Good Read
Lauren Molyneux curls up with a good book and reviews some of the latest best sellers
Call Me By Your Name
Andre Aciman
TOP TIP: The first-person narrative, presented from the mind of Elio, is intense, at times claustrophobic and ultimately inescapable.
During a summer on the Italian Riviera, 17-year-old Elio finds himself drawn into a powerful romance with his father’s house guest, Oliver. As Elio takes his first step towards his sexual awakening, the identity that has been predetermined for him, being a heterosexual Jewish boy, is placed under the microscope. He examines himself in relation to his religion, his upper-class upbringing and the attitudes portrayed by the philosophers he loves to read. Aciman acutely illustrates Elio’s longing for Oliver, and his desperation to find the answers behind what he is feeling.
As Elio becomes tangled in a web of fears, uncertainties, obsession and fascination, attempting to reason with his desires and make sense of his feelings, the narrative relentlessly pushes forward, sometimes providing answers to his rather profound questions, other times not.
Call Me By Your Name is poetic and beautiful, brutal and tender. Aciman is able to put into words what the human psyche has been stuck on articulating for so long – what it means to desperately want someone, and how it feels to be head-over-heels in love. This is more than a story of a simple summer teen romance. This is a story of self-discovery in the struggles of adolescence, a story which questions the strains one can be placed under by family, society, expectation, and religion. This is about a first love so encompassing it reaches into the realms of obsession, and proves itself relentless in maintaining a hold.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo
TOP TIP: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls provides exactly what it proclaims to offer.
Telling the true stories of 100 heroic women who have each made a contribution in changing the world, this bedtime story-book is one which shifts from the fairytale cliché of princesses and damsels in distress, and eliminates the need for knights in shining armour. Instead, histories are presented to inspire and motivate girls and women from the ages of five to 105. With each figure beautifully illustrated by 60 different female artists from all corners of the globe, this collection of biographical profiles promises to educate, uplift, and change perspectives.
Every little girl deserves to dream big. With stories told about female activists, writers, political figures, scientists, singers, athletes, astronomers, surgeons, and royals, there is a female achiever in every field to encourage every girl’s aspirations. Presenting the struggles overcome by women facing adversities relating to not only gender, but also race and class, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a must-have for any little-one’s bookshelf. It’s also great reading for bedtime story-tellers too!
