30 April 2021
Gothic fiction captivated me from a young age and is a strong influence on my writing. I love finding vintage gothic paperbacks not only for the content but also for the cover art. Here are a few from my bookshelves.
These are the books I read the old fashioned way this past month. I am plucking out The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue to highlight. This book was published right when the pandemic hit in March 2020 and the plot, by sheer coincidence, revolves around the 1918 Spanish Flu. (I find that timing pretty amazing.) It is an intense read that has many elements that we have been living with for a while now. And it also goes even deeper with how a pandemic impacts childbirthing in its setting of a maternity ward in a Dublin hospital. It is emotionally tough but well worth it.