Books I Read This Week (3/1/15 - 3/7/15)

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

My rating: ★★★★★

This novel is set during the Emergency in India, which occurred between 1975-1977. It tells the story of several characters of varying social class, and in that way documents how the people of India were affected by the Emergency. I absolutely fell in love with all of the characters in this book. It’s one of the most tragic and upsetting books I’ve ever read, and there really isn’t any kind of happy ending for any of the characters, so the sadness of their fate is never resolved. Mistry's writing reminds me of classic authors like Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens in that way. And like great tragedies, this story is so poignant and inspiring despite the misery. This is an amazing literary work.

Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

My rating: ★★★★☆ 

At first this book was just a pleasant, easy read. All fluff about Korobi getting ready for her wedding and how in love she is with her fiance. But there is a hitch that has to do with Korobi's own family, and she has to decide whether or not its her duty to tell her fiance and his family. This book wasn't amazing, but it was very enjoyable and interesting to read about racism in India. 

Watership Down by Richard Adams

My rating: ★★★★★

I love this book so so so much. It was cute and surreal and exciting. I can definitely see why this book is such a classic. Fiver was by far my favorite character, but I loved Bigwig too. The stories that the rabbits told one another were so interesting, and scary at times. And the events that happen to the rabbits are creepy and violent and scary, which is the last thing I'd expect from a book about talking rabbits. I recently bought the Tales from Watership Down that expand on the rabbits' mythology, and I'm really excited to read that!

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

My rating: ★☆☆☆☆

This book could have been very powerful but it was so poorly executed that it presents a harmful message rather than a good one. Basically, it’s in a rapist’s point of view as he rationalizes what he did into not being a rape. It’s fucked up. A lot of his life and other disturbing things he’s done are exposed early on in the book to let the reader know that he’s an unreliable narrator (which is one of my favorite methods of storytelling), but the ending is so abrupt that the message falls flat. It ends up being confusing and reading as a rape apology. I don't understand why the author didn't follow through at the end to make it clear that what Keir did was wrong, and to perhaps show some realization or remorse on Keir's part. It was left so open ended that someone reading this who wants to believe he isn’t a rapist could do so. I think it needed to be more clear in its purpose or it could lead to more rape apology and misunderstanding.

Books I Read This Week (2/15/15 - 2/21/15)

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

My rating: ★★☆☆☆

I was so excited to read this and so disappointed by it… One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my all-time favorite books, and I assumed I would love all of Márquez’s work. But this book had a lot of casual racism, and the ‘love’ between Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza was disturbing. At first it was very sweet, but then she clearly has a change of heart. She fell out of love with him and was devoted to her husband entirely. But Florentino had this 'just need to convince her that she loves me’ attitude that is really creepy. He literally waits until her husband dies to come and claim her, because he's so certain that she'll end up loving him. This kind of character is described on TVTropes.com as the 'Dogged Nice Guy' or 'Stalker With a Crush'. Romances like this gross me out, and I don't understand how anyone could feel that Florentino was in any way romantic or endearing. Poor Fermina.

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

My rating: ★★★★☆

This book is basically Old Yeller, but with an adorable baby deer instead of a dog. The descriptions of the forest and Jody's romping were so charming. Rawlings has a talent for creating vivid images of nature in the reader's mind. I also found Jody's awe and love of his father very sweet, this book could be a good Father's Day gift! I wanted to give this book 5 stars, but the misogyny that is so casually a part of this twelve year old’s point of view took so much away from the story. I know, it’s a product of its time, but it really took away from my enjoyment.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Gross, gross, GROSS. With the premise and the hype, I thought I’d love this series. But I couldn't even finish it because of the rampant sexism and misogyny and sexual assault. At first I was like, this is kind of boring, but not terrible. Then, when Claire goes back in time, literally all of the characters she gives a shit about are men, and she disregards all of the women she meets as sad and boring. Her inner monologue is essentially ‘Oh and I made friends with some of the castle workmaids, I think that one might be named Catherine’. That pissed me off. Then one of the men sexually assaults her in the hallway as ‘payment’ for having saved her from ‘even worse’ on a banquet night. And she doesn't even seem to mind, she doesn't give it a thought. Not only that, after he assaults her, he suddenly becomes a father figure to her and her new husband. This is so disturbing I don't even know how to criticize it. By the time her husband spanks her for disobeying him, in a scene that I doubt anyone could read as cute or sexy, I was disgusted. It is absolutely ridiculous for women to romanticize the past, when they had virtually no rights and were the equivalent of property. And the argument that Diana Gabaldon is simply writing all of this to be historically accurate is a bullshit excuse.

