March Books: Fiction and Short Stories

 Besides the mysteries, my fiction in March was confined to classics. I did get a new short story collection that I loved--the content and the cover art!

Mary: A Fiction by Mary Wollstonecraft

I discovered a video on youtube about this book, so went to Project Gutenberg to download and read it before listening. The book is something of a response to male authors of the time and touches on some themes that she would later write about in her work A Vindication of the Rights of Women. It was a bit of a strange book to me, but it was helpful to read and hear a bit about the context of this work in particular and novels in general (they were perceived differently at the time this was published in 1788).

The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope

I bought used copies of all 6 of Trollope’s Barsetshire Chronicles last summer and read them here and there as the mood struck. As the title says, this book ends the series. It’s always a little sad to get to the end when reading a series like this. There were continuations of storylines from previous books, new situations involving characters readers had already met, as well as new people and stories introduced in this book, with everything tied up by the end of the book. I thought this was the best novel of the series and when I went back and read the introduction after finishing the book, I discovered that Trollope thought so, too. 

I read most of this (400 of the 700ish pages) on an eerily quiet St Patrick’s Day (the second in a row). It was so weird to have such quiet on that day. It’s a holiday here and we’re in lockdown, so instead of parades and celebrations, there was just a strange silence.

Little Red and Other Stories by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

This is a collection of short stories by an Irish writer. I’ve enjoyed some of her work in the past, so when Kenny’s was having a sale and this book was on the list of titles, I got it. I loved it! It’s a keeper. All the stories involve Irish people, but not all of them are set in Ireland. It’s definitely a thought-provoking collection as well as being a great read.

I am happily into my April reading. Who knows where it will lead?

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