May in Review

That was the merry month of May! For all my northern hemisphere readers I hope you enjoyed the spring and are ready for a warm summer, here in the south it has gotten a little colder than I was expecting. I spent a lot of time this month curled around a book or under the blankets watching tv and this is my May in Review

Books

Interstellar Megachef - Lavanya Lakshminarayan

SF novel that follows a refugee from Earth who dreams of winning the titular cookery show. I was expecting this to be cosier and frothier then it ended up being, and it didn’t quite work. The author put a lot of angst about being an immigrant and family trauma and it all felt rather torturous. There’s a way to do this (see Becky Chambers) but this didn’t click for me.  Additionally, the main character came from a powerful family of dictators and takes the name of a group of people genocided by her family and that really gave me the ick. I liked the idea but probably won’t pick up the sequel.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant – Seth Dickinson

I had been meaning to read this book for ages and I finally convinced my local library to get it in! It is definitely a good book, but I’m not sure I enjoyed it quite as much as I had hoped. It follows Baru, a political prodigy who grows up in a newly colonised island patterned after Hawaii. She is made the imperial accountant of a more European country and starts playing a very complex and dangerous game. I understood early in the book that Baru was a real schemer who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals but she seemed to soften a lot throughout the book, in a way that I found a little frustrating. After the twist at the end, I felt more optimistic about the sequels and hope to start them soon.

Hestia Strikes a Match – Christine Grillo

Novel about Hestia, a middle-aged woman living through an imagined second civil war in America whilst trying to date. I really liked this book. I enjoyed the framing of such a huge historical event as something that most people are just trying to get through – I think those of us who lived through COVID would probably sympathise! I found Hestia a very realistic character and I wanted her to figure her life out. There are also a few brilliant lines towards the end which really hit me over the head and made me cry.

Hild – Nicola Griffith

The latest in my line of Anglo-Saxon Britain research, this historical book imagines the early life of Saint Hilda, as she grows up at the court of the Northumbrian King Edwin. You can tell that Griffith did absolutely stacks of research and that she knows the landscape as well as Hild. I know that some readers would find this a little oppressive but I absolutely loved the detail and the history of the story. I did struggle a bit with the intense list of character names but I found a cast list that Griffith had helpfully linked on her website and printed it out. Then I was flying!

The City and The City – China Mieville

I’ve only read one of Mieville’s books – Kraken – and I liked this one much more. The conceit is of two cities occupying the same physical space, where each citizenry must ignore or ‘unsee’ the other. The story begins when a murder crosses the border and the police must try to solve it. I loved the idea of the two cities, but the plot and the writing didn’t fully connect with me. It was a struggle to finish the second half, when the concept was no longer fresh in my mind, but I pressed on to try and solve the mystery.

The Persian Boy – Mary Renault

My first Renault, an author I have been diligently bumping up my tbr for years! This is the second of her Alexander books and is a first-person narration of the last seven years of Alexander’s life, told by the man who loved him, Bagoas. I really enjoyed this read, Bagoas was a very sympathetic character and I was a little traumatised by the brutal account of his early life. I was very glad that he found such happiness with Alexander. I also loved the account of the conquest of Persia and the journey into India, it felt very real and vibrant.

You Dreamed of Empires – Alvaro Enrigue

A strange book but one I enjoyed very much, You Dreamed of Empires tells the story of Cortes’ entry into Tenochtitlan and how he met Moctezuma, the reigning emperor. The setting was richly realised with frequent Nahuatl words and I liked how Enrigue showed the city as both advanced and cultured whilst acknowledging the oddities of the Aztecs. The most interesting character for me was the “Mayor” of the city, Moctezuma’s second in command, who reminded me of how Thomas Cromwell is often portrayed. My least favourite was Cortes. Fuck Cortes.

Music

James McMurtry – Live in Aught Three

This is one of my all-time favourite albums and I’ve played it a lot this month. I’ve been thinking about how best to describe it. It’s definitely overall country but it’s not tractors and boots country, it’s more prairie gothic country. Try ‘Lights of Cheyenne’ or ‘No More Buffalo’

Death Becomes Her – Original Broadway Cast

I am obsessed with the OBC recording of this musical and I fear it will end up dominating my Spotify round up this year. The leads: Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard are both iconic Broadway stars and it has been very difficult for me to choose one role to belt in the shower.

Gnarly – Katseye

This is a really dumb song. Unfortunately I cannot get it out of my head. I will be sitting at my desk typing away and suddenly I will start muttering “Fried Chick-innn” “Boring Dumb Bitch”. Props to them because this is a legit earworm.

Film & TV

Sinners

I could almost have put this under music because I have been blasting the soundtrack! I loved this film, it was the perfect melding of music, atmosphere and performance. Ryan Coogler is such a talented director and I am excited that he is only 39! I can’t wait for the next 50 years of his films.

The Four Seasons

A new series on Netflix that I believe is a remake of an Alan Alda film. Four middle-aged couples go on multiple friendship holidays over the course of a year and wrestle with new challenges. I really enjoyed this series. The cast is fantastic and the writing was smart and funny. I love it when characters I don’t initially warm to become my faves (I would die for Claude) it’s always a sign of a clever writer. This felt easy and fresh to watch but hit some big emotional moments really well.