Good Things Lately - lost and found
A host of characters searching for belonging emerged in my reading this month
May has been an interesting month. We had guests staying with us for the first three weekends, and then Adrien went on tour for two weeks, and after the last guest left (my dad), I had the flat all to myself. A period of intense socialising followed by relatively intense solitude. Unsurprisingly, I read more in the second half of the month.
I realised a few books in, that everything I was reading this month featured characters searching for belonging and their place in the world. It just kept coming up, again and again. There was Nadia, searching for her purpose after a breakup, via an attempt to help rehabilitate ISIS women in Nussaibah Younis’ Fundamentally. And Anna and Tom, attempting to build the perfect life in Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection. Every single character in Oisín McKenna’s Evenings and Weekends is somewhat lost and searching for meaning. And on and on.
This was totally unplanned. Had I subconsciously chosen books featuring lost characters, being somewhat ‘lost’ myself?
Some of the characters managed to find themselves by the end of the book. It is unsurprising, for example, that there are happy endings all around in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, a classic children’s book. But the themes of finding meaning, solace and rebirth in the natural world and in those you love were just as moving and relevant, I found, as an adult reader.
Likewise, in Emma Gannon’s Table For One, a gentle story about finding yourself after a breakup, the message is clear - the most important relationship in life is the one you have with yourself.
Not all the characters I came across found their happy ever after, however. In Quicksand by Nella Larsen, Helga Crane travels from the fictional town of Naxos to Chicago to Harlem to Copenhagen and then back to Harlem and finally to rural Alabama, searching for her place in the world. But her identity as a mixed-race woman and the attitudes of those around her make this impossible.
In All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, we meet a character, the narrator’s sister, Elfrieda, who no longer wants to exist in the world at all. It is an intensely sad but ultimately uplifting story full of resilience and love.
What does this all mean? What is the solution? How do we find meaning, purpose and belonging in our lives? The answer, of course, isn’t simple, but I think I will be taking a little of each of these books with me as I endeavour to find out.
Books I read this month
Fundamentally, Nussaibah Younis
Evenings and Weekends, Oisín McKenna
Perfection, Vincenzo Latronico
Table for One, Emma Gannon
On Confidence, The School of Life
All My Puny Sorrows, Miriam Toews
These Precious Days, Ann Patchett
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
*A little note to say that if you decide to buy a copy of any of the books mentioned here through Bookshop.org, I will earn a small commission from your purchase!
* * *
Some other good things
Documentary - Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius (BBC)
I really enjoyed this documentary on the life and writing of Jane Austen. I could have watched it all in one go, but managed to restrain myself and stretch it to two sittings. The format worked well. We had writers, academics, and actors who were interviewed about Austen, snippets from various adaptations of her books, along with a cast of actors reenacting Austen's life as the story progressed. Although I studied Austen at school, have read most of her books at one time or another and have probably seen all the major film adaptations of her works, there’s a lot I wasn’t aware of, or had forgotten, and it’s made me want to read all her books again. Would recommend!
Music - I’m With Her at the Barbican
I’m With Her is a trio made up of singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan. I’m a fan of Aoife O’Donovan’s solo work and have followed the band ever since I saw their Tiny Desk concert back in 2018.
What struck me most was what accomplished musicians they are, and how rare it still is to go to a concert where it’s just three women on stage, creating the entire soundscape, without any appearance from a man (apart from the guy swapping out the guitars). Between the three of them, they play all the string instruments you can think of, and play them well. Their arrangements are complex, full of dynamics and interesting rhythms and time signatures. Their stage presence is confident and relaxed, unsurprising considering they’ve all been playing music their entire lives. These are three women who really know what they are doing, and it is such a pleasure to witness.