Katherine Mansfield was born a century ago and died in 1923, but there is still something tantalizing about the 'faint ghost with the steady eyes, the mocking lips and, at the end, the wreath set on her hair.'* *quote from The Diary of Virginia Woolf: 1925-30 (1980) I read, but did not particularly enjoy Claire … Continue reading Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life | Claire Tomalin
November 1961 Back in 1961, when women wore shirtwaist dresses and joined garden clubs and drove legions of children around in seatbeltless cars without giving it a second thought; back before anyone knew there'd be a sixties movement, much less one that its participants would spend the next sixty years chronicling; back when the big … Continue reading Lessons in Chemistry | Bonnie Garmus #USfiction
Grace died. As Zoë replaces the lid of the electric kettle - having steamed the envelope open - her eye is caught by that stark statement. Unintentionally, the two stories I chose to read from Cheating at Canasta for Cathy & Kim's A Year With William Trevor, were both about adultery. The Room featured a 47 year … Continue reading Old Flame | William Trevor #IRLshortstory
'Do you know why you are doing this?' he asked, and Katherine hesitated, then shook her head, although she did know. As much as I would like to participate 100% in Cathy & Kim's #WilliamTrevor2023 reading event, I knew that it would be an impossible ask. As much as I adore William Trevor, to read … Continue reading The Room | William Trevor #IRLshortstory
A common theme emerges if you search online for 'menopause cartoons'. There's no shortage of offerings - over 7 million results when I Googled recently - and they overwhelmly depict women looking dumpy, dowdy and elderly....My generation - Gen X - don't consider ourselves old, or dowdy, or past it. I read This Changes Everything: … Continue reading This Changes Everything | Niki Bezzant #NZnonfiction
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