As someone whose love of books equals if not supersedes their love of style I was delighted to be asked to offer up some reading options for Amanda Zips It Up.
These handful of recent works should keep us stimulated during these surreal times. Ranging from non fiction, fiction, biog’s and even poetry, there ought to be something for everyone.
For those book lovers amongst us please join my page ‘ International Book Appreciation Society ‘ on Facebook where we share our reading experiences and collectively review a book once a month.
Three Women – Lisa Taddeo
First and foremost I loved this book…
Why? I think the honesty was paramount, three women speaking heartfeltly about their emotional and sexual lives; utterly transfixing. On a personal level the language used to describe the yearning,the need, being there left wanting, never feeling enough, was quite heartbreaking.
Poor Lina’s self worth was at rock bottom and she was utterly reliant on her lover, overtaken with a need to feel desired. Sloane’s life was a strange, sexually fluid existence and she enraptured people with her glacial beauty. I found it baffling how much control she allowed her husband to take, to the extent he even chose her lovers for her. Maggie’s was arguably the saddest story and very difficult to comprehend. She loved him, or she thought she loved him but societally they should never have been together.
Of course multiple questions were raised..so many! Is it a trade off? What do we/should we accept and what do we pretend is otherwise? Personally I think these are issues that everyone can relate to in relationships rather than being gender specific.
I thought the sex scenes were brilliantly handled, even the ones that sat uncomfortably and were questionably consensual remained incredibly accurate.
Male and females alike should read this and I am sure will find it very insightful about the human psyche and the roles we play.
The Lesser Bohemians – Eimear McBride
Exquisite and unusual; this book blew my mind , a total pleasure that stayed with me long after.
McBride has a particular writing style, poetic with broken sentences as well as chapters. The first few chapters I found difficult as the form jarred against normality, but I soon got into my cadence.
Ultimately, it is about the intense love affair between an 18 year old Irish girl and her older, damaged, actor lover. It is both beautifully light when they are exalted with their love and perilously dark at other points.
Special mention has to be accorded to the handling of sex in this novel. Never have I known it to be so beautifully executed. I was feeling the abandonment of self and the unification of coupling with them.
Such a clever work incorporating many literary devices in a seemingly effortless way. Really brilliant and the juxtaposition of the interior and exterior self was very illuminating. Miss this book at your peril!
Diary of a Somebody – Brian Bilston
This book was so amusing, witty and erudite yet in an extremely nonchalant fashion. He plays with grammar and literary devices, almost humouring them. His word play is simply dazzling.
The premise is that Bill Bilston will write a poem every day for a year, whilst trying to come to terms with his ever more desperate life. His wife has left him for a marketing guru who is having an adverse effect on his son’s character. In addition to this he is swimming in a sea of spreadsheets in his dull, office existence.
It is reminscent of Adrian Mole for me which I am sure most of us read back in the day. This is the adult, smarter version if you like. It had me laughing aloud on many occasions and also oft pondering over his prowess. Bilston’s mastery of both prose and most pertinently poetry was second to none.
This book is written in a diary format and it features many a poem. DO NOT LET THAT PUT YOU OFF! Personally, I adore poetry, but even for non devotees, it is hugely accessible and ‘fun’; a word not often associated with poetry.
Bilston deserves to be our next Poet Laureate and this book is a sui generis work of art.
For the Fashion Aficionado’s amongst us (all AZU readers are of course) these two following books are amongst my favourites from that genre; I consider them ‘Must’ reads!
Champagne Supernovas – Maureeen Callahan
For me, any book with my beloved Kate on the cover is a sure fire winner thus automatically purchased; I devoured this in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed romping through that decade of utter debauchery with the key players.
Kate and her hardcore hedonism is detailed as well as the excesses of all the other’s on the periphery. Full of gossip, drugs, sex and scandal as well as being a great insight into the fashion industry at that exciting time.
Her antics are relatively well documented, but the actions of Jacobs and McQueen not so much until now. It has a fly on the wall feel to it and is buzzy and fast paced.
It seems that Callahan at times has her own axe to grind and can be quite bitchy and scathing of some, for example Isabella Blow falls victim to her poison pen. The writing and editing were nothing to write home about, pardon the pun, but who cares when the subject matter is so fascinating.
If you love fashion, popular culture and this was your era too then it’s an essential read.
The Vanity Fair Diaries 1983 – 1992
This memoir charts Tina Brown’s rise from Party Girl Journo to EIC of Vanity Fair, New York. A life less ordinary is chartered swooping between countries and scenes. It is a veritable who’s who of high society featuring many tantalising titbits. Brown also touches on the difficulties of juggling a high powered job with motherhood.
