Sylvia Plath reading some of her poems and talking about her work. And it‘s wonderful how she reads them, I love her poetry that is full of stark, sharp imagery.

Extract from Candles by Sylvia Plath
--------------
They are the last romantics, these candles:
Upside-down hearts of light tipping wax fingers,
And the fingers, taken in by their own haloes,
Grown milky, almost clear, like the bodies of saints.

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Set in Melbourne, Australia, Aisha, Rosie and Anouk are 3 friends with different lifestyles who have kept in touch since school. They are part of a circle of family and friends. When Rosie‘s child is slapped by Aisha‘s husband it unearths the social, racial and class divide. The novel puts under the scope some hard questions.

As a read it‘s not easy, the characters are not likeable and the story meanders and has large cast of characters. cont ...

I'm almost half way through. There are no ghosts or witches in this one, but the thought of reading it has always been a scary thought. 🎃🎃

I'm really enjoying this, I had no idea that so many ordinary people helped to produce the OED 😊

This retell of Homer‘s The Odyssey is a mix of poetry and prose. It‘s not quite a Halloween read, but the story is told by Penelope and the 12 maids after they are dead. They are angry at what happened to them, and they will have their say:

”we are the maids
the ones you killed
the ones you failed
we danced in air
our barre feet twitched
it was not fair …”

Electra by Euripides is his version of the second part of Aeschylus‘s Oresteia. This not something I would read for leisure, it‘s not a fun read, and it‘s a slow burner. Just interesting to see Euripides‘s version of Electra.

This is not a leisurely read, it‘s alarming, bloody, angry and very anti-women. Orestes by Euripides is hardly produced for the stage today but worth a read if, like me, you‘re trying to put all the pieces together that makes mythology.

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I enjoyed this one, and would read again

This has been on my tbr for ages, and finally reading it. Not exactly Halloween read but the thought of wanting to read it was scary enough. 😃

Twelve short stories by Agatha Christie where Hercule Poirot takes on his last 12 cases, each one gives a nod to a labour of (the Greek hero) Hercules. I listened to the audiobook, brilliantly read and entertaining.

There were parts where the poetry was moving, but minus: the story of Dido; the sea voyage Aeneas has; and some sobering war scenes, this mostly read like a piece of propaganda, but I would read again. This time I read Robert Fagles verse translation, I found it to be an easy read.

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This is so different from the movie Total Recall but just as entertaining without all the wacky characters, special effects and chase scenes. The ending is unexpected, I didn‘t know if I should be amused or be stunned.

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The premise of this short novel is quirky and disturbing whilst raising some philosophical concerns on humanity, science and politics. There are subtleties here I think I missed because I don‘t know enough about the Russian Revolution and after. For now, I am left with the impression this is a very brave novel to write.

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A truly amazing!!!! Read.

I also like how it puts Sylvia Plath‘s talent back to centre stage from the shadows of the last months of her life.

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A Hunger-Artist: Four Stories

I‘m left speechless, my first response is the four stories that make this mini collection are sad as they are beautiful in how they each show the human condition.

The four stories are: First Sorrow; Little Women; A Hunger-Artist; and Josefine the singer, or the Mouse People

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I liked this for its philosophical insights and how the setting comes to life in Lavinia‘s day to day, and for this I would read again.

But wasn't sure in how at times the story is contrived in how it unfolds and for having characters that are all good (Aeneas) or all bad (Turnus (and later Acsanius)) – and so to me feels less real.

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