The second, and long awaited, edition to my book series is here: Hot Milk by the incredible Deborah Levy. I actually read this book way back in summer time, which is what made reading this book particularly lovely; the sticky weather conditions in Liverpool - can you believe it? - really reflected what was described in the book, with Hot Milk being set in Spain. I've always loved reading books where the weather is similar to the weather around me - try it, it really amplifies the imaginary reality.
Levy has an extraordinary style of writing, she has this way of making a pretty simple scenario become poetic and quite magical. Her characters are always relatable and reflect someone we all know in one way or another; the mother / daughter relationship we follow in Hot Milk feels familiar, which then makes the somewhat wild choices made by the protagonist daughter surprising and likeable. I think that's what I really enjoyed about Hot Milk, the storyline was far from unrealistic, but the way Levy sews her story is beautiful.
Hot Milk touches on all kinds of romantic and platonic relationships with an awkward hint, which adds to that realistic feeling Levy illustrates. I'm not sure I'd want to read it again any time soon, but this was a quick - to - the - point story about a very normal girl who finds herself in unfamiliar situations with weird and wonderful people influencing her. That's probably the most cliche description, but I would definitely suggest this book for 'on the go' kind of reading; if you're commuting or just fancy an interesting light read, this is one for you! It doesn't make your brain hurt with confusion but definitely captivates and holds you for its short entirety!
Let me know what you think of it x