Vernon Subutex 1 – Virginie Despentes
Cynical, dark, knowing and yet amazing. A former record shop owner, Vernon Subutex, falls on hard times and slowly becomes homeless while his final asset, recordings of a recently deceased pop star, send producers in a frenzy. Despentes has an extraordinary talent for characters – we are introduced to new, compelling characters almost every other chapter in this book. Each is unique, often sexually adventurous and damaged in their own ways. Weaving in cultural and musical references throughout, and filled with selfish, self-destructive people criss-crossing Paris.
A Separation – Katie Kitamura
Otherworldly, calm, self-reflective and gripping. A couple separate but choose not to tell anyone. Then the husband disappears on a trip to Greece and the wife, who doubts her right to still call herself that, travels to try and find him. In the process she unpacks her thoughts on their marriage, relationships and her role in the world. A little marvel of a book, with every piece fitting together perfectly.
Uncharted – Margaret Heffernan
I’m a fan of Margaret Heffernan’s writing, so it was no surprise that I hugely enjoyed this book. She has a superbly engaging way of putting forward her case. In essence, her argument is that planning, forecasting and prediction are, as currently done by most people, a waste of effort leading to false certainty. She argues convincingly that preparing for, not trying to predict, the unknowable empowers us. Creativity and human resourcefulness are, she argues, the key to meeting future challenges, not automation and efficiency. (I would suggest a bit of both might be possible!) Feels very aligned to Vaughn Tan’s work.
Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy – E. L. James
So many people I know have mentioned, in passing, that they’ve read one or more of the trilogy, so I gave it a go. And I rather enjoyed it. Yes it’s erotic in parts, but less than the popular banter might suggest, and no less explicit than Vernon Subutex. What kept me interested was the focus on the lead character’s internal monologue as she tries to understand why the highly traumatised Christian Grey is behaving in the way he does. In essence it’s fantasy yet also a study, in depth, of a relationship between two very different people.
Jason Kitcat 