So I read Melania... Hear me out

I saw this book at my local library and decided to see if I can get a glimpse of Melania Trump’s personality. She always looks like a decorative art piece: beautiful and silent. As a fellow Slav from Eastern Europe, I was curious what she had to say about her upbringing in the communist Yugoslavia. The book is very short and it is badly written, at times sounding like a museum catalogue enumerating all the exquisite designer outfits and elaborate meals; and at times resembling a self appraisal or a college essay, aggrandizing her own accomplishments (my impeccable taste, my work ethic, my poise). Wow. If she wrote this in an attempt to be known, this is a failure. There is no personality that I can detect. I am not sorry I read it though. What you see is what you get: a carefully constructed mask with a huge ego who wants to be in turn a Jacky Kennedy or a princess Diana look alike but of course she is neither. She is also not a deep thinker at all. Jane Austen’s “improvement of the mind by extensive reading” is clearly not about her.

In addition, the descriptions of her childhood in Yugoslavia do not ring true at all. She was born in 1970 - the height of Soviet dominance in the region. Yet she waxes poetically about the picturesque country side and travels all over Europe. Not a single word about the decade long ethnic conflicts in the region - none. Then abruptly in the end she decides to compare the raid on Mar-a-Lago to surveillance under communism, “which her family was very familiar with”. So which one is it? What was her childhood like? Anyway the main sense I got is lack of authenticity and personality. Also curiously, no acknowledgements?

March 2025 Reading Wrap-Up

 

In March, I read quite a few great books. In terms of clear winners The God of the Woods and Death of the Author were by far the best books I read in March if not the entire 2025 so far.

The God of the Woods is a mystery involving disappearance of a child. It has two different timelines and a great cast of characters. I must admit it was a difficult read, especially in the beginning when we spend a lot of time with the grieving mother. Her anguish at losing her little boy is palpable and heart-wrenching. At about half-point, the book turns more into a police procedural and I found it much easier to read emotionally.

Death of the Author is a genre-bending novel with a Nigerian-American paraplegic woman as the main protagonist. The author explores the themes of heritage, and belonging. She also very skillfully zeroes in on the need for independence and independent decision-making for people living with disabilities. In this book, the main character seemingly overnight becomes a bestselling author, yet her family is so focused on protecting her and taking care of her that they try to keep her from opportunities that would improve her life and let her experience things she never thought were possible for her. This novel in particular is a strong contender to be the best of the year for me.

I read The Nickel Boys for my bookclub at work. The setting of the story is a reform school for boys in Florida in the 1960s. The racism, injustice and brutality the main characters have to go through is staggering. This is a very difficult, but a very important read.

Blood over Bright Haven is much talked about on BookTube Sci-Fi novel. I also read it for a bookclub, and it did not live up to all the hype. Even though we had a good discussion at the book club meeting, as time goes on, the plot is quickly fading from my mind. I did like the spunky feminist main character, and the magic was unique in this book. However, the book felt a little too basic. The world was not well fleshed out, and lacked the complexity that I would normally expect for such a hyped novel.

I finally finished The Wrath and the Dawn duology. I read the first book quite a few years ago. It is a 1001 nights re-telling. I really enjoyed it and if you are looking for a quick fantasy/romantasy read, look no further.

I read Medea by Euripides as I own a recently released retelling of this Greek play, so wanted to get acquainted with the original material. The other two books on the list were pretty mediocre romances, and I would not recommend them.