Book Chats
Some of my favourite books! I don't like making my reading extremely public (or otherwise I'll push myself to read too much) but I do like to reccomend some books that I've LOVED! So here they are.
(Images edited on Digicamfx!)
Fiction
The Lilac People
⋆ The Lilac People ⋆
By Milo Todd
I've read this book twice, and during my second re-read I've definitely had the most emotional reaction. Lately, transgender people have been suffering and hatred towards them has increased a worrying amount. Trans people have a history that is often ignored, and the suffering they went through because of Hitler - among with the suffering homosexuals experienced - has been erased significantly. This books brings that history to light a bit. It also talks about being German after the second world war, and carrying the guilt of watching Hitler come to rise without "intervening" - even if intervening could threaten your life. This book left me with a lingering feeling of fear - fear of where we're going as people. But it is an important read, especially if you haven't heard of what happened to transgender people (and homosexuals) and how the allies treated them even after the war ended. It also has a lingering theme of survivor's guilt.
“Any invert who thinks Hitler will stop at transvestites is a fool. And any person who thinks Hitler will stop at inverts thereafter is just as foolish. They try to convince people that you’re the only group they’re after when really you’re just the first one. They look for the first domino to knock down, the one people will give the least resistance to, the one they care about the least. And once they’ve done it, it might be too late for everyone else.”
Sleep
⋆ Sleep ⋆
By Honor Jones
I just flew through this book, it was such a "simple" but impactful read. Honor Jones has a beautiful way with words, and she writes emotion and tension greatfully - which was a skill necessary to make this book as good as it was. It talks about such uncomfortable situations surrounding girlhood, womanhood and motherhood, and it shows how trauma seeps into everyday thought so easily. The main character, Margaret, had a disfunctional family, and the way that Honor Jones wrote about her relationship with her mother reminded me a little bit about White Oleander by Janet Fitch. Throughout the book, you just want Margaret to stand up for herself, to tell the truth about how her mother hurt her, and how her brother hurt her, though she never really did it. The ending is very open, and I can imagine that it's unsatisfying for some. It was kind of to me, but it does reflect reality, and even though the ending wasn't entirely for me I'm still able to appreaciate it. But, if you want to pick up this book, I do want to say that there is a trigger warning for sexual assault.
“Maybe it was only Margaret who still lived with these associations, with the metaphors that her parents had made.”
Non-Fiction
Moffenmeiden
⋆ Moffenmeiden ⋆
By Rianne Oosterom
This is a Dutch book without any other translation, but it's topic is still interesting, because what this book talks about happened in many countries. So, even if you can't find this book, I do encourage you to find out if there's a book on this topic in your language. Moffenmeiden is a term for the girls/women who had "relationships" with German soldiers during the second war (I think they're called 'Kraut Girls' in English?) and they were often publicly humiliated after their city/village was set free. Their hair would be cut, they would be insulted and called hoeren (whores) and landverraders (country betrayers). Many moffenmeiden would also be arrested, beaten, or even raped. I knew that moffenmeiden existed, but I had no idea that these punishments were given, probably because the people who commited them did not feel bad about it. The problem with the punishment wasn't because the Nazi's didn't deserve it, but that many innocent women and underaged girls were punished. Some women did have relationships with Germans, a lot of them were truly in love, or did it to help family - they did not have evil reasons. Some people were kind to Germans, but not any kinder than they were to Dutch people. All in all, the problem was that many innocent people were punished beyond need. Sometimes there were Nazis amongst the women, but these women got punished way more than their male counterpart. The punishments for moffenmeiden were different across the country, but in some parts poor women were often more victimized. I don't this book was perfect, it was very surface level and had some grammar mistakes, but I do think it's important. It talks mainly about the innocent women, and how the Dutch almost behaved just like their enemy. Women in history have always been mistreated way more, and this book shows a part of that. I do think Nazis - man or woman - deserved to be punished, but not in this way. The Dutch people who punished these women did not think about nuance at all, they just acted because of their own trauma and hatred towards the Germans.