Black History Month 2020

October is Black History Month and in the Library, we celebrate that with books of course. We have been promoting relevant events on our Twitter account throughout the month, but we also have our own contribution to make.

On Wakelet, we have put together a collection of fiction and non-fiction books for Black History Month, which includes physical books and e-books. You can access the list here. There is a range of classics, recent publications and texts around the Black Lives Matter movement. Recently, we added White privilege – The myth of a post-racial society by Kalwant Bhopal and Akala’s Natives – Race and class in the ruins of empire to our Black History Month Wakelet for example. We also have a Wakelet on Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion, which includes podcasts.

We are always looking for recommendations for what to add, so don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing liaison@sgul.ac.uk.

In this blogpost, Library staff are sharing their thoughts on some of the books in the collection and their book recommendations for Black History Month.

Book reviews

Natives by Akala

Jenni Hughes (Research Publications Assistant)

This is an enlightening, powerful read on how race and class intersect and operate in today’s Britain. Akala’s choice to examine these in tandem deepens and enhances his analysis of both: his early observation that “we are trained to recognise the kinds of racism that tend to be engaged in by poorer people” rather than the larger, more damaging kinds perpetuated by the rich and powerful, for example, clarified a great deal for me about mainstream discourse around race and racism in this country.

Akala’s accounts of his personal experiences of classism and racism support and are supported by his deep knowledge of the history and sociology of race, and his prose slides easily between different registers (academic, vernacular etc), enabling him to communicate his points clearly and incisively. Overall, this is a compelling and very readable analysis drawing on a rich well of knowledge, research, experience and scholarship.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Andy Lacey (Information Assistant)

Reading James Baldwins Giovanni’s Room felt like a whole new world opening up when I first read it as a 17-year-old. A whole world filled with adult gay men, with complicated, messy but joyous lives.

The novel centres on David, an American in France who travels to Paris. He meets Giovanni, a bartender and the two become friends. We are then taken on a journey with them, but also their social sphere. We explore their experiences of social alienation, but also their passions, and attempts to construct a unique space for themselves in the world. This novel is so good at describing homosocial spaces, and exploring how gay men often had to construct new, alternate families. It is also great at examining modern ideas of masculinity, and spotlighting the problems with it. Having been written by a gay black man in 1956, this novel still seems powerful and contemporary even all these years later. Which maybe shows there is still a way to go. Brave, important and completely brilliant.

Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch

Georgina Coles (Information Assistant)

I would highly recommend Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch. It’s both a personal account of the author’s struggle with her identity as a British Ghanaian woman and an exploration of the place of racism in British history and identity, and how British society can’t claim to be ‘post-racial’ or ‘colour-blind’ until it confronts the racism inherent in both its imperial past and its present. A fascinating and important book.

A Small Island by Andrea Levy

Karen John-Pierre (NHS and Liaison Manager)

On June 22^nd, 1948 the first wave of immigrants from Jamaica arrived at Tilbury Docks on the Empress Windrush. Dressed in their Sunday best and full of hope and pride at finally arriving in the ‘Mother country’, they, and other commonwealth immigrants who followed them, encountered a much more hostile and colder environment than they were expecting.

This is the real-life backdrop to the late Andrea Levy’s award-winning and popular novel, ‘A Small Island’, which charts the incohesive interplay between Hortense and Gilbert, originally from Jamaica, their English landlady, Queenie and her husband, Bernard. Levy gives voice to the different internal journeys they make in this new landscape at the birth of modern multicultural Britain, letting each main character in turn take the reins of the story to reveal different perspectives, hopping between past and present.

In this honest and important book, Levy exams themes such as the effects of Britain’s colonial rule in the Caribbean and India, post-war migration and racism, the framing of interracial relationships, the sadness and heartache of immigrant life as well as the universal themes of love, marriage and hope. As the daughter of a Windrush child, this book struck a huge chord with me: I revelled in the telling of stories largely untold and would urge you to do the same.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Anne Binsfeld – Liaison Support Librarian (IMBE)

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is a poetic, raw and magical reading. The author highlights class and race issues, with a strong feminist and anti-colonial twist. Rhys uses the Victorian classic Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and retells it from the point of view of Bertha, the “madwoman in the attic”. Set in Jamaica, Antoinette/Bertha’s story focuses on her youth as the heiress of a crumbling Creole family dynasty. She is married off to a stranger, Jane Eyre’s Mr. Rochester, who takes her to England and locks her away. As well as addressing patriarchal abuse, Antoinette’s story looks at the intersectionality of mental health issues and racism. A haunting, but beautiful book.

More recommendations

If you are looking for further recommendations for your Black History Month reading, Lawrence Jones (Content and Digital Infrastructure Manager) recommends Passing by Nella Larsen, a book about mixed race women in the US in the 1920s ‘passing’ as white & the stresses they suffer whilst trying to avoid being found out. Louise Davies (Circulation Desk Supervisor) recommends Half of a Yellow sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which is also on our Black History Month Wakelet.

