By: PAIGE FOSTER
Staff Writer
With the cooler weather and many students settling into the rhythms of school, October is a great time to put away electronics in favor of a book. For anyone looking for books to read, here is my October reading list:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab:
In this work of fiction, author V.E. Schwab describes the life of a girl who (literally) makes a deal with the devil to gain immortality, with the caveat that she can’t be remembered by anyone she interacts with. For over 300 years, Addie LaRue remains 23, and the knowledge she gains through the course of many lifetimes is evident in the sage wisdom and heavy sadness which imbues all of her narration.
No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre:
Sartre’s famous existentialist play is set in a rather unique setting: Hell. Three souls of the damned are placed together in an average-looking room, and the play charts their interactions with one another and with the infamous lair of eternal damnation. Who knew hell had a couch?
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
This will be my fourth time reading this book, and for good reason. Leslye Walton tackles a difficult genre of literature called magical realism, in which one isolated aspect of the novel is fantastical or impossible, but it is set in the real world. In Ava Lavender, a baby girl is born with a pair of conspicuous wings that the doctors have trouble explaining. The novel, however, doesn’t center around her wings; it centers around the life stories of the women in Ava’s family, starting with her grandmother, her mother, and eventually herself. The work is made complex and nuanced by the generational themes and narratives, as well as the blatant symbolism of Ava’s wings. Most of all, this book is one of my favorites because of the tactile quality of the writing. Walton’s writing style relies heavily on imagery which appeals to all of the senses, and the result is a story which feels both incredibly lucid and uniquely perturbing.