We all know what happens on April 23rd: it's World Book Day! This post isn't really a recommendation, you won't find "books to give to the person you like" here, but if you're looking for something like that, you'll find it in this post. Instead, this is more of a presentation of some of the books that I've been hearing about and/or have been wanting to get for a long time.
If you don't want to read the whole post, you can go directly to the genre you're interested in by clicking on the title: contemporary, science-fiction, short stories, thriller, non-fiction, and since I'm Catalan and April 23rd is really important to us, I'm going to add a special section where I'll be talking about a Catalan book I want, although it's not translated into English.
Contemporary fiction
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Middlesex tells the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides, and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family, who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City and the race riots of 1967 before moving out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret, and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.
Oh yes, Eugenides. But have you read the summary? It's not only a promising story, but a retelling of Ancient Greek mythology, and we love a mythology retelling in this household. And after reading The Virgin Suicides, the best book I've read this year so far, I can't wait to read this one.
Science-fiction & dystopia
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo ishiguro
Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it.
Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but it’s only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is.
Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date.
Yes, I know I'm a pain in the ass, but I really want it, and in the American edition. I will not apologize. I'm kind of obsessed with it, I saw the film ages ago and I still think about it from time to time. I need this book to be my new "read for a good cry" book.
The Farm - Joanne Ramos
Nestled in the Hudson Valley is a sumptuous retreat boasting every amenity: organic meals, private fitness trainers, daily massages—and all of it for free. In fact, you get paid big money—more than you've ever dreamed of—to spend a few seasons in this luxurious locale. The catch? For nine months, you belong to the Farm. You cannot leave the grounds; your every move is monitored. Your former life will seem a world away as you dedicate yourself to the all-consuming task of producing the perfect baby for your überwealthy clients.
Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines and a struggling single mother, is thrilled to make it through the highly competitive Host selection process at the Farm. But now pregnant, fragile, consumed with worry for her own young daughter's well-being, Jane grows desperate to reconnect with her life outside. Yet she cannot leave the Farm or she will lose the life-changing fee she'll receive on delivery—or worse.
Heartbreaking, suspenseful, provocative, The Farm pushes our thinking on motherhood, money, and merit to the extremes, and raises crucial questions about the trade-offs women will make to fortify their futures and the futures of those they love.
You see, lately I've been obsessed with reading dystopias, especially when they deal with motherhood and mother-daughter relationships. I'm a woman who probably won't have children for many reasons, but I'm obsessed with reading about it.
Short stories
Daddy - Emma Cline
The stories in Emma Cline’s stunning first collection consider the dark corners of human experience, exploring the fault lines of power between men and women, parents and children, past and present. A man travels to his son’s school to deal with the fallout of a violent attack and to make sure his son will not lose his college place. But what exactly has his son done? And who is to blame? A young woman trying to make it in LA, working in a clothes shop while taking acting classes, turns to a riskier way of making money but will be forced to confront the danger of the game she’s playing. And a family coming together for Christmas struggle to skate over the lingering darkness caused by the very ordinary brutality of a troubled husband and father.
These outstanding stories examine masculinity, male power and broken relationships, while revealing – with astonishing insight and clarity – those moments of misunderstanding that can have life-changing consequences. And there is an unexpected violence, ever-present but unseen, in the depiction of the complicated interactions between men and women, and families. Subtle, sophisticated and displaying an extraordinary understanding of human behavior, these stories are unforgettable.
I've wanted it ever since I knew it was out there in the world. It's time to get it. I loved The Girls, and I think this will be a good book to read while waiting and preparing for her next novel: The Guest. What do you think?
Thriller
The Maid - Nita Prose
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.
Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.
But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?
A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.
Okay, first: the cover, and second: the synopsis! I mean, this must be a great book, and I can't wait to get into it. I really want to get more into thrillers and mysteries, I've always wanted to, and I think it's finally time. I'm ready for it.
Non-fiction
I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy
A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor —including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother— and how she retook control of her life.
Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.
In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail —just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.
Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.
I keep hearing great reviews of this book, and people around me who have read it keep telling me to read it, so I'm going to try my best to find it and get it. And again, it's a mother-daughter relationship, even though it was far from being the best one in the world, I still want to read it, if only for the gossip.
Catalan
Les nostres mares - Gemma Ruiz Pla
Què somiava ser la teva mare? Fos el que fos, segurament va haver de quedar al tinter. A les protagonistes d’aquesta novel·la, nascudes durant la dictadura, no els deixen desplegar el seu talent. Però elles planten cara i no s’acoquinen davant de res ni ningú. I amb sororitat i alegria, defugen la gàbia domèstica, mantenen la pulsió artística, s’atreveixen al més impensable per l’amor d’un fill, lideren les lluites veïnals, descobreixen el feminisme i pugen en aquells xàrters a Londres per ser mestresses del seu destí.
Les nostres mares vol honorar la generació que va renunciar als somnis perquè les seves filles sí que poguessin triar.
Després de conèixer aquestes deu poderoses dones, ens adonarem d’una cosa extraordinària: que malgrat que sempre es reconeguin només les figures masculines, resulta que els autèntics referents de vida eren elles, les nostres mares.
Translation: Our Mothers
What did I dream of being your mother? Whatever it was, it surely had to remain in the inkwell. The protagonists of this novel, born during the Franco dictatorship, are not allowed to display their talent. But they stand up for themselves and are not intimidated by anything or anyone. And with sorority and joy, they avoid the domestic cage, maintain the artistic impulse, dare the most unthinkable for the love of a son, lead neighborhood struggles, discover feminism and go up in those charters to London to be housewives their destiny.
Our Mothers wants to honor the generation that gave up dreams so that their daughters could choose.
After meeting these ten powerful women, we will realize something extraordinary: that despite the fact that only male figures are always recognized, it turns out that they, our mothers, were the real references of life.
As I said, I'm kind of obsessed with the subject of motherhood at the moment, so this is a perfect fit. Plus: feninism. We love it. And it's been a long time since I last read something in Catalan, so I think it will be a good book to get back to my mother tongue.
What are you planning to get/give this April 23rd? Let me know in the comments, and give me some recommendations if you think I'd enjoy a book I haven't mentioned!
As always, thanks for reading me and happy World Book Day!
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