Booknotes 4.10

Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It, by Janina Ramirez, published 2023, nonfiction. A good overview, covering Cynefryth, the Bayeux tapestry, Hildegard (I enjoyed the story of getting her Riesencodex out of Soviet Germany), Margery Kempe, Bridget of Sweden, Julian of Norwich, and more. Recommended.

As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, published 1930, fiction. My first Faulkner, and I don’t know, I don’t think I liked it. Maybe because I dislike dialect in fiction? Or maybe from feeling lost half the time. I’ll try another Faulkner again down the road, in case I need to grow further as a reader first.

Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, by Anne Applebaum, published 2020, nonfiction. A look at rising authoritarianism in Poland, Hungary, the UK, and the United States. The constant lying and fearmongering from far right nationalists is tiresome. Good book, though. Applebaum’s Red Famine was also good, if harrowing.

Montaigne, by Stefan Zweig, published 1941, nonfiction. A quick read about the life of the OG blogger. I didn’t know Montaigne was raised speaking Latin natively. Ha. The times of turmoil then (Montaigne) and again (Zweig) resonated with me, though thankfully things now have not yet gotten that bad and hopefully never do. Montaigne’s travel habits — eschewing siteseeing locations in favor of the natural, basically just talking with ordinary people — are my ideal kind of trip. Two passages that stood out to me: “I would rather do anything than read through a contract.” I feel the same, Montaigne. And, from Zweig: “In a rather odd passage, [Montaigne] even confesses to not knowing exactly how many of his children are dead.” I have no idea what the backstory is there, but now I morbidly want to find out.