The books I read in April
It’s time for another wrap up! Throughout April, my main aim was to finish making my way through the Women’s Prize longlist, which I did, so that was exciting (even if the announced shortlist was less so)! I read 10 books in all, bringing my total for the year so far up to 42. Here are some very brief thoughts on each, with links to full reviews if you’d like to know more.
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
[ ⭐ ⭐ ] This timely book critiques the US’s handling of migrants, by drawing parallels between past and present. I respect it for this, but thought the glut of literary references felt self-congratulatory, the characters inauthentic, and the brand of empathy somewhat clumsy.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
[ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ] This chronicles the breakdown of a marriage, when the couple are separated by a miscarriage of justice. I wish its social and political themes had been driven home with more force, but I felt invested in the characters, and enjoyed its unbiased look at the idea of power and ownership within a relationship.
Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
[ ⭐ ] Overly long, thematically vapid, and packed with problematic characterisation, this boring novelisation of Truman Capote’s later life was sadly not for me at all.
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
[ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ] A rich, layered, and thought-provoking look at the complex relationship between mind and body. Beautifully written, Freshwater draws on Igbo folklore to explore the nature of identity, and the pain of feeling disjointed from your inner self.
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
[ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ] A retelling of the Iliad from the perspective of Briseis that adds depth and nuance to the characters, whilst capturing the brutality of war, and the lack of agency granted to women.
Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li
[ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ] I was pleasantly surprised by this look at a dysfunctional Chinese-American family’s various struggles with the issues of identity, lineage, and duty versus desire. It had its flaws, but there are the bare bones of a great book in here.
Remembered by Yvonne Battle-Felton
[ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ] This follows several generations of an African-American family through the period of slavery and Emancipation. It’s brutal at times, but its look at the finding of family fills it with much needed hope.
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
[ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ] A short and brutal little tale that employs a wonderful sense of mounting dread, and very effective foreshadowing. The narrative packs a punch, but there are also interesting undercurrents of religion and morality to mull over.
The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson
[ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ] This look at a forgotten piece of Icelandic history explores the power of storytelling, female agency, and a clash of cultures. The settings are painted beautifully, but I felt the book suffered slightly from uneven pacing and my own admittedly high expectations.
I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
[ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ] This memoir/essay explores the pervasive harm of living under the fear of masculine energy. Written by a trans woman of colour, it offers an insightful, perceptive, nuanced, and intersectional viewpoint, by highlighting how ingrained misogyny is in all of us, and offering hope for a better future. I adored it!
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There we have it! If any of the books I mentioned caught your eye, you can find them with free shipping over on Book Depository. My favourite read in April was I’m Afraid of Men. What was yours?
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Callum McLaughlin 
If you liked the O’Connor story, try some of her others! Her Collected Stories hit me over the head when I was sixteen and I have never been the same since. (Or you could read her first novel, Wise Blood, which is what a number of her stories morphed into.)
My favourite new book this month is a toss-up between Jess Kidd’s Things In Jars—soon to be reviewed; pitch-perfect witty Victorian gothic that fans of The Essex Serpent will love—and Namwali Serpell’s The Old Drift, which is massive in scope and absolutely fearless in execution. My favourite old book was either Irmgard Keun’s The Artificial Silk Girl—a fantastically sharp, sad, funny novella about a young woman on the make in 1920s Berlin—or Anthony Trollope’s The Last Chronicle of Barset, an appropriately thoughtful and complex ending to his Barsetshire series.
Ooh, thanks for the recommendations. I’d definitely like to read more by O’Connor at some point!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the Jess Kidd. I’m yet to try her but I’ve had one of her novels sitting on my shelves for a while. I should try and get to it soon.
It looks like you had a good month! I completely forgot to mention it in my review, but I felt the same about the literary references in Lost Children Archive. The works cited section for that book extended over FIVE PAGES in my copy, which seemed beyond excessive. But congrats on getting through the longlist this month! I don’t think I ever would have made it if I hadn’t read so many unknowingly beforehand.
Thank goodness it wasn’t just me! It’s a shame that Luiselli’s style didn’t work for me, because I could always admire what she was saying with the book.
It was really fun and interesting to read pretty much the whole longlist back to back (I’d only read 2 when it was announced, and one of those I’d finished the day before!). Here’s hoping next year I’ll have read more when the initial list comes out 😋
This may be random, but I just wanted to say I admire how eloquently you wrote these reviews. It’s amazing!
That’s so kind – thank you! 😊
Which migration is Lost Children Archive about? There hasn’t been a large migration movement in the U.S. since around the time of the Harlem Renaissance.
It comments primarily on the present-day experiences of people attempting to cross the border from Mexico, particularly children who have been separated from their parents on opposite sides. But it also draws parallels with events from the past, particularly the treatment of Native Americans.
Oh! You mean immigration, not migration.
Not necessarily. The two terms are very similar. As far as I understand it, a migrant is anyone who moves from one place to another, including across borders, usually in search of better economic or social opportunities. An immigrant is someone undertaking the same process, but with the intention of settling permanently at their destination.
The book specifically refers to the children as migrants, and draws on news reports regarding the ‘migrant crisis’ in the US, particularly concerning those attempting to cross the southern border to find their loved ones.
Wow, I learned something new. In history classes, I was taught a migration is people moving from one place to another within a country, but immigration was moving to a new country. I need to go Google some stuff now.
There’s definite crossover in the terms, and what you were taught isn’t technically wrong! You can migrate between any two places (as in, within your own country or internationally), but you can only immigrate into a new country. So, I suppose migrant is sort of the umbrella term for anyone voluntarily travelling from point A to point B, whilst an immigrant is a specific subset of the migrant community. At least, as far as I understand it!
Your wrap-ups are always so satisfying 😀
Aw, thank you so much! 🙂
I really need to read something by Flannery O’Connor. Would you recommend me starting with A Good Man is Hard to Find? Also I’m Afraid of Men sounds fantastic! Great wrap up as always, best of luck for May! 🙂
A Good Man is Hard to Find was my first O’Connor, and I really liked it, so I’d say it seems as good a place as any to start! 😊 I’d love to see more people reading I’m Afraid of Men; it’s one of the most intersectional and eloquent modern feminist texts I’ve read, and yet it’s so compact and accessible.
Thank you! Same to you 📚😊
I’ll definitely think about starting with A Good Man is Hard to Find then! 🙂
I hope you enjoy it! 😊
I just stumbled across your blog via a comment you left on Literary Elephant’s post about the Women’s Prize shortlist. Very glad I found your blog, as I think your thoughtful ideas about the books you read will give me plenty of food for thought! I haven’t read many of the books on your list, but am interested in several. I was particularly thrilled to see Vivek Shraya’s book coming out on the top of your reading for the month. I’m Canadian, and it’s been getting a fair amount of attention over here, but I didn’t think many people over the pond would have heard of it. Pleased to see it getting such glowing praise. Will definitely be browsing around your blog and stopping back in future! Thank you for your thoughtful words on these books!
Welcome! And thank you, that’s very kind of you to say.
I adored Shraya’s book, and would love to see more people reading it. Thanks again for stopping by!