Brenda Cluffer (Information Assistant) really liked Andrea Levy’s Long Song. She says the following about the author’s latest book: “The Long Song talks about the months leading up to the abolition of Slavery in the Island of Jamaica. Andrea Levy manages to bring humour to a rather brutal and tragic time in British history. It tells the story of  a young girl called July and her son who through various events are torn apart by the horrors of this system and the journeys they take in order to survive. The book covers topics of colourism, class, race, landlord and tenant, slave uprisings, abolition of slavery, the role of clergy and rape. A very serious topic but Andrea has the knack of drawing you into the subject and providing the Caribbean old saying ‘take bad something and mek laugh’ into a compelling read.”

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Don’t forget to email liaison@sgul.ac.uk with any recommendations around Black History Month you might have. Also, be sure to have a look at our Wakelet where you can find collections around mental wellbeing, LGBTQ+, women in leadership and many more.

LGBT History Month 2020 – more LGBT book reviews

This is the second installment of our book reviews of LGBT books that we have in our collection at St George’s.

Every February we celebrate LGBT History Month! It is about celebrating the richness of queer people’s contributions to society, to make LGBT+ people visible in all their diversity and to educate out prejudice.

At St George’s we have a growing Reading for Pleasure collection and as part of that we have been expanding our range of LGBT titles. You can browse the whole collection on our Wakelet.

Orlando – Virginia Woolf

Liz (Diversity and Inclusion Adviser)

Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, written in 1928, is a progressive, fun and vibrant novel that plays with gender and identity but carries an underlying important questioning of the restrictive nature of gender placed on individuals by society. This novel is very ahead of its time, like much of Woolf’s other works. It challenges the status quo, making it as important a comment on gender today, as it was when it was first published. 

Orlando is a beautifully written book with vivid and rich descriptions of societies and landscapes and tales of love and passion spanning over 300 years. Orlando is a love story, arguably based on Vita Sackville-West, Woolf’s close friend and lover. Woolf uses the novel to explore this relationship free of the boundaries of society, exploring sexuality and gender that is fluid.

Woolf creates Orlando as a playful, intense and humorous character through which she is able to explore, critique and question the role of gender in society and how this has changed over time. Woolf considered Orlando to be a “holiday” or “joke”, suggesting it is less serious and intellectual than her other works. Despite this, the novel has a serious and interrogative undertone which makes for interesting reading.

In Orlando, gender is fluid. For the protagonist, Orlando, gender changes as the novel moves through time. Half way through the novel Orlando changes from man to woman. This is not remarkable for Orlando or for Woolf, but entirely plausible. Woolf writes

‘Orlando had become a woman – there is no denying it. But in every other respect, Orlando remained precisely as he had been. The change of sex, though it altered their future, did nothing whatever to alter their identity’

In this, Woolf argues that gender is merely costume and expression, and is interchangeable. Orlando has autonomy over their identity, and this remains separate from the sex and gender.

Woolf highlights the complex relationship between gender and identity and how this is impacted by societal expectations and norms. Orlando pushes boundaries and questions why our roles and identities are so shaped and prescribed by our sex. Orlando is able to break free of this, exploring different roles and learning the penalties and privileges of each of these. Gender is performative and fluctuating, demonstrating a wonderful freedom. As the novel progresses Woolf explores a hopeful and changed world for women.

Orlando is a hugely progressive and daring novel; it is widely viewed as the first trans novel. It is fast-paced and immensely enjoyable to read. Whilst it was published 1928 it still feels relevant and challenging today. Woolf asks important and brave questions of her reader through a charming and playful love story I’d recommend everyone to read. 

Orlando

The Night Watch – Sarah Waters

Anne (Liaison Support Librarian)

Sarah Waters is a contemporary novelist known for weaving together themes of gender, sexuality and identity with characters that live on the margins of their respective societies. Night Watch (2006) is no exception to this. As readers we follow four characters through London before, during and after WWII. The author expertly plays with time and chronology, slowing revealing secrets and hidden traumas. At first, I found it difficult to engage with the characters and due to the chronology of the novel it is not fast-paced. However, some scenes stood out as highlights to me. Without wanting to give too much away, all I can say is that the characters’ personal development connects in imaginative, sometimes horrifying, ways to wartime events and post-wartime malaise. The female characters struggle to readjust to the more stereotypical gender roles they are expected to fall back into after the war. The sexual freedom they experienced during the war has receded and turned some characters’ romances into flat routine in which they seemed trapped. Their sexuality and the consequences thereof are something all four protagonists struggle with, either because of social stigma or personal shame and often because of a combination of both. Waters’ language does justice to the dramatic, (in)tense scenes as well as the more mundane, everyday elements of people’s lives and I always enjoy a good description. 

While I am not painting a very rosy picture of The Night Watch, and it definitely is a dark novel at times, I enjoyed reading it. As always, I really liked Sarah Waters’ gender-bending, sexually adventurous and at times confused protagonists as they navigate their historical contexts.  

The Night Watch

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We published another blog post a few weeks with more book reviews of LGBT titles. You can find it here. Any recommendations for our LGBT book collection? Email us at liaison@sgul.ac.uk.

LGBT History Month 2020 – LGBT book reviews

Every February we celebrate LGBT History Month! It is about celebrating the richness of queer people’s contributions to society, to make LGBT+ people visible in all their diversity and to educate out prejudice.

