Paperback Classics

Persuasion

Jane Austen is a writer ruined by TV adaptation (before you all start writing letters, I know there are good ones). Despite two centuries of inclusion in the canon, there are still many (and I am afraid they are mostly men) who dismiss her as 'frivolous', 'saccharine' or 'unserious'. This means it is only worth continuing to discuss Austen with people if they either don't use any of the aforementioned adjectives or if, by the latter, they mean, she is one of the funniest writers in English (full stop). If you don't know this already, the first page of 'Persuasion' will convince you, and then her biting, satirical commentary on Georgian society will show you that far from reverently writing about it out of admiration, she irreverently lambasts it and its eccentric snobbish hierarchy (people who write her off will probably say John Oliver likes Trump because both wear suits). If you don't believe me (and even if you do), read her (and start with 'Persuasion') before you watch her.

Persuasion

The Ice Palace

The girls Siss and Unn really speak to each other only once, on a cold winter evening. The next day, Unn disappears into the ice palace, a construction developed around a frozen waterfall. She takes with her a secret that she had almost confided to Siss. Vesaas convincingly portrays the particular sadness of grieving someone you weren't given the chance to get to know and the weight of the unspoken. Interestingly, the way Siss' longing for Unn and their encounter are described invokes a layer that we can't be sure was intended by Vesaas. Let's just say there's a reason why many (including me) read The Ice Palace as a queer text. Besides the delicate character and relationship work, it's the descriptions of Norwegian winter, specifically the titular ice palace that make this novel into a masterpiece. In a timeless language crisp as ice Vesaas leads us through an enchanted landscape. The scenes of Unn inside the palace took my breath. While some aspects of The Ice Palace are reminiscent of a fairytale, it is so much more than that, capturing profound conditions and transcending time - I recommend it to everyone.

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Whoa. What a devastating read! A dystopia in the darkest sense of the word - without a happy ending whatsoever (that's how I interpret it at least).
A must-read classic.

You'll never think of rats the same way again!

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Terror

A short and comparatively easy-to-read British classic from 1886 about the duality of human nature. Stevenson's linguistic eloquence is a pleasure to consume!

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Turtle Diary

This novel! To be honest, the premise alone won me over: two lonely Londoners read about the sea turtles in the zoo and start dreaming about them, until they feel forced to come up with a plan to release them back into the sea.
I could have chuckled all the way through this, if it hadn't also been incredibly profound. Lovely and life affirming without ever slipping into cliches or nostalgia - I adored this book whole-heartedly. And it seems I'm not alone this, Max Porter reportedly said about it that it has "medicinal qualities. I only need to think about it and I?m in a better mood." Amen to that.

Lolly Willowes

This novel is unjustly very obscure, a fact that the new reissue from Dörlemann is hopefully helping to change. Originally published in 1926, it tells the story of unmarried auntie Lolly who, out of the blue, vacates her post as an unpaid housemaid to her brother's family, to move to an obscure village in northern England. For the first time in her life, and much to her family's consternation, Lolly does what she wants and it involves cats, midnight dances, a very peculiar village and - Satan.
Utterly charming and uplifting, the novel's lighthearted treatment of such themes as the lack of prospects for women, loneliness and ageing is borne out by Lolly's esprit and its just rewards. It's a classic of early lesbian literature and should absolutely be read more.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

A short and comparatively easy-to-read British classic from 1886 about the duality of human nature. Stevenson's linguistic eloquence is a pleasure to consume!

The Road Trip

This cute contemporary romance was sometimes silly, often quite dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking. I really liked the switch from "now" to "then" and from female to male point of view. I had a great time reading it!

The Lincoln Highway

Reading is an immersive ride with these travelling companions - I felt like I was going from Nebraska to NYC in a studebaker!

Clytemnestra

We all know the story of Clytemnestra, she was notorious and reviled. This book takes back her story starting from her life in Sparta through to the murder of Agamemnon. You will empathize with her plight as a woman of ancient Greece having to cede to all the men in her life - much recommended!

Snow White and Ebony

Zauberhafte Märchenadaption

Was passiert, wenn eine junge Fee in der Ausbildung es besonders gut machen will? Genau, vor lauter Aufregung weiß sie nicht mehr ganz genau, was sich die Königin für ein Kind gewünscht hat und plötzlich gibt es nicht nur Schneewittchen mit ihren roten Wangen und schwarzen Haaren, sondern auch die jüngere Zwillingsschwester Ebony mit roten Haaren und schwarzen Augen. Die Geschichte um Schneewittchen ähnelt dem ursprünglichen Märchen sehr, was dem Ganzen eine gewisse Vertrautheit gibt und trotzdem quirlt da die wissbegierige, stets hinterfragende kleine Ebony durch das Märchen, was alles viel lebhafter, moderner wirken lässt. Und als Schneewittchen ihr Happyend feiert, ja, da geht es bei Ebony erst richtig los und wie es da losgeht.
Ganz klare Leseempfehlung für Märchenliebhaber und Menschen, die ihre Englischkenntnisse vertiefen, oder auch auffrischen möchten.

Wide Sargasso Sea

never received it

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