always something of a double-edged sword. My non-stop wandering over the past decade has left behind me a wake of confusion, with family and friends generally … Continue reading The Monthly Reader: September 2019
Review: The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
"So they went into the basement, a long, white-washed room running the whole length of the house. A window at one end gave onto a coal hole; a little daylight filtered through at an angle from an iron grating in the pavement above. There was a clean, sweet smell of new wood and a tang … Continue reading Review: The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
Why We Need More Mental Illness In Fiction
It is unsurprising, given my own struggles, that I have always been intrigued by fictional representations of mental illness. As society-at-large attempts to redress some of the taboos surrounding psychological ailments, the publishing industry has been working overtime to fill the gaping chasm in accurate portrayals of mental illness. While there is still an incredible … Continue reading Why We Need More Mental Illness In Fiction
Review: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
"Even in death the boys were trouble. The secret graveyard lay on the north side of the Nickel campus, in a patchy acre of wild grass between the old work barn and the school dump...The developers of the office park had earmarked the field for a lunch plaza, with four water features and a concrete … Continue reading Review: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead