Dark, hilarious, challenging. Consider yourself warned.

Bina by Anakana Schofield

Rating 👓 👓 👓 👓 👓

This, like the subtitle says, is a novel in warnings - and these warnings should be heeded.

Bina is a woman with a mission to warn you. She has made mistakes that harmed her and she doesn’t want you harmed too. 

Bina, a 74 year old Irish woman, belongs to a secret Group who help people die. She is funny and selfless and a much better person than she thinks she is. Simultaneously mistrustful and generous to strangers, she would be the first to admit it’s a problematic paradox - look at Eddie, a free-loader and parasite - not really Bina’s son - but how else to explain him? And Phil, her best friend in the world, leaving forever without letting Bina say the things she wanted say. But Eddie might come back, and so, in fear and exhaustion, Bina takes to her bed to write down (because her memory is not always great) her warnings to the world. In the yard a group of young activists protest and a court case against Bina looms.

Anakana Schofield brings us Bina in a time where we need guidance and simple morality, and honestly, who better than a woman who has had enough? 

IWD 2022

self-isolating day 1

Long story that many people have: I am currently self isolating. for this day at least. I could barely work yesterday at work, I was so paranoid. seemed stupid and careless and yes, a little pointless to be there but on the other hand whatever - jesus so many people out there just living there lives and here I am, no symptoms, seething at the moronic idiots on the bus wearing their masks below their noses and under their chins and I just fucking wanted to yell through my KN95 "I could be giving you all covid right now, you know!" 

But of course, unlikely. 

I am double vaxxed and boosted with no symptoms...so, very little viral load, even if I did come in close contact with someone who later developed symptoms and had a positive RADT result.

The constructive thing I did do at the last minute at work was buy a digital thermometer and some of Banana Yoshimoto's works Kitchen, N.P. and Amrita. 

Kitchen, I remember nothing of, and yet it's the only book of hers I'm sure I've read. I've been on a little kick of reading modern Japanese lit these days (Toddler Hunting by Kono Taeko, Tokyo Ueno Sation by Yu Miri, The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo - not to mention Breasts and Eggs and Heaven by Mieko Kawakami...) and realized I really didn't remember Kitchen as much as I should/wanted to and here I am.

But I also got Cain's Jaw Bone and am excited to open it and plus it's extremely sweet looking pocket book - my favourite book format! Dreamy. If you don't know the coolness of Cain's Jaw Bone you can read about here.

I hope to the patron saint of International Woman's Day that I do not have and do not get Covid19 but if I do, at least I'll have some cool things to read.