@AgualusasL0ver great to read your review of The Renovation. Have added this to my TBR.
@BestisWest The Five Star Weekend sounds like something I’ll enjoy.
@PermanentTemporary I will look out for Handel in London. I never used to listen to much baroque music, but having a teenage oboist in the house has changed that!
36.The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji. The story of the women of the largely exiled Valiat family, who enjoyed elevated social status in pre-revolutionary Iran, but are struggling to adapt to their current lack of privilege. Their story is told across generations, by grandmother Elizabeth, daughters Shirin and Seema, Shirin’s daughter Niaz, and Seema’s daughter Bita.
Mahloudji captures well the difficulties of moving between two starkly different cultures. Not all of the characters and storylines were fully successful, with Shirin’s predicaments in particular seeming a little cartoonish. I did however really enjoy the sections from the perspective of Elizabeth reflecting on an ill-fated romance in her youth, and of Niaz and her efforts to find joy and connection while living under the modern day oppressive Iranian regime.
37.The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine. The unfolding of the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault in Belfast. The narrative switches between the people present and their loved ones, and is also interwoven with short vignettes of daily life across the city.
This was great. The characters’ voices felt strong, distinct and authentic. I thought the path that events took was very believable and there are excellent reflections on class and economic privilege, and in particular their impact on justice.
38.Come and Get It by Kiley Reid. Millie funds her college education working as a resident assistant in a dorm. To boost her income further she arranges interviews with students from the dorm to inform the research that Agatha, a visiting professor, is undertaking into social attitudes about weddings. The all-women dorm is characterised by difficult friendships, hurtful pranks, and gossip. Agatha soon realises that eavesdropping will give her far better source material than interviews.
It took a while for the plot to get going, and when it did, I didn’t find any of it particularly believable. I really enjoyed Reid’s first novel and this was disappointing by comparison. It was diverting enough as a holiday read, but I didn’t feel that the attempt to unpick the impact of money and class on the college experience was very successful.