May 2020 📚 Wrap up

As I shared at my May 2020 Favourites post, I was stressed in May because I submitted a scholarship application. This stress hindered my motivation to read. However, I did some reading, and I'm here to share the books I read with you.

Milkman by Anna Burns (2018)

Our eighteen-year-old female protagonist lives in a very conservative village with her mother and her younger twin sisters. Her life comes upside down when the husband of her older sister spreads a rumour that our protagonist has an affair with an older, married man. Matters become even more complicated and scarier when this man, who is actually a dangerous stalker, barges into her life.

I have posted a review for this book, but I can divulge here that I'm not totally impressed by this book. I really enjoyed the story and the setting where it occurs, but the extremely formal language used and the excessive exposure to the thoughts of the protagonist during scenes that the reader is anticipating action didn't allow me to immerse myself in the story.

Collection of Constantine Cavafy's Poems from 1919 to 1933

I had studied several of Cavafy's poems at school, so I knew what I was getting myself into when I reached for this book. In order to read and understand Cavafy's poetry fully, a good knowledge of Byzantine history is needed. There are some helpful footnotes in the edition of the book I had, but for some poems they weren't engouh. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this collection as it challenged me to be an active reader and infer a meaning combining the knowlegde I had about Cavafy's poetry and the particular piece of art I had in front of me. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to poetry, so instead of making remarks on the collection, I'll leave links for you to read my top favourites poems that Constantine Cavafy wrote from 1919 to 1933.

The Afternoon Sun
Of Dimitrios Sotir (162-150 B.C.)
In Sparta 
He Asked about the Quality 

The Bookseller by Matt Cohen (1993)

Paul is reminiscent of his childhood and his youth. Going back to his complex relationship with his older brother, Harry, and the women of his life helps him realise who he really is. It is the consequences of the choices of his beloved people that get Paul into serious trouble, but also make him think of what he wants from his own life.

Although I was intrigued by the premise of the story, I didn't really like the book as a whole. My major complaint is the fact that I was more interested in the side characters than in the protagonist. Paul is passive as he always does whatever others tell him to do. Plus, drug abuse is one of the themes introduced and discussed in the book, but it isn't deeply analysed since no explanation of how characters got addicted or how they suffered to rehabilitate themselves is provided. Thus, even though the book starts very strong, it falls flat from the middle to the end.

Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney (1984)

We find our protagonist at a low point in his life since his wife abandoned him and she took his passion for life with her. The only moments he seems a bit more relaxed and carefree is when he's under the influence of drugs and alcohol. He will soon find out that it is not possible to keep living with so much anxiety and sadness for much longer.

If you've read my May 2020 Favourites, you know that the second-person point of view is the main reason I loved this book so much. That was the first book using this type of narration I had ever read, and it really made me care for the protagonist in a deeper level as I was he, and I was doing everything he did. In addition, the story of a person who tries to escape from his unfulfilling life while feeling weak and incapable of dealing with all the obstacles that life throws at his way is very realistic and makes it easy for the reader to identify with such a character, especially if you are at a point where you don't know what you're doing with your life.

And those are all the book I read in May and all my thoughts about them. What book are you reading at the moment?