Alana Estelle

It’s been a while since I’ve done an “Under the Radar” post. In these posts, I highlight fantastic books I’ve come across that don’t get the hype they deserve.

On to the 5th installment! 

“I believe that many more miracles take place in the world than we think. You only need to know how to see - how to follow a thread, how to follow the links in a chain of events, not rejecting something merely because it’s improbable, neither jumbling the facts nor forcing your own explanations on them.”

Female Russian author Teffi is a real treat and Subtly Worded, which is a collection of short stories, is such a fun and interesting read. Subtly Worded includes both fiction and non-fiction. This collection includes her accounts meeting both Rasputin and Leo Tolstoy. Teffi’s writing is witty, precise, evocative and at times, down right hilarious. We also get glimpses of Revolutionary Russia. In the short story “Petrograd Monologue”, the narrator cannot stop thinking about how hungry she is. Teffi’s commentary on Rasputin is the highlight to this collection for me. Her descriptions of him are so eerie and mysterious. There is even a more philosophical piece that focuses on old age, death and reflections of one’s life. Fans of Russian lit - this is for you!

“I like what’s uncertain - what’s imperfect. I like what - what breaks out behind the features and is suddenly there and gone again.”

The Weather in the Streets by, Rosamond Lehmann has lived in my head rent free since I read it last year. This is a novel about an adulterous relationship between Olivia Curtis and the married Rollo Spencer. Olivia and Rollo, childhood acquaintances, cross paths in adulthood and quickly pursue a relationship. Rosamond eloquently portrays the reality of leading a double life and the damage that adultery inflicts on the parties involved. Lehmann’s writing is poetic, descriptive, evocative. 

She will often meander from 3rd person to 1st person in the same paragraph and it’s so elegantly done, that I didn’t even realize what she was doing. As one could assume from the title, weather plays a significant role in the narrative. Lehmann is constantly describing the weather and uses this as a device to foreshadow immediate events to come. I was also surprised to detect an existential undertone throughout the book.

“She had been a child then, in the first embrace of belonging, equating love with order and homogeneity, identifying color as the core of character. Now, through falling in love with Meade, she had been forced to admit that identity is not inherent.”

The Wedding by, Dorothy West is a novel about a prominent black family that is preparing for the wedding of one of their own - Shelby. However, Shelby’s fiancé is a white jazz musician, Meade. Instead of focusing on the relationship of Shelby and Meade, the narrative goes into the family tree of this prominent, northern black family and how, through their lineage, as slaves to a family of doctors and socialites, living in well-to-do areas of New York City. This novel could have easily been a story about the complexities of interracial relationships, however, West goes deeper and explores the complexities of race, colorism, and classism from multiple perspectives. She calls everyone out - black and white. Shelby comes to the realization that “color” and race really have no bearing on a person’s character. Society boxes people into categories, based simply on their outward appearance. People are people and all groups of people have issues because all groups of people are comprised of fallible human beings. It’s when people with a conscious and a desire to do good, regardless of what they look like, come together is where good change happens.

Have you read any of these novels and if not, are you interested in picking any of these up?

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For my fourth installment of “Under the Radar Books” I have an interesting trio - a classic that is getting a bit more attention, a non-fiction selection and a book from one of my favorite female writers. 

“You think, because I always do as you bid me, I have no judgment of my own: but only try me - that is all I ask - and you shall see what I can do.”

Agnes Grey by, Anne Bronte is the Bronte sister that tends to get left behind, but she has been getting a bit more attention recently - mainly for her novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. For me, Agnes Grey is a hidden, quiet gem. This is a novel about a governess and she is a governess for some pretty horrible children. Her life however if pretty quiet and there’s a sweet little love interest embedded in the narrative. This s a cozy novel; it’s quiet and calm. I can see how some people would claim that this novel is boring, but I think the beauty of this novel is that it is so quiet. Sit back and enjoy the language. 

“… he also wanted her to know something of the ‘graver sciences’ in the event that she is responsible for educating her children because she had married a ‘blockhead’ - possiblity that Jefferson had calculated ‘at about fourteen to one.’”

