The Good People by Hannah Kent is a remarkable but deeply distressing novel set in 1820s rural Ireland.I think there's a lot of truth in the notion that those who suffer the most need to believe the most. Belief in a higher power can be not only a comfort but also the driving force that enables ...
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine: Isn’t She?
If youโre looking for books set in Scotland that are quietly powerful and deeply moving, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a must-read. This bestselling debut by Gail Honeyman takes readers into the life of a woman who appears fine on the surface but is hiding a world of loneliness and trauma ...
The Island of Missing Trees: Love, Loss, and the Legacy of Cyprus
Elif Shafakโs The Island of Missing Trees (Shortlisted for the Womenโs Prize for Fiction 2022) is a hauntingly beautiful novel that intertwines history, memory, and nature to tell a story of forbidden love and intergenerational trauma. Set against the backdrop of Cyprusโs turbulent past, this book ...
Firekeeper’s Daughter: A Girl Between Worlds
I picked up Firekeeperโs Daughter by Angeline Boulley during a quiet stretch between travels. One of those in-between times when I wasn't going anywhere, just floating around between work and home. Iโd heard whispers about this book: that it was more than just a young adult thriller, that it carried ...
Beware of Pity: Cruelty in Kindness
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig will transport you back to the very end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, just before the start of the First World War. In it's simplest form, Beware of Pity is a cautionary tale about a young cavalry officer, Anton Hofmiller, who, feeling sorry for Edith, the crippled ...