#learwife

[fiction-quotes]

Here is life, here is precious greenery kept from late summer, the fragrance of citrus and warm stone. Place it in your mouths. Be protected.

  —  Learwife (J. R. Thorp)

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Learwife

By J.R. Thorp.

Design by Gill Heeley.

[cleopatras-library]

@maddiesbookshelves' 2023 Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

Last year I managed to read 23/24 books in @maddiesbookshelves' reading challenged (and this year I managed to put off this wrap-up for a month). I know Maddie's goal wasn't to finish all 24 in a year but I'm a show-off so I tried and had lots of fun!

Hits

Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, Megan Gail Coles - as mentioned in my 23 in 2023 Wrap-Up, the best literary fiction I read last year

Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher - exceedingly cozy

Conversations with Friends, Sally Rooney - so glad I did this challenge because I don't think I would've read this one last year otherwise. Stellar literary fiction about hot mess Frances who is nonetheless proven lovable by the end :)

The Hidden Witch, Molly Knox Ostertag - the second book in such a cute and affirming middle grade graphic novel series

The Secret History, Donna Tartt - another book from my 23 in 2023, absolutely as worth it as the hype makes it seem (I still think of Richard having his hypothermic boy winter routinely)

Giovanni's Room, James Baldwin - belongs on every list of queer classics, a cutting examination of what gender means to both gay and straight people

Good books

Blood Like Fate, Liselle Sambury - a good sequel, especially with regards to character work

Ocean's Echo, Everina Maxwell - I read Winter's Orbit last week to confirm my suspicions that Ocean's Echo it not Maxwell's best work - funny and engaging nonetheless

Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote - when he feels like it Capote really can write

The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon - exceedingly gothic

The City of Brass, S. A. Chakraborty - I remember nothing about the plot but I did have fun reading this series

The Empire of Gold, S. A. Chakraborty

Books I have quite frankly forgotten everything about

Scepter of the Ancients, Derek Landy

Squire, Nadia Shammas & Sarah Alfageeh

Far Sector, N. K. Jemisin

Verdammt lebendig: Medusa, Lucia Herbst

L'Arpenteuse de rêves, Estelle Faye

Books I am conflicted about

Dune, Frank Herbert - a decent examination of the hero's journey coated in three layers of orientalism, misogyny, and homophobia. I will not be continuing with the books, although I think I'll watch the movies

Learwife, J. R. Thorp - literary shakespeare fanfic about the world's curmudgeonliest woman

Bitter disappointments

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald - profoundly uncomfortable

After the Victorians, A. N. Wilson - profoundly biased

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson - for a 1200 page book you'd think I'd be invested in the story

Book I didn't get to

The Origins of Political Order, Francis Fukuyama - still want to read this one someday

[bookofmirth]

17 and 24!

thank youuuu sorry this got long, I am enjoying not having a shit ton of grading atm

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Yes! Here is my list of books I liked more than I expected to:

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore

Revelator by Daryl Gregory

Deadline by Mira Grant (I know I like her writing, I just didn't know the series would turn up to 11)

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Riverine by Angela Palm

Good Morning, Destroyer of Men's Souls by Nina Renata Aron

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

Yes, I DNF'd a lot more this year than I usually do. I just had no patience for books that I wasn't into, even if I felt like in other circumstances, I would have enjoyed them. I think that was a theme for me personally, this year - I Marie Kondo'd my life.

I'm going to give the reasons I DNF'd because I think that's fun.

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi - I cannot stand her writing style, I wouldn't have bought this book but it was in Illumicrate and I didn't want to skip my first month of my subscription and I thought hey, maybe Past Leslie was wrong. I can give Mafi another chance. Past Leslie was RIGHT.

The Actual Star by Monica Byrne - this gave me "I went on vacation to an 'exotic' locale and connected with 'the natives', these are all the spiritual lessons it taught me, a white woman" vibes.

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin - I hate when books try too hard to be shocking.

Learwife by J.R. Thorpe - I actually might come back to this one, it was just pretty dense and I wasn't in the right space for that style of writing.

