I am often drawn to books that explore complicated family relationships, and Margret Wilkerson Sexton's The Revisioners certainly calls into that category. Deciding to move yourself and your teenage son in with your grandmother is one thing. It is quite another when there is an obvious racial divide, and even your son recognizes that things are not quite as they seem in the strange new house he is supposed to call home.
The Situation: In 2017, Ava is nearly out of options, which is why she decides to move in with her grandmother, Martha. It would probably make more sense for Ava to move in with her own mother, but pride is keeping her from it, though the official excuse is that she does not want to be a burden. Martha is incredibly lonely and is therefore thrilled to have her granddaughter and great-grandson in her home, nevermind that their skin is darker than hers, and she grew up in a time where that difference would have immediately put them beneath her. In 1924, Ava's great-great-great-grandmother, Josephine, is the proud owner of a large farm that she runs with her son Major. When a white couple becomes her new neighbors, the wife seeks Josephine's friendship, much to her annoyance. And back in 1855, Josephine and her mother are part of a secret group of slaves that are making plans to escape, though the appearance of a new slave brings both confidence and fear.
The Problem: In 2017, living with Martha is nice enough: her house is huge, it comes with servants and a cook, Ava's son is in a nice school, and she is able to save up money to hopefully get her own place. But Ava is soon put on edge when Martha's behavior becomes erratic, and it becomes clear she is remembering a time in her life when the black people around her were not friends and family. In 1924, Josephine is getting used to the visits from her new neighbor, but the comfort disappears when she realizes the couple have become involved with the Ku Klux Klan. Because of Major's insistence to stand his ground and demand respect, Josephine knows he is only putting himself in harm's way. And in 1855, the plan for escape has been laid out, but the danger is very real. The new slave, Jupiter, insists he can get Josephine and her family through it, but it still is not clear whether or not he is one of the dangers.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in three different time periods. First there is Ava in 2017, and then there is Josephine in 1924, as well as Josephine in 1855. While Ava is a modern single mother doing her best to get by and raise her son, 1924 Josephine is a free woman who owns land and works hard. The Josephine in 1855 is a slave who lives and works with her mother, though they are plotting their escape to the north in the hope of becoming free. While Ava and 1924 Josephine are already free, it does not mean they are free from oppression and worry when it comes to dealing with white people. Josephine's source of anxiety are her new neighbors, while Ava must deal with her own grandmother. The relationships are more complicated the closer the story gets to modern times, but the stress is still there, as well as the need to truly be free.
My Verdict: This is an interesting look at the stories and events of the past that have helped bring us to where we are today, and the idea that we carry on the strength (and pain) of those that came before us. Though the book is not particularly long, it manages to pack a lot into less than 300 pages, though I do wish it included a little bit more of Ava's story. As with many books that attempt to follow multiple story lines, at least one story gets short-changed or feels incomplete. While 1855 Josephine probably gets the least amount of attention, I was hoping Ava's story would go on a bit longer, and certainly have more closure. It is clear that her relationship with her grandmother is complicated, and that Martha is needing more care and attention as she gets older. And yet somehow the strange circumstance they find themselves in does not feel fully explored, when for me it is the most compelling story line of the three.
Favorite Moment: When Ava's mother tells her "'Don't blame yourself," she says. "That's what they want you to do, run all their hate inward so the focus is off their bad behavior.'"
Favorite Character: I like King, Ava's son. He seemed to immediately recognize the potential for problems when it came to living with Martha. Sure, the house is nice and everything, and he likes the new friends he has made at school, but even he could see from the beginning that there were going to be issues.
Recommended Reading: I recommend The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, as well as Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
I remain on a quest to explore all of the novels of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, and today I will talk about Norwegian Wood, a book that launched him into super stardom in Japan, though this was much to his dismay at the time.
The Situation: Toru Watanabe is a college student studying drama in Tokyo. He is the average male, average student, with average grades, and average abilities. There does not seem to be anything truly special about him. He even describes himself as average looking. Before entering college, his best friend, Kizuki, took his own life. Now Toru and Kizuki's girlfriend Naoko have begun meeting up and taking walks together, their behavior towards each other making it abundantly clear the Kizuki's death continues to have a profound effect on both of them. For the most part, they live and function as college students, despite the sadness in their shared past, and despite the tumultuous political atmosphere of 1960s Japan, which seems to have been just as full of unrest and protests as 1960s America. Even so, Toru manages to keep it together, and is shocked when Naoko withdraws from school and enters a treatment facility.
The Problem: Without Naoko and their walks together, Toru folds in on himself, opting to not be too social or make many real personal connections. He does attempt to write letters to Naoko, and she eventually responds, even inviting him to visit her, which he does. He is able to see firsthand how she is doing, what her treatment entails, and even what her roommate is like. But despite the strong desire to remain hopeful, it is not clear when, or if, Naoko will be well enough to return to society. Toru knows by now that he is love with her, and willing to wait for her until she is fully capable of living outside of the facility. This is until he meets the incredibly confident and outgoing Midori, who he also finds himself attracted to. At the tender age of 20, Toru finds himself faced with several difficult decisions, during a time in his life when most people have yet to fully realize who they are or who they even want to be.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a fiction novel set in Japan, mostly in the year 1969. Our narrator is the average, and somewhat hapless, Toru Watanabe. Though he has chosen to study drama, he does not have any specific aspirations regarding a potential career path, and seemingly picked the subject for no real reason. For the most part, Toru is quiet, introspective, a bit serious, and more than a little bit selfish and self-absorbed. It simply does not occur to him to consider someone elses feelings when it comes to most things. He is surrounded by women who are much more confident and self-assured, at least enough to know when he is not giving them what they need. Also, there is a near-constant theme of suicide. When playing Murakami bingo with this novel, readers could certainly blot out the spots for a dried up well, cats, urban ennui, train station, precocious teenager, cooking, Tokyo at night, and even historical flashback as the novel opens up in the year 1987, and then Toru begins to tell the story of when he was 19 on the verge of 20 in the year 1969. The book is often described as a love story, but I would argue that it is about a young man who truly has no idea what he wants.
My Verdict: Norwegian Wood seems to be a Murakami favorite for many, and I can certainly understand why. It somewhat breaks away from many of the common Murakami themes his loyal readership is used to seeing, but it is still recognizable as being his style. There is little to no mention of the supernatural; there are no hidden passageways; and though there is mention of a well, it is brief and easily forgotten. Some readers have lamented that it is only a "love story," which I take to mean that they were hoping for more of the aforementioned elements. I quite enjoyed the change of pace, though having Toru as the focus wore my patience thin. I found it difficult to connect with someone who seemed okay with being aimless, and was also okay with not considering how his actions affect other people. Granted, Toru is still incredibly young and has much to learn, but I doubt he is someone whose friendship I would have sought in college. Murakami fans should certainly add this one to their list as they make their way through the author's works.
Favorite Moment: Whenever Reiko, Naoko's roommate at the facility, would tell Toru a story, whether about her past of something else.
Favorite Character: I was not sure how I would feel about Reiko at first, but she grew to be the character I looked forward to hearing from the most. Her stories are fascinating and engaging, and though she has been at the facility for seven years, she seems to me the most well-adjusted of all of the characters, though this may be due to her age.
Recommended Reading: My favorite Murakami novel continues to be A Wild Sheep Chase, though if you can slog through it, 1Q84 is certainly worth it.
The full title of today's book is The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness by Susannah Cahalan. My excitement to read this book came almost exclusively from my experience of reading Cahalan's first book, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness. That book was Cahalan's first-hand account of her experience with the rare neurological autoimmune disease known as anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. It was fascinating, and also incredibly scary, and would lead Cahalan to pursue the topic of her second book.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book in which Cahalan looks closely at a study done in 1972 by Stanford psychologist David Rosenhan, who sent himself and seven other people into various mental institutions with specific instructions on how to act and what to say in order to gain admittance. Once inside, these psuedopatients were to act as themselves and record what it was like inside, what diagnosis they received, and what it took to get themselves released. According to Rosenhan, all but one was given the diagnosis of schizophrenia, much like Cahalan was before the true cause of her symptoms was discovered. Upon publishing his findings in an article titled "On Being Sane in Insane Places," Rosenhan caused a great fuss that would affect many aspects of psychiatry (and how it is viewed), including The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or DSM), and the closure of many mental health facilities. But as Cahalan digs deeper into Rosenhan's study, and attempts to hunt down the psuedopatients whose experiences were so crucial to the article, she begins to uncover some truths that not only invalidate the study, but make its effect on what we now believe about psychiatry incredibly troubling. Driven by her own experience, Cahalan will pursue every lead she can find, though many will go nowhere, in an attempt to uncover every truth behind this controversial study.
My Verdict: Whatever made Brain on Fire so engaging and interesting seems to be missing from The Great Pretender, at least in part. The topic is incredibly fascinating, but somehow the way Cahalan went about it sucked the fun out. The reader does learn about the experiment that sent eight psuedopatients into various mental institutions, but the book takes many pauses and diversions that take away from the overall effect of what Cahalan is revealing. Given a bit more focus and direction, the book would be more powerful. Also, it seems to be working against itself at points, or at the very least at cross-purposes. And given Cahalan's own history, it does sometimes feel as if she is attempting to settle a score against an industry that was ready to cast her aside due to a misdiagnosis. I wanted to love this book, mostly because I loved her first one. But The Great Pretender simply does not have the same power.
Favorite Moment: When Cahalan reveals to one of Rosenhan's pseudopatients that his experience was not accurately included in the study.
Recommended Reading: Brain on Fire is an incredible book, and I cannot recommend it enough.
It has been awhile since I have picked up a Jason Reynolds book, and it feels like the guy is always publishing something. I had the pleasure of reading Long Way Down, and getting to hear from the man himself at the San Antonio Book Festival, as well as LibraryPalooza, which is held every year in February at Brandeis High School in San Antonio. Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, is Reynolds' latest short story collection for young readers. I knew if it was going to be anything like Long Way Down, then I would need to be ready to think, ponder, wonder, and even look to what the future may hold.
Genre, Themes, History: As the subtitle suggests, this short story collection explores ten stories across ten blocks, each story focusing on a certain student, or group of students, all from the same school. Stories may intertwine, presenting questions for which the answers may be provided later, in a different story, about a different child having a different adventure. There are the usual issues and themes that tend to follow middle school-aged kids: bullying, scheming, close friendships with people that make them feel more like family, dodging authority, first crushes, and of course, what it is like riding the school bus. But ultimately, this book about those kids that walk home, and what kind of an adventure that can be. Even when it seems like the houses never change, and one block follows the next, the little things that do change make every day different enough that it is worth paying attention. Anyone who has ever attended a school, especially a middle school, will recognize these characters, as well as the setting.
My Verdict: This is a wonderful book, and not only for middle grade readers. While it is often funny (like the image of a boy having body spray applied to him by his friends because he is known for being smelly), and sometimes sad (like the story of the little girl's grandfather who is slowly losing his memory), what I think is most important is that the stories make you think, and are not at all predictable. It would be easy for a reader to believe they know where a story about a boy being afraid of dogs is going to go, but Reynolds manages to keep us all on our toes, as well as hold onto believability, even while talking about school buses falling from the sky. I do not cover many short story collections on this blog, but this one is worth talking about and recommending.
Favorite Stories: My favorite short story of the collection is certainly Skitter Hitter on Bastion St, where Pia goes along on her skateboard as usual, not realizing how the smallest of decisions made by herself, a bully named Marcus, and a timid boy named Stevie, can alter all of their lives in remarkable ways. I also enjoyed Ookabooka Land on Southview Ave, where Cynthia "Say-So" Sower would hold her comedy show, using jokes she wrote with her grandfather.
Recommended Reading: I certainly recommend Long Way Down, which is more of a poetry collection that tells the story of a young boy deciding what he is going to do in response to his brother's murder.
It certainly seems strange to me that I have never read one of Jacqueline Woodson's books. She has had such a long career and published so many novels, the latest of which is Red at the Bone. It is possible I had read Last Summer with Maizon as a kid, as I do vaguely remember it being on one of the bookshelves at home, but I cannot recall for sure. Either way, I have now remedied the issue and hope to read many more.
The Situation: It is 2001 in Brooklyn, New York and Melody is having her coming-of-age party. In a small brownstone apartment are her family and friends, as well as a small orchestra, and they are all waiting for her to make her entrance. When it came to the music she would walk out to, she had to fight her mother on it, insistent that it had to be Prince, and she won. She gets ready to walk out in front of the crowd who has gathered just for her, wearing a dress that may be custom-made, but it was not custom-made for her. Iris, Melody's mother, was supposed to have worn that dress herself 16 years earlier, but her coming-of-age party never happened. Once it was discovered she was pregnant at 15, all plans for her life were either delayed, or put off completely.
The Problem: The choice of music for Melody's party was not the only thing Melody and Iris had a hard time agreeing on. The two of them simply did not see eye to eye on much, and it is clear that while Melody has Iris' features, she is much closer to her father, Aubrey. But Melody's history does not begin with the night Iris and Aubrey neglected to wear protection. It goes back to her grandparents, and their parents, and events and choices that were made way before her time. And when Iris decides that motherhood is not for her and escapes to recapture her own freedom, it is not only Aubrey who takes up the slack, but an entire household. Through the voice of each one of them, and jumping from the past to the present, Melody grows up to become her own person, revealing all of the small decisions that brought her here.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a fiction novel set mostly in Brooklyn. Opening in 2001 at Melody's coming-of-age party, the book then moves back and forth through time as each character tells the story of how the girl, as well as the entire family, came to be where they are today. At the center is when Iris and Aubrey became parents as teenagers. But there is also the family's history in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a place that grandmother swears she will never go, and even their time in Chicago, before moving to Brooklyn. There is the story of how Aubrey came to live with Iris' parents, which would ultimately cause him to be the parent Melody related to best, as Iris leaves Brooklyn for college, and never quite returns. Naturally, since the book opens in 2001 and in New York City, there is mention of the attacks of September 11th, though briefly, and not directly. But they are there, and the effects on the family are devastating. This book explores what it takes to raise a child, and how the different, seemingly small choices that we make can affect generations.
My Verdict: I liked the book well enough, but did not connect to it as much as I had hoped. It could be the length, as it is less than 200 pages. Perhaps if it had gone on a bit longer I would have become more invested in the story. With that said, the characters are fantastic, and wonderfully well-rounded despite each one having to share the narrative spotlight, which means the reader does not get much time with some of them. I would have liked to hear more from Melody, though it makes sense for the book to focus mostly on Iris and Aubrey. I can certainly understand why the book has received so much praise, but I think I wanted a little more from it.
Favorite Moment: When Melody described the concert she went to with Aubrey, the two of them knowing every word.
Favorite Character: As is the case in many black families, the grandmother is the backbone, seemingly holding everyone and everything together, when it seems that it all should be falling apart.
Recommended Reading: I recommend Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, which explores a family in which the grandparents take care of the grandchildren, not because the parents are absent, but more because they lack parental instinct.
I am often drawn to books that explore complicated family relationships, and Margret Wilkerson Sexton's The Revisioners certainly calls into that category. Deciding to move yourself and your teenage son in with your grandmother is one thing. It is quite another when there is an obvious racial divide, and even your son recognizes that things are not quite as they seem in the strange new house he is supposed to call home.
