March Reads Wrap Up

Thoughts and ratings for all the books I read in March

I read a lot of books - not sure if that’s been clear! - so I figured I could use this almost useless but incredibly joyful skill by starting a monthly book wrap up series. Each month I’ll be sharing my reflection on the previous month’s reads, rating the best and the worst of them, my thoughts and whether I would recommend.

My reviews for this series will on the whole be spoiler free - so you get the most insightful review with minimal spoils. No potential twists ruined, guaranteed!

Out of all my reads I’ll also choose a Book of The Month pick - the worthy book I think you should add to your TBR for next month.

So without further ado, here is March’s wrap up. Happy Reading!

Best Reads

Rouge by Mona Awad

From the author of the critically acclaimed Bunny, comes another surreal tale: Rouge. Fall into a sinister Wonderland with Mona Awad’s new book, (fit to boot with wacky residents, each with a hidden agenda or cryptic lesson) where she successfully argues the need for a modern-day Grimm-style tale for adults.

Our heroine, Mirabelle, is beauty obsessed. Struggling with her relationship to her mother’s own beauty, Mirabelle is captured by the wellness industry and is on a constant journey to retain her youthful ‘beautiful’ looks. The sudden death of her mother leads Mirabelle down the dark path her mother trod before her, falling into the same mysterious, vampiric spa-cult her mother attended before her untimely death. Find out just how far Mirabelle will go to attain the ‘Glow’!

Through a fairytale-style lens this book manages to address a number of critical themes: the sinister world of the beauty industry (its erasure of culture and push to attain a one-size-fits-all beauty standard), the contentious complexity of a mother-daughter relationship (as further damaged by the Disneyfied ‘evil stepmother’ narrative), and the warped importance and worthiness beauty gives to women within society (as taught from a young age).

You will be transported into a nightmarish, Dorian Grey-esq-tale set in sunny LA, with its creepy, sultry, gothic yet elegant underbelly-world of the rich and beautiful. In this world, what extremes can the desperately envious and secretly broken be pushed into to reach the ultimate wellness goal?

In the age of Instagram and over-consumerism, Rouge is a perfect allegory for the beauty-obsessed society we’re not only living through now but have always been sucked into. What struck me the most about this book was Awad’s clever writing style – in particular I enjoyed how she peppered the book with Freudian slips, used as a devise to hold a mirror up (so to speak) to the insidious damage caused by the pressures of attaining 'the beauty standard’.

If you are a fan of fresh, original takes on fairytales, or clever use of writing which brings the reader in on the symbolism and humour, or you enjoy crazed metamorphosis and descending into moral chaos, or even a reframing of mythological stories in the modern era, then this is most definitely the book for you. 5⭐️s.

Educated by Tara Westover

A Beautiful book. It reads like a fiction but is a true memoir written by a woman who grew up in a fundamentalist, end of days, outside of the skirts of society family. It follows her recanting her childhood up to and beyond her life of escaping the unorthodox life her family lived, and the heartbreaking consequences that came with it.
Tara is a natural storyteller, this book is gentle and brutally honest, and is a self-realising and forgiving account of looking back at one’s life. It has heartache but a lot of hope.
Mostly you can just feel the deep deep love a person can have for their family despite their tumultuous, unusual, and sometimes dangerous, sometimes abusive upbringing. There’s a lot of light that shines through, and a surprising amount of sensitivity for such a harsh tale.
What struck me most was the theme on family, this book addresses the ties family can have on us which are so strongly bonded, but what happens when that family is one you feel you can no longer relate to and who inevitably hurts you the most.

It reminded me a lot of Betty but less lyrical and less harsh (which Betty paradoxically is throughout). It made me weep but feel comforted by the authors relatability despite living a life so different to so many. Must read if you haven’t yet! 5⭐️s.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

Story focusses on the people (in particular the women) affected during one of the most notorious serial murder sprees in the 70’s. A distinctive narrative choice that jumps out immediately is the author’s poignant decision to not refer to the murderer by name, an insistence I will continue to follow in this review. During a time when serial murder rates were not just high, but exploited and sensationalised the media, it’s refreshing to read a book from a point of view so tragically rarely heard: the victim’s.

The story is told from two perspectives and differing timeframes. One perspective from Pamela (the best friend of Denise who was brutally murdered in their shared sorority house) and her fight to prove she could identify the man who committed those crimes and bring justice for her friend. The other perspective from Ruth, and the life she lead up until the tragic moment she was murdered by the same man a few years earlier. I liked the way the author intertwined their two stories despite their being years apart, and the unravelling of their fates intrinsically connected. It was also fully (infuriatingly so) immersive of the female experience during the 70s, written so eloquently and honestly (with all the grey areas social issues tend to include) but not preachy - just a part of the story and trials the characters had to overcome.