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li - 100 pages in I couldn't tell the characters apart :(

Persephone Station by Stina Leicht - I might return to this one also. I couldn't get invested in the characters but then a week or two later I found myself thinking about it. So it's not goodbye forever, just goodbye for now.

Technically I DNF'd Bands of Mourning because I almost threw my book across the room when Wayne thought about someone breasts, again. But I read 250 pages so whatever.

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo. I just couldn't get into it.

Given to the Sea by Mindy McGinnis. I can't even remember. I usually like her books but this was not it.

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo - much like Manhunt, it was trying too hard.

How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell - so much pretentious blah blah blah.

End of year book ask

[a-modernmajorgeneral]

Weekly Recap (17th – 23rd June 2024)

Study

Read wh.org articles – Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)

Read 12 articles

14 shorter readings

Reading (non-fiction)

Read Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy – ch 11-14

Read SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome – prologue, ch 1

Read The Third Reich in Power – ch 6

Read Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages – ch 3

Read Alpha Beta: How 26 Letters Shaped the Western World – ch 4

Read Rough Magic: Riding the World's Wildest Horse Race – ch 16-38

Reading (fiction)

Finished reading Learwife (J. R. Thorp) – parts 2-3

Music

Listened to Spanish Zarzuelas CD

Exercise

Monday – Exercycle 4km (12min)

Flat (etc)

Gathered up kitchen rubbish (Monday)

Dishes (Monday)

Cooking (Monday)

Put washing on (Tuesday)

Cleared kitchen bench (Thursday)

Other

Shopping list (Monday)

Puzzle books list (Monday)

Supermarket (Tuesday & Wednesday)

Looked at new frypans (Tuesday)

Looked at new beds (Wednesday)

Crossed out clues in Code Crackers book

Rubbed out older mistakes in 1 puzzle book

Puzzles

Special Monthly Loop

1 Killer Sudoku

8 Kakuro

3 Suguru

8 Code Crackers (Clueless)

1 Wheel Words (online)

[mirthofbooks]

Currently reading this story about King Lear’s wife after the events of the play (with some flashbacks to before her banishment)

[shakespearenews]

It’s the queen’s tale that the librettist J. R. Thorp tells with her debut novel, “Learwife.” In luscious prose, Thorp explores the nameless queen’s untold story, one that — in keeping with the spirit of Shakespeare’s original — is rife with cruelty, betrayal and passion. Thorp’s queen has been sequestered in a remote abbey for 15 years, after Lear banished her following Cordelia’s birth. Queen (as she is called by all) is never told why she is exiled, and she has stewed over this punishment, letting her rage fester.

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: Learwife by J. R. Thorp

Although I have studied multiple Shakespeare plays in my time, King Lear isn’t one I’m familiar with. I know a very brief outline of the plot but it’s not one I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading or seeing performed. However, I am a big lover of untold stories, particularly by extraordinary women and that’s why I requested this book with a very original premise.

For 15 years, Lear’s wife has been imprisoned in a convent, accused of a crime that she knows nothing about. Now the news has reached her that her husband and all three of her daughters are dead. While dealing with the mind-numbing grief of the tragedy, she is now determined to find answers. Why was she sent away? Where is Kent, her oldest friend? Can she possibly escape this world of women that has been her home for years?

Learwife is incredibly poetic. Thorp artfully describes intense emotion and vivid scenery is a beautiful, lyrical fashion. Some parts of the writing even resemble Shakespeare himself and I can’t help but think this is a deliberate replication in order to remind us where we are and who these characters are. Some scenes are very theatrical and I can almost see a production coming to life before my eyes.

Of course, there is a lot of grief and pain in the book. Our protagonist struggles to accept that the family she left behind and who she harboured hopes of being reunited with are gone. The idea of grief being a well-trained dog that refuses to leave its master’s side is a heartbreaking one but I’m sure it will ring true with so many readers who have experienced deep loss.

We also learn a little about our protagonist’s childhood and upbringing. She always knew that she would be a queen and her family prepared her for it. This required making certain sacrifices as she grew older, including friends who weren’t deemed worthy enough by her parents. The fact that she doesn’t remember her early companion’s name suggests that court life and queendom have overwritten the pure, organic connections that she formed in her youth. It’s a sad realisation but I didn’t detect any feelings of regret or nostalgia from our protagonist. She is very matter-of-fact about the path that her life has taken and that may have been why I found it hard to warm to her.