Jefferson’s Daughters by, Catherine Kerrison is a non-fiction detailing Thomas Jefferson’s three Daughters - one of which was enslaved. This book is a real treat. Kerrison goes into a lot of detail about each daughter and give a lot of information about Jefferson as well. I love how the author paints a complete picture of Jefferson and his daughters, which really emphasizes how nuanced people are. She does not sugar coat and does call out Jefferson’s contradictions, while still portraying a man who loves his home, his books, his university, and his family. He was a man of his time. The information on Jefferson enlsaved children is few and far between, but Kerrison pieced what she could find together and it’s still really interesting. If you have an interest in Thomas Jefferson, Revolutionary American history, slavery and domestic history, this may really appeal to you. Also, my fellow WAHOOS - this is a must have for your shelves; there are some interesting little tidbits included about the construction of the University of Virginia. 

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This month I’m back with my second installment of “Under the Radar” books. These are the novels in my collection that were either really popular at one time and seem to have been forgotten, or that just don’t have much attention around them at all. 

“Thou shalt get kings though thou be none.”

Katherine by, Anya Seton is not necessarily an obscure novel. Published in 1954, it is actually considered by many to be a benchmark for historical fiction. However, I rarely see many people reviewing this novel, even if they’ve heard about it. There is something about it that is very 1950s - the way that Seton writes her male and female characters, especially the protagonist does come across a bit dated, but to me that is part of it’s charm. There is something vintage about the way this novel reads. If you’re a fan of historical fiction that takes place in cold damp castles, with elaborate the gowns and romanticism, then this may pique your interest. Also, if you’re a fan of Tudor historical fiction, this can be seen as a type of “prequel.” Katherine is about the affair between Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Their affair played a direct role in establishing the Tudor line. Much of this plot is fictionalized because we don’t know much about Katherine, but it’s still fun read. 

“‘For your own good’ is a persuasive argument that will eventually make a man agree to his own destruction.” 

When people think of authors who were famously institutionalized, people typically think Sylvia Plath of Virginia Woolf. However, many people don’t think about Janet Frame. Faces in the Water is a semi-autobiographical novel about a young woman describing her experiences in mental hospitals. Frame herself spent 8 years of her life being institutionalized for Schizophrenia, though it was eventually acknowledged that she was misdiagnosed. Faces in the Water is one of those novels that is difficult to forget after you’ve read; it’s haunting, appalling, intense, and heartbreaking. Frame’s writing is poetic and evocative. Fans of The Bell Jar would really appreciate this novel. 

“Why should life be so hard for me, why am I alone, why did I yield to the temptation to drink, why, why has it all happened like this? 

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by, Brian Moore initially caught my eye because of it’s striking cover. I’d never heard of this book before last year and when I was searching reviews, there were some, but not a lot. Judith Hearne is a single woman in Ireland in her 40s. She came from a well-to-do family, but she’s come down in the world, living alone, barely making ends meet, and still holding on to the hope that she’ll get married and have a family. This book is bleak, there’s no way around it. What makes a novel like this so, disturbing in some ways, is it’s realism. Judith’s loneliness is the type of loneliness that develops over time, after years and years of hoping and praying but never getting one’s desires. This is not a cheery novel, but for those who are interested in realism  and novels that don’t give you what you want, because that’s not life, this one may be for you. 

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As readers, we are constantly bombarded with new releases - don’t get me wrong, even though I mainly read classics, I see new releases all the time that pique my interest and I do add some of these to my collection. And I’ll be frank, my posts would get more “likes” if I only posted the books that are currently “in.” This can also apply to certain classic novels - there are some books that will always increase traction. I don’t want to do that - sure if there’s a popular recent release that really fascinates me and I genuinely want to read it, then I’ll do so, but I read what I want to read, when I want to read it, even if the book isn’t popular, is no longer “trending,” or if it won’t increase my engagement. 

I decided to start a series of posts that will feature novels that have flown under the radar, or that were once raved about and now it seems like no one really talks about them anymore. 

“All you can do is go on or not. But if you go on or not, it’s knowing you carry your scars with you.”

Cold Mountain by, Charles Frazier won the National Book Award in 1997, and rightly so - this is a stunning piece of fiction. It also resulted in a movie of the same name (the movie is not that great…). So yes, this book had it’s heyday and is still loved, yet I don’t see many people talking about this book. Greek mythology retellings are all the rage right now and what many may not realize, is that this can be considered a loose retelling of The Odyssey. Inman is a Confederate solider during the American Civil War. He deserts the army and walks back home to the woman he loves. He meets a cast of strange characters along the way, while always remaining paranoid of being caught as a deserter. This novel is gorgeously written, etherial and lucid. It’s the perfect novel to cozy up with as we head into fall and winter. This novel will linger with you and I always want to reread it.

Have you read any of these novels?

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