Another 3 Books

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

You know a book is going to be gruelling when the main character is raped on the first page. The whole way through you are just praying that Celie finally gets some happiness. I was reading at work and when I got to the lines, “My heart broke. Shug love somebody else.” I just started crying right there. She’s finally doing what she wants to be doing, she’s sure her sister is coming back to her and she has someone she loves and who loves her… but then it’s taken away from her again. All is not lost though, it starts to come back again. And if you read it, don’t be reading in public because crying on the bus is only acceptable if you’re doing it silently, not happy-sobbing like some people…

10/10

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The Trick Is To Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway

This doesn’t try to sweeten depression in any way, it is honest and relentless. Joy, the main character, is trying to survive the days now that the man she loves has died but she is not doing well. All she can manage is to exist from day to day and even that is a struggle.

“No matter how often I think I can't stand it anymore, I always do. There is no alternative. I don't fall, I don't foam at the mouth, faint, collapse or die. It's the same for all of us. You can't get out of the inside of your own head. Something keeps you going. Something always does.” 

9/10

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The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon

An interesting glimpse into Japan in the 11^th century, it is basically a diary of an important woman at that time. I liked that they all mainly communicate through poems. But I did find the book hard to get through; Sei Shonagon is just not a likeable person and I found it difficult to want to read what she was writing when she was just so awful to people ‘below’ her. There are some beautiful lines though, definitely worth a read.

6/10