Ursina's Shelf - Phenomenal fiction
Issue 86
Dear readers,
It’s been a wild few weeks: a weekend-long 50th birthday celebration for my cousin was followed by thrilling Olympic games and some health challenges.
With all these happenings, reading has taken a backseat. While much has been said (and written) about a reading habit, I appreciate that you can always pick back up on reading after a break.
Today, I will share three books that are well worth picking up, whether you are in a reading flow or just coming off a reading break.
What’s a book that reinvigorated your reading? Tell me in the comments.
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran (2022)
Description: The main setting is the retirement home Cinnamon Gardens in a Sydney suburb. That locale and the book’s name sound deceptively cute, but the characters portrayed grapple with their past trauma—mostly their experiences during the Sri Lankan conflict—and racist threats to their community in the present day.
My take: This book club read was discovered by Briana in a bookshop in Australia, and it is an absolute shame that it hasn’t become as widely read abroad. It is an intense story, that deserves to be read. Readers will come to love (and hate) these deeply-developed characters. I learned a lot about Sri Lanka on one hand and on the other, my understanding of the realities of racism was challenged once again.
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (2023)
Description: A mother of four wrestles with daily life and keeping her kids and demented father safe as Dublin slides into fascist rule in this dystopian novel.
My take: This writing is so poetic, I loved the narrator’s voice as I listened to the audiobook, but at the same time I kept wishing I could underline Lynch’s hard-hitting sentences. The story becomes chilling through the dialogue and abrupt scene endings, while the imagined political scenario feels dangerously realistic. Thank you to Natalie for giving this five stars, which prompted me to pick it up (buy here).
Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko (2018)
Description: Aboriginee Kerry Slater visits her hometown to say goodbye to her dying grandfather, potentially also hiding from law enforcement for robbery. She quickly gets drawn into her family’s strife, as the author uncovers a wealth of backstory and a tangled web of family history in the context of systematic discrimination against Aboriginal families in Australia since the beginning of the colonialists’ arrival through the present day.
My take: Listening to this on audio challenged and furthered my understanding, and I would highly recommend this medium. I became really invested in the first-person protagonist, and I absolutely did not see a certain plot development coming. This is a book I will keep thinking about. Thank you, Hannah, for recomming it (buy here).
Bonus tip: I also valued this teachers’ resource on the book with historical context and explanations. Careful, it does reveal some spoilers, so have a look after reading the book.
Currently reading: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (link).
I hope you have a great week end. I am excited for more paralympics and US Open. Let me know what you are reading, and if you aren’t already, please subscribe (it’s free!).
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