Every book I read in 2021 summarised in one sentence and reviewed in another: Part 2
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro. A longserving butler looks back on his time working for an aristocratic British family, reflections which show the audience how the values of butlerhood have had a haunting effect on his mental state and emotional maturity. Ishiguro’s writing style is very reflective and tangential, which can make this a bit of a slow burn, but the characters and message truly do make it worth it.
The Bookshop of the Broken-Hearted - Robert Hillman. After his wife and son leave him for a Christian cult, an Australian farmer falls in love with a Holocaust refugee bookseller, while trying to save his ex-wife and son from said Christian cult. The love story is really, really sweet, but this is one of those books that tries to tackle too many issues and ends up doing none of them super well.
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Love Simon) - Becky Albertalli. A closeted gay teenager contemplates how to come out while striking up an anonymous online relationship with another closeted gay at his high school. I related to and enjoyed this book a lot for no particular reason.
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro. A group of young English people reflect on their time at boarding school and how said boarding school was not, at all, what it seemed (the specific premise of this book is actually a massive spoiler so I have to be kind of vague). This book gave me the heebie-jeebies but in a good way.
Eleanor and Park - Rainbow Rowell. A boy who is trying too hard to be cool and edgy falls in love with the new girl in his school and defends her from her abusive stepdad. The romance is so emotionally investing I completely overlooked the egregious racial stereotyping and had to find out about it from YouTube.
The House on Carnaval Street (also published as Margarita Wednesdays) - Deborah Rodriguez. A memoir, detailing Rodriguez’s move from being a hairdresser in Afghanistan to dealing with PTSD in the Californian woods, and ultimately moving to an idyllic Mexican town. Fun story: despite this being a memoir, I actually found it in the fiction section of the library, but Rodriguez’s life is that crazy yet compelling it almost belongs in the fiction section.
Tales of the City (Tales of the City #1) - Armistead Maupin. A group of 20-something’s in 1980′s San Francisco, most of whom are not straight and all of whom are very horny, deal with relationships and the randomosities of life. The characters are literally amazing; literally one of my life’s dreams is to be part of this sort of friendship group.
A Match Made in Mehendi - Nandini Bajpai. A Desi teenage girl uses her family’s Indian matchmaking principles to create Tinder but for her high school, at which point hijinks ensue. The premise is a little absurd, but it’s very well-handled and I did end up genuinely caring about the characters.
Conversations With Friends - Sally Rooney. A cynical literature student falls in love with a married actor, and over the course of their relationship is forced to confront her own unacknowledged vulnerabilities. The level to which this is a realistic portrayal of modern relationships is chilling.
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert. In 19th century France, a rural doctor’s wife becomes dissatisfied with how her life isn’t living up to her romantic expectations, and thus spends all her money on shopping and extramarital affairs. People say Tolstoy plagiarised this for Anna Karenina, I say a) this didn’t have the Levin subplot and b) this is four times shorter than Anna but somehow four times slower-paced.
