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A review by zjunjunia
Mariana by Monica Dickens
3.0
Persephone Books reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction by mid-twentieth century (mostly) women writers. Their bookstore used to be on Lamb Conduit St., a few minutes away from my first year accommodation and I remember taking a picture of the outside but never going in. They moved from London to Bath recently and I followed their journey as they posted on social media. With nothing but that to go on, I knew I'd want to visit them when I ended up going to Bath.
And so I did! Soaked to the bone on a rainy day, we were wandering through the streets of Bath and ended up inside the store. I absolutely loved how all the books had the same pastel grey covers and then a vibrant, unique inside cover. Of course, I did not recognise any of the titles so asked for some help and ended up choosing this book.
I'm not sure how to describe it - there was no groundbreaking plot or out-of-the-world characters but the book just conveyed a story of life with beautiful descriptions of the surroundings. It read almost like a diary with a flowing narrative which makes sense as it was based on Monica's own life. It's definitely not for everyone but I really enjoyed it the gentle espcae into another, quite normal life.
P.S. this was the best physical book I've read in terms of page weight, typeset and spine. I don't know how to describe but it just felt so satisfying to hold and read! The spine bent just right and each page had a lush weight to it with wide margins, great line spacing and a creamy texture. Oh, to nerd out about this...
P.P.S. only after finishing I found out that Monica was the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens!
And so I did! Soaked to the bone on a rainy day, we were wandering through the streets of Bath and ended up inside the store. I absolutely loved how all the books had the same pastel grey covers and then a vibrant, unique inside cover. Of course, I did not recognise any of the titles so asked for some help and ended up choosing this book.
I'm not sure how to describe it - there was no groundbreaking plot or out-of-the-world characters but the book just conveyed a story of life with beautiful descriptions of the surroundings. It read almost like a diary with a flowing narrative which makes sense as it was based on Monica's own life. It's definitely not for everyone but I really enjoyed it the gentle espcae into another, quite normal life.
P.S. this was the best physical book I've read in terms of page weight, typeset and spine. I don't know how to describe but it just felt so satisfying to hold and read! The spine bent just right and each page had a lush weight to it with wide margins, great line spacing and a creamy texture. Oh, to nerd out about this...
P.P.S. only after finishing I found out that Monica was the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens!