Thursday 25 February 2016

Maps for Lost Lovers

Organised religion has always been for me a form of patriarchal oppression, where womankind are reduced to subservient beings first to their parents and brothers, and then to their husbands and children. A woman is not her own person, but always a subject to be submitted to God and to men, and Maps for Lost Lovers explored this in the form of a story about the honour killing of an illegitimate couple who were unable to legalise their union due to religious laws. 

Maps for Lost Lovers is a complex book that affords multiple readings. I was griped by all kinds of emotions while reading this book that was filled with differences between generations, genders, beliefs, cultures, laws etc. Despite the horror of the crime and the deep sorrow felt for the loss of the two beloved characters, there is much beauty to be found within the book in the form of the geraniums, birds, butterflies, and the changing seasons. And much love, whether that of fierce maternal love, tragic love between lovers from different religious backgrounds, unrequited love, or religious devotion. 

Coincidentally, I have recently started watching the original BBC 1981 Brideshead Revisited, another tale where organised religion is an underlying theme, and could not help making comparisons between Kaukab from Maps for Lost Lovers and Lady Marchmain from Brideshead

Friday 19 February 2016

Gone Girl

I have finally finished reading what seemed to be the 2015 book/film of the year - Gone Girl, and what a harrowing read that was. What a crazy, psychotic tale about a marriage of true - but utterly depraved - minds! I was left a little more fearful of coupling up. Do couples really know each other? What if the person you married is not the person you think they are? What a truly terrifying thought! The story made me think about our perfectly crafted lives on our social media pages that possibly obscured darker truths, and of the power struggle evident in every relationship. I was left wondering if a truly equal partnership could be had in modern marriages.

The switch between the perspectives of husband and wife were really effective, and I was kept on my toes wondering who was the sane one, who was telling the truth, and then who would have the upper hand in the end.