At St George’s we have a growing Reading for Pleasure collection and as part of that we have been expanding our range of LGBT titles. You can browse the whole collection on our Wakelet.

We have asked staff to share their thoughts with us!

Maurice – EM Forster

Andy (Information Assistant)

When I first read Maurice by E M Forster, I was fourteen years old. Reading it proved to be the first time that I recognised myself in print. My interests, my desires and my hopes. Quite a feat for a novel published in 1971 and written in 1914! The novel centres on the relationship between two university students and their struggles to find a way of accepting and constructing a homosexual life in Edwardian England. As with Forster’s other novels, class and social mores are at the forefront of the novel. Even in the 90s as a gay teenager, the availability of gay representation within the mainstream was almost non-existent. Portrayals of gay life were often negative, and skewed. Reading Maurice and Forster’s superb character construction gave me a chance to see other gay men who were relatable and aspirational in their search for an accepted existence.

The novel was inspired by Forster’s visit to the gay socialist Edward Carpenter. When visiting Carpenter, Forster observed for the first time, a gay relationship between Edward Carpenter and his lover George Merrill being lived openly. Indeed many of Carpenter socialist politics are evident in the novel. Especially his interest in breaking down class distinctions.

Maurice is a must read for anyone who wants to see the power of the novel to effect real political and social change. It’s just so good. 

Maurice

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Jenni (Research Publications Assistant)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe revolves round the friendship and eventual romance between two Mexican teenage boys, Ari and Dante. It’s written in a lyrical style that took me a while to get into, but once I did I just kept loving it more and more.

Ari’s gradual journey towards learning how to deal with his own emotions is beautifully and delicately handled, as is the (unresolved, and I think this is a strength) thread about what it means to be Mexican, and how it feels to be treated as not Mexican enough. The author makes all the secondary characters feel rounded and true without breaking out of Ari’s point of view, and portrays the adults in particular as being good people trying their best (and not always getting it right) in a way that I found refreshing.

My enjoyment was unfortunately a little marred towards the end by a backstory reveal that edged uncomfortably close to some lazy transphobic and homophobic tropes, and a slightly unsatisfying resolution to the otherwise captivating romance plot (involving a trope that I personally am not fond of), but other than that this is a wonderful, mesmerising book that is very much worth reading.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Yes, You are Trans Enough – Mia Violet

Beth (Liaison Support Librarian)

I picked up Mia’s book because in my quest to be a better trans ally, I felt I needed a stronger grasp not only on trans issues but the lived experiences of those questioning their gender. Luckily, this memoir delivers on both fronts: it draws deeply on Mia’s burgeoning awareness of her true gender identity through to her decision to transition and she links the myriad of hurdles she faced (and continues to face) along the way to the wider issues facing the trans community. While there are regular reminders that there is no one ‘universal trans experience’, I suspect that many of the themes she discusses in her book will resonate with anyone who has ever felt bullied, excluded or marginalised.

I did feel the book could have used some more judicious editing – Mia’s writing style is honest but often offers exhaustive detail. This isn’t necessarily a criticism though: her attention to detail also provided me with several learning opportunities, particularly her struggle to access the healthcare services she needed. I was also struck by the difficulties she faces with her mental health, having become a beacon of support for other trans people online. It was a stark reminder of the emotional labour demanded of individuals who are fighting for basic rights (like appropriate healthcare) that most of us would take for granted.

I think Yes, you are trans enough is a great starting point for anyone wanting an introduction to trans issues. And even if Mia’s experiences are very different to your own, at the heart of the book is a story of personal acceptance and finding confidence in your identity which is a real pleasure to read, especially if you’ve ever felt a bit lost.

Yes, You are Trans Enough

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We will be publishing another blogpost in a few weeks with more book reviews of LGBT titles. We would love to hear from you! Have you read any of these books or one from our LGBT collection (found on our Wakelet)? Let us know your thoughts in a couple of paragraphs and we’ll publish your review as part of our next blogpost. Email us at liaison@sgul.ac.uk.

The Big Read has arrived at St George’s

The idea behind the Big Read is for everyone at St George’s to come together over a shared reading experience. This year The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce was chosen and every first-year student receives their own SGUL copy of the book.

The Big Read project centres around making students, returning or brand-new to St George’s, feel welcome. It will help those of you who are feeling slightly nervous about being in a whole new environment, possibly away from home for the very first time and meeting lots of new people. As everyone takes part in this big book club, you have a conversation starter ready-made.

This year marks the first time St George’s University has its very own Big Read Project and to celebrate the occasion, Library staff have got together to discuss Harold’s pilgrimage over a cup of tea and a biscuit (or two). We had a lively discussion about Joyce’s novel and as in any good book club, we found that we all had slightly (or very) different opinions on the protagonists and key themes.

Below you can read our (spoiler-free) thoughts on the novel.

