Another engaging selection of resplendent reads for you to savour in our March 2024 book review.
Book Review: The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul
RuPaul, an international drag superstar and pop culture icon, offers a deeply personal memoir in The House of Hidden Meanings.
This work details his history from growing up black, poor, and queer in a troubled home, to becoming a legendary figure in the drag world. It’s a candid exploration of his life, relationships, identity, and the discovery of performance, found family, and self-acceptance.
He reflects on his chameleonic adaptability, evolving from a drag icon to a global television producer, and how this versatility has shaped his public persona.
This intimate book reveals the enigmatic RuPaul like never before, offering insights into his philosophy on life, the significance of chosen family, embracing uniqueness, and the transformative act of facing oneself.
Representing more than just his drag persona, the memoir presents RuPaul in his most vulnerable form, providing a guide for living authentically. A great read.
Published by HarperCollins Publishers on March 5th
Book Review: Have a Little Faith: Life Lessons on Love, Death and How Lasagne Always Helps by Kate Bottley
The Reverend Kate Bottley addresses the common scepticism towards faith, especially among non-religious individuals, by emphasising that faith is a universal human trait, transcending specific beliefs.
It argues that faith, in various forms, is ingrained in human DNA and plays a crucial role in making us feel connected and significant.
It isn’t focused on specific religious doctrines but on the broader concept of faith as an integral part of being human, suggesting that its presence – in anything – fosters a sense of togetherness and optimism. Kate reassures readers that it’s acceptable to embrace faith selectively, much like enjoying certain songs from an album.
Through sharing her own experiences and how her beliefs have helped her navigate life’s challenges, she aims to offer hope and guidance to others, with an added touch of humour involving lasagne.
Published by Penguin Life on March 28th
Book Review: A Very Private School by Charles Spencer
In this poignant memoir, Charles Spencer recounts the trauma of being sent away from home at age eight to attend a boarding school.
A Very Private School offers a clear-eyed, first-hand account of a culture of cruelty at the school Spencer attended in his youth and provides important insights into an antiquated boarding system.
Drawing on the memories of many of his schoolboy contemporaries, as well as his own letters and diaries from the time, he reflects on the hopelessness and abandonment he felt aged eight, viscerally describing the intense pain of homesickness and the appalling inescapability of it all.
Exploring the long-lasting impact of his experiences, Spencer presents a candid reckoning with his past and a reclamation of his childhood in the great read.
Published by HarperCollins Publishers on March 14th
Book Review: The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain: Lyrics for Stacey Kent by Kazuo Ishiguro
A fascinating window into Kazuo Ishiguro’s talent as a lyricist, this stunning volume brings together the Nobel Prize-winning author’s 16 song lyrics written for renowned American jazz singer Stacey Kent, along with luminous illustrations from Italian artist Bianca Bagnarelli.
An exquisite coming together of the literary and musical worlds, the lyrics are infused with a sense of yearning, melancholy, love, and the romance of travel and liminal spaces.
Further exploring the notion of collaboration and interpretation, the collection is illustrated by the acclaimed Italian artist Bianca Bagnarelli, whose work perfectly captures the atmosphere and sensibility of the songs.
Published by Faber & Faber on March 7th
This completes our March 2024 book review see you back here in April.
