Books I Read in March 2022

March was a great reading month. I read probably two or three new books that will be on my all-time favorites list, and one of those being probably my favorite for the year. Most of these, I tried to keep as stories about and/or written by women since March is Women's History Month and March 8 is International Women's Day. And overall, I'm pretty happy with how the month went. I had one Did Not Finish, but it wasn't out of disappointment for the material. More just a "right book, wrong time" situation, but we'll chat about that at the end . . . now, onto the reviews!

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Book Club, Favorites, Historical Fiction, Modern Literature

Review: Only Ta-Nehisi Coates could have written this book. His beautiful, thought-provoking prose so deeply wove this story of Hiram into a bigger narrative on slavery and its continued impacts. The Water Dancer explored how slavery affected everyone involved in it, no matter how they were involved. It was heartbreaking. It was hopeful. It felt, at times, like a super hero origin story with some espionage tied in. And, most importantly, it was approachable. I think this book could easily open a lot of doors for positive, inclusive conversations in book clubs.

I have seen other reviewers talk about the slow pace and lack of character development in this book. I'll admit, the first and last 100 pages were a little difficult for me to give my full attention to. If I picked up this book during those pages when I was feeling the least bit tired, it put me to sleep. I can also see how some characters were developed much less than others. However, I don't think those two hiccups take away from what Coates has done here. It's a magical book, weaving magical realism in a way that wasn't hard for even me to grasp, and definitely worth the read once I got into it. Plus, Harriet Tubman makes a cameo that I 100% squealed about.

Another book for the personal library that I'll very much look forward to discussing with my book club!

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Favorites, Historical Fiction, Modern Literature

Review: I think this book was a beautiful retelling of the Trojan war from the perspectives of the women involved, and an incredibly powerful and needed concept for a book. It was brutal, devastating, and exquisitely written. I cannot state enough how sad this book was, so if you're not into sad books, do not read this one! Each chapter delved into important issues and themes that connect these fictional women of the past to real women today, and I loved that. Is everything relatable? Obviously not, but A Thousand Ships explores grief, trauma, loss, as well as so many other emotions so well.

The only aspect that kept this from being my perfect read was the multiple chapters from Penelope's perspective. I just felt that a lot of potential to explore other, lesser known women from the Trojan War was lost in choosing someone so well-known. Did I enjoy watching Penelope's evolution as the years wore on in Odysseus's absence? Yes. But, at this point, I just feel like The Odyssey and Odysseus's storyline in general is overdone. It was the major issue I had with Circe by Madeline Miller too. Except, her character was relatively more obscure, and she chose to spend roughly half the book retelling The Odyssey when her perspective could have been so much more broad and meaningful.

With that said though, if you like Madeline Miller and other authors who do Greek myth/history retellings, I imagine you'll appreciate this. I definitely did.

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: All-Time Favorites, Historical Fiction, Modern Literature

Review: This was such a beautifully written novel. I loved reading pretty much every page and got lost in the pictures painted with its words. Because of its rich, delicious descriptions, I would say this novel is slower paced.

Did I like every part of this book? No. Dionysus had me DEEP in my feelings for multiple reasons: he was charming, lovely, lovable, but also deceitful, hateful, and vengeful up until the very end. Also, there are some Greek myth inconsistencies, but this is a work of fiction so some variances to fit the narratives are okay in my book. It was worth a five-star rating from me because of how much I enjoyed reading this overall. It also felt refreshing to not have Odysseus show up in this, and I enjoyed the appearances of other Greek myth characters.

I sympathized with Ariadne and Phaedra. My heart broke when theirs did. I soared when they soared. I was swept into this story all the way. This was another sad Greek myth retelling (as most are, especially with women at the center). It dealt with themes of feminism, motherhood, love, power, and loss. I thought the author did a wonderful job with this book. If you're a fan of Greek retellings with masterful descriptive writing, I would suggest it.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Shelves: Favorites, Modern Literature, Mystery

Review: I had to sit with this book for a couple of days before I could write a review. I ran into a few issues with this, spoilers excluded: the chapters were 100+ pages long (this book is 559pgs with only eight chapters). The author uses slurs and bigotry which, most of the time, came off as a shock-value tactic rather than moving any character development forward. And, by the end (which I think was the point), I absolutely hated everyone. Lol.

The Secret History is supposed to be a satirical, reverse-mystery novel set in the high academia world. It's dark and moody with fantastic, embellished writing that does well at creating the atmosphere and ambiance of its small Vermont college campus setting. The morally grey (or, arguably downright awful) characters are seen through the highly unreliable narrator's eye, one that is highly romanticized and male and, even though the main action point is told before the book even begins, I was engrossed to find out what exactly happens and how. This is not a fast-paced novel. With its heavy descriptions and introspections, I definitely label it as slow-paced and cerebral. Tartt manages to paint these horrible main characters that I was somehow still invested in throughout the whole book even though I couldn't wait to finish this and stop reading about them.