Beth, Liaison Support Librarian (IMBE)

It’s easy to see why The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was picked for this year’s Big Read title: it’s packed full of big topics that readers from all backgrounds will be able to relate to in some way. As the plot unfolds, it tackles (among many others) themes of grief and loss, loneliness, kindness, addiction and friendship. It’s an enjoyable easy read too, despite some difficult subject matter, as we accompany Harold on his pilgrimage across the UK. When I originally sat down to gather my thoughts for this post, I found myself wondering whether this had quite as profound an impact on me as previous Big Read selections. However, I was forced to re-examine that opinion after getting involved with our staff book group – this is certainly a story that deserves some unpacking and discussion. I’ve found myself revisiting and reappraising the way in which this book tackles these big issues and actually, it appears it’s definitely left its mark.

Anne, Liaison Support Librarian (Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education)

The themes in Harold Fry are universal to the human experience and include loss, regret, dysfunctional relationships and ageing. However, for me the power of the narrative lies in the portrayal of seemingly more minor topics, such as the importance of spending time outside in nature, mindfulness, and connecting with others regardless of how different they are from us. Along with Harold, the reader learns, or rather is reminded, that we are all unique and yet the same. We are often struggling with very similar problems, but ordinary human life is also full of wonders and human connection, which are always around us if we take a minute to appreciate them.

While the book unquestionably addresses really big topics, and can be emotionally challenging at times, it is a real page-turner.

Jenni, Research Publications Assistant

I thought that the portrayal of the beginning of Harold’s pilgrimage was very effective: he increases the length of his journey to post his letter by increments, unable to truly admit to himself that he doesn’t want to return to the home that represents his emotional stagnation, and once the idea of the pilgrimage occurs to him, giving him the excuse to keep going, he seizes on it. His inability to think about the practical reality of his pilgrimage, or to make any active plans other than to continue it, worked well as a mirror for his inability to entirely face his own emotions and past all in one go: like his pilgrimage, he has to tackle it piece by piece, at an angle, without admitting that’s what he’s doing until he’s already doing it

Dan, Information Assistant

I enjoyed Rachel Joyce’s book. There are many themes running through like isolation, grief and loneliness. However, my favourite chapter in the book is when Harold on his pilgrimage meets with Martina a qualified Doctor from another country and although she has problems of her own to address she nonetheless dresses his wounds from excessive walking and takes care of him for a few days when he clearly is exhausted.  It highlights one of the major themes in the book which is the unexpected kindness of strangers when you most need it.

Michelle, Research Data Manager, had a different take on the novel

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is an inspiring book about illness, suffering and loss, and how these expressions of human existence transcend the various skins that hold them. Unfortunately, for a book about the fragility of skin and the universality of the human condition, Harold is hard to relate to. Harold is of a particular time and place and even as he challenges his own lens he is caught within them, making this a conflicting read at times.

At the end of the Library’s own book club, we couldn’t agree whether the protagonists have more to celebrate than to mourn or whether Harold’s journey has a “happy end” or not, so get reading today and join the discussion on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter today.

Previous years’ books

Organised since 2015, Big Read has been growing every year. In 2018, Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine was picked, which proved very popular with Library staff. This and previous years’ short-listed titles are available on loan from the Library, as well as all the winning titles of course. You can read our thoughts on the books from previous years by clicking on The Big Read tag.

Current students and SGUL staff can pick up a copy of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry from the help desk in the Library.

Author’s visit

Join us on 6^th November for the Big Read Author talk at St George’s where Rachel Joyce will speak about her book and signs your copy! Find out more here. Booking is essential!

World Book Day 2019

Happy World Book Day! While Library staff aren’t dressing up like classic book characters (we hope you aren’t too disappointed), some of us have been reading and reviewing new and classic picks from our fiction collection.

You can browse online collections of these titles at the links below, or by searching for fiction in Hunter:

KU Big Read titles
LGBT History Month titles
Black History Month titles

 

On to the reviews!

 

Tin Man by Sarah Winman

A short but beautifully bittersweet story of grief, and the loves that preceded it.

A book of two halves, the narrative follows firstly Ellis and then transfers to Michael, childhood friends whose lives have diverged in adulthood. However, while being centred on the story of these two men, the book opens in 1950 with a woman and what is described as ‘her first ever act of defiance.’ The woman, instead of complying with her husband’s instruction to choose a bottle of whiskey upon winning a raffle draw at a local community centre event, chooses a reproduction painting of van Gogh’s Sunflowers. The woman is Dora Judd, Ellis’s mother, and both she and the painting are a thread woven through the story of these men’s lives, signifying the possibilities of committing to an act of hope – the choice to turn towards the light.

Winman’s prose is understated yet brimming with beauty and compassion, embodying one of the underlying themes of the novel – the beauty and potential inherent in the everyday.

Verity Allison, Journals and e-Resources Librarian

 

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

“For girls, becoming women was inevitability; for boys, becoming men was ambition”

Home Fire is a modern-day reworking of the Greek tragedy Antigone, centred around a British Muslim community who are dealing with the fallout of one their own leaving London to join ISIS. The story unfolds through a number of different perspectives; from siblings Isma, Aneeka and Parvaiz, to the Home Secretary Karamat Lone and his son Eamonn.

