May Reads Book Review: Bernardine Evaristo, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sophia Kinsella etc.

I’ve never been one to write book reviews because I read just for enjoyment. I take pride in how much I read as a hobby, but over the years, I’d become caught in one genre—the dreaded self-help genre, with its bland counsel and never-ending pursuit for self-improvement. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a self-help junkie, and while it has certainly assisted me in making my life as efficient as possible, I wanted to return to my first love: fiction.

Fiction has magic that is incomparable to most genres. With fiction, you learn, laugh, and sometimes have empathy for the vilest people because writers wrote to specifically pick at those emotions.  To revive this, I challenged myself to read fiction mostly for the rest of the year and to pay my dues, I have decided to write reviews for each book I read. 

In May, I read five novels and one self-help book, and let’s write a review in order of least to most interesting.

Sleeping Arrangements by Sophia Kinsella written as Madeline Wickham

Rating: 2/5

I don’t know why Sophia Kinsella was writing as Madeline Wickham and if that affected the book but it took a period more boring than the book itself to get through it. Sleeping Arrangements is about two families who have a mutual friend double book them for a vacation. There are two individuals from this family that have a sexual history and the story unfolds along the lines of sexual tensions, bad blood, and how uncomfortable it is to share a vacation. Some of the writing in the book is fine although there were spelling errors that annoyed me. The characters were not well explored and I had no affinity for any of them. All the characters in the book were extremely unlikable and sometimes even unbearable. It came to a close so quickly and the resolution was unclear. I generally would not recommend it if you are looking for a good book but for a light read it will do.

Originals by Adam Grant

Rating: 3/5

 The book explores ideas about how originals come to be in our society, how to be an original, test your ideas, communicate them, and how to avoid groupthink. It is ladened with anecdotes, case studies, and research findings on how to implement the ideas served in the book. I liked the ideas of being prolific, experimenting, and communicating in organizations you want to change. As always a word of caution with self-help books, I did not double-check the references on any of the research findings he presented so whether he presented the correct ideas or findings, I do not know. I also felt that some ideas weren’t tied together properly. It was an okay read and a recommendation to anyone who wants to be more original and less ordinary.

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Rating: 4/5

This novel is a collection of stories about the lives of British black women who are connected through a writer who is producing a play called the Amazon Dahomey. It goes into generations of womanhood in different periods and it’s deeply moving. My favorite story would have to be that of Dominique and how abuse can be deeply terrifying. It takes you on a journey and explores the human experience through 12 feminine lenses, from the closeted homophobe to her ragging feminist lesbian best friend and the moms who sleep with their sons-in-law. It’s truly a wild ride that starts slowly but keeps on, you’ll find the story that tucks your heart. A recommended read. Be sure to tell me your favorite story if you do read it.

Half the Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Rating: 4.5/5

I must say I’m biased toward Achidie’s writing because she’s one of my first loves when it comes to writing beautiful prose and Half a Yellow Sun does not fall short. It’s a historical fiction set in the period leading up to and during the Biafran war. It captures in it as much human experience as it can. Themes of love, grief, family, betrayal, and war are all tied up in a parcel of delectable writing and presented for your ultimate consumption. I loved every bit of it although it was a re-read. Books with re-read values are always recommended. You should read it if you have not already!

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Rating: 5/5 

For as long as I remember, I have loved this book and my re-read didn’t make this love any less valid. What can I say except Chinua Achebe was right when he said “Adichie came almost fully made” I’ll regal you with some of my favorite pieces of writing in the book which have popped up on my blog somewhere.

Besides, humility had always seemed to him a specious thing, invented for the comfort of others; you were praised for humility by people because you did not make them feel any more lacking than they already did. It was honesty he valued; he had wished himself to be truly honest, and always feared that he was not – Obinze

She liked that he wore their relationship so boldly, like a brightly colored shirt. Sometimes she worried that she was too happy. She would sink into moodiness and snap at Obinze or be distant. And her joy will become like a restless thing, flapping its wings inside her, as though looking for an opening to fly away

I do not own any writes to these images. All images from google images.