Like everyone else, I am in the doldrums. I quite like that word. Merriam-Webster defines it as “a spell of listlessness or despondency” or “a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or slump”. It became a nautical term in the 19th century to refer to the belt around Earth near the equator, where sailing ships sometimes get stuck because there is no wind. Before that, though, in the late 18th century, doldrum was a dull, sluggish person. That’s me, today, in a flannel nutshell.
I need some anti-doldrum reading and July has a few new titles to get excited about. OK, maybe to feel some sort of enthusiasm for ...
First on my list is Animal by Lisa Taddeo. I might have mentioned this book before, but it’s worth listing it again. Taddeo wrote one of the most magnificent non-fiction works in 2019, Three Women. The US journalist spent eight years immersed in the lives of Maggie, Lina and Sloane to learn about their complicated, messy relationships, sex lives and desires, and awful men.
Animal is her debut novel, in which she introduces kick-ass, scary, believable anti-heroine Joan, who is on a quest to survive the men in her life. Even though it’s not an easy beach read, it’s clever and totally enthralling. It begins: “I drove myself out of New York City where a man shot himself in front of me. He was a gluttonous man and when his blood came out it looked like the blood of a pig. That’s a cruel thing to think, I know.”
Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo is about Anna, who grew up in England with her white mother, knowing very little about her father. Years later, after separating from her husband, Anna discovers her father was the dictatorial leader of Bamana in West Africa. And he is still alive.
In 2019 The Silent Patient became a runaway best-seller. Entertainment Weekly called it “a mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy”. Alex Michaelides’ second book, the eagerly anticipated The Maidens is here and according to the reviews, it sounds pretty darn solid and will appease fans. It features another psychologist, Mariana, a group therapist struggling with her husband’s death. It’s set in the exclusive St Christopher’s College in Cambridge in the UK, where all sorts of eerie and sinister happenings are taking place.
I’m a lover of true crime and I don’t think it’s a guilty pleasure or one I have to be ashamed of. I’ve probably watched all the doccies on Netflix, so when a new book comes out about a topic I have never thought of, I am more than intrigued. That book is Serial Killers of Russia by Wensley Clarkson. The US has always been thought of as serial-killer central, but now criminologists believe Russia (and previously the Soviet Union) has secretly been the biggest home of serial killers for almost a century. The blurb promises: “In this book, true crime author Clarkson reveals the inside stories and gruesome details behind the country’s most notorious and previously unknown murderers. These are the most horrifying cases from the darkest corners of Russia.” Can’t wait!
Last on my list is Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal. Set in 1866 England, Nell is sold by her father to Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders. She has unique birthmarks that speckle her skin and becomes famously known as leopard girl. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell’s life, but she finds friendship with the other performers, especially Jasper’s brother, Toby, and begins to realise that becoming part of the circus is the best thing that has ever happened to her.
Happy anti-doldrums reading!
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