Myla van Lynde '23
Violeta by Isabel Allende
Violeta follows the 100-year existence of Violeta del Valle from birth to death. The novel (which reads like a memoir) is in the form of a letter to her greatest love as she recounts the events of her life with poise, humor, and passion. Violeta grows up amidst economic upheaval, finding solace and strength in the written word. Her story spans continents and catastrophes. This is an ode to the power of love, an exploration of loyalty, a portrait of a country in crisis, but most importantly, the story of a woman coming of age and discovering her own power. After a women’s history month spent celebrating the variety of female experience, Cate students might consider seeking out fictional narratives that honor and uplift female characters. If spring is a time for rediscovery and personal growth, there is no better place to look than Allende’s expansive feminist saga.
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
In 2030, a centuries-old plague is released from melting permafrost in the Arctic despite efforts to keep it contained. This collection of short stories traverses cities, planets, and even solar systems to probe the impact of this catastrophe– imagine a hotel for the recently deceased or an underwater city. Blending fantasy, science fiction, and prescient considerations of public health, this novel can be considered a sort of planetary coming-of-age. Nagamatsu masterfully connects characters to their settings in pursuit of an answer to these central questions (ones that all humans must ask): what does it mean to die? And how are human beings meant to reconcile mortality with perceived cosmic significance? While there can be no promises of any satisfying conclusion, How High We Go in the Dark brings the reader closer to something like understanding.
The Wall by Marlen Haushofer
The Wall is a survivalist chronicle with a twist: a middle-aged woman is left alone in the middle of the woods with an invisible wall separating her from the rest of the world. It is unclear what has happened to the rest of humanity, but she believes herself (along with a dog, a cow, and a cat) to be the sole survivor of a catastrophic nuclear event. Translated from the original German, this book is an account of her survival methods and her attempts to come to terms with desperate solitude. The story itself functions as a sort of secondary layer – the real purpose of the novel lies in its scrutiny of the human mind, in its awareness of desperation and horror. For a harrowing and parabolic springtime read to provoke thoughtful introspection, The Wall is certain to satisfy.
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Signature of All Things is a sweeping novel that showcases Gilbert’s unique storytelling ability. It tells the story of the Whittacker family through generations, centering its narrative around an innate connection to the environment. Through a tumultuous love story, Gilbert examines the relationship between science and reverence in the face of natural beauty. As flowers sprout in all corners of Cate’s campus and students are struck by the intensity of the green Carpinteria hills, perhaps they are drawn to literature that reflects the same sort of reciprocity, that inimitable feeling of living surrounded by nature. This book’s lush descriptions and intermittent spiritual revelations are sure to provide a fascinating insight.
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