The Monthly Line: July 2024
The excitement of July
Hello dear reader,
July was such an exciting reading month for me, one of those ones where my reading was fun and varied and satisfying. I hope you enjoy hearing about what I read.
We've got historical fiction, the future of AI, dystopian imaginings and a northern saint. Let's dive in.
One. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
No I haven't read this classic of the 21st century before, and no I don't regret waiting this long. I don't think I was ready! Regular readers will know I have a lot of love for Mantel, but this, the novel she is best known for, about the rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII, had eluded me. I finally decided to take it on, and loved it from the first page. I don't get on with historical fiction as a genre, but for me where Mantel gets it right is how modern she makes it feel. You are instantly transported into a society where it really did feel like the sands were shifting under their feet. Where having the wrong version of the Bible in your house was an offence that could get you arrested, until it wasn't. Reading her writing is like listening to music - it sings for me.
How I read it: every spare minute of the day
Two. Cuddy by Benjamin Myers
From a book set in one time, to one that moves through time, this multi-faceted novel tells the story of St Cuthbert, known as Cuddy. He died on the Farne Islands, and his body was walked through the wilds of the north east for years before finally coming to rest in what became known as Durham. The book explores his legacy through time, with each chapter exploring a different period and completely changing narrator and style. I liked the kaleidoscopic approach, and it clearly took a huge amount of research. It did also make me realise how few novels of this scope are written about the north.
How I read it: on the tube mainly, imagining myself on a moor instead of on a train
Three. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
A book club pick, this won the Booker prize last year. Set in Ireland, it imagines a descent into a police state, through the story of a mother and her four children. Her husband disappears very early on, and it all gets worse from there. It was a harrowing read, and perhaps a little on the nose in the way that it invited you to draw parallels with current events across the world. But saying that, art should reflect the times, and I respect any artist who is trying to make sense of them. It was so affecting that I had to take a break after reading the first section gave me bad dreams.
How I read it: piecemeal to protect my mind and heart
Four. The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman
If you want to be scared, read this one. Suleyman is a tech pioneer, currently CEO of Microsoft AI, he co-founded DeepMind, one of the first big AI players. He is also deeply concerned about the pace of change around AI and bio-tech and thinks that society and, crucially, our politicians, are not ready. In this book he works through what he sees as the most pressing issues and illuminates some worst case scenarios, which are, frankly, terrifying. It's not the most well-written book but worth reading to get a handle on the subject matter.
How I read it: in short chunks to try and absorb it
Five. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
Imagine arriving home one day and finding a husband coming out of the attic, but you don't remember getting married, or indeed anything about them. Then they go back up into the attic and out pops another one, and repeat and repeat. This funny, smart, and engaging novel imagines exactly that and I was hooked from early on. The narrator, Lauren, quickly learns to be pragmatic about the situation, and I enjoyed following her through her various approaches to deciding who would be the final husband. I don't think it will be long before it's a TV series - so get ahead of the game and read it first.
How I read it: giggling on the sofa as Lauren racks up the husbands
Book of the month: a tricky choice but it has to be Wolf Hall, so detailed, so compelling, with lines I wanted to read again and again.
And that's it for my month of exciting reading, fingers crossed August matches up!
See you next time, or do hit the reply button and let me know what you have on the go at the moment.