Hello and Happy New Year! (Are you sick of hearing that yet?) I had a pretty slow start to the year and I just feel like I’m starting to get in the rhythm of things. It can be kind of hard, seeing everybody working to be their best selves in January, when all you want to do is sleep, and, well, in my case, read.
I read three books in January: Circe by Madeline Miller, The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo, and Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. Here are my thoughts on each.
I enjoyed Circe by Madeline Miller, but it wasn’t my favorite. It tells the tale of goddess Circe, daughter of Helios, god of the sun. In her father’s house she is an outcast, and, eventually, when it is discovered she is capable of witchcraft, she is banished to live in exile on her own island. She learns to enjoy her solitude and the beauty of her island, but, in a more human than god-like tendency, does get lonely. Certain people weave in and out of her life, which spans hundreds (or maybe thousands?) of years, some of them good, some of them bad. If you like Greek mythology, then you’ll probably like this book. I liked the main character, all of her struggles, her introspection, and her strength, but the story just dragged on a bit for me. It’s a New York Times Bestseller, though, so I know there are lots of others out there who enjoyed Circe; it might be worth your while!
When @theslowtraveler mentioned on Instagram that she read The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo and it was “a family saga I didn’t want to ever end,” well, I had to check it out for myself. I was hooked on the first sentence. This can happen and fail—I get drawn in by the first sentence, paragraph, or page, and then end up disappointed with my choice in book later—but Claire Lombardo’s writing remained excellent throughout. The novel follows each member of the Soreson family—Marilyn, the matriarch who is just hitting her stride after raising four daughters to adulthood, David, her husband, the kind and loving singular male presence in the household who is slowly acclimating to retired life, Wendy, the turbulent eldest daughter who’s been dealt a horrible hand in life, Violet, the type-A overachieving student with a dark secret, Liza, the sweet third child facing single motherhood, and Grace, the baby of the family, who, struggling with her life status after college, lies to everyone about being in law school. The characters are so real, their dialogue so convincing, their dynamics so similar...I felt like I knew them, even saw a part of myself in all of them. The story jumps around from the beginning of Marilyn and David’s relationship in their college days to their retired, empty nest phase, covering all of the struggles and joys of family life in between. I had to force myself to put this book down every once in a while because I became too invested in the characters’ problems and fights and emotions—they all felt so real! This is one of the best books that I’ve read in a while. I definitely recommend it!
I found Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid to be an enjoyable, fast, and important contemporary read. It tells the story of two women, twenty-five year old babysitter Emira who feels a little lost and left behind in her mid-twenties, and her employer, Alix, a mother of two who is navigating the loneliness and challenges of moving from New York City to Philadelphia while still trying to at least look like she has it all together. In the beginning of the book, Emira is confronted while babysitting Briar, her endearing three-year-old charge, as the two are walking through the aisles of a high-end supermarket late at night. A customer, concerned by seeing a young black woman out late with a white toddler, inappropriately and unnecessarily inserts herself into the situation by flagging down a security guard and having him approach Emira. This racially-charged, uncomfortable, embarrassing, and awful situation for Emira leads Alix to become more intrigued by, protective of, and, well, obsessed with getting to know Emira, while Emira just wants to quietly move on and figure out her life. Everything sort of spirals out of control, and, although cringeworthy at times, so much of this story is so spot on and pulls you in. I definitely recommend that you add it to your list.