She has a fierceness about her and bears very little emotion towards Lear. I can’t bring myself to believe that she ever really loved him in a romantic way. Her relationship with her maid Ruth is quite strange too. Although Ruth obviously knows her queen very well and they spend a lot of time together, I didn’t get any sense of warmth between the women. I suppose this is an accurate dynamic for a certain type of queen and servant relationship but it only added to our protagonist’s cold demeanour.

Other than her daughters, the only person that our protagonist seems to bear a great deal of affection towards is Kent, her long-time friend whose whereabouts is unknown for much of the narrative. In her memories with him, we see a playful, less severe side to her, which I loved. I really wanted her to get back to that girl, who I was sure was still hiding in this stone pillar of a queen.

Our protagonist talks about her first marriage and husband a lot too. For her, being married is full of suffering and pain. She feels thoroughly worn down by her life and therefore, she is very much a product of her time and social status. She would have certainly been much happier if it had been acceptable for her to remain single. 

As many married couples were at the time, our protagonist and Lear are obsessed with producing a son. Daughters couldn’t be trusted to rule countries alone or inherit anything of worth. Perhaps the failure to have a male heir was the beginning of the end for our protagonist. Although this isn’t the reason given for her exile, I can’t help but think that it may have been a contributing factor of Lear’s decision to cast her aside, especially as it happened so soon after Cordelia’s birth.

Much of the novel revolves around life in the convent and the politics between the nuns. The time comes to select a new abbess and our protagonist is put at the forefront of this process. A bishop has been allowed to come and stay with the nuns during this time (because of course, women can’t possibly make such important decisions by themselves). His presence reminds our protagonist of how often men underestimate and wrongly judge women and their capabilities. This theme is visited several times in the book and it becomes clear that women really are perfectly fine and able to operate a peaceful, functional society without a single whiff of male influence anywhere near them.

Learwife is a unique, powerful read that amplifies the voice of a woman whose voice has never been heard before to my knowledge. It paints a picture of a stoic, headstrong woman who is dealing with tumultuous pain but refuses to let it break her. With themes of loss, grief, resilience and rebirth, Learwife is a lyrical, atmospheric book that sheds light on an untold story.

[fiction-quotes]

I have entered doors at both times and I know, Lear: old is best. Let me be old; let me be wrinkled and winged, and fly about at night bewitching milk. Better.

  —  Learwife (J. R. Thorp)

[bibliobethblog]

Hello everyone! I’m away in a gorgeous village in the Cotswolds on a reading retreat with @chrissireads but I thought I’d share another paperback haul with you all. I was intrigued by Rose Nicolson as it’s a Scottish historical fiction novel set in the 16th century where Queen Mary has fled Scotland to raise an army from the French. Described as a vivid, passionate and unforgettable novel about this dramatic period of Scottish history featuring a conspiracy over who will take Scotland’s crown. Sahota’s new novel China Room follows characters across generations and continents (from Punjab to rural England. It’s a transfixing novel about two characters desperate to free themselves - one from the expectations of women in early 20th century Punjab and the other from the weight of life in the contemporary Indian diaspora. Lear Wife is inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear and tells the story of the most famous woman ever written out of literary history. Lear’s wife was exiled to a nunnery years ago written out of history, her name forgotten. Now she has a chance to tell her story. Though her grief and rage may threaten to crack the earth open, she knows she must seek answers. I’d love to know if you’ve read any of these books or authors. Let’s have a chat in the comments and have a great week everyone! 🤗😘 #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #scottishbookstagrammer #bookhaul #perfectpaperbacks #ineededthesebooks #rosenicolson #andrewgreig #chinaroom #sunjeevsahota #learwife #jrthorp #booksimexcitedabout #booksonthetbr #booksineedmorebooks https://www.instagram.com/p/ChAqf0FLGvA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[rockislandadultreads]