It is certainly an intense read, but an important one. Shamsie’s insidious descriptions of Parvaiz’s slide into radicalisation are heartbreaking and her characterisation of the British tabloid press is spot-on and desperately frustrating to read. Part-thriller, part homage to the power of love and family, the story builds and builds to a hugely cinematic climax. How satisfying you find the ending is very much up for discussion, but this is a read that has stuck with me for a long, long time after turning the last page.

Beth Jackson, Liaison Support Librarian

 

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

I first saw Anthony Minghella’s Oscar-winning film adaption of this book, and having subsequently heard the director talk about Michael Ondaatje’s beautiful writing I was intrigued. The book itself won the Booker Prize in 1992, and the Golden Man Booker Prize in 2018 – essentially being voted the best of the all previous Booker prize winners.

Set at the time of the Second World War, several lives entwine around an “English” patient who has badly been burned in an airplane accident. The back-story that unfurls is both romantic and heartbreaking.

I find it very hard to keep interested in books where I have already seen the film but Ondatjee’s writing really is special: he writes very poetically.  The plot is slightly different to the film which always makes it more interesting. I’d definitely recommend this book.

Daniel Jeffcote, Information Assistant

 

If you’d like some more recommendations, we’ve previously featured reviews written by FHSCE and Library staff. How about one reading one of our selected #KUBigRead shortlisted titles? You can find their reviews below:

The Penguin Lessons
The Elephant and the Bee
The Power
Radio Sunrise
The Brilliant and Forever
My Name is Leon

On the other hand, if you prefer a non-fiction read but aren’t in the mood for another Oxford Handbook, Library staff have also reviewed a selection of popular science writing. You can read our thoughts here.

Happy reading!

 

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If you’d be interested in reading and reviewing any books from the Library collection, please do get in touch with us by emailing liaison@sgul.ac.uk

Library staff recommend: Science and Medicine bestsellers (part 2)

This summer, we’re highlighting parts of our collection that you might not have come across before: popular science titles that you’ll find peppered throughout the library shelves. Over the past few weeks, Library and LTS staff have been reading and reviewing a selection of books: many of which are now on display by the helpdesk for you to borrow. You can also browse our handpicked selection here: http://wke.lt/w/s/q3KeB

Take a look at some of our recommended reads below. You can find part one of our staff book reviews here.

 

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

For another insight in to the world of neurosurgery you may also like ‘Do no harm’, neurosurgeon Henry Marsh’s memoir of his life and work at St George’s.

‘When breath becomes air’ is the autobiography of Paul Kalanithi – neurosurgeon-neuroscientist and writer. The book charts his journey to medicine via English Literature and Human Biology, through the gruelling training in neurosurgery, to his experiences on the other side of the doctor-patient relationship following his diagnosis with stage 4 lung cancer just as he was approaching the end of his neurosurgical residency:

“Instead of being the pastoral figure aiding a life transition, I found myself the sheep, lost and confused.”

The different phases of the book are woven together by Kalanithi’s thoughtful and tender exploration of the question, what gives life meaning? Navigated variously through literature and philosophy, through the visceral experience of practising medicine, and with deep personal insight as he comes to terms with his own diagnosis and prognosis. I believe that what you’ll take from this book is as deeply personal as the story itself, but that overall the book is profoundly life affirming and speaks of the importance of hope in the most difficult of circumstances.

Verity Allison
Journals and e-Resources Librarian

 

Bodies by Jed Mercurio

An unforgiving and at times confronting read, Bodies is one of those rare books that sticks in the mind long after the last page.

Bodies is a disturbing, fascinating and truly compelling fictional account from the front line of hospital life in the late twentieth century.

This first novel by Jed Mercurio, a former doctor turned drama writer whose recent works include the award-winning TV series Line of Duty, was later adapted by the BBC. It charts the day-to-day experiences of the book’s unnamed narrator, who as the story begins has arrived at the hospital for his first day as a newly qualified houseman.

From the start the reader is immersed in the gritty reality of life as a junior doctor: the gruelling hours, lack of sleep, urgent references to the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine and the life and death decisions that have to be made on a daily basis. Mistakes are inevitably made, and the reader shares the narrator’s distress as he struggles with how a simple misjudgment can lead to the most severe of consequences.

The narrator doesn’t flinch as he reveals the reality of the battlefield of hospital life, seamlessly blending stomach-turning episodes on the wards with his own personal life.The reality of his work impacts his faith and also his relationships, which are graphically recounted alongside his work.

As the story progresses, the idealism that a new young doctor brings is tested. He is presented with moral dilemmas and decisions of conscience which force the reader to wonder what path they would take when faced with the reality we have seen through his eyes. An unforgiving and at times confronting read, Bodies is one of those rare books that sticks in the mind long after the last page.

Emily Daniel
Information Assistant

 

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

This book will capture the imagination of all and take you down the rabbit hole into the wonderland of the human brain.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is comprised of a series of case histories of Oliver Sacks’ patients. Sacks, a neurologist, writes about some of the more unique and baffling cases he has come across throughout his career. His patients have different neurological disorders that lead them to navigate the world and their own sense of self in mysterious, startling and sometimes heart-breaking ways. Written over thirty years ago, our knowledge of the nervous system has since developed and some of the terminology is outdated. What makes this book still current is that Sacks does not claim to have all the answers – the brain was then, as it remains now, largely an enigma.