Book Review: Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw

This is going to be my first dedicated book review post, in which I take a little more time to reflect on the impact of this book and what I did or did not like about it.

Books I Read This Week (2/1/15 - 2/7/15)

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

My rating: ★★★★☆

This book reminded me SO MUCH of the Series of Unfortunate Events series. And the beginning, with Reynie and his bland orphan life that is changed to something magical and important in one afternoon, reminded me of Harry Potter. Obviously, that means I loved it. It's quirky, hilarious, and implausible, and that's what makes it so much fun to read. Occasionally there are books where one specific character stands out among the rest, and the character in this book is Kate Wetherall. All I'll say about her for now is that she makes me want to carry around my own bucket. There are more books to the series and I’m definitely going to read them.

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

My rating: ★★★★★

I saw the movie version when it came out, but later we read an excerpt in my African American Literature class and I decided that I wanted to read the full text. The beginning of the book contains an editor's preface that was common when black authors first started publishing - essentially a white man vouching for the literacy and accuracy of the black author. We learned a lot about this kind of thing in my African American Literature class - Phyllis Wheatly, the first African American slave to publish anything, was interrogated by Thomas Jefferson and a few other men for hours because they didn't believe she could have written her poetry on her own - and this is one of the countless ways that racism presents itself, one that we usually are never made aware of. So even just reading the preface was a solemn reminder of the United States shameful past. Solomon Northup tells his story in a very matter-of-fact, emotionally detached way that was common to the time period. In my African American Literature class we talked about the possibility that they had to write in this manner in order to be allowed to publish at all, because if they had written their true emotions about their white captors it would have been too damning to be allowed to circulate. Frederick Douglass was the first former slave to write without censorship of his emotions about his experience, and it is much more jarring because of his anger and condemnation. I also noticed that in Solomon Northup's narrative he repeatedly assures his readers that this was only his personal experience, and that he had some really wonderful masters, and that not all slave masters are cruel. I found myself wondering whether he said that of his own free will or if he was encouraged to include it. This book is such an important part of history, and Solomon Northup's life is one of the most extraordinary I have ever read about. Many free born blacks were sold into slavery, but I don't think many of them were rescued at all, or in such a fantastical way.

Books I Read This Week (1/25/15 - 1/31/15)

The Martian by Andy Weir

My rating: ★★☆☆☆

The premise is really awesome and I loved the format of the book in the beginning. It was told entirely through Watney’s logs of his mission. At first he's very technical and bland as he relays what he's done for the mission each day, but the longer he is isolated on Mars with no radio contact, the less professional he gets. That was great! But the further into the book you get, the more confusing and messy the format gets. In the beginning, each alternating chapter is Watney's logs, and then traditional prose describing what's happening on Earth. From logs, to traditional prose, to AIM-like chats between watney and NASA. There's no pattern, at times it switches from one format to another for literally a single paragraph... it’s just so messy, I felt annoyed and frustrated as I read. Not to mention all of the other characters are created with so little characterization that I didn’t know who the hell anyone was. I literally couldn't distinguish between them, aside from the poorly written Hindu character - and that only because he basically walks around going, "I am Hindu". I didn’t understand the point of the other POVs because they were so half-assed. If it had all been Watney’s day logs I probably would have enjoyed it much more.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I was so disappointed at how little the girls’ group featured in this book, because when it was revealed at the end of the first book that there was another maze with an all-girl group that had the same situation reversed, I was like OH MY GOD. I think the events of this book would have been more exciting if it had switched between each group and their progress. The confusion about Teresa, was she evil or was she a pawn like Thomas, became really boring really fast. I wasn't shocked or intrigued each time her actions contradicted each other, I found it tiring. I don’t know if I’ll read the third book.

Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi

My rating: ★★★★★

I can't decide what my favorite part of this book was: the story or the illustrations. Fun fact, the author was also the illustrator! Kenny is a young rabbit who lives in the countryside on the family farm, and their charming acres attract a dragon who decides to move in. Nobody has seen or heard of a dragon in ages, and the stories about them are full of death and destruction. But Kenny decides to go see the dragon, and they become best friends almost immediately. This is one of those children's books that is delighful for a child but also has references that only adults will understand, which makes it a great read for all ages. It's an instant favorite for me. This is written by the same author who wrote the Spiderwick Chronicles, which is easily apparent in both the art and the prose. If you can't tell, I really like DiTerlizzi's style.

Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli

My rating: ★★★★★

This is another book from my childhood that I decided to reread this year, and it is about a million times better than I remember. I think the last time I read this book was when I was about 9 or 10. It tells the story of a girl named Donata, who is the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Venice in 1592. She spends nearly all of her time indoors at their grand palazzo, but she is fascinated by the glimpses she gets of the streets of Venice when they go out, and she doesn't understand the injustice of the fact that her brothers are allowed to be out at all hours in the city while she and her sisters are stuck in the palazzo. So she decides to dress as a boy and go out into the city herself! She ends up in the Jewish ghetto of Venice. This book is full of interesting bits of Venetian history, explains the role of scribes before the printing press, teaches about Jewish history and culture, and is AMAZINGLY feminist. Donata's frustrations and dreams are so relatable to girls and women of any age. I remember loving this book as a kid, but reading it now that I'm older I think I love it even more.

Books I Read This Week (1/18/15 - 1/24/15)

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds

My rating: ★★★★★

The voice of Ali as narrator in this book was powerful, and I think it was what made the story so wonderful. It’s written in a dialect of AAVE, in a very personal tone, as though Ali is just speaking to you sitting on the stoop outside his brownstone. But Ali and his story wouldn't be so compelling without the other characters, in particular his little sister. Ali's neighbors, siblings nicknamed Needles and Noodles, are the main subject of the story, and their complex relationship as Ali perceives it is so heartbreaking. Jason Reynolds tackles urban decay, gentrification, the stigma against mental illness, and the stereotypes surrounding black fatherhood within this novel, along with so many other issues. I read this at the library in one sitting, and I'm so glad that they have it in circulation.

The Doll People by Ann M Martin and Laura Godwin

My rating: ★★★★★

I've had this book since I was a child, I think the first time I read it was when I was about 8 years old. I remember reading it at my Grandma Cat's cabin late at night when I couldn't sleep. I was really obsessed with the idea of my toys secretly being alive, which is the entire premise of this book, so naturally I fell in love with it and read it about a hundred times. This is the first time I've reread it since I was in middle school, I think, and it's still just as magical as when I was little. The Auntie doll, who insisted on breaking the doll code of conduct (act inanimate except for a few hours after midnight and never leave the dollhouse), always reminded me of my great aunt Karen and my great aunt Zoe. Auntie doll is like a mix of the two of them, traveling the 'world' and making up songs and keeping a zoological journal of all of the types of arachnids she sees and breaking all of the rules. 

Books I Read This Week (1/11/15 - 1/17/15)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

My rating: ★★★★★

This book was told entirely through collected letters between the characters, and it was the style that made it so incredibly charming. Set just after WWII in London and the small English island of Guernesy, it details the beginning and ending of a strange book club that forms between the neighbors on the island during their German occupation. I especially loved how the club started out with so many people who didn't care for reading, and the types of readers they all became. This is one of those books that manages to be completely hilarious and make you cry your eyes out all in one go.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

My rating: ★★★★★

Now that I've finally read this book I can't believe that it took me this long to finally get to it. I loved the movie as a kid, but for some reason I never picked up the book. I identify so much with Matilda: her love of books, her sense of justice, the way she befriends her teachers - although she went way further by getting adopted by Miss Honey. My mom used to joke that I was just like Matilda when I'd go to the library: a wagon full of books from every trip. But even if I waited until I was in my 20s, I loved it just as much as if I'd read it when I was a kid. Of course Roald Dahl is a famous children's author because of how amazing his books are, but I was in awe of how wonderfully written this story was. 

The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis

My rating: ★★★★★

I don't know what the name for this style of book is, but it's one of my favorite kinds. It tells the story of three generations of a family, focusing on the grandmother, mother, and daughter. Are they just called generational novels? If anyone knows whether this style has a name, please let me know! This novel is set in Uruguay, from 1900 to the 1960s. Reading about the progression of a country through this single family made it feel so personal, but it also taught me so much about the history of Uruguay. The final section becomes surprisingly political, but it helped convey the message of the full story very concisely.