Character-Driven Plot: Book Recs

The Intangible by C.J. Washington

Amanda Jackson has always longed to be a mother. The early weeks of her first pregnancy are a mixture of joy, anticipation, and uncertainty as she and her husband prepare for the journey ahead. Then comes a devastating loss. Even though her doctors tell her otherwise, Amanda believes she’s still pregnant. Her diagnosis is a rare, mysterious condition called pseudocyesis. Betrayed by her mind and body and her marriage strained, Amanda turns to neuroscientist Patrick Davis for answers. Patrick understands the strange twists and turns of the human mind better than anyone. But as he spirals ever deeper into Amanda’s illness, his own homelife crumbles as his wife, Marissa, struggles to cope with her own loss. Marissa’s unique and, some may think, macabre work is her salvation, but it’s pulling her further and further away from Patrick. As the two couples confront the fraught intersection of science, death, and human emotion, they venture into the darkest corners of each other’s lives. What they find there could change them forever.

Skinship by Yoon Choi

An exquisite collection from a breathtakingly new voice--centered on a constellation of Korean American families, these stories announce the debut of a master of short fiction.

A long-married couple is forced to confront their friend's painful past when a church revival comes to a nearby town . . . A woman in an arranged marriage struggles to connect with the son she hid from her husband for years . . . A well-meaning sister unwittingly reunites an abuser with his victims . . . Through the lives of an indelible array of individuals--musicians, housewives and pastors, children and grandparents, the men and women who own the dry cleaners and the mini-marts--Yoon Choi explores the Korean American experience at its interstices: where first and second generations either clash or find common ground; where meaning falls in the cracks between languages; where relationships bend under the weight of tenderness and disappointment; where displacement turns to heartbreak. Suffused with a profound understanding of humanity, Skinship is, ultimately, a searing look at the failure of intimacy to show us who the people we love truly are.

This Shining Life by Harriet Kline

Lovable, easy-going, charming Rich is dying of a brain tumour. Life and soul of every party, adored and relied upon by his family and in particular by his autistic son Ollie, no-one wants to believe what is unfolding in front of them. In an effort to convey his love for them Rich decides to send each of his close relations a present. He asks for Ollie’s help, but the combination of Rick’s vagueness and the pressure that Ollie feels means the task does not go quite to plan. And then more suddenly than expected, Rick dies. How the family learns to comes to terms with the catastrophe,and move on is at the centre of this beautifully written and uplifting novel.

Learwife by J.R. Thorp

"I am the queen of two crowns, banished fifteen years, the famed and gilded woman, bad-luck baleful girl, mother of three small animals, now gone. I am fifty-five years old. I am Lear's wife. I am here." Word has come. Care-bent King Lear is dead, driven mad and betrayed. His three daughters too, broken in battle. But someone has survived: Lear's queen. Exiled to a nunnery years ago, written out of history, her name forgotten. Now she can tell her story. Though her grief and rage may threaten to crack the earth open, she knows she must seek answers. Why was she sent away in shame and disgrace? What has happened to Kent, her oldest friend and ally? And what will become of her now, in this place of women? To find peace she must reckon with her past and make a terrible choice - one upon which her destiny, and that of the entire abbey, rests. Giving unforgettable voice to a woman whose absence has been a tantalising mystery, Learwife is a breathtaking novel of loss, renewal and how history bleeds into the present.

[a-modernmajorgeneral]

Weekly Recap (10th – 16th June 2024)

Study

Read 11 articles

12 shorter readings

Reading (non-fiction)

Read Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy – ch 7-10

Read The Third Reich in Power – ch 4-5

Read Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter – ch 2

Finished reading Educated (Tara Westover) – ch 3-40

Read Rough Magic: Riding the World's Wildest Horse Race – ch 15-17

Reading (fiction)

Read Learwife (J. R. Thorp) – part 1

Read Green (Sam Graham-Felsen) – ch 1-4

Writing

MGL novel – Worked out routes, geography, A's long ride

Exercise

Monday – Exercycle 7.2km (17min)

Wednesday – Walk in gardens

Sunday – Walked down & up hill

Flat (etc)

Cleared up kitchen rubbish (Monday)

Dishes (Monday)

Cooking (Monday)

Other

Shopping list (Monday)

Puzzles

5 Killer Sudoku

6 Hidoku

9 Code Crackers (Clueless)