It’s the final week of Michaelmas term – congratulations, scholars, you’re almost there! With vacation loans now available, it’s time to think about what you want to read over the holidays. From our selection of newly acquired treats, I’ve picked out a handful of suggestions for some well-deserved quiet time with a book that will engage, excite, and whisk you away on a journey. You can check out the full selection over on LibraryThing: EFLOxford’s books | LibraryThing
Lisa Carey. The Stolen Child. 2017.
My first recommendation, The Stolen Child takes its reader to the isolated, wind-swept, and almost claustrophobic island of St Brigid’s off the west cost of Ireland. This is a place of myth and dwindling community, which is rumoured to be home to a hidden healing well. Part fairy-tale, part magical-realism, part gothic intrigue, this story explores the bonds between two local sisters – Rose and Emer – and a stranger searching for a miracle. Remember, dear reader, that everything comes at a price, and passion comes dearer than most.
Rosanna Bruno and Anne Carson. The Trojan Women. 2021.
We don’t often get comic-books in the EFL, so I couldn’t resist highlighting this adaptation of Euripides’ classic tragedy from one of my favourite publishers, Bloodaxe Books. Troy has been left in ruins and its men are dead – but what about its women? Well, Hekabe and Andromache (and almost everyone else) are depicted as animals. And Kassandra? She’s in another world, of course. Poet and classicist Anne Carson has teamed up with artist Rosanna Bruno to create a book that is described as “both wacky and devastating”.
Travis Alabanza. Burgerz. 2018.
Burgerz is a performance art piece turned script, but it’s more than that. It’s an obsession playing out on pages and stages. It’s a response to an act of violence that depicts a culture of violence and complicity. Crucially, it’s a hopeful blue-print to exploration and reclamation for the trans and gender non-conforming community. Travis Alabanza explains it in their own words: “It is about telling you that this pain and that hurt exist and that society is complicit in this. But also, with that, I hope it is a text that reminds you of our resilience.” (Foreword)
Purchased through the Drue Heinz Fund.
Penelope Shuttle. Lyonesse. 2021.
Our next journey will take us into the depths of the ocean and the mists of history. Ever heard of Lyonesse? According to the myths, Lyonesse was once part of the Cornish coasts before it was swept under the sea during a Bronze Age inundation. It was a symbol for lost paradise in the Arthurian legends, but Shuttle uses it as a metaphorical springboard for the universality of loss, both human and mythic – Lyonesse as a paradoxical place. The book proceeds to a decidedly more hopeful note in it’s second part, New Lamps for Old, lighting a way through the darkness.
Purchased through the Drue Heinz Fund.
Alan Garner. Collected Folk Tales. 2011.
This collection holds eighteen previously unpublished folk stories and poems alongside some better known favourites. From the seemingly innocuous titles (The Adventures of Nera, Jack and his Golden Snuff-Box, and Baldur the Bright) to the disconcerting (A Voice Speaks from the Well, The Goblin Spider, and R.I.P) to the downright baffling ones (Vukub-Cakiz, Moowis, and Glooskap), any folklore, fairy tale, or mythology fan should find something to suit their fancy here. As Garner himself points out, “this book is not technical. It is for anyone that loves a story, whether the story be anecdote or epic.” (Introduction)