By: Lena Smith '24
Wolf Solent (1929) by John Cowper Powys: Professor Wheatley
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“Wolf Solent was the first Powys novel that I came across – back in 1990 while in grad school – and it has long been one of the books that means most to me.”
Encased in a seemingly “conventional” story about the struggles of romance, Wolf Solent boasts a “subtle… and sometimes humorous” exploration of the human mind. Powys uses the classic coming-of-age story as a vessel for an “intense and absorbing” tale imbued with philosophical themes. Our protagonist, Wolf Solent, must ‘grow up’ a second time as he returns to his hometown at the age of thirty-five, situated in the same locale as Thomas Hardy’s “Wessex” novels. While the story contains “Gothic elements that may or may not be the products of Wolf’s imagination,” Powys offers an “acutely self-conscious” portrait of a human reckoning with the weight of the world and the mind. In addition to the psychological and philosophical components of the story, Wheatley admires the “extraordinary” depictions of nature throughout the novel. This impressive work encouraged Wheatley to explore his other titles, and she also recommends A Glastonbury Romance (1932), Weymouth Sands (1934), and Porius (1951) as “fascinating” companions to Powys’ most popular work.
Skin (2001) by Margaret Mascarenhas: Professor Ferrão
Photo Courtesy of Other India Bookstore
“One of the most popular novels I teach, it centers on the lives of Black women, and their sexuality as a means of survival, and critically jars my students’ understanding of early modern African slavery as an exclusively Atlantic phenomenon.”
A sprawling text that moves through “multiple continents over several centuries,” Skin explores the multifaceted history of Portuguese Goa in India. Through the perspective of two families, Mascarenhas examines the colonial upbringing of the nation as well as its reliance on the African slave trade. The wealthy de Miranda Floreses, who prosper from the Goan slave trade, are “intermeshed” with the lives of enslaved women whose ancestries tie back to an Angolan prophetess. While the scale of this story is vast and complex, Ferrão provides a summary of the compelling force of Mascarenhas’ work: “by bridging the Portuguese colonies of Goa in Asia and Angola in Africa, Skin gives prominence to African slavery in the Indian Oceanic world, thus challenging and expanding entrenched notions of the geography and impact of the trade in Black bodies[.]” Overall, the late Mascarenhas constructs a powerful depiction of South Asia that reaffirms its black history and emphasizes the “multiple geographies and interrelated histories” that define its diaspora- it is both a work of impressive artistic prowess and historical merit. Even if you don’t end up reading the novel with Professor Ferrão at the College, Skin is an incredible work you can benefit from in your own reading.
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled John Cowper Powys name as James "Cooper" Powys. A correction to the correct name has been made. The previous review of Wolf Solent has been amended to reflect current accurate and additional remarks. Additionally, the incorrect publication year for Weymouth Sands has been changed from 1932 to the correct year of 1934.