What I Read in February
Misjustice: How British Law is Failing Women - Helena Kennedy
Since I started working in U.K courts, I have seen first hand how women are negatively impacted by the British legal system. Watching as women are continuously undermined and overlooked by an institution that is supposed to protect them has been an infuriating experience. But this book brought me hope. Though this is a hard read, an issue must be acknowledgement before it can be solved. This book not only acknowledges the legal system’s ‘gender problem’, but portrays it so clearly that it would be impossible to ignore after reading.
We Had to Remove this Post - Hanna Bervoets
A mixture of ‘Kimi’ (2022) and ‘Severance’ (2022), ‘We had to Remove this Post’ explores both the increasingly dystopian modern work environment and the impact of the internet on our moral character. I loved ‘Kimi’—a movie about a moderator of an Alexa-like device who listens into a disturbing recording of an assault—and so picked up this book as soon as I saw its similarities to that movie through the blurb. The concept was thought provoking, the cast of characters were compelling, and the narration was original. I do wish it was longer as I think a lot of the ideas couldn’t really be fleshed out in 134 pages, but it was still enjoyable. Well, enjoyable isn’t really the right word. It’s a monumentally unsettling read. If you’re looking for a total mind-fuck, this is the book for you
Cleopatra and Frankenstein - Coco Mellors
If Pandora Sykes blurbs a book, I will read it. And I’m so glad I did. This book put me in a trance. It was all I could think about for days. When I first picked it up, I was expecting a book about two broken people who get into a complicated relationship. It is so much more than that. Coco Mellors creates a whole eco-system and sucks you into it. Almost every character we’re introduced to is fleshed out and considered individually. She gives us distance from the main characters, taking time to explore someone else’s story, before reintroducing us to Cleo and Frank with a deeper understanding of the context in which they live, love and hurt each other. ‘Cleopatra and Frankenstein’ transports you into a friendship circle in New York where morals are skewed; where everyone is overly involved in each other’s lives and yet everyone is lonely; and where loving someone is not enough of a reason to be with them. It’s a painful, brutal and oddly hope-filled read.
