February Reads

Last month I unintentionally put myself through an emotional roller coaster thanks to my reading list. I read stories about WWI & WWII survivors, households with enslaved people from across the world, fields strewn with murdered virgins, and Y2K video game start-up founders (trust me, those guys were going through it). I braced myself for much tragedy, which there was plenty of in these tales, but also enjoyed glimmers of beauty or even downright hilarity. Here’s a summary of each. As with the previous round-up, I’m saving the favorite for last:

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks (1993)

This wasn’t originally on my reading list but my Dad gave me his copy so I gave it a whirl. What starts out as a gripping romance turns into a grueling slog through the First World War. To clarify, the reading experience itself wasn’t grueling; I thought Faulks did an impressive job of capturing the soldiers’ seemingly endless devastation while keeping the writing engaging. He also gave us breathers that tied in multiple different timelines, characters, and stories together in a way that felt seamless. This book got a lot of hype when it first came out and I think that comes down to Faulks’ frank but moving sentimentality.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - Patrick Süskind (1985)

Perfume is a portrait of a murderer for- and a martyr to scent- with an ending so unimaginable I can’t help but wonder what Süskind must have been sniffing when he came up with it. We follow the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a deeply unremarkable man whose soul resides in his nose not his heart. Grenouille’s supernatural capabilities of detecting scent pulls him in to a quest to create a fragrance so sublime, it would capture the hearts of thousands. But this end calls for insidious means. The writing urges us to conjure what this pure, delicate, ideal scent might be, which was a fun exercise as a reader. It’s an indulgent, wacky, and dreamy (/nightmarish) tale of a quest for perfection that I felt was uniquely paced and luxuriously vivid.

A Mercy - Tony Morrison (2008)

A Mercy details the interwoven lives of three enslaved women and landowner Jacob Vaark as they learn to adapt as a household against the harsh backdrop of 17th century North America. At times, especially in the beginning of the novel, I struggled to place each character in their story as Morrison shifts narrators through super dreamy passages to the point where things felt very muddled. But the story eventually becomes more lucid, unfurling an obvious but morose reality. Morrison also lays out a really interesting juxtaposition between the origins of the religious fantasies used to justify enslavement and runs this parallel to the fantasies these young women create for themselves to survive in hope. Similar to Faulks, Morrison wraps a painful message in ornately tender storytelling that I felt made it a tricky but worthy read.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin (2022)

This is a story of video game creators Sadie and Sam, following their interpersonal and external challenges throughout their relationship as it becomes meshed with their careers. This book really announces its depth and drama, which at times made it feel contrived. But, at the end of the day, I did in fact find myself reeling from the many emotional gut-punches Zevin was going for…the swings landed! I also enjoyed that Zevin digs into quite a bit of education about the world of video games in a very beginner-friendly way that fit in perfectly with the story. Ultimately I mostly enjoyed it- the writing is far from subtle but I suppose that’s what also adds to the electricity of it all.

The Safekeep-Yael van der Wouden (2024)

Sorry, another winner comes in from the year 2024. However, it’s set in WWII and follows the enemies-to-lovers romance between Isabel and her brother’s new girlfriend, Eva. I don’t want to give away much more as I want you to enjoy the masterful plot twists and turns for yourself, but what I love most about this story is how well it captures the nuance of a romance that isn’t nice but is kind. Despite the characters’ icy exteriors, you can quite viscerally feel how much the characters treasure one another making for a complicated and gorgeous love story.

And that’s all for February! If you’ve read any of these please share your thoughts-I’d love to hear them. Up next for March I’ll be reading: Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst, The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson, and The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue. If you have any April recs (or one that you think I really need to squeeze in for March) please send my way 🙂