Okay, I know I already kind of posted about Aztecs and pirates, but that was in the mini-golf sense. Now I thought it might be time for a brief review of my very exciting reading of late.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
There’s been a lot of chat about this from all over the blogsophere and beyond, so I don’t really want to go too in-depth with a big old plot analysis. I do want to say, though, that I really enjoyed this. It helps, I think, that I’m really interested in the period that was covered, and the characters. It speaks volumes for the author’s skill at drawing you in that despite knowing some of the things that were going to happen (Trotsky’s going to die), I’d still get quite emotionally involved (“Oh no, Trotsky!”).

My one gripe about this, and it’s a general fault with the ‘diary’ format in fiction I think, is that it did go beyond the bounds of believability a fair few times. I don’t demand realism in my fiction. And don’t get me wrong, I can usually suspend disbelief with the best of them, but it does jerk me out of a book from time to time when the structure within which the story is told is at odds with the way the story is written. Which is a really long and fluffy way of saying that I just can’t stand pages and pages and pages of dialogue in what is supposed to be a diary. It’s a fairly minor gripe, though, and it’s hardly like Barbara Kingsolver is the only one guilty of this, so it didn’t overly hamper my enjoyment.

Essentially, I think it’s a great book, and I felt quite attuned to it because of my personal interest. Having said that, I don’t necessarily think that it’s the best quality novel out of the Orange shortlist. I’ve only read two – this and Wolf Hall – so I suppose what I’m really saying is that I think Wolf Hall is some high-quality fiction. The Lacuna is a great read, though: it might be big, but I whipped on through it, because I got so invested. Which is always a nice reading experience!

Bold in Her Breeches: Women Pirates Across the Ages by Jo Stanley
I’ll stand right up and say that I love a bit of gender history. And maritime history and pirates is an area quite in need of a more objective, reasoned analysis. Women in this context have either been written out completely, or painfully sensationalised. So I found this a fascinating book: it covers women involved in piracy from Artemisia in ancient Greece, to the modern day (well, ish, it was published in 1995, but that’s not the book’s fault). What I found particularly interesting was the attention given not just to women as pirates, but to the role of women in supporting piracy in a wider context: for instance women on land providing information and sexual services. It’s a great introduction to this area, and I’d love to do more reading around this.

Another aspect of the history which is incredibly interesting from a more political angle is the relationship between piracy and the state, and between piracy itself and privateering or working in the navy. There was a point in time when states were more inclined to tolerate such activities, and could indeed profit from it. That’s obviously a long, long way from the state of play (couldn’t resist the pun) today, when piracy can be a hindrance to international trade and ‘legitimate’ profits. Again, this book discusses these issues and has sparked my interest in further reading – I’ve already sourced a couple of books about piracy and international politics and history!

Finally, what I really appreciated was a realistic approach to women pirates. They are neither glamourised nor demonised: that kind of approach is something I think is inherently limiting. Without taking into account social factors and constraints, there’s a real shallowness to how women pirates (and pirates generally, too) have been treated. That includes the crossdressing involved when women have taken to the seas within a patriarchal culture. Crossdressing can be a practical consideration, rather than a particular desire to seem sexy or depraved to audiences of the 21st century. As for the pirates themselves, I’ve got to say that I have to agree with the author when she says:

I have the impression that I would not like most of these women pirates; they might steal my best bath oil and laugh at my poems. I also believe that women should be free to travel without fear of molestation [...]. As I think human beings should not have to risk death in the course of their work, how could I hold a brief for people – whatever their sex – who attack employees?

This study of women pirates, though, is really interesting, and a great introduction to women involved in piracy. As much as anything else, it’s given me a lot of enthusiasm for taking it further and looking at some other books focusing on particular issues, such as crossdressing or international trade. Again, that’s made this a really satisfying reading experience for me. I like getting excited about my reading, and I really did here.

It’s been an exciting reading period. I’m now going to settle down with a nice quiet-living book: The Odyssey. (Ahem.)

The Lacuna counts towards both the Chunkster Challenge and the Global Reading challenge as my book from the Americas. Bold in Her Breeches counts towards the Women Unbound Challenge.