Fall is here and there are so many wonderful events in RVA it’s hard to choose where to spend time! Beautiful weather, great live music, fairs and festivals all compete with reading. Articles like the recent post in the Smithsonian remind me it’s even more important to keep up with my “to-be-read” pile.
Fortunately there are many well-written, engaging, short novels that are just right for that unexpected, unscheduled hour or two. The three featured this month vary not only in length but also in plot, setting and characterizations. One theme that links these titles is identity: finding it, recognizing it, hiding it and reveling in the joy of feeling comfortable in one’s self.
This blog post is a dive into the many shorter reads that are available in the collection of the Richmond Public Library. Stop by each month for a few titles, including old, new, and some in translation, that may find a place in your busy schedule.
Assembly by Natasha Brown. (2021; 106 p.)
Race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers. All the stories we tell ourselves, those we live within. Assembly is narrated by a black British woman, educated and successful, aware of the many ways her success has been more difficult due to her race and gender. Concise, thoughtful descriptions of her daily schedule weave easily with her personal considerations and her next move. Individual and reflective, readers will empathize with the narrator to the end.
Mothering Sunday: a Romance by Graham Swift. (2016; 177 p.)
Graham Swift is the master of personal narrative. Spare yet complete descriptions of people, places and events come alive in his writing. In this short novel two young people have one afternoon together that can never repeat. Ghosts of war, devastating loss, class and regret all play into the story. Mothering Sunday is celebrated in various countries and is not related to Mothers Day in the US. It is this holiday that allows the freedom of an afternoon, the plans made and commitments broken. Sensuous and inviting, this short novel is a bittersweet reminder of how a life can change in a moment. If you are a film lover you may enjoy streaming the 2021 adaptation.
Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore. (2023; 127 p.)
Two strangers on the trans-Siberian train, heading east across Russia. One is a conscript, condemned to a frigid assignment in the outer reaches of Siberia. The other is a French woman who’s made a split decision, heading east to go west, to Paris. His desire to flee the train intersects with her reflections on how she arrived at this moment. Not sharing a common language they do share the intensity of their connection. The author fuels the suspense and the momentum builds right to the end. Read this one when you need a brief respite from the day or a short trip to a completely different time and place.