My only reservation, and why I have bumped down a star, is that it’s a bit of a tricky read. Unfortunately there was a lot of American-college jargon (with distinct cultural references) that just went over my head as a British reader and some of the writing is convoluted to the point of too much information in one sentence. I found the complexity of the style of writing lead to confusing grammar and had me re-reading sentences or paragraphs more than once. Particularly in the first half of the book, it seemed as though it was trying to be too clever which unfortunately took me out of the story and smothered the plot at times. Things relaxed and picked up for me in the second half though, where it began to flow a lot easier. I would definitely recommend overall, it’s an excellent retelling of a true crime that captured American society but told from the only voice that should’ve been listened to. 4⭐️s. I also have to make a special mention to the cover - what an eye popping book cover, 70’s retro gorgeousness, but also a nod to American-horror films, definite Hitchock’s Psycho vibe. They just got the brief spot on.

OK Reads

Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer

There’s only one word that springs to mind to best describe this book: irreverent.
It took me a long time to understand what this word meant and if I’m honest even now I’m never really 100% sure how to describe the word BUT I know it when I see it and this book definitely is irreverent.

You’ll dip into an almost cartoonish version of reality, bursting with caricature characters: an oddball protagonist, Gary, and a supporting cast whose personalities and idiosyncrasies verge on the extreme. Follow them on an almost farcical but incredibly serious crime adventure - it’s the quirkiest crime book you’ll read that really centers on people and relationships and finding your family.

You’ll hear Mortimer’s voice with such clarity that it did take me a little time to get used to and disassociate him from the story - for me it really picks up by Part 2. Once you get used to the protagonists unconventional way of conversing with the world around him, the book starts to take on a more heartwarming element.

The overall murder-mystery/crime plot is engaging enough, I liked the visuals and the distinctive descriptions of people and places as told through the view of Gary - there’s something almost child-novel in the way characters we encounter are described, with strong, sharp visual identities. Which in the end I quite liked and suited the extreme personalities.
The comedy (unsurprisingly) was of a British-quirky nature, think Mighty Boosh, IT Crowd, Shooting Stars bizarreness; a weird cartoony parallel world in which nutty stuff just makes sense - which, let’s fact it, is totally in keeping with the author.
In the end, I kind of loved it. Simple, weird and sweet. You’ll find it easy to read, fun and endearing. I’d give it a 3.5⭐️s, it didn’t totally blow my mind but was definitely enjoyable and I’m glad I read it - perfect respite book that’s has originality.

Briefly a Delicious Life by Nell Stevens

I’ll be honest, this book is completely unlike what I was expected/hoped it would be. I thought it would be whimsical, full of artistry and focusing on the fun, daring and possibly dangerous yet thrilling world of the Romantic Era movement at the time.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t nearly as daring, sexy or romantic as I hoped.

The non-heteronormative relationships and lifestyle didn’t feel robustly explored and were sprinkled in here or there, not what the blurb alludes at all. Even the main focus of the story - a ghost, Blanca, falling deeply in love with a living writer - was skimmed over. What or why she fell in love with George Sands is merely stated with a single sentence with little fanfare.

Some interesting plot points were raised but in the end ran nowhere - it felt like a lot of missed avenues. Either the book tried to put in too much and should’ve focused on one narrative, or it should’ve been a much longer book, in order to fully explore those areas more. For example, George’s life as a writer, leaving her children behind to pursue a career, her relationships with women and dressing in society as a man, should’ve been incredibly interesting to read but it was all a bit surface level in the end. Or, why was Blanca the only ghost around, her pondering on her existence is touched on a few times but, again, is left open and unexplored. These are unfortunately just two of many plot points that could’ve been picked up and run away with but are unfortunately stunted and leaves you bereft of a decent tale.

I did wonder whether the author tried to stay too close to historical fact (despite the unusual narration of a teenage ghost) and I feel the author should’ve taken more artistic license instead of relaying too much of the truth of the past, because in the end it made for a slightly glum and almost boring read.

Some plus points are: the idea is compelling and it does almost find legs, and the prose and descriptions were beautifully written at times, but could not hold up to a plot that was lacking.

While I enjoyed the originality of the concept, it risked being a little childish at times. The setting was beautifully described and felt you were in the era, Paris and the provincial-ness of the Mallorca village in the 15th century were especially clear to picture.

I liked it but if was asked whether I would recommend reading, I would probably say to give this one a miss. You won’t gain much by reading it, but if you like slow gentle reads that aren’t too deep then it could be up your street. 3.5⭐️s.

Wonderwahl Book of the Month: April Selection

It was a tough decision to make between Rouge and Educated, both reads were stand out in very different ways, but Rouge by Mona Awad is my April Book of the Month pick. Out of all the reads it was the most exciting, interesting and original. I think you’ll love it!

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