It’s midweek already, which means another WWW Wednesday update. WWW Wednesday is a bookish meme originally hosted by SAM@TAKING ON A WORLD OF WORDS. The mechanics for WWW Wednesday is quite simple, you just have to answer three questions:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What have you finished reading?
  3. What will you read next?
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What are you currently reading?

My reading journey has next brought me to what some literary pundits has tagged as seminal work in the modern British literary Pantheon. I just started reading Graham Swift’s Waterland which was shortlisted for the 1983 Man Booker Prize (eventually won by J.M. Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K). It tells the story of Tom Crick, a passionate history teacher. In the initial pages of the novel, Crick was telling the story of his ancestors and how they were instrumental in the establishment of the local area. The novel’s synopsis does capture my mind and I am still waiting for the scandal that has resulted into Crick being forced by his school’s headmaster into early retirement. This is my first Graham Swift novel and I am looking forward to unraveling what his body of art has in store.

What have you finished reading?

In the past week, I managed to complete two more novels from my growing reading list. The first book I completed is 2007 Man Booker Prize winning novel, The Gathering by Irish writer Anne Enright. Told on the first person perspective of Veronica Hegarty, it is a story about her inner journey in coping with the sudden death of her brother, Liam Hegarty. In his wake, the big Hegarty family gathered but as the story takes its course, Veronica ruminates on the events that led to his brother’s alcoholism and his untimely demise. At times moving and insightful, The Gathering navigates the complexities and dynamics of family life, both functional and dysfunctional.

Egyptian writer Ahdaf Soueif’s The Map of Love was shortlisted for the 1999 Man Booker Prize. Interweaving elements of romance, history, and local politics, it is a complex narrative. At its heart is the love story between the recently widowed Lady Anna Winterbourne and Basha Sharif, a passionate Egyptian nationalist who is resolute in supporting his nation’s causes, especially its independence from outside influences. The novel was told through series of journal entries made by Lady Anna from 1900s to 1910s. It is a rich and evocative narrative of Egypt’s modern history.

What will you read next?

On deck are two Man Booker Prize winning novels. William Golding’s Rite of Passage won the 1980 Man Booker Prize whilst J.G. Farrell’s The Siege of Krishnapur won the 1973 edition. Actually, my copy of the latter has just arrived today but the novel excites me. Both are also works of historical fiction, a genre that I have a lengthy love affair with.

Thus concludes another WWW Wednesday update! I hope everyone is having a great midweek! Do keep safe and as always, enjoy reading! 

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