This is certainly not a book I would normally read - way outside of my comfort zone - but I am glad I picked this one up. Is this book for everyone? Absolutely not. But if the synopsis intrigues you, then be daring and give it a go, even if you end up not finishing it.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Shelves: Classic Literature, Historical Fiction, Romance

Review: I'm still trying to decide how I feel about A Farewell to Arms. The novel is sectioned into five smaller books, following a young American lieutenant in the Italian ambulance corps on the frontlines in northern Italy during WWI. The first two books didn't really appeal to me as I wasn't a fan of how the main characters were written and the pacing felt too slow. However, that changed into book three.

Books three through five are what I like about Hemingway as a writer: there was humor thrown in that felt real and needed during the more tense moments of the novel, great descriptive writing about people and places, building action, even a little bit of suspense. Our main characters are in despairing circumstances yet still find comfort and love in each other in quaint little towns in northern Italy and Switzerland. Not to mention that this was probably a scandalous novel when it was published in 1929.

Does the ending rip your heart out? Uh, yeah. At least, it ripped out mine. But it explores the growth of Frederic Henry, contemplates the human existence, and reflects on the intensity of war. A good read, but I think, as of right now, I'm still a Hemingway short stories gal myself.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: All-Time Favorites, Historical Fiction, Modern Literature, Religious

Review: I honestly don't even know where to begin for this one. It was the easiest five-star rating I've given in a while. The Book of Longings is so well-researched. It is powerful, descriptive, character-driven, medium-paced, and a beautiful story of Ana, the fictional wife of Jesus. I don't think you need to be religious, familiar with the Bible, or even a spiritual person to enjoy this book. It is a moving feminist tale of bravery, love, and acceptance of your place in this world.

This story truly broke me; I started crying around the last 30ish pages of this book and didn't stop until long after I finished it. I woke up this morning, the day after, still reeling from the story it told. There are multiple reasons why The Book of Longings hit me so hard, just a few of them being:

• It was beautiful seeing women represented so strongly in the stories I grew up learning about with men as the main focus. Ana is, I think, supposed to represent the daughter of Sophia, the divine feminine representation of God, the way Jesus is supposed to represent the son of God.

• Biblical characters that have felt distant and stiff and unreachable the majority of my Christian upbringing felt so deeply human and real. Jesus was written as human. He was not divine to Ana (the perspective through which this book is written) because Ana never saw him perform miracles. To see him as a son, a brother, a supporter of his family, a husband was so moving for me. He was written powerfully as a character that taught and acted love for everyone, who saw those that society made invisible. Readers get to see him as scripture has showed him but through the lens of humanity rather than through the lens of divinity.

• Ana was a force, and a voice, and a reminder to embrace the largeness that lives in each of us. She is a representation of the radicalness Jesus represented in his lifetime. She read, wrote, and didn't want children (among many other facets in her character). Most importantly, their marriage was a true partnership that they found comfort and support for each of their callings. It was written so warmly.

With all of that said, Jesus is not the main focus of this book. The story of Ana is, and Jesus plays a supporting role. Someone in a Washington Post review called her a "too woke" heroine because of her unrealistic representation of the times, which assumes that women didn't think radically or like her during the time of Jesus. I find a huge problem with that argument since women have been routinely silenced throughout history and particularly in the Bible. The author's note, which I think is necessary reading, is chock full of important information and clarifications where Kidd took artistic liberties along with her reasons for what she wrote, how she wrote, and why.

The Book of Longings was truly remarkable for me. I understand not everyone will enjoy it, but man. Easily one of the best books I've read in years.

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Strobel

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Religious, Nonfiction

Review: After finishing The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd, it sent me down a path of asking: how did the books of the Bible that were chosen as "canon" get that distinction and why? My first place to turn was in my own library, and I remember reading The Case for Christ in a Gospels class in college. This book was as I remembered: an intro to the topic of the validity of Jesus, with information about the gospels (and books of the NT in general), historical proof and accuracy, archaeology, and philosophical questions surrounding Christianity.

While this certainly isn't an all-encompassing book, it whets the appetite to dig deeper. The author interviews one scholar per question he has (which, as a historian, I want more than just one person giving me what *they've* studied), but also includes a list of sources for further reading if you're interested in learning more. This was helpful as I'm sure those sources would lead you to other sources, etc., etc. The only other thing I was disappointed with was the lack of women's voices. He interviewed not one woman scholar, and he included maybe a handful of women in his references or "further reading" lists at the ends of his chapters. I feel like consultation with women in these academic areas would have immensely deepened the knowledge presented.

I'm glad I re-read this. It has helped bolster my faith again through logic and observation of primary sources/documentation during a time when I've felt burned out on religion and the church as an institution. I don't know that my uncle, an atheist, would be won over by this book if I handed it to him, but I think it would certainly make him think a little bit more about his beliefs, which is important and necessary for anyone to do at some point in his/her life.

Did Not Finish

Dubliners by James Joyce

Rating: N/A

Shelves: Classic Literature, Did Not Finish, Short Stories

Review: I'm not going to write a complete review for this since I'm not going to finish it right now. I don't see this as a collection that I'll dislike - I was about halfway through when I stopped, and I enjoyed it up until that point - my heart just isn't in it right now so I'm going to set it down and come back to it at another time. It wouldn't be fair to make myself press on and read it when I just don't want to and then give it a poor review because of that.