From Susan
Masks, by Fumiko Enchi (1958, trans. from Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter 1983) is a short but powerfully haunting novel set in post-war Japan about the pernicious effects of jealousy. Mieko, a middle-aged mother-in-law with a polite, inscrutable exterior manipulates her widowed daughter-in-law, Yasuko, and Yasuko’s two suitors as a way of orchestrating her own twisted ends. What I like about it: Enchi’s dialogue sparks and crackles, making her scenes pop; despite external appearances and the mid-century norms of a patriarchal society, women pull the strings and men are the puppets in this tale.
A Pilgrimage to Eternity by Timothy Egan (2019). What could be better than a pilgrim on a quest? In this memoir, Egan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, embarks on a thousand-mile journey along the Via Francigena, a medieval trail leading from Canterbury, England to Rome. What I like about it: part history, part adventure, part spiritual search, the journey winds through Egan’s soul and the heart of modern Christianity as well as a picturesque towns and cities of western Europe.
From Kayla
Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis is a novel that follows 5 Queer women in Uruguay during the dictatorship of the 70s and 80s. I loved this book and also this author, for capturing the life of these women during these times—the moments of joy that they had to steal while hiding this part of themselves from their families and society—while adding a lot of true information such as the beach the women visit often throughout the book which is now a popular tourist location in Uruguay, and even the name Cantoras which was a code word for women identifying as lesbian during this time period when they had to live in secret.
From Cara
How to be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals is a memoir that reads like a book of fables. I was most intrigued by the structure that writer and naturalist Sy Montgomery uses to highlight the inter-species relationships that have shaped her experience of the world. I thoroughly enjoyed stepping away from a more traditional human-centered narrative.
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