Books I read in November 2023

Nine pints from Rose George is a non -fiction about the “mysterious, miraculous world of blood.” The title refers to the approximate amount of blood we have in our bodies, and George examines various topics related to blood in nine heads, covering diseases, cultural attitudes and medical breakthroughs. George’s global tour includes HIV’s education in South Africa, the taboo of Nepal menstruation, an infected blood scandal in the UK and a controversial plasma clinic in Canada. There are also more positive stories about pioneers such as a scientist at Oxford Dam Janet Vaughn, who created the world’s first mass donation system during World War II and Archalam Muruganantam, which helped to develop cheap sanitary products in India. George is an engaging popular author of science whose in -depth essays combine historical research and field reporting and are packed with facts. It is probably not the perfect book for anyone who is particularly creaking, but at least there are no illustrations.

Broken Heartlands: Traveling through Labor England by Sebastian Payne Details of the road travel of a political journalist born in Gateshead through the Red Wall places in Midlands and north of England, which were previously working fortresses but voted for the conservative party in the 2019 conservative party for the first time in several decades. Payne interviewed past and current MPs and other political figures and locals to understand how the Brexit referendum and Jeremy Corbin’s leadership caused such a dramatic swing to the right in these areas. Posted in 2021, some of Payne’s forecasts for the future are not outdated too well (“Westminster’s Game of” Who will be the next Tori leader “will probably be some way”, p. 283), but his analysis of the reasons why the Labor Party is so bad in 2019. On the red wall itself and that de -industrialization and demographic changes were more strongly felt in some areas than others. Payne did not seem too convinced at the time of writing that the Tory faces disappeared in these areas. However, the latest election results suggest otherwise, so there may be the potential for continuation for the consequences of the next general election. Rewarded the Book of the Year by both The Guardian and the Daily Mail, Broken Heartlands is worth reading any political views.

Normal rules do not apply by Kate Atkinson is a collection of interconnected short stories. Especially for the authors most famous for their long-term work, short stories are often a means of experimentation, and Atkinson certainly covers a wide range of genres here, including some unusual science fiction and folklore whims. The opening story, set in 2028, where a type of darkness, known as the void, descends for five minutes and kills anyone who has been outdoors during this time can sound grim, but is still full of the dry humor of its trademark. Some of the stories are distinguished by a repeated character called Franklin, and that made me think whether he should be the protagonist in a novel who did not get quite or whether Atkinson could review him properly in the future. In general, it’s a slightly mixed bag, as are the collections of short stories, but they are still full of the inimitable Atkinson style.