What I just finished reading
After the disappointing Dele Weds Destiny by Tomi Obaro , I was relieved that my next book from the #20booksofsummer22 list was so good. Kololo Hill by Neema Shah follows an Indian family forced to flee their adopted country when Idi Amin issues a decree expelling all Asian Ugandans. The book investigates the meaning of “home” and attitudes towards immigrants. I can recommend it if you’re in the mood for a novel rich in atmosphere.
What I’m reading now
I’m part way through our book club choice for this month — Red Clocks by Leni Zumas. It was published in 2018 as a futuristic novel but the recent Supreme Court ruling on Roe v Wade has made it horribly relevant. Zumas imagines the USA has banned abortion and in-vitro fertilisation and made it illegal for single parents to adopt children. The focus is on four women: a pregnant teenager who’s discovered she’s pregnant, a single woman racing against time to become pregnant, her friend who feels trapped by motherhood and a “witch” who is on trial for a crime she did not commit.
My other book is not my usual reading material but is proving fascinating. In Islands of Abandonment , Cal Flyn explores parts of the world recolonised by nature after the human population fled elsewhere. Among her destinations are Chernobyl, left abandoned after the nuclear accident; Detroit where entire streets of houses are falling in on themselves and an uninhabited Scottish island, feral cattle live entirely wild.
What I’ll read next
I’m behind with my #20booksofsummer reading so my next book will be from that list.
I’m drawn to The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah in which a woman languishes in a maximum in Harare, Zimbabwe. As part of her appeal against a murder conviction, her lawyer insists that she write down what happened as she remembers it.
But I’m also tempted by The Vanishing Sky by Annette Binder which imagines the lives of one German family in the final days of the Third Reich. It’s a debut novel based, in part, on the experiences of her own family.
Now tell me, What are your reading plans . I’d love to know what you’re reading this week or plan on reading soon
What I’m Reading is in support of WWW Wednesday hosted by Sam at Taking On a World of Words. WWW Wednesday is actually a weekly meme but I choose to do it just once a month.