What we're reading: Morrison, Chan
Each week our wonderful staff share the books that they've been enjoying.
Baz has been reading A Mercy by Toni Morrison
One of the things I want most from the fiction I read is to be surprised – and I don’t mean by a twist, not that kind of surprise. It’s one of Morrison’s qualities that I like most. I don’t know where she’s going to take me, and that’s not an easy thing. She makes you feel more keenly the confines, or boundaries, that other writers necessarily establish for themselves to make their books. Morrison’s authority and versatility seem to allow her a rare kind of freedom, which makes her thrilling to read. It’s a great power she has.
A Mercy is as serious as fiction gets – it’s intelligent, soulful, but playful too, shifting tonally and stylistically with ease. I loved its structure, and the way it unfolded; and I loved the characters. It was sad and wonderful.
Aideen has been reading Every Version of You by Grace Chan
Speculative fiction becomes increasingly unnerving the further it edges towards the familiar. Grace Chan’s Every Version of You does exactly this, compressing space and time by peering down the baking tramlines of Melbourne’s CBD and into our swiftly approaching future. Despite the story’s futuristic advancements, including a wholly immersive online realm named ‘Gaia’, the protagonist’s experiences of isolation run parallel to my own. By extrapolating our relationship with digital media, Every Version of You highlights how quickly we normalise disconnection in a digitally saturated world. This was a gripping tale and a timely reminder of the value that’s to be gained from switching off and slowing down.
