In Men Who Hate Women, Laura Bates takes a deep dive into the vast network of misogynist communities currently at work around the globe. It’s both a fascinating and terrifying read that traces the roots of misogyny from Incels themselves to Pick Up Artists and Men’s Rights Activists – exploring the way pervasive and pernicious narratives have become a large part of the mainstream, from political posturing to the large erasure of misogyny from the definition of terrorism. Bates looks deep into how these movements can groom and radicalise young and vulnerable men, tracing the origins of this extreme ideology from the internet to real life through real-life sleuthing of internet forums to interviews with trolls, former incels and academics understanding the movement.

Largely, the book feels despairing as Bates how pernicious these thoughts and narratives have become and how prevalent the idea of the manosphere is. Still, Bates does provide an element of hope in her examination of the conscious ways that people – particularly men – can work to undermine this momentum. More than anything in her desire to work against the narratives that are propagated on YouTube, Reddit and more. Bates largely feels empathetic in how impressionable young boys can fall prey to these narratives and it is this that prevents the book from feeling despondent. This is a vital and necessary read for people of any gender.

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I found this novel so engaging. Instantly, I was drawn into her writing which does not over-dramatize key factual events but simply relays them to the reader in a way which is informative yet still absorbing and fascinating. The novel is as entertaining, if not more so, than any fictional spy thriller I’ve read previously, yet coupled with this is the educational value and the astonishing significance that everything written here is factual and did occur.

Coker illustrates her extensive knowledge on this topic through following the upbringings and changing fates of two key families, the al-Sudanis and the al-Kubaisis living within Baghdad and the Spymaster: Abu Ali. Through using the same real people and evidence throughout the entire novel to retell this story, the reader can really form a connection to the characters, which ensures this book is thoroughly gripping and engaging. The al-Sudanis are Shiites whilst the al-Kubaisis are Sunnis, two rival groups in Baghdad whose fates perilously changed throughout recent history. Under the reign of Saddam Hussein, Sunnis were typically safe whereas life for the Shiites was dangerous, however, once Saddam Hussein was opposed in 2003 and American troops entered, the critical divide between Shiites and Sunni’s remained.

A particular event near the beginning of this novel reflects upon how Abrar al-Kubaisis (a Sunni) was radicalised into developing extremist views after witnessing a 20-year-old innocent Sunni woman, Sabrine al-Janabi being taken from her home and raped by several policemen. Then, when she revealed what occurred on a TV broadcast, she was accused of lying by the Shiites, issued with an arrest warrant and accused of polygamy and supporting terrorism. This particular event is one of many which shows the injustices innocent people faced, both Shiites and Sunnis. I believe Coker’s inclusion of these particular retellings is drastically important and shines a sometimes painful light onto historical truths – which makes this novel all the more important to read.

Following the contextual background introduction to the two families, the bulk of this novel is fast-paced and adrenaline-pumping. It follows the two sons of the al-Sudani family who are recruited by the spymaster, Abu Ali and enthralled into a top-secret intelligence unit called The Falcons, whose successful work manages to infiltrate the Islamic state. Overall, this book is essential reading and I’d highly recommend.

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The Undocumented Americans is available for purchase here.

In a world where news is incredibly immediate and we have frequently seen the horror that is the reality of everyday life for many refugees and immigrants – the atrocities at the border between America and Mexico have been well documented – it is rare to actually hear the voices of those who are experiencing this fear on a daily basis. Enter Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s The Undocumented Americans, that puts the voices of undocumented Americans front and centre, showing the ‘real’ experience rather than the exceptional achievers who get into elite colleges and ultimately gain permanent citizenship (like Villavicencio herself who is a PHD candidate at Yale), focussing instead on those who are struggling on a daily basis and who live in a permanent state of instability. The book is immensely complex, showing the range of the human experience, evading a singular definition.

Resilience is the core theme that runs throughout Villavicencio’s depictions, from Salome who continues on after the death of her husband to cancer to the men evading deportation by seeking sanctuary in a local church and those undocumented workers continuing on despite the physical illnesses they face having been exposed to innumerable toxins while doing cleanup after 9/11. Where Villavicencio can not fully realise their stories – many have hidden their full stories through self-preservation – she imagines their final moments and conclusions, for instance of those who died during 9/11 when delivering coffee orders to white-collar employees at the World Trade Centre. Cornejo Villavicencio threads her own story throughout, including the fractures in her own parents marriage as a result of the stress of immigration and her own experience as an undocumented immigrant and the lingering emotions that she continues to feel toward her parents who left her in Ecuador for five years as a child.

‘The Undocumented Americans’ is an illuminating and important read for just about every demographic, both within America and without, holding a mirror up to prejudice and stereotypes, allowing an exploration of the inner psyche and range of experience of individuals who have been frequently confined to a narrow definition in the media. Cornejo Villavicencio’s writing is enigmatic, thoughtful and poignant and positions her as a writer who will grow and grow in importance in the years to come, offering a window and voice to those whose voices have been muffled for far too long.

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Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2015 book Big Magic offers her take on creativity – musing on the source of her inspirations for her creative projects and the expectations both internally and externally on living a creative life. The book truly is a ‘magical’ take on creativity that will inspire creatives and non-creatives alike and truly feels like a necessary read. Doubtless it would not have got the attention that it did if it had not been for the tremendous success of Gilbert’s memoir Eat, Pray, Love and it is this that gives Gilbert the gravitas for her musings. Broken into five sections – Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust, Divinity – Big Magic reads as a framework upon which to embark on a creative life, some are immensely palatable, opening minds to possibility, but some of the chapters feel tenuous at best, without a completely coherent thesis or idea to follow. Perhaps though that is the very point of Big Magic, Gilbert herself says that in order to live a creative life, you can not live for criticism or even for success, but live a truly authentically creative life that is not bound by material accomplishment. The book in this lens feels liberating, yet it is without doubt a rambling meditation that feels at points slightly indulgent – the book should be read as creatively and freely as it is written, without expectation.

Big Magic is available for purchase now here.

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Becky Cooper first heard the story of Jane Britton’s 1969 murder and the rumours that surrounded her death during her time at Harvard as an undergraduate. Since then, she was consumed by the story, sparking a ten-year long investigation into Britton’s death that took her from the halls of Harvard to an archaeological dig in Bulgaria. Cooper embeds the narrative of Britton’s murder and the unsettling details of the crime scene itself within her own story and investigation into the murder, as Catch and Kill did, laying out and describing her own process. By so doing, Cooper allows us to see inside her own psychological predisposition, moving from one suspect to the next, holding up a mirror to our own biases and tendencies to force narratives to fit into one neat mould. Through this, Cooper does not fall into the trappings of many true crime works that sensationalise the murder, letting the act itself become so dramatic that the victim themselves are forgotten. Jane Britton, as an entire character, is placed firmly at the centre of her narrative – an honest character description from those who knew and loved her best. The suspects themselves are treated with the same care, they are not caricatured but portrayed as whole character, flaws and all, allowing the reader to fall down the trappings of judgement before reprimanding themselves for carelessly doing so. Cooper has created a sensational, acerbic prose that is one of the most honest works of true crime to be found.

We Keep The Dead Close is available for purchase online here.

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