Book Reviews.
The Last Woman in the World by Inga Simpson
Living a hermit-like existence in her remote and self-sufficient home in Australia, Rachel has no idea that the outside world has entirely crumbled until another woman and her sick baby knock on her door in the middle of the night. Hannah, mother of poorly baby Isaiah, explains that something mysterious and invisible has spread throughout the world, causing the near-instant death of whoever they encounter. Nearly everyone else has died and society as we know it has disintegrated into chaos, though Hannah and her baby have somehow survived. They ask for Rachel’s help to find medical supplies, so she reluctantly leaves her protective bubble with them on a dangerous hike through the forest.
The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart
A serial killer with an interest in medical experimentation, a badass forensic pathologist trying to stop him, all set against the backdrop of New Orleans – The Butcher and the Wren sounded like the perfect choice for spooky season at Brunch Book Club!
Renowned storyteller and Morbid podcast co-host, Alaina Urquhart further develops her world-building and storytelling skills in this debut novel, showing off her extensive knowledge of serial killers and forensic science.
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
If you are a gender studies or sexuality studies major or perhaps you've spent years exploring your sexuality in a safe and open environment, this is likely going to be a refresher with some cool science facts thrown in. But for the rest of us... this is a jaw-dropping, science-based unveiling of understanding women's sexuality.
Come As You Are has one critical message, in my opinion, and that is "We are all the same. We are all different. We are all normal." Emily Nagoski spends time breaking down the science of sex and sexuality, particularly biology and anatomy and how they come together, as well as our brains and how they work…
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
Nevada was first published nearly ten years ago in 2013, but it is only the tech, the slang, and some aspects of the drug-fuelled punk aesthetic that seem to have aged. As a novel narrated by a trans woman (Maria), its take on relationships and the long process of figuring out your sense of self still feels fresh and important today.
The book largely manages to steer clear of cliché and many have praised Binnie for writing a trans novel that finally ‘gets it’. Here, we have a story that focuses on trans experience, but that isn’t about a character’s transition; a depiction of a trans mentorship/parenting scenario that feels realistically awkward and unrehearsed; and a road trip without the classic American resolution.
Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu
Peach Blossom Spring starts in 1938 China, when Meilin and her four-year-old son Renshu are forced to flee their home, as war promises to devastate everything they have known. With little money but a beautiful, illustrated scroll, they escape the country and find a new home in Taiwan. Years later, Renshu is offered a place at an American university, where he becomes Henry and refuses to talk about his past.
The book covers decades of Meilin’s and Renshu’s lives, as they grow apart due to the distance that separates them and Henry’s refusal to acknowledge or talk about his past…
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
On the surface, The Book of Form and Emptiness is the tale of Benny Oh, a thirteen-year-old boy who begins to hear voices after the death of his father and his mother who develops a hoarding problem as a result. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find it’s actually a thesis on creativity, the nature of books, the power of love, and the hold material possessions have on us.
Ozeki makes a compelling case: "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” She argues throughout that the most dysfunctional characters in the book are in fact simply tuned into a reality that Neuro-Typicals are too stifled to comprehend…
The Paper Palace
The ‘Paper Palace,’ named for is papery walls, is the beloved Cape Cod holiday home of the Bishops. Having visited every summer for generations, the Paper Palace holds a very special place for all who call it a home away from home. One fateful August day, Elle succumbs to a decades-long yearning for a life and love she feels she’s missed. What follows is the unfolding of her life and the events that have led her to this day and a decision she must make…
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
The Atlas Six tells the tale of six uniquely powerful magicians invited to join a shadowy secret society to learn how to truly harness their talents. They’re promised power and wealth beyond their wildest dreams…. If they can survive the first year that is…
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife (Orleanna) and four daughters (Rachel, Leah, Adah and Ruth May) of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it – from garden seeds to Scripture – is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa…
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
The Heart’s Invisible Furies opens with the dismal, unkind truth at the heart of Irish Catholicism: homophobia, misogyny, deceit, and fear. However, despite this jarring introduction, the book challenges our preconceived notions of fate, nature-versus-nurture, and what love is meant to look like…
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert was a popular choice amongst us Brunch Book Club ladies, and I for one loved it!
Our protagonist, Vivian Morris, is sent off to New York to live with her Aunt Peg at the Lily Playhouse and takes to the theatre lifestyle a little too well! I absolutely loved this book – the colourful characters, the scandals, the heartbreaks... Gilbert created a world that feels so alive, and at the time, so fragile…