BOOK REVIEW - The Fox Was Ever the Hunter - Herta Muller - Physical Book - 3*

 

BOOK REVIEW

The Fox Was Ever The Hunter - Herta Muller

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I picked up this book in April while I was in Bucharest on holiday. We had spent time learning about the history of the beautiful country of Romania, including the troubled times under dictatorship. I love picking up books by local authors when I visit different countries, it's a great way of expanding my reading. When visiting Carturesti Carusel in Bucharest, they had a lovely section of books by Romanian authors, translated into English, where I picked up The Fox Was Ever The Hunter. 

The rest, as they say, is history. The blurb gives an enticing summary of the book's key concepts, and I knew when I picked it up that this would be a tough read (style and subject matter both playing a part) but I also knew that this was the book that was coming home with me!

BLURB

Romania, the last months of the dictator's regime. Adina is a young schoolteacher. Paul is a musician. Clara, Adina's friend, works in a wire factory. Pavel is Clara's lover. But one of them works for the secret police and is reporting on the group. 

One day Adina returns home to discover that her fox fur rug has had its tail cut off. On another day, a hindleg. Then a foreleg. The mutilation is a sign that she is being tracked - the fox was ever the hunter. 

Images of photographic precision combine to form a kaleidoscope of reflections, deflections and deceit. Adina and her friends struggle to keep living in a world permeated with fear, where even the eyes of a cat seem complicit with the watchful eye of the state, and where it's hard to tell the victim apart from the perpetrator. 

MY REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

SPICE LEVEL: 🔥🔥(not romantic spice, but some crude-ish descriptions of body parts and acts) 

Where to begin? This was a difficult read, in the sense that the writing style was incredibly poetic, the prose was descriptive almost to a fault. In addition, the subject matter, life in a strict, totalitarian communist regime was dark and had a constant sense of foreboding. It's an amazing education about a time in our history that I was deeply unfamiliar with. 

It took me a while to get used to the cadence and flow of the story. One thing that I found unusual was the lack of speech marks to indicate the dialogue. More than once I had to re-read a passage, slowly, to separate the dialogue, the people involved, and the narration. 

The symbolism and use of metaphors blew me away, and sometimes overwhelmed me (particularly in the beginning, as the pace was incredibly slow). Describing people just by the clothes they were wearing, what they were eating, or mannerisms that they had, was wonderful to read. 

As the end of the book, and the end of the communist regime, approached, the pace picked up. I felt every heartbeat, every anxious movement, and every fearful conversation. The overwhelming sense of relief and freedom was palpable in the words, it was thrilling to read. 

The book follows a small group of friends as they go about their daily lives. The monotony, the deceit, the unknown and terrifying consequences of speaking out. The friends however have a spy in their midst, an officer in the secret police. None of them are safe, with the story following the friends (particularly Adina) as they slowly unravel under the unyielding mental pressure. The storytelling is intense and extremely effective. 

So many moments in this book had me pausing to take in the beauty of what had just been said. This was a double-edged sword, as the magnetic, captivating prose took my breath away. On the other hand, I was taking stock so regularly that I was never completely immersed in the story. 

A particularly poignant quote and beautiful piece of symbolism was "The moon inside the kitchen window is so bloated that it can't stay there. By six a.m. it has been gnawed by the morning and its face is bleary-eyed" The entire book is filled with metaphors referencing tiredness, dullness, and fatigue - that the whole country felt as the regime continued to control them. 

I'm sure I will add more to this review as the story continues to soak in. I may even come back to it in the future and reread it with a renewed understanding. 

I found it difficult to give this book a rating that truly reflects my feelings. It's been a couple of days since I finished it, and more elements are still sinking in. It's not an easy book to get your teeth into and my rating partly reflects that. Is it a beach read for your summer holiday? No. It requires time and attention. When you're ready to give that time and attention though, this is the book I'd suggest you pick up. It is effectively poetry in the guise of a novel, so it takes effort. The payoff for me, was worth it in the end. 

Have you read this book? Tell me what you thought, I would love to get another perspective on it! 

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BOOK REVIEW - Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart - Physical Book - 5*

BOOK REVIEW

Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart

Shuggie Bain was recommended to me by my friend's mum when I mentioned that I was trying to read more. She thrust it in my hands and insisted that I would love it. There's no blurb on the book per se, just snippets of press and author reviews but they gave me a really true and authentic feeling of the story and I was very excited to pick this up and start reading. I had never heard of it before that day so I am delighted that conversation happened and allowed me to find this book entirely by chance. 

BLURB

It is 1981, Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life, dreaming of greater things. But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and as she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. 

It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different, he is clearly no' right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place. 

Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. For readers of A little Life and Angelas's Ashes, it is a heartbreaking novel by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell. 

'A heartbreaking novel' - The Times

MY REVIEW

I don't know where to begin. This is a standout read of the year for me. It is deeply unsettling and uncomfortable throughout. But that's the point. We are dealing with a gritty and real depiction of an underbelly that people feel uncomfortable discussing.  Douglas Stuart manages to describe even the deepest poverty, the poorest of neighbourhoods, and the darkest of times in a way that is haunting in its beauty. Everything was so vivid in its darkness and that, in itself, was simply breathtaking. 

I felt for Shuggie and his Mum, Agnes, as they struggled together, and separately, and found themselves in circumstances stacked against them from the start. I don't plan to give away any spoilers here, but I would love to hear from you if you have read this book, tell me your thoughts on Eugene, who I think is one of the most divisive characters in the entire story. 

This book deals with poverty, alcohol dependence, sexuality, and assault (of various kinds) so please go into this knowing that this is not a book that you will 'enjoy' nor find a 'fun read'. If you need to, check out trigger warnings first (if what I have put here isn't enough). In fact, the subject matter is so hard-hitting that I did need to put it down for a couple of weeks and make sure I was ready for what was to come. I'm glad I did, as I did need the break. I am equally glad that I came back to it, it really is an incredible story that moved me. 

Being from Scotland I also appreciated some of the (brief) moments of levity, usually in the way Scottish people can say the crudest things and sound comical in doing so. The dialogue was incredible from that point of view, I could hear the Glaswegian accent through the words, incredible! I was particularly amused during one small part when the women of the scheme are described in their endeavours to hide from the Provident Man. When I was much younger and living in a similar scheme to what's depicted in this book, I had a 'Provie Man' too, and 100% crawled through the house pretending not to be in because I didn't have the cash to pay him back for my measly £300 loan that week. Suggesting that he, by peeking through windows, saw nothing but wisps of cigarette smoke creeping out from behind the couch made me laugh out loud. I was one of those women at one point. Then it made me feel quite reflective, how easily more parts of my life could have reflected the story and how grateful (read... LUCKY) I am that my perseverance paid off because it doesn't for everyone. 

The writing is stunning, and it's clear why this book won the Booker Prize. It's certainly not a novel I will pick up and read again on a whim but will stay with me forever. Very deserving of a 5 Star Review. 

If you want to read a prize-winning novel that cuts deep and has prose that will give you goosebumps, I recommend you read this book. It isn't just a 5 Star Read. It's an IMPORTANT read. I'll remind you again though, if you have triggers, CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS FIRST :)

Have you read Shuggie Bain? What did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Check out my video review:

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