Reading the book, I couldn’t help but ask, how do we make sense of the world, and of our place in it, when perception, memory and cognitive function has gone? For many of us it’s our worst nightmare; we suppose that to lose our past and our sense of the familiar, would be to lose our humanity. The patients in Sacks’ book show a remarkable ability to strive for meaning and identity.

The namesake of the book, Dr P, is a man who has lost his ability to understand what he can see in front of him. In one occurrence, Dr P stares at a glove, pondering over what this strange object with its “five outpouchings” could be. Upon placing his hand within the object he makes sense of its function. It is only then that he declares that it is a glove! He has lost the ability to recognise faces, hence mistaking his wife for a hat. He can perceive features, but not the whole. As a talented musician, he instead ‘sees’ through music: “He had no body-image, he had body-music: this is why he could move and act as fluently as he did”.

Sacks reveals these stories in a frank and humorous light. Sacks aims with this book to “restore the human subject at the centre” of medical case studies. Disease and the individual are not separate entities. Sacks argues that much of the behaviours of his patients are not manifestations of disease. They are an “organised chaos”, responsive to the absolute confusion of disease, through sheer will or desire to live. It encourages the medical profession to positively focus on faculties that remain, or that flourish, under pervading diseases. For those of us without a scientific background, it encourages us to wonder at the marvel of what the human brain is capable of and question what we perceive as ‘lesser’ or ‘deficient’.

Catriona Robertson
FHSCE Liaison Support Librarian

 

The Man Who Couldn’t Stop – David Adam

“I can’t think of a single positive thing about OCD. And I’ve thought about OCD a lot.”

Writer David Adam is fairly unequivocal on the question of whether OCD might have an upside; but he also understands how the largely hidden nature of the suffering it causes might lead to such misperceptions – to the ‘little bit OCD’ of popular imagination. A science journalist who has himself had OCD for over twenty years, Adam realised he might be well-placed to shine a clearer light on the condition; “The Man Who Couldn’t Stop” is the result.

He takes as his starting point the intrusive thoughts and doubts that lie at the heart of OCD – and finds they are actually surprisingly common to us all. So what is it that happens differently in the small number of people who can’t let go of these thoughts – who go on to develop OCD? In the search for answers, Adam takes us on a journey through genetics, childhood experience and misfiring brain circuits among other things. And while he admits there is much still to be understood, he finds some intriguing possibilities.

But it’s perhaps in recounting his own experiences that Adam is able to shine the brightest light – describing with unswerving honesty how it feels to live in the grip of obsessive doubt; or the long journey to find the treatment that keeps that keeps those thoughts – mostly – under control today. His book manages to give both a readable introduction to the evidence, and a voice to personal experiences that have sometimes been overlooked.

Hilary Garrett
Information Assistant

 

Library staff recommend: Science and Medicine bestsellers (part 1)

This summer, we’re highlighting parts of our collection that you might not have come across before: popular science titles that you’ll find peppered throughout the library shelves. Over the past few weeks, Library and LTS staff have been reading and reviewing a selection of books: many of which are now on display by the helpdesk for you to borrow. You can also browse our hand-picked selection here: http://wke.lt/w/s/q3KeB

Take a look at some of our recommended reads below. You can view part 2 of our book reviews here.

 

Why we sleep : the new science of sleep and dreams by Matthew Walker

There will be something to astonish you almost every time you pick it up… I’d recommend this book to everyone.

This brilliant book is packed with incredible facts about the benefits of a good night’s sleep and the consequences of not getting enough good-quality sleep. Matthew Walker, a sleep specialist at the University of California, Berkeley, shows how sleep can improve everything from memory to the efficacy of the flu jab, not to mention productivity at work, mood and even blood sugar levels. He also explains that driving while sleep-deprived can be more dangerous than driving drunk, and that (unfortunately) a weekend lie-in can’t completely compensate for a lack of sleep during the week.  The book is written in a very accessible way that is neither too technical nor overly simplified, which makes it an easy read despite it being absolutely full of information. There will be something to astonish you almost every time you pick it up, and you’ll want to start improving your sleep straight away – handily, the book also includes a few tips on how to do just that. I’d recommend this book to everyone. In Matthew Walker’s words, “sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day”, and that is something we can all benefit from.

Georgina Coles
Information Assistant

 

Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors by Susan Sontag

Recommended for medical historians or anyone interested in the history of medicine.

First published 40 years ago, Sontag examines the euphemisms, myths and metaphors that surround diseases such as TB, cancer and AIDS. In obituaries, the expression ‘she died after a long illness’ is often a euphemism for ‘she died of breast cancer’. This is because cancer attacks parts of the body that can, to this day, be embarrassing to acknowledge (e.g. breast, colon, testicles). A particular strength of the book is its debunking of the psychological aspects of disease. This relates to the myth that TB, cancer or AIDS sufferers are somehow to blame for contracting their disease. Sontag tracks a line from the ancient Greeks through to the Victorians where disease is perceived as a judgement on the behaviour or morality of the sufferer. And before we gloat about how much more civilised and reasoned we are today, one only has to recall that is was just over 30 years ago (at the height of the AIDS crisis) that singer Donna Summer allegedly remarked that AIDS was God’s punishment to gay men.

