may 2026 books…

Muscovy (Matthew Francis): Another book of poetry (from our local £5 bookshop). I’d never come across Francis before, so it was something of a random/cheap purchase. He writes well – lots of wonderfully vivid descriptions, frequently coupled with a sense of irony – but I can’t say I was absolutely captivated by this collection of his work. Hey ho!
The New House (Lettice Cooper): Another Persephone book (first published in 1936). The author was Jilly Cooper’s husband’s aunt (JC writes the preface in this edition). The story relates to the events of one long day in the lives of a (somewhat privileged) family, when some of them move house (from an imposing family house in extensive grounds to a small one overlooking a housing estate). There’s the ageing, somewhat selfish, mother (still recovering after her husband’s death); her son (in a somewhat struggling marriage, with a young daughter and living relatively close by); a daughter (confident, ambitious, engaged and living+working in London); and a second (older) daughter (living at home under the spell of her mother – will she ever leave?). It’s written in such a way that you feel that you ‘know’ each of the characters; you might not necessarily agree with some of them, but I found myself really caring for them in their respective circumstances. There’s an awful lot crammed into a single day, but I was completely hooked by it in the end (and by the author’s talents).
Notes From An Island (Tove Jannson+Tuulikki Pietila): I’d previously read ‘Tove’ Jannson’s ‘The Summer Book’ and ‘A Winter Book’ (she was the creator of the Moomin stories, but they’re definitely NOT my ‘cup of tea’!), but had never come across this one (first published in 1996 – although her essay ‘The Island’ was written in 1961)(which I enjoyed very much). For 26 summers (they eventually had to stop in their mid-70s), she and her graphic artist+life partner, ‘Tooti’ Pietila, lived on a small, rocky island of Klovharum in the Gulf of Finland. With initial help from “maverick builder-fisherman (Brunstrom), they built a cabin. They retreated here to live, paint and write “energised by the solitude and shifting seascapes”. This small book of notes/observations/photographs is something between a diary and a memoir (plus Pietila’s rather beautiful etchings) and I found it rather beautiful (and frequently quite funny). The never-ending battle with the elements; the constant fishing for food; the wildlife (Tooti frequently had to do her art under an umbrella to avoid bombardment from seabirds!); the routines they developed (and their list-making!); and the solitude. I really enjoyed it.
Animal Farm (George Orwell): This is our next Storysmith bookclub’s book (theme; ‘animals in literature’). I first read this book (first published in 1945) more than 30 years’ ago and then re-read it three years ago… so, I’m quite ‘familiar’ with this ‘biting satire upon dictatorship’ (as my book’s cover puts it). You’re probably well aware of the story: a farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With fierce idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. This wonderful, satirical book records the evolution from revolution against tyranny and, in turn, the devastating converse. The book includes the famous words: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. Times might have changed, but the message is still powerfully (+frighteningly) fresh – and, somehow, even more relevant with the likes of Trump ‘in charge’). Scarily brilliant.
In Secret (David Harsent): Another book of Harsent poetry. This one somewhat different to the books of his I’d previously read – based on some of the poems of the (unknown to me) Greek poet Yannis Ritsos (1909-90) he much admired (who wrote “in the face of ill health, personal tragedy and systematic persecution by successive hard-line right-wing regimes that lead to many years in prison or in island detention camps”). These feel like very compressed narratives… and yet, despite their fragmentation, they make for powerful reading.