Hi guys it's Aisling back chatting to you again on the Waterstones vlog.
This month I've got three books to recommend to you; two books that are
already released and one that is yet to be released. So we're gonna start with the
book yet to be released and the book is Crudo by Olivia Laing
Now, Olivia Laing, this is a debut novel but she is by no means a newcomer
to writing; she is particularly well known for her nonfiction book The Lonely
City which I actually have here for you as well and it's kind of a meditation on
solitude and loneliness and it's really, really good but today we're
going to talk about her fiction. Crudo follows the point of view of a woman
named Kathy who may or may not be Kathy Acker, we're not sure it's never
expressly told to us but I kind of have a hunch. But anyway Kathy is about to
marry her husband and the book is set in the summer of 2017 kind of amidst the
election of Donald Trump and this rise of kind of like trolling online and
fascism and all these terrible events taking place in the world and it's kind
of a contrast of all this terribleness, you know, consumerism, terrorism
everything, versus how this woman feels about her husband. I really enjoyed
it particularly just because the character herself is very witty and her
humor is very dry and she's actually a little bit evil as well which I just
loved because it's kind of nice being let into someone's interior monologue
and just being told everything that they're thinking and it's really
unabashed, unashamed and really out there. And I think this is really gonna make
waves when it is released on the 28th of June this year, so that's definitely
something to look forward to you guys. Next up I have a debut novel, Peach by
Emma Glass. Now guys I actually read this whole book last night in one sitting
because it was kind of addictive and I just really, really could not put it down.
It's great as well, it's really short so if you're just looking for something short
just to tide you over I really, really recommend this. What I will say though is
it was extremely experimental and vivid.
The book itself it follows the aftermath of a sexual assault
which sounds very harrowing and difficult to read but I actually found that I flew
through this because just the imagery and the way that she was portraying
things with just really beautiful. And really just kind of grabbed me and I
couldn't let go like I literally could not stop reading. I would recommend this
for fans of Eimear McBride or Sarah Baume because her use of language and
rhythm just really reminds me of the way the two of them write. What really
hooked me into buying this is the quote from George Saunders on the back because
if any of you saw my review a few months ago of Lincoln in the Bardo you'll know
that I am a very big fan of George Saunders so I'm just gonna read that
quote to you now so it says 'A strange and original work of art that manages to
be both genuinely terrifying and undeniably joyful in this dark poetic
myth Emma Glass takes on the big issues; good and evil, violence, redemption.' So I
think that actually sums it up really well because although it is kind of a
very dark, extremely dark and harrowing subject matter she's written it with
such vigor and care that it sort of goes to a different place than a book like
that maybe could have. So I really, really recommend that, it's something different
and something quite special. Actually I think she is one to watch and I'd be
very interested to see what she does next because this book kind of came out
of nowhere and then I just picked it up and have sort of become enamored with
it, so I really really hope that you guys will too. And lastly I have a book that
actually is really old but is in bestseller charts everywhere nonetheless
and the book is Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. Now I actually bought
this book before Christmas and read it before Christmas as well because I saw a
trailer for the film and I was just really interested and I'm one of those
people that wants to be like ooh I've read the book so I wanted to read it
before the film came out. And oh my god I actually have not been able to stop
thinking about this since I read it, like I think about it all the time. So I think
if you have seen the film and you really liked it or even if you haven't seen the
film and you're just looking for a really good
book I recommend this. I just think it's one of those books that I will
always say is one of my favorite all-time reads because it is just that
good. It's so beautiful. It's told from the point of view of a teenager called
Elio Perlman, he's spending the summer in Italy with his family and every summer
his family hosts an academic who comes and stays with them before the
publication of their academic manuscripts the following year and this
year where our story is set, the academic is Oliver and at the beginning
of the story Oliver and Elio they have sort of a rivalry, banter, but not quite
fun banter but they're sort of fascinated with each other all the same, and then they
kind of become friends and then it becomes a really slow burning addictive
romance, then just love, just love. And it's just the most beautiful book. If
you've ever been like on a holiday or away somewhere in another country and
you know when you're a teenager and like you know had your first kiss or kind of
experience with someone like that it will just really remind you of that
particular time in your life and just as a coming-of-age story in general it's
really, really beautiful and really effective. So again even if you haven't
seen the film or if you have, try this, it's very different to the film because
it's all from Elio's perspective so it's a very, very different way of telling the
story and there's actually a lot more information on the characters in this
than the film gives away as well. So please read it if you're looking for
having yourself a very cathartic moment this weekend I highly recommend
locking yourself in a room with this and having yourself a good old read and
a good old ugly cry because God knows I ugly cried to this. Okay guys, so those
are my three recommendations for this month, I hope you liked them and I'll be
back talking to you again in about a month's time on the Waterstones vlog with
some more book recommendations. Okay guys, bye!