Book Chat Issue #90

Echoes of the past

Hello friends

When I started this newsletter I didn’t know if I was going to be able to stick with it for any length of time. I was worried that I might run out of ideas or lose momentum.

Thankfully neither has happened, mainly because I’m a chronic reader and I love eating, so I never run out of things to talk about, but I’m still amazed and thrilled that we’ve reached 90 issues.

Sometimes people confide in me that they only read Book Chat for the recipes, and others say they don’t read much fiction (which is mostly what I read and recommend) but I honestly don’t mind why you keep reading, I’m just glad you’re here.

If you’re new around here there are three things you should know.

1. I only recommend books I’ve enjoyed. I don’t usually write about books I consider ho hum or just okay. I don’t write negative reviews. There are plenty of places you can find honest reviews, and I’m fine with that as it gives me an insight into what other people think, but that’s not the purpose of this newsletter. I want to help you narrow down your reading choices by recommending books I think are worth your time.

2. I read all kinds of books, not just literary fiction. Today’s recommendation is at the literary end of the scale (and it’s great) but I also read lighter books including thrillers, romcoms, and books I think are smart and funny. My only criteria for recommending a book is that I enjoyed reading it.

3. I don’t usually recommend recent releases. This is because I borrow most of my books from the library and it can take a while for a recent release to become available. This means you probably have a fair chance of getting your hands on a title I’ve recommended. (But not always, apparently it was hard to find the last book club pick, even though I thought it would be easy.)

What I’ve been reading

Spring is here and so far it’s been gloriously sunny, but horribly windy. I’m hiding out in my study and the windows are rattling like mad. It’s like a very angry ghost has moved into my house and wants me to know he’s not happy.

Speaking of ghosts, I’ve just finished reading The Echoes, by Evie Wyld, which tells the story of Hannah, an Australian living in London, who is haunted by the secrets she left Australia to escape, and Max, who teaches creative writing at University and loves cooking. One day he goes out to buy some ingredients for a meal and doesn’t return, at least not in an earthly form.

I do not believe in ghosts, which, since my death, has become something of a problem. We can’t all just exist afterwards - there isn’t the room.

I am a transparent central nervous system, floating about like a jellyfish, my tendrils brushing the backs of chairs, sweeping up lint and hair from the floor.

While Max’s ghost drifts aimlessly around the flat, Hannah makes endless cups of coffee and confides in her best friend Janey. Max watches Hannah grieve and begins to realise how much of her life was invisible to him.

The story moves back and forth between the past and the present and the scenes in Australia are searingly honest and accurate. I could smell and taste the heat, the dust, the beer. The sections dealing with our historical treatment of Aboriginal people are both delicately handled and confronting.

This is a book about love, grief, and inter-generational trauma, but don’t let me put you off. It’s also beautiful and profound and frequently funny. Highly recommended if you enjoy literary fiction.

Author note: Evie Wyld was born in London and grew up in Australia and South London. Her previous books include All the Birds, Singing, and The Bass Rock which won the Stella Prize for fiction in 2021.

What I’ve been cooking - seek and ye shall find

Last week I was looking for a recipe I knew I’d included in a previous newsletter and (much to my surprise) I found it quite easily thanks to the search function. I’m mentioning this as it occurred to me that you might not know this existed and that you can use it for both recipes and book recommendations.

Say, for example, you wanted to make the ricotta cake I featured in the last issue, but couldn’t remember where it was, you could just go to the home page, pop it in the search box and this is what you would find!

This week’s recipe doesn’t feature ricotta, but is cheesy in its own way. My sister Bev emailed it to me this morning with the comment that I probably don’t need any more recipes, but I assured her I do. Like most people, I often get into a cooking slump (which is a bit like a reading slump I suppose) and need ideas about what to make.

So here is a recipe for savoury scones which I haven’t made yet, but will definitely be making soon. You can add anything you like to the basic recipe but I would say that cheese of one kind or another is mandatory. Bev said she also added cooked, cubed pumpkin, seeded mustard, and chives.

The recipe calls for self-raising flour. If you don’t have this on hand, simply add some baking powder (one teaspoon per cup of flour).

Book Club - and the winner is!

Thanks to everyone who voted in the ‘what shall we read next’ poll.

The winner was The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. We’ll be meeting in November, so if you’d like to come along to book club, get your hands on a copy and start reading now.*

I want to read all the books on the list, so if you also want to get ahead of the game, we’ll be reading Tom Lake for our February meeting and The God of the Woods for our April meeting.

*Book Club is free for subscribers. If you want to come along, (it’s online) just hit reply and let me know.

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That’s all for this edition.

Until next time look after yourself and happy reading.

Marg x