Lawrence Jones
Content & Digital Infrastructure Manager

 

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

A great read for anyone who has an interest in debunking medical nonsense. This book will equip you with the skills to see through the ‘Bad Science’ filling our world whilst still managing to be both funny and entertaining.

Ben Goldacre is a medical doctor, academic, campaigner and bestselling author; his first book Bad Science encompasses all of these by picking apart the ‘Bad Science’ that is filling our lives, whether it comes from the media, advertising or the pharmaceutical industry.

Bad Science is split into two sections: the first focusses on how research is carried out and reported before walking through some notable cases of misleading science including an interesting review of the placebo effect and the smearing of the MMR vaccine all the way to a personal experiment with an ‘Aqua Detox’ and a Barbie doll.

The aim is to explain how not only media and marketing mislead us but also how pharmaceutical companies skew clinical findings. Full of facts and humour in equal measure, Bad Science will not only equip you with the skills to spot the questionable scientific claims filling the world but will also probably make you laugh along the way.

Kerry Dixon
Learning Technologist

 

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

If you are a fan of true crime or are in any way interested in the complexities of human behaviour, this is very much worth a read.

Ronson’s book begins with a mystery: someone has been sending peculiar packages to academics across the world containing a book crammed with cryptic messages. With the mystery seemingly unsolvable, Ronson is brought on board to help crack the case and his pursuit of the book’s origins leads him on a funny – but often troubling – journey that unravels what it means to be ‘mad’.

Underpinning most of the book is Ronson’s exploration of the Psychopathy Checklist; which he uses when interviewing a number of individuals who arguably exhibit psychopathic traits: from the head of a Haitian death squad to the CEO of an American manufacturing company. The most intriguing character for me is ‘Tony’, an offender who’s plan to ‘fake madness’ to get out of a prison sentence backfired when he found himself locked up in Broadmoor indefinitely. Interspersed amongst these stories are examples of Ronson’s own battles with anxiety, which offer welcome relief to some of the quite grisly content.

While the book is clearly well-researched, some aspects of the storytelling do feel unbalanced and over reliant on the more sensational case studies in the field. It’s also occasionally guilty of offering a superficial look at some aspects of psychopathy, so I’d advise casting a critical eye over any conclusions you draw from the material explored. Nevertheless, it is a fun and entertaining read and if it’s sparked your interest in the field (as it has for me), you may find yourself looking into more authoritative texts to satisfy your curiosity.

Beth Jackson
Liaison Support Librarian (Medicine and Biomedical Sciences)

EDIT:
(9th August 2018) One of our Twitter followers highlighted a response to Ronson’s book by Robert D. Hare, who’s work (and checklist) are featured heavily in the text. For balance, we’d certainly recommend reading his reflections on the book here. We’d like to share another thank you to the follower who brought it to our attention, it made for an entertaining read and echoed many of the concerns we couldn’t include in our word count!

Book Review: The Brilliant & Forever by Kevin MacNeil

A review of The Brilliant and Forever, written by Catriona Robertson, FHSCE Liaison Support Librarian

MacNeil is a wordsmith and the novel delights with beautifully written passages and moments of unexpected humour which bring to light the human condition.

After having read and loved another one of Kevin MacNeil’s books, The Stornoway Way, I was really excited to see that his new book, The Brilliant and Forever, was shortlisted for the KU Big Read and jumped at the chance to read it. I certainly wasn’t disappointed!

The Brilliant and Forever is set on a nameless island where humans and alpacas live unharmoniously side by side. There are lots of parallels that can be drawn between the island and the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, where MacNeil grew up. Anyone from a small town can surely empathise with some of the idiosyncrasies of island life.

The novel centres around an annual book festival held on the island called The Brilliant and Forever. The festival draws an eclectic crowd of locals and literary types from further afield, who hope to make a name for themselves in this remote and strange place. We see events unfold from the perspective of our nameless protagonist, who is best friends with Macy and Archie the alpaca. Our protagonist is a contemplative man who experiences moments of clarity and calm, particularly whilst cycling around the island. As the reader, you can’t help but share his love and endearment for his companions. Macy defies conventions and is full of kooky ideas and witticisms and the funny but anxious Archie is nobly leading a fight for alpaca rights. All three are aspiring writers taking part in the literary festival.

Within the book is a series of short stories which are all individual entries for the festival. Each of these stories are unique, fantastic, humorous and heart-breaking. Even in these individual tales, MacNeil’s voice comes through. There is an unbroken thread weaving the festival stories together with themes of empathy, identity, and loneliness emerging. MacNeil also brings together folklore traditions of storytelling and the modern world.

The island can be seen as a microcosm of our society. There are many divides on the island, from the rich whitehousers to the poorer blackhousers. Black houses are traditional houses from the Scottish Highlands and Islands, which were sometimes viewed as crude and inferior structures to the newer white houses. In the book, these houses represent the privileged and less privileged echelons of society. There is also divide between humans and alpacas. There are elements of segregation on the island, and alpacas are treated as second class citizens. Archie’s entry to the B&F festival is all the more remarkable as none of the judges are alpacas, and the publishers who hold power are all human. The privileged whitehousers have a veneer of respectability and civility but they struggle with perpetual unhappiness due to their materialistic culture. There are strong undercurrents of violence and an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality amongst the whitehousers.

As I read the book I found myself at times despairing and at times full of rage for the injustices Archie and others face in the novel. Ultimately, I felt uplifted by the examples of unlikely friendships and the vision of a fair and shared community for all. I’d definitely recommend this book. If you don’t enjoy it, in the words of Archie, “it’s a jazz thing you don’t get”.

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Join the discussion. Tell us what you thought of The Brilliant & Forever, or what your favourite Big Read shortlisted book is. Come by the library to borrow a copy.

Book Review: The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell

A review of The Penguin Lessons, written by Eduardo R. Garcia, Midwifery student

A foreign country in turmoil. An adventure. An unforgettable friendship.

The Penguin Lessons is a narrative told in first person by the author, Tom Michell, whose family members were distributed all over the world and inspired him with tales and stories about their discoveries, filling his imagination and making him familiar with these places. However, while this encouraged his adventurous spirit to take off, he was also moved by the desire to explore an unknown territory where his relatives had not been before, and hence why South America came as a perfect destination for his cause. Years later, during the 70s, an advertisement looking for staff in a Boarding School in Argentina would become his passage to his longed for adventure, fearless of the economic and political situation that whipped the country in the meantime.

What makes this personal journey especial is not only the wealth of insight into Argentina, its people and the description of a period that is long gone. The real core of the story is the friendship between Michell and Juan Salvador, or Juan Salvado: a penguin that our leading man rescued out of the jaws of death.

Michell’s action could have stayed as an anecdote in an otherwise more formal and serious narrative, however he decided to take the penguin under his arm and continue his travels, bringing Juan Salvado with him into the Boarding School, and making this the story of a lifetime. The bird, or the way that he is presented to us by Michell, makes us think of him as a character with his own personality and decision-making; he is a little fighter that serves as a main narrative thread, providing emotive and funny moments as this peculiar and almost fantastical relationship between bird and human develops.

Perfectly written, and unfolding wit and charm, Michell imagines the replies that Juan Salvado gives him through his eyes or actions, humanizing the character and making the readers understand his desire to protect the animal and why everyone around loves him, breaking the barriers that one could imagine as impregnable between a penguin and the human world. Because, at the end of the day, could a penguin belong with humans?

With the sensitivity of someone who has observed the damage that human actions could perpetrate in nature, the author inspires us to be considerate with the environment. Also, in reference to the title of the novel, Michell learns and demystifies knowledge and ideas about penguins, teaching us some tips in case, one day, we find ourselves in a similar situation and need to parent one of them.

Similar reads: Big Fish, Water for Elephants.

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Join the discussion. Tell us what you thought of The Penguin Lessons, or what your favourite Big Read shortlisted book is. Come by the library to borrow a copy.

Book Review: The Power by Naomi Alderman

A review of The Power, written by Beth Jackson, FMBS Liaison Support Librarian

This powerful, provocative tale of how power corrupts will leave you questioning not only the dystopian world of Roxy, Allie, Margot and Tunde but our own society too. ‘Shockingly’ good.

How different would our world be if women were the dominant gender, wielding physical power over men? This is the central theme running through The Power, which examines how society changes after teenage girls suddenly develop the ability to discharge electricity through their hands. They soon learn they are able to awaken the power in older women too, and before long the entire female population are able to control, hurt and kill their oppressors – in this case, men.

How the global chaos unfolds is told through the stories of four central characters. Roxy, the daughter of a gangster, is caught in a criminal underworld and desperate to avenge her mother’s murder. Margot, a low-level American politician who once bestowed the power exploits it for political gain. Allie, a runaway who escapes her abusive foster father and becomes the leader of the new revolution, amassing followers who believe in the supremacy of women. Finally Tunde, a Nigerian journalist whose viral video of a teenager discharging her power on a male harasser kick-starts what becomes known as the ‘Day of the Girls’.

We see how their stories converge over the years as the power mechanics shift and belief systems change. Alderman does not present a matriarchal utopia by any means and graphically depicts the cruelty women are capable of. This can make for tough reading at times, but what’s most unsettling is that many of the displays of violence she posits are gender-flipped examples of the brutality inflicted on women in the real world. Considering the difficult and complex topics in the novel, the violence doesn’t feel gratuitous and serves a broader purpose of highlighting stereotypes about gender and illustrates how power can corrupt anyone.

It might not be the gentlest read among KU Big Read shortlist, but it is certainly packed with action, suspense and plenty of provocative scenes which will keep you ruminating long after you’ve finished the book.

Notable mention: If you are a fan of Margaret Atwood (particularly The Handmaid’s Tale) you might be interested to know she mentored Alderman back in 2012 (they co-wrote a zombie serialisation together!). Her influence can be felt in the storytelling and the dystopian themes underpinning the novel.

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Join the discussion. Tell us what you thought of The Power, or what your favourite Big Read shortlisted book is. Come by the library to borrow a copy.