The Unsettled Bookbinder: Book recommendations for July
Looking for a summer read? Here's a round-up of some upcoming releases + a curated selection of historical fiction and books set in the circus. Happy reading!
Dear reader,
Here it is: the first recommendations issue! There are some very interesting books to keep on your radar — Ayana Mathis is returning with a new novel after 2012! It’s been a long wait for fans of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, but her newest book looks like it has been well worth the wait.
In the recommendations corner, you’ll find some of my favorite historical fiction novels. It was surprisingly difficult to put this list together, given how much the landscape has change since I read some of these as a young teen.
Back in the 90s, books like Shogun and Memoirs of a Geisha gave readers around the world a glimpse into a culture that was heretofore unknown to them. James Clavell’s novels, for example, sparked my interest in learning more about Japanese culture. And while initially, most of my sources were White men, as was the case in the 90s and even early 2000s, I think it would be a mistake to completely write-off some of these books. Yes, they’re a romanticized and exoticized presentation of a culture for a Western audience. But if these books light a spark of curiosity and lead you to find out more about these cultures, from more “appropriate” sources, I think they’ve done their job!
On that note, let’s dive right in to this issue!
Recommendation corner:
Have some of the bingo prompts got you scratching your head, wondering what to read or maybe even what it means? I got you covered! Every month, I will pick 2 bingo prompts and share a couple of recommendations with you. And just so you’re not here all day reading this, I’ll link you up to Goodreads so you can check out the book and add it to your Want-to-read shelf. Here we go!
A book that features the circus
There’s something about the circus that doesn’t fail to enchant, isn’t there? Here are a few of my recommendations for this prompt:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: On the off chance that you haven’t read The Night Circus, make this the book that you choose for this prompt. It’s magical, enchanting, and has the most fantastical circus world building ever!
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: Set in the Depression era, Water for Elephants highlights the grimmer side of the circus — the meanness of clowns, the disregard for animals, and the hard-scramble for survival in a ruthless world.
The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff: Set in a traveling circus during World War II, The Orphan’s Tale is based a true events — the account of a boxcar full of “Unknown Children” who were being sent to a concentration camp, and the Circus Althoff, a touring German circus that hid Jewish refugees during the War.
Historical fiction
There is a wealth of historical fiction and a number of authors who have made a name writing in this genre. Here are a few of my favorites for your consideration.
Shogun by James Clavell: Set in 17th century feudal Japan, Shogun is stunning in scope and complexity. Originally written in the 1970s, the novel probably hasn’t aged well among modern-day reviewers, but Clavell’s writing sparked my interest in Japanese culture, which is what I think historical novels are meant, in part, to do.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay: Sarah’s Key is a beautifully written and unflinching story about the fate of two French families — one in 1940s occupied France, the other in the early 2000s.
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck: This classic set in old agrarian China traces the lives and changing fortunes of a poor Chinese farmer and his family. It’s a very interesting portrayal of a particular period of China’s history and culture.
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran: Actually, anything by Michelle Moran! I love how she brings ancient Egypt and the politics and intrigue of the royal family to life in Nefertiti.
Genghis: Birth of An Empire by Conn Iggulden: A fascinating account of the life and rise of Genghis Khan, which contextualizes, to an extent, his reason for his brutality too.
On my to-read list:
What can I say? I’m an enabler! In this section, I’ll share a couple of books from my TBR list. These will generally include a mix of upcoming releases and books that have been around for years but never made it into my orbit.
The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis
From the moment Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son, Toussaint, arrive at the Glenn Avenue family shelter in Philadelphia 1985, Ava is already plotting a way out from the perils and indignities of that place. But when Toussaint’s father, Cass, reappears, she is swept off course by the intoxicating power of his radical vision to destroy systems of racial injustice and bring about a bold new way of communal living. Meanwhile, in Alabama, Ava’s mother Dutchess struggles to keep Bonaparte, once a beacon of Black freedom and self-determination, in the hands of its last five Black residents and away from rapidly encroaching white developers. As Ava becomes more enmeshed with Cass, Toussaint senses the danger simmering all around him— he begins to dream of Dutchess and Bonaparte, his home and birthright, if only he can find his way there.
If you enjoyed Ayana Mathis’ The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, her next book should most definitely be on your radar. With its themes of family, racial divides, and systemic power inequalities, this promises to be an intense read.
Expected release date: 26 September
The Bookbinder by Pip Williams
It is 1914, and as the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, women must keep the nation running. Two of those women are Peggy and Maude, twin sisters who live on a narrowboat in Oxford and work in the bindery at the university press. Ambitious, intelligent Peggy has been told for most of her life that her job is to bind the books, not read them, but as she folds and gathers pages, her mind wanders to the opposite side of Walton Street, where the female students of Oxford's Somerville College have a whole library at their fingertips. Maude, meanwhile, wants nothing more than what she has: to spend her days folding in the company of the other bindery girls. Then refugees arrive from the war-torn cities of Belgium, sending ripples through the Oxford community and the sisters' lives. Peggy begins to see the possibility of another future where she can educate herself and use her intellect. But as war and illness reshape her world, her love for a Belgian soldier threatens to hold her back. The Bookbinder is a story about knowledge—who creates it, who can access it, and what truths get lost in the process.
If you enjoyed Pip William’s The Dictionary of Lost Words, you should definitely add The Bookbinder to your reading list. Though it isn’t a sequel, the setting is the same, and a few familiar characters make their appearance within the pages. And also, can we take a moment to admire that cover? Gorgeous!
Expected release date: 1 August
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
Nell McDaragh never knew her grandfather, the famed Irish poet Phil McDaragh. But his love poems seem to speak directly to her. Restless, full of verve and wit, 22-year-old Nell leaves her mother Carmel’s home to find her voice as a writer and live a life of her choosing. Carmel, too, knows the magic of her Daddo’s poetry—and the broken promises within its verses. When Phil abandons the family, Carmel struggles to reconcile “the poet” with the man whose desertion scars Carmel, her sister, and their cancer-ridden mother. The Wren, the Wren brings to life three generations of women who contend with inheritances—of abandonment and of sustaining love that is “more than a strand of DNA, but a rope thrown from the past, a fat twisted rope, full of blood.” In sharp prose studded with crystalline poetry, Anne Enright masterfully braids a family story of longing, betrayal, and hope.
There’s something about the premise of this book is incredibly appealing — I think it has to do with the different public and private personas of the poet, Phil McDaragh. It’s fascinating, to me, how different the artist can be from the art, and even from the way that they are perceived by the broader public.
For the love of poetry
Blessing
John O’Donohue
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets into you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green
and azure blue,
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
I read Shogun so long ago. It was released in 1975. I loved it since I have been interested in Japan ever since I was a little girl. I finally made it to Japan in the early 90s. I was not disappointed, especially anything outside of